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Clockwisefromabove:RussellPotterfield,Larry’s
son,pickshisbird;BobJackson,NeilRadcliffe
andAlanFergasonenjoyingtheconditions;a
grouseisretrieved;IanDodsworth;anattractively
engravedside-by-side;PeterSnaith,who has been
headkeeper at Danby for 15 years
thepartydroveinconvoyupthesingle-track
road fromDanbytoRosedale forthefirst
drive,PeatHoles,onHighMoor,withguns,
loaders andflankers in positionby 10am.
The weathercould not have been better;
it wasoneofthose warm,lateSeptember
dayswith thetemperatureat 18°C,a light
south-westerly wind and enough cloud
covertotakeoffthesun’sglare.Thegently
undulatingmoor,withitsmosaicpatternof
differentages ofmanagedhealthyheather
- a glorioushabitatforallmoorlandground-
nesting bird species – looked absolutely
stunning.Snaith,witha beatinglineof15,
plushisthreebeatkeepers– GeoffSimpson,
AdamBowesandLeeWalker,resplendent
intheestatetweedsandscarlettieschosen
bytheninthViscountintheearly1900s–
werebringingthedriveinfromthe Rosedale
marchabout1½milesaway.
At10.15, a flankerwell outon the left
at the bottom of the line flicked his flag
upanda singlebird,thefirstgrouseofthe
day,skimmedoverbutts.Therewasa brief
pauseandthenthedrivestartedinearnest
with guns keptbusyascoveyafter covey
sweptthrough.Themoorhadalreadybeen
shot 12 times before the 27th and these
werereallyfast,hard-flyingbirds,hugging
thecontoursandliftingatthelastmoment
as they reached the butts. At 10.30, the
flankersmovedinandasthebeaterscame
intoview,a packof40-oddsweptoverthe
topthreebutts.Thesafetyhornblewshortly
afterwardsandwitha littleshootingbehind,
thebeatcamethrough,a whistleblew and a
veryexcitingfirstdrivewasover.
Gunsthenmoved onto thenext drive,
Common Lane, with a magnificent view
downtheEskValleyandthegreenfieldsof
themoorfootfarms,totheancientwhaling
portofWhitby,withgunsinpositionby11.15.
SnaithwaspushingthedriveonfromPeat
Holesandsporadicshootingstartedatthe
bottomofthelineat11.25asa small,loose
pack came overbutts. Birds then started
comingthickandfast;sometimesinsmall
coveys,atothertimesasonesandtwosslip-
slidingfastandlowfromlefttorightacross
thefaceofthebuttline,givingcolossalsport
andverytestingshooting.Inthemiddleof
thedrive,a flockofSwaledaleewes,part
oftheestateflockof350,trotteddownthe
lane between butts, stopping uncertainly
when they sighted thepickers-up. There
are 14 letfarmsonDanbyandonein-hand
farm,withthewholeareabeingdesignated
an SSSI, managed under a Higher Level
StewardshipSchemewith NaturalEngland
and allsheep on the hill are dipped four
timesa yearthroughthesummertocombat
ticks.Theewesboltedasthebeaterscame
closer and there were a series of decent
coveysjustbeforethesafetyhornandwith
a scatteringofshots behind the whistle blew
toendthedrive.
Elevenses with champagne and snacks
wasa welcomebreakandassoonasthis
was over, guns moved on for the return
drivedowna steep slopebelow Common
Lane, with beaters coming in from the
Fryupdale march. A return drive against the
windtakinggrousefrom theprevioustwo
downwinddrivesbacktotheirownground
andliftingthosefromthenewbeatis usually
theonejustbeforelunchasgrousearenever
longinreturningtotheirownhefts.Shooting
startedat12.40asa bigpackhurtledoverthe
middlebuttsandwasprettywellnon-stop
forthe next 20 minutes.The beating line
waspushing grouse up and turningthem
down,andasMattTaylorandtheflankerson
thebottomofthelinemovedround,Garry
Pickford, who was sharing a butt with Elly
Birds came thick and fast, giving
colossal sport and testing shooting
