# Scribehound > The best countryside writers Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### About Scribehound URL: https://www.scribehound.com/about/ Last updated: 2026-08-25T13:58:23.000Z **The best countryside writers** Scribehound is a subscription publication covering the British countryside - fieldsports, farming, conservation, rural affairs, natural history and folklore - with every article available to read and as author-read audio. Scribehound is an independent publication launched in September 2023 by Chris Horne and editor George Browne. Fieldsports Channel acquired it in July 2026, and George Browne stays on as editor. If you subscribe today, you'll get full access to the website – both articles to read and audio to listen to – as well as email newsletters about new content when it's available. Your subscription makes this site possible, and allows Scribehound to continue to exist. Thank you. It is a collective of rural voices — people shaped by fields, woods, weather and work — who share a single conviction: that the countryside can be stronger, more vibrant, and better for both nature and rural communities. As a member of Scribehound, join leading voices from the worlds of conservation, farming and rural affairs in exploring the complex issues that shape our landscapes, ecosystems and rural communities, delving into folklore, tradition and history, though articles, audio and livestreams. This is a community, jump into the comments to share your thoughts and experiences on the topics raised. More think-tank than magazine, we exist to reshape the way we talk about rural life. This is a place to slow down, look closer, and ask the deeper questions about how the countryside past, present and future can be understood... and reimagined. Scribehound Countryside is for anyone who loves the countryside and wants to help shape its future. ### Access all areas By signing up, you'll get access to the full archive of everything that's been published before and everything that's still to come. Your very own private library. ### Fresh content, delivered Stay up to date with new content sent straight to your inbox. No more worrying about whether you missed something because of a social media feed. ### Take part in the future of the UK countryside Join a community of other subscribers and discuss articles with them on this site. We will turn articles and comments into policy documents to put in front of government. For more, contact [Charlie Jacoby](mailto:charlie@fieldsportschannel.tv) from Fieldsports Channel or [George Browne](mailto:georgebrowne@scribehound.com) --- ## Who is Fieldsports Channel? We are the internet sensation behind [*Fieldsports Britain*](https://fieldsportschannel.tv/?ref=scribehound.com) and [*Farming Britain*](https://farmingbritain.tv/?ref=scribehound.com), and we are immensely proud to add *Scribehound* to our group. [Fieldsports Britain](https://www.fieldsportschannel.tv/?ref=scribehound.com) every Wednesday 7pmGMT **Farming Britain* Launched in 2009, our video views number in the hundreds of millions. ### Thank you for subscribing to Scribehound URL: https://www.scribehound.com/thank-you-for-subscribing-to-scribehound/ Last updated: 2026-08-03T17:52:13.000Z _This page is for paying subscribers only._ ### Privacy policy URL: https://www.scribehound.com/privacy-policy/ Last updated: 2026-08-04T09:13:11.000Z Here at *Scribehound*, we understand the importance of your privacy. The 2018 General Data Protection Regulation means we’re publishing this privacy notice to make it easier for you to find out how we use and protect your information. *Scribehound* will not sell your personal information, nor pass it to a third party to market to you. The only circumstance in which your subscription information may move to another organisation is where the ownership of a publication or collective changes and that organisation takes it on to continue delivering your subscription — see 'Business transfers and change of ownership' below. We will always tell you if that happens. ### 1\. Our use of cookies Our website uses cookies to provide you with the best experience while using our site and to help keep our site free to members. Our use of cookies is kept to a minimum, and mostly to those that keep our business functioning. These include internal/first party cookies to keep a user logged in to the website, for example, or cookies to establish website performance and usage from third parties such as Google Analytics or Hotjar. Other cookies may be used from the likes of Stripe to take payments on our website. We also use cookies to provide advertising which funds the business and may also use cookies to provide a more targeted advertising experience both on and off our website. We must stress that any of this information gathered is non-personally identifiable information. The information gathered, based on your browsing, allows *Scribehound* to earn revenue in the form of advertising. We sometimes use a third-party service to carry out this advertising but again, no personally identifiable information is used in this practice. ### 2\. What personal information do we collect? You can browse without sharing information with us, unless you choose to subscribe to our newsletter. A newsletter subscription requires a full name and email address. Subscribers to *Scribehound* are required to give card details and the required information for a payment to be accepted, on top of a full name and email address. For the content creators on *Scribehound*, we require personal information in order to publish articles. This will also include a public-facing biography and a profile picture. We will need contact details for you to discuss your content at any time too. Where a writer uploads their own mailing list, we will also process the email addresses (and, where provided, names) of those contacts. ### 3\. How do we use the personal information we collect? We keep a secure database of all of our user's information. Your contact information is used to send emails to you, if you have opted in, and other information is used for *Scribehound* to contact you. For imported lists, personal information is used solely to deliver the writer's content to those contacts. ### 4\. Will this personal information ever be used for any other purpose? The only time we would ever use your personal information for any other reason is to aid the proper authorities in finding anything fraudulent or illegal. Your information is stored in our database and is not shared with any third parties. We will not use the information to make any automated decisions that might affect you. For imported lists, personal information will never be used for other purposes, including *Scribehound*'s own marketing, unless the contact separately opts in. ### 5\. How long do we keep your information for? Your information is kept for as long as you continue to consent. For imported lists, we keep the data until the writer deletes it, the contact unsubscribes, or the writer ceases to use *Scribehound*, whichever occurs first. ### 6\. What does *Scribehound* do with my email address? Users who have opted in to receive emails from *Scribehound* will receive our new content notifications. The frequency of these can be personalised in your account section. If you wish not to receive these messages, you can unsubscribe at any time. ### 7\. Does *Scribehound* sell my personal information to a third party? No. We do not sell your personal information. The only time your subscription information moves to another organisation is on a change of ownership of a publication or collective, purely so your subscription continues — see 'Business transfers and change of ownership'. If you have questions about our usage of your personal information, please [contact us](mailto:georgebrowne@scribehound.com). ### 8\. When writers import contact lists Where writers upload their own mailing lists, this activity is also governed by the Writer Terms & Conditions and the Data Processing Appendix. Writers should review those documents for their obligations as controllers. This Privacy Policy explains how *Scribehound* processes that data as a processor. Some writers may upload their own mailing lists to *Scribehound* so that their existing readers can continue to receive their content through our platform. In those cases: **'Writer as controller'**: the writer remains the data controller for their imported contacts. They are responsible for ensuring they have a lawful basis (such as consent) to use those email addresses. **'*Scribehound* as processor'**: *Scribehound* can act as a data processor, meaning we only process those contacts on the writer's instructions and solely for the purpose of sending the writer's content. **No wider use**: we do not use imported contact lists for our own marketing or share them with other writers. Imported contacts will only receive the content of the writer who uploaded them, unless they separately choose to subscribe to *Scribehound* directly. **Unsubscribes**: all emails sent to imported contacts will contain a clear unsubscribe link. If a recipient unsubscribes, we will immediately suppress their email address to ensure they receive no further messages. **Security**: we apply the same technical and organisational safeguards to imported lists as we do to all user data, including encryption in transit and at rest, access controls, and monitoring for misuse. Transparency: writers must confirm that their contacts have been informed that their data will be processed by *Scribehound* for the purpose of sending them the writer's content. ### 9\. Your rights over your information By law, you can ask us what information we hold about you, and you can ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate. You can also ask for it to be erased and you can ask for us to give you a copy of the information. You can also ask us to stop using your information – the simplest way to do this is to withdraw your consent, which you can do at any time, through your profile. ### 10\. Business transfers and change of ownership Our promise not to sell or share your information has always been about protecting you from having your data monetised — we do not sell your personal information to advertisers or other businesses, and we never market to you on someone else's behalf. That does not change. Separately from that, there may be times when the ownership of a publication, collective or part of our business changes – for example, if a collective is taken on by a new owner who will continue running it. In that situation, so that you keep receiving the product you subscribed to without interruption, your subscription and the information needed to deliver it (such as your name, email address and subscription status) may transfer to the new owner along with the publication. **Where this happens:** We will tell you, by email to the address you have given us, before or at the point the transfer takes effect. The new owner will become the data controller for your information from that point and will be required to handle it in line with data protection law. The new owner takes on the obligation to continue delivering your subscription on terms no less favourable to you. This is a transfer for continuity of service — not a sale of your data for marketing or profit. Your information continues to be used only to provide you with the product and to run your subscription. You will always be able to object, unsubscribe or ask for your data to be erased, exactly as set out in "Your rights over your information" above. ### 11\. Your right to complain If you have a complaint about our use of your information, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office via their website at [ICO.org/concerns](https://www.ico.org/concerns?ref=scribehound.com) or write to: Information Commissioner's Office Wycliffe House Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF ### Terms & conditions URL: https://www.scribehound.com/terms-conditions/ Last updated: 2026-08-04T09:09:37.000Z ### Summary of key points Users of *Scribehound* must agree to these terms and conditions *Scribehound* reserves the right to check any information posted on the site but does not accept any responsibility to do so *Scribehound* reserves the right to remove information *Scribehound* accepts no responsibility for content placed on the site by others or for their identity Users should not take information from the site for any other purposes *Scribehound* has the right to use information, photos and media supplied onto the site for other purposes ### General conditions of use You must read, agree with and accept all of the terms and conditions contained in this user agreement, before you may become a user of the Site. Our privacy policy forms part of this user agreement and explains how we handle personal data. By using the site you agree to our privacy policy. We may amend this user agreement at any time by giving you notice by either e-mail or by posting the amended user agreement on the site. Any amended user agreement will govern new user registrations from the date that it is posted on the Site. Existing users will be bound by the amended user agreement after the expiry of 30 days following the date of a notice. Users agree to provide a current and working email *Scribehound* may withdraw all or part of a user's site content or membership at any time. Our services are not available to, and may not be used by, persons under the age of 18. You must supply an email and password to complete registration. You are responsible for all actions taken under that user ID and password and shall only use or utilise the site using your own user ID and password. You must use every effort to keep your password safe and should not disclose it to any other person. You shall not transfer or sell your Uuser ID to any other person. You shall also not permit, either directly or indirectly, any other person to utilise your User ID or password. The site acts as a platform to allow individuals to share content and stories of interest. We do not guarantee to review content uploaded by authors, and it is the responsibility of authors to meet our content guidelines. We have no control over the truth or accuracy of the articles. Because user verification on the Internet is not always possible, we cannot and do not confirm the purported identity of users or the validity of the information which users post to the Site. ### Community standards *Scribehound* is at its heart, a friendly platform. We want to keep debate on *Scribehound* respectful. Comments and articles which are abusive, disrespectful or accusations without justification are in breach of our community standards. We reserve the right to refuse to publish or delete such content. We reserve the right to remove or limit your use of the site for any reason in particular but not limited to in the event of comments that bring the site into disrepute. In the event that you have any right, claim or action against any other user arising from that user's use of the site, you agree to pursue such right, claim or action independently of and without recourse to us, and you release *Scribehound* (and our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents and employees) from all claims, liability, damages, losses, costs and expenses, including legal fees, known and unknown, arising from or in any way connected with such right, claim or action. We do not control the information provided by other users that is made available through the site. You may find other user's information to be offensive, harmful, inaccurate, or deceptive. Please use caution, common sense, and practice safe trading when using the site. Please note that there are also risks of dealing with underage persons or people acting under false pretences. By using this site, you agree to accept such risks and agree that *Scribehound* is not responsible for the acts or omissions of users on the site. You will inform *Scribehound* immediately by [email](mailto:charlie@fieldsportschannel.tv) if you believe any information provided is offensive, harmful, inaccurate, or deceptive. ### Fees We charge fees for subscribing to services for sale through our site. Unless otherwise stated, all fees are payable in GB pounds sterling. Whether you are a business or not, value added tax and other taxes may apply to your transaction. You agree that we may issue you with invoices in electronic format by email. You acknowledge that failure to pay the agreed fees may result in your subscription being suspended until these fees are paid with cleared funds. ### Your information "Your information" is defined as any information you provide to us or other users in relation to the service including but not limited to the registration, listing or comment process (including, without limitation, any description of items listed), your postings on the comment boards and any other content that you post within the Site. You are solely responsible for your information, and we act as a mere conduit for your online distribution and publication of your information. Restrictions: your information and your activities on our site must not: **•** be false, inaccurate or misleading **•** be offensive or menacing, abusive, defamatory, or in breach of copyright, confidence, privacy or any other rights **•** infringe any third party's copyright, patent, trade mark, trade secret or other intellectual proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy **•** be fraudulent **•** be in breach of any applicable laws or regulations **•** be obscene, indecent or pornographic **•** create liability for us or cause us to lose (in whole or in part) the services of our ISPs or other suppliers **•** contain any computer viruses, macro viruses, trojan horses, worms or anything else designed to interfere with, interrupt or disrupt the normal operating procedures of a computer or to surreptitiously intercept, access without authority or expropriate any system, data or personal information **•** cause the site to be interrupted, damaged, rendered less efficient or such that the effectiveness or functionality of the site is in any way impaired. ### Access and interference You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access the Site for any purpose without our express written permission. Additionally, you agree that you will not: **•** take any action that imposes, or may impose in our sole discretion an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure **•** copy, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, distribute or publicly display any content (except for your information) from the site without the prior expressed written permission of *Scribehound* and the appropriate third party, as applicable **•** interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the site or any activities conducted on the site We do not authorise you to extract or re-utilise substantial parts of our site, or to make systematic and repeated extractions or re-utilisations of insubstantial parts of our site. ### Breach Without limiting our other remedies, we may limit your activity on the Site, immediately issue a warning, suspend or terminate your user registration or any of your item or service listings and refuse to provide our services to you without notice to you: **•** if you breach this User Agreement or the documents incorporated by reference **•** if, despite our reasonable endeavours, we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us **•** or if we believe that your actions may cause us financial loss or legal liability. ### Transfer of data We reserve the right to store your data on our servers wherever they may be situated. If you object to your information being transferred or used in this way please do not register. ### No warranty We (and our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents and employees) do not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted or secure access to our services, and operation of the site may be interfered with by numerous factors outside of our control. Our website and our services are provided "as is" and as and when available, and to the extent permissible by law we exclude all implied warranties, conditions or other terms, whether implied by statute or otherwise, including without limitation any terms as to skill and care or timeliness of performance. Some jurisdictions do not allow the disclaimer of implied warranties, so the foregoing disclaimer may not apply to you. ### Limitation of liability Nothing in this user agreement shall limit or exclude our liability for fraudulent misrepresentation, or for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence or the negligence of our agents or employees. Subject to the foregoing, we (including our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents and employees) will not be liable for any economic losses (including, without limitation, loss of revenues, profits, contracts, business or anticipated savings), any loss of goodwill or reputation, or any special, indirect or consequential damages (however arising, including negligence) arising out of or in connection with this user agreement. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of incidental or consequential damages, so the above exclusion may not apply to you. We (including our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents and employees) also have no liability of any sort (including liability for negligence) for the acts or omissions of other providers of telecommunications services or for faults in or failures of their networks and equipment. Our liability to you or any third party, and the liability of our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents and employees, in any circumstance is limited to the total fees you have paid to us in relation to the subscription offered for that period giving rise to liability ### Indemnity You agree to indemnify and hold us and (as applicable) our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable legal fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your breach of this user agreement (including the documents incorporated by reference), or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party. ### Notices Unless otherwise explicitly stated, notices to Scribehound must be sent by registered mail to our office which is currently situated at Fieldsports Channel Ltd, The Old Coach House, Wellisford, Wellington TA21 0SB and notices to you will be sent to the email address that you provide to *Scribehound* (receipt is deemed 24 hours after an email is sent, unless we receive notice that the email address is invalid), or by registered mail. ### Governing law & legal compliance This user greement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. Please note, that your country (and/or that of any user you deal with) may have laws which apply to your transactions with other users regardless of what you agree with us (now) or with that user (later). The laws of your country may be different from English law, including laws governing what can be legally offered, sold or bought. There may be additional legal requirements, relating to (for example) the requirement to hold a licence to buy or sell certain items or services, or to register a transfer in a central registry. You shall comply with all applicable domestic and international laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations regarding your use of our service and your bidding on, listing, purchase and solicitation of offers to purchase and sale of items or services. There is no practical way for us to continually monitor the laws of every country, or each user transaction. Please do not assume that you are allowed to do what other users do, or that we are approving or validating any transaction, even if you have successfully made similar sales or purchases in the past. ### Third party rights A person who is not a party to this user agreement has no right under the 1999 Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act to enforce any term of this user agreement but this does not affect any right or remedy of a third party specified in this user agreement or which exists or is available apart from that act. ### General If any provision of this user agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck out and the remaining provisions shall be enforceable. You agree that this user agreement and all incorporated agreements may be automatically assigned by *Scribehound*, in our sole discretion, to a third party in the event of a merger or acquisition or any other event. You and *Scribehound* are independent contractors, and no agency, partnership, joint venture, employee-employer or franchisor-franchisee relationship is intended or created by this user agreement. Headings are for reference purposes only and in no way define, limit, construe or describe the scope or extent of such section. Our failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. This user agreement sets forth the entire understanding and agreement between us with respect to its subject matter. No oral explanation or oral information given by any party shall alter the interpretation of this user agreement. All sections intended to survive termination of this agreement including but not limited to Sections: Fees, Your Information, Licence, No Warranty, Limitation of Liability, Indemnity, Governing Law, Third Party Rights and General, shall survive any termination of this User Agreement. ### Prefer your podcast app? Link your account. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/prefer-your-podcast-app-link-your-account/ Last updated: 2026-08-07T11:52:53.000Z _This page is for subscribers only._ ## Posts ### Stick or twist: the two styles of estate management URL: https://www.scribehound.com/stick-or-twist-the-two-styles-of-estate-management/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T06:00:12.000Z Today’s underperforming assets could well be tomorrow’s star asset. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Curlew and lapwing edging closer to extinction URL: https://www.scribehound.com/curlew-and-lapwing-edging-closer-to-extinction/ Last updated: 2026-09-02T06:00:52.000Z If we don’t have more sensible conversations, there will be no curlew or lapwing to argue over. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Is climate science colonial? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/is-climate-science-colonial/ Last updated: 2026-09-01T06:00:22.000Z In reality, the problem is not emissions but the warming effect. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Open letter to Andy Burnham URL: https://www.scribehound.com/open-letter-to-andy-burnham/ Last updated: 2026-08-30T06:00:24.000Z Recent events have amply demonstrated that the man in Whitehall does not know best. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Expert’s curse – is it our downfall? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/experts-curse-is-it-our-downfall/ Last updated: 2026-08-29T06:00:42.000Z It can feel a little intimidating to ask for something to be explained to you. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### I caught a fish from Saddam Hussein's private lake URL: https://www.scribehound.com/i-caught-a-fish-from-saddam-husseins-private-lake/ Last updated: 2026-08-28T07:57:23.000Z “I stepped on a bomb which took both my legs and left me in a bit of a pickle.” _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The next generation of farmers URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-next-generation-of-farmers/ Last updated: 2026-08-27T08:00:09.000Z Adam Henson has been meeting the young farmers taking on the challenge of feeding the nation _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Big tech’s assault on the countryside URL: https://www.scribehound.com/big-techs-assault-on-the-countryside/ Last updated: 2026-08-25T06:00:45.000Z Critics estimate the data centre could consume up to a million litres of water a day. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Booming bitterns bouncing back URL: https://www.scribehound.com/booming-bitterns-bouncing-back/ Last updated: 2026-08-23T06:00:16.000Z Managing reedbeds is vital if the boom of the bittern is to become a familiar sound once more _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Who would win a race between a man and a horse? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/who-would-win-a-race-between-a-man-and-a-horse/ Last updated: 2026-08-21T06:00:19.000Z Camilla Swift saddles up and takes on the Man Versus Horse Marathon _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Where does countryside become coastline? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/where-does-countryside-become-coastline/ Last updated: 2026-08-20T06:00:38.000Z If tourism is the icing on the cake, some effort should go into ensuring the cake itself can still exist. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### What those five dead Dorset sea eagles are trying to tell us URL: https://www.scribehound.com/what-those-five-dead-dorset-sea-eagles-are-trying-to-tell-us/ Last updated: 2026-08-18T06:00:58.000Z These days, we have an intensely complicated relationship with predators of any sort – even more so when it comes to reintroducing them. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Save Our Salmon and Sea Trout URL: https://www.scribehound.com/save-our-salmon-and-sea-trout/ Last updated: 2026-08-16T07:03:05.000Z One of Wales' greatest natural resources is disappearing. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why are young people struggling to find deer stalking? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-are-young-people-struggling-to-find-deer-stalking/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T08:26:51.000Z Keen young stalkers' rifles are gathering dust while deer populations continue to rise _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Time to banish the bogeymen URL: https://www.scribehound.com/time-to-banish-the-bogeymen/ Last updated: 2026-08-13T06:00:10.000Z A troll is a troll, no matter which side of the bridge you are on. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Sir Johnny Scott’s life in fieldsports URL: https://www.scribehound.com/sir-johnny-scs-life-in-fieldsports/ Last updated: 2026-08-12T07:22:45.000Z Sir Johnny Scott has brought out a book, Letters to a Young Countryman. It links his long life in sports from coursing and ferreting, as well as hunting and shooting, to his hope that future generations will enjoy the countryside as much and in the same way that he does. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The green investment fantasy URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-green-investment-fantasy/ Last updated: 2026-08-11T06:00:56.000Z Can carbon credits and rewilding really deliver a 10% annual return? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Rediscovering nature’s magic on the Cotswolds Savannah URL: https://www.scribehound.com/rediscovering-natures-magic-on-the-cotswolds-savannah/ Last updated: 2026-08-11T09:01:22.000Z One Cotswolds farmer's breathtaking ambition, resilience, and love for the land shows leaves Tom Martin breathless _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Every farmer needs good neighbours URL: https://www.scribehound.com/every-farmer-needs-good-neighbours/ Last updated: 2026-08-07T06:00:37.000Z The magic and mess of being a good neighbour—whether across a fence or at a table of strangers. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The rewetting/wildfire gamble URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-rewetting-wildfire-gamble/ Last updated: 2026-08-07T10:45:08.000Z Is rewetting really the wildfire solution? Discover the flawed science and policy missteps fuelling Britain's moorland fire crisis in this thought-provoking exposé. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why I fear remote-controlled cows URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-i-fear-machine-readable-cows/ Last updated: 2026-08-06T12:24:48.000Z Technology is taking more responsibility for chores we don't want to do on the farm. Is it really going to leave us doing the things we love? _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The UK Treasury’s attempt to destroy European farming URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-treasurys-attempt-to-destroy-european-farming/ Last updated: 2026-08-06T12:26:47.000Z We identified the worst effects of post-Brexit agricultural reforms in 2005 – and we defeated them. History is repeating itself within Britain. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### How to give lapwings a chance URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-to-give-lapwings-a-chance/ Last updated: 2026-08-06T12:27:51.000Z We need your input to help protect our most iconic birds _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Wildfires: will this be the Burn’em government? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/wildfires-will-this-be-the-burnem-government/ Last updated: 2026-08-03T13:10:50.000Z Andrew Gilruth, Jo Pearson and Richard Bailey explain to Charlie Jacoby where the Westminster government is going wrong on upland wildfires. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The parochial cow URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-parochial-cow/ Last updated: 2026-08-03T13:08:55.000Z The cow that saved hundreds of millions of lives _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Two ways to earn your boots URL: https://www.scribehound.com/two-ways-to-earn-your-boots/ Last updated: 2026-08-03T13:03:02.000Z A forestry dispute, a very old campfire, and the uncomfortable truth that tribalism isn't something other people do _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A new chapter for Scribehound URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-new-chapter-for-scribehound-countryside/ Last updated: 2026-07-31T07:36:23.000Z *Scribehound Countryside* will have a new owner from 31 July 2026, having launched in September 2023 and swiftly established a reputation as a sensible and measured voice for the countryside. ## What does this mean for Scribehound? This change of ownership marks the beginning of the next chapter in the *Scribehound* story. It presents an opportunity to build on the success we have had over the last three years, and to grow both our audience and our influence. The existing writer line-up will stay, and articles will continue to be published in both written and audio form. George Browne, who has marshalled the writer line-up since *Scribehound Countryside*’s launch, will remain as editor. We will continue to provide readers and subscribers with thoughtful and impactful analysis of the issues and challenges facing Britain’s landscapes, ecosystems and rural communities, tempered with natural history, humour, folklore and rural esoterica. As well as the regular articles by your favourite rural writers and thinkers, we will make *Scribehound* more of a policy resource for political parties hoping to form a government after the next general election, and for the current Labour government to use. 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If you're happy to come with us, which we very much hope you are, there's nothing you need to do. *Cover image: istock.com/Daniel\_Kay* ### Red kites, Rachel Carson, and the power of speaking out URL: https://www.scribehound.com/red-kites-rachel-carson-and-the-power-of-speaking-out/ Last updated: 2026-08-03T12:42:24.000Z Rachel Carson's truth-telling teaches us why we still need bold voices to secure our planet's biodiversity. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why Britain’s wildfires rage despite ‘expert’ advice URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-britains-wildfires-rage-despite-expert-advice/ Last updated: 2026-08-03T12:33:15.000Z New conservation policies are turning the UK’s moorlands into tinderboxes? Fre crews and local communities say traditional land management is being dangerously ignored. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### What Does 'Wild' Actually Mean? 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But have you ever heard this response: “They say they can’t afford food, but they all have big TVs and the latest smartphone”? Well, we should probably talk about that. We're bringing you 10 answers to the most difficult, unaskable questions about food poverty. ## But first, some good news. Things had been getting better on the food poverty front. In the 12 months to April 2025, the number of hungry people in the UK had fallen from 7.5 million to 6.1 million. Food bank usage also fell from 4.3% of individuals to 3.8% ([Households Below Average Income statistics](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2025/households-below-average-income-an-analysis-of-the-uk-income-distribution-fye-1995-to-fye-2025?ref=scribehound.com)*, Department of Work and Pensions*) Sadly, the green shoots of progress on food poverty look set to be snuffed out by the Iran conflict. The Food and Drink Federation expects food inflation to top 9% by the end of 2026 - a depressing U-turn on their earlier forecast. Before the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, prices were expected to fall gradually. Not any more. For the million or so people who were starting to feel more food secure, it’s one step forward and two steps back. We’re hurtling towards harder times - but it was a random meeting in Colchester that helped me understand why, and set the ball rolling for this article. It's everything you need to know about food poverty, but were too afraid to ask. “On my estate, you can buy blueberry-flavoured vapes and cherry vodka more easily than fresh blueberries or cherries.” ## Firstsite, Colchester: March 28th, 2026 I'm one of the speakers at a well-heeled environmental event in an art gallery in Essex. We’re in the middle of a lively Q&A, in front of a large audience at [EA Sustain](https://www.easustain.com/?ref=scribehound.com) – a biennial festival about environment, culture and entrepreneurship. The session is called ‘Broken Food Conversations’, chaired by the former British Ambassador to Colombia, Peter Tibber. I'm on the bill alongside Dominic Watters. He's an urban food poverty campaigner, I'm a rural farmer's daughter. I’m talking about my book ‘Divide’ and the cultural disconnect between farming communities who produce food and urban communities who consume it. Dominic is talking about the experience of living in a ‘food desert’ on a deprived housing estate in Kent. He lays it out straight: “You can’t buy fresh fruit on my estate, but you can get a blueberry-flavoured vape.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1780934744116-20260328_131138.jpeg) *Reading from 'Divide', EA Sustain, 2026* “Why can't they book a Tesco delivery?" It’s not the first time I’ve heard Dominic speak. I watched him captivate an audience at the Oxford Farming Conference in 2025 when he spoke to a room full of farmers about being a low-income single dad raising a child amid food insecurity. I know the impact his words can have. A shocked murmur ripples through the audience – they are rapt. A sea of hands shoots up. Our audience is older and I strongly sense left-leaning, socially and environmentally conscious, and mostly middle to upper-middle class. Their questions are intelligent, empathetic and what I would expect – the evils of factory farming, the evils of corporate greed, the evils of supermarkets. But the most telling questions are the ones put to me privately, quietly, away from the roving microphone: “Why can’t poor or unemployed people grow their own food? Seeds are so cheap.” “Why don’t people living in food deserts club together and book a Tesco delivery? Surely that wouldn’t cost much?” ## The most honest Q&A you’ll ever read about food poverty I don’t have the answers. The only person here with the knowledge and lived experience to answer these questions is Dominic – but no one asks him, and I know why. We’re all too scared of saying something wrong, or causing offence, or getting cancelled. "If we’re too afraid to ask questions, how can we really learn?" The thought niggles at me for days. If we’re too afraid to ask the questions we’re really thinking, how are we ever going to get our heads around food poverty? Without open conversations we're going to struggle to improve understanding and overcome prejudice. It takes me a while to pluck up the courage to call him – how do I pitch this? We are from such different backgrounds. I’m a sheep farmer’s daughter, born and raised in the hills along the Welsh border, in a safe and stable environment, where I never once worried about where my next meal was coming from. Food just magically appeared, thanks to Mum. We weren’t well off, there wasn’t much money around, but hunger – proper hunger – is an alien concept to me. How can I write about food poverty? Dominic grew up largely in South London but has lived on the same council estate in Kent for the past twenty years, raising his daughter as a single father. The estate has one way in and one way out, yet despite being surrounded by some of the country’s most productive farmland, fresh produce remains largely unavailable within the community itself. His experience of food insecurity, and the inequalities his community continues to navigate daily, sparked a determination to challenge the way poverty is often understood and discussed. Today, he is the founder of Food is Care CIC and a PhD researcher at the University of Southampton, while delivering keynote presentations to organisations across the country. Dominic has gone from relying on emergency food support to influencing national policy discussions on food insecurity, while asking a deceptively simple question: when decisions are made about food poverty, whose voices and whose knowledge count? When I finally speak to Dominic, I level with him: “People ask me questions I don’t know the answers to - but I think you will. Would you like to write an article together?” And so, here it is – the most honest Q&A you’ll ever read about food poverty. Some are questions I’ve been asked, or comments I’ve remembered from past conversations, or things I’ve even wondered myself. Some are questions Dominic has been asked, or comments he’s received on social media. They’re all real and genuine, and we both agree it’s time to get them out in the open. I pose the questions but, from here on, the voice you’re reading is Dominic’s. Over to him. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1780935338008-AFN-People-0865.jpeg) *Dominic Watters* ## To begin… "From the outside, food poverty can look like a series of simple problems with simple solutions." These questions are often asked from a distance, and I’ve had to welcome that discussion. From where you stand the answers may look obvious. From where I stand, life operates unevenly. Many of the people trying to address food insecurity – policymakers, academics, charities and NGO leaders - are often deeply well-meaning. In recent years there has also been a growing emphasis on listening to lived experience and bringing communities into these conversations. That shift matters. But it doesn’t go far enough, because being occasionally close to these issues is not aways the same as living within them day after day. When discussions about poverty are still shaped largely from outside the environments most affected by it, gaps can emerge between how problems are understood and how they are navigated in everyday life. From the outside, food poverty can look like a series of simple problems with simple solutions. But from within the places most affected: often overlooked, forgotten, and marginalised, those same solutions can sometimes reveal how often the realities of communities like mine remain unheard within discussions meant to address them. ## 1\. “Why don’t people living in food deserts club together and book a Tesco delivery?” "Food decisions are often made day by day, sometimes hour by hour, depending on what is left in the account or jar." In my community, food decisions are not always made weekly or monthly. They are often made day by day, sometimes hour by hour, depending on what is left in the account or jar, what the children need, whether the electric is on emergency, and what else might come up. When you literally do not have the money, no amount of budgeting can change that. It also assumes that households all need the same things. But in reality, people are managing very different needs - health conditions, dietary requirements, children who will or cannot eat certain foods, work patterns, caring responsibilities, and different levels of storage or cooking facilities. Food is not just about having enough of it. It is about having the right food for the people in that household. It is not that people do not help each other. In fact, some of the research I am currently doing with my neighbours shows the opposite. People do support one another through lifts, shared meals, small loans, childcare, checking in, and informal food sharing. But that cooperation exists within instability, not outside it. From the outside, these issues are often treated separately. But in everyday life, transport, money, energy, relationships, and food access are constantly interacting. That is why simple solutions often fail - not because people lack common sense, but because the conditions needed to make those solutions work are not always there. ## 2\. “They say they can’t afford food but they all have big TVs and the latest smartphones — how can that be?” "A smartphone is not a luxury anymore, it is essential." Let me say this clearly: the majority of my neighbours work. One works as a SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) school bus operator, another manages a coffee shop, another works as a customer assistant in a jewellers. Poverty is not simply a story about unemployment. When my daughter was younger, finding work that fitted around school hours as a single parent was far more complicated than many people realise. These are the kinds of pressures that often remain invisible in discussions about poverty. A smartphone is not a luxury anymore, it is essential. It is how people manage Universal Credit, apply for jobs, communicate with schools, access services, and stay connected to family. Without it, many people are effectively cut off from modern life. It also assumes that everything people own has been bought recently or at full price. In reality, many items are bought second-hand, passed on, repaired, or paid off over long periods of time. They may reflect what life looked like months or even years earlier - not what someone can afford now, especially as the cost of living continues to rise. These are not necessarily signs of excess. Sometimes they are simply part of how people manage life under pressure, small forms of comfort or escape within environments that can often feel relentlessly difficult. The real question is not why someone has a phone or a television. It is why, despite having the basic tools needed to function in modern society, many people still cannot reliably access enough of the right food for their family. ## 3\. “Why can’t poor or unemployed people grow their own food?” "I grew vegetables and herbs on my estate using discarded materials, a broken drawer, parts of an old hoover, whatever I could find." ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1780935541908-IMG_1883.jpeg) *Balcony farming* Growing your own food is often seen as a positive, even empowering solution. But it assumes access to space, time, stability, and the right conditions — and those conditions are not always there. During COVID-19, inspired by projects growing food in urban spaces, I grew vegetables and herbs on my estate using discarded materials, a broken drawer, parts of an old hoover, whatever I could find. It was about trying to create some access to fresh food where there wasn’t any. But what you can grow in a small, improvised space like a balcony is not enough to feed a family a consistent, nutritious diet. It can supplement food access, but it cannot replace reliable access to food. Many people living in blocks of flats do not have enough outdoor space to grow enough food to feed your family. Sometimes these kinds of solutions can unintentionally shift a structural issue onto individuals. In places like my estate, the problem is not a lack of effort. People are already showing resilience, creativity, and adaptation every day. What this really highlights is something deeper: people are constantly trying to make difficult environments work. But there are limits to what can be achieved within those conditions. The bigger question is not whether people can grow food themselves. It is why access to fresh, nutritious food is not consistently there in the first place. ## 4\. “People don’t know how to cook anymore — they’re lazy.” "Cooking a healthy meal becomes much harder when the electric is on emergency, transport is unreliable, or the council estate shops are dominated by ultra-processed food." On the surface, this can look like a question of skills or effort. But it overlooks the conditions people are living in. Across the world, some of the most valued food traditions have come from communities working with very limited resources. In Italy, cucina povera is built around simple, affordable ingredients — pulses, vegetables, bread — transformed into something sustaining and flavourful. The same can be said of traditional British dishes like Lancashire hotpot or bubble and squeak. Many people already know how to cook and how to make food stretch. But cooking is not simply about knowledge. It requires energy, reliable appliances, functioning kitchens, storage space, and affordable fuel. Not everybody has those things consistently. From within what I describe as living experience – the ongoing navigation of inequality rather than something remembered or retrospective - people are already making constant effort, stretching meals, planning around children, skipping meals themselves, budgeting day by day, and trying to hold households together under pressure. What can appear from the outside as a lack of effort is often exhaustion, instability, and constraint. Cooking a healthy meal becomes much harder when the windows do not fully close, the electric is on emergency, transport is unreliable, or the council estate shops are dominated by ultra-processed food. So often, this is not about laziness. It is about whether people have the conditions needed to cook consistently, and for many communities, those conditions are increasingly fragile. ## 5\. “They look like they’re getting enough food to me! People are getting fatter.” "We get flavour without nutrition." People often associate food insecurity with visible hunger. But food poverty does not always look the way people expect it to. It is not simply about whether somebody is eating. It is about what they are able to eat, how regularly, under what conditions, and with what long-term impact on health. The cheapest and most accessible foods are often high in calories, salt and sugar, but low in nutritional value. In my estate, we often have access to flavour, convenience, alcohol, vaping products, and ultra-processed foods, but no access to fresh, nutritious food. There is both power and neglect in that. We get flavour without nutrition. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1780935593907-IMG_9835.jpeg) *Dominic's local shop* Many of my neighbours work hard, try to feed their families well, and are doing everything they can to get by. Some are also obese. But appearance alone tells you very little about whether somebody is food secure. What it often reflects instead is the food environment people are living within, environments where fresh food is limited, but cheap, filling, heavily processed alternatives are everywhere. Food insecurity is not always visible in the way people expect. Sometimes it is hidden inside exhaustion, poor health, stress, obesity, emergency meters, or the daily negotiation of environments that were never designed around wellbeing in the first place. ## 6\. “The Government spends so much on welfare — why are people still struggling?” "There is often a difference between how support is designed and what people are actually dealing with in practice." From the outside, it can seem like significant amounts of money are being spent, so people should not still be struggling. But the issue is not simply how much support exists. It is how that support is structured, accessed, and experienced in everyday life. There is now far more discussion around food insecurity than there was even a few years ago. More reports, more strategies, more public concern. That shift matters. But in many of the communities most affected, it does not always feel like anything fundamental has changed. One of the biggest problems is distance, not just physical distance from supermarkets or services, but institutional distance from the realities people are living day to day. When organisations, policymakers, and institutions are working away from the communities they are trying to support, it becomes difficult to fully understand how different pressures interact in everyday life. I often find myself moving between policy spaces and council estates, and the gap between those worlds can sometimes feel profound. There is often a difference between how support is designed and what people are actually dealing with in practice. For example, there is increasing recognition of the importance of school food and Free School Meals. But in many of the communities I am part of, once children leave the school gates, the local food environment is still dominated by cheap ultra-processed options. That is why I increasingly argue that food insecurity cannot be understood through food alone. Housing conditions, transport, energy costs, local retail environments, insecure work, and stigma all shape what becomes possible. So this is not simply a question of how much money is being spent. It is about whether support meaningfully connects with real life - and for many people in estates like mine, there is still a significant disconnect between the two. ## 7\. “You can feed a family for 30p a day — food is cheap.” "This calculation assumes time, planning, bulk buying, reliable transport, access to large supermarkets, storage space, functioning kitchens, and affordable energy to cook with." I understand why this gets said, because on paper food can appear cheap. But those calculations often rely on ideal conditions that many people simply do not have. They assume time, planning, bulk buying, reliable transport, access to large supermarkets, storage space, functioning kitchens, and affordable energy to cook with. They also rarely account for the extra costs many poorer households face, including higher energy costs through pay-as-you-go meters. Food is not just about price. It is also about availability. In some areas access to fresh, nutritious food is limited. In my estate, in what is often called the “Garden of England”, you can buy blueberry-flavoured vapes and cherry vodka more easily than fresh blueberries or cherries. That contrast says something important about how the food system is structured and who it is designed to serve. In many council estate convenience store food environments, ultra-processed foods do not simply exist alongside healthier options they dominate the local environment. They are often the cheapest, most visible, most accessible, and most heavily marketed foods available. More recently, through research in estates within what has historically been described as the ‘Bread Basket of Britain’, Lincolnshire, I have been struck by how similar many of these patterns look across very different parts of the country. Different regions, different local authorities, but often the same structural inequalities shaping everyday food access. What this increasingly reveals is that food insecurity can exist in the shadow of abundance. So framing this purely as a matter of personal choice misses something fundamental. For many communities, this is not an occasional challenge — it is the structure of the food system they are expected to live within every day. Food may appear cheap in theory. But the kind of food needed for a healthy, stable diet is often far less accessible in practice. ## 8\. “Why don’t you just get a job?” "I have a job. Work does not automatically protect people from hardship, instability, or food insecurity." I have a job. Actually, two jobs, and the majority of my neighbours are working too. From the outside, work is often presented as the straightforward solution to poverty. Across the country work does not automatically protect people from hardship, instability, or food insecurity. I am speaking here as a single parent living in a council estate flat, at times with nothing in the fridge and the gas on emergency. Where the bins are rarely collected. Where the windows do not fully close. Where black mould runs through parts of the block. That is not a position of choice. It is what happens when different pressures begin stacking on top of one another. I wanted my daughter to attend a good primary school. But doing that from my estate meant multiple buses each day, unreliable transport, and trying to fit work around school hours as a single parent. The practical realities are often overlooked in wider conversations about poverty. The practical realities are often overlooked in wider conversations about poverty. I am often told not to take these things personally. But when you are living within those conditions day after day, it can feel as though the environment itself is constantly working against your ability to move forward. That is part of why I began developing the [Four Visual Pillars: A Redefining of Food Insecurity](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.32605233?ref=scribehound.com) \- because food insecurity is rarely just about food. This is not about a lack of willingness to work. It is about whether the work available actually provides stability, dignity, and the conditions needed to live well, and for many people, it still does not. ## 9\. “Why don’t people just budget better or shop cheaper?” "In many estates, the nearest available food is also the most expensive." This assumes people have far more control over where and how they shop than they often do in reality. Budgeting and shopping cheaply rely on stability. They assume access to reliable transport, affordable supermarkets, storage space, functioning kitchens, time to plan meals, and enough money available at the right moment to bulk buy or shop ahead. But many families are navigating life far more reactively than that. From within what I describe as living experience, people are often checking balances daily, topping up emergency meters, working around unreliable buses, managing childcare, juggling insecure work, and responding to unexpected costs as they arise. What can look from the outside like poor budgeting is often people managing extremely limited options as carefully as they can. In many estates, the nearest available food is also the most expensive in the long term — small convenience shops dominated by ultra-processed foods, with limited access to affordable fresh produce. So even shopping “cheaply” is shaped by the environment people are living within. So this is not a lack of discipline or responsibility. It is often the result of people trying to navigate structurally difficult conditions with very little room for error. ## 10\. “If food banks exist, isn’t the system working?” "Food banks are not a solution. They are a response." Food banks are often presented as evidence that support is there when people need it. I have had to use a food bank myself, and more recently I have returned to food banks through my research and community work. But from within what I describe as living experience, food banks are not a solution. They are a response. They can provide important short-term relief, and many are run by incredibly caring people doing vital work within difficult circumstances. But they do not address the conditions that lead people to need them in the first place. Food banks tell us people are surviving. They do not tell us the system is working. There are also neighbours I know who would never use a food bank, even when they are struggling. For some, particularly older working-class residents, asking for that kind of help would feel like a deep personal failure. Others have a longstanding mistrust of formal systems of support and would rather go without than turn towards them. Food bank numbers tell us who is able or willing to access support; they do not tell us about everyone who is experiencing food insecurity. Much of the national conversation focuses on future crises: food shocks, supply chain disruption, resilience planning, or what might happen during national emergencies. But for many communities, that sense of crisis is already part of everyday life: empty fridges, emergency meters, poor housing, unreliable transport, and limited access to fresh food. For many people, crisis is not an exceptional event. It is the baseline condition they are expected to navigate. For many people growing up in my estate blocks, food insecurity is not a future risk - it is the starting point. So the presence of food banks does not demonstrate that the problem has been solved. In many ways, it reflects the opposite. ## To conclude, how did these questions make you feel? These questions matter, because they reveal how much distance still exists between perception and reality. I am trying to speak from places that are often overlooked: households with nothing in the fridge, flats running on emergency meters, estates where fresh food is difficult to access but flavours and ultra-processed options are everywhere, and communities navigating pressures that rarely appear in policy documents or public debate in their full complexity. In these environments, it is rarely one issue alone. Housing, food, fuel, transport, work, care, and health all interact. The pressures stack in ways that make it harder not only to get by, but to live well. It should not take a crisis, or even a war, to make food security a priority. But for many communities, that sense of crisis never really ended. COVID-19 did not create these conditions. In many places, it simply made visible realities that people had already been living within for years. That is where my work through Food is Care CIC begins: not from outside communities, but from within them. If this article does anything, I hope it helps make visible what is too often unseen. Not just about hunger, but the daily navigation of structurally unequal lives. The communities most affected by food insecurity should not simply be consulted after decisions are made. They should help shape how those decisions are made in the first place. For more information on Dominic's work, visit [foodiscare.org.uk](https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffoodiscare.org.uk%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cba578db8177c4801c5e608dec5775d37%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639165314257284990%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=jNEPevYzwe3ybhVcYN%2FowYHo5%2BmoSXmUDxmDx89Y%2BEQ%3D&reserved=0&ref=scribehound.com) He can also be found on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-watters?ref=scribehound.com) ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1780935962136-IMG_1220.jpeg) *Dominic takes questions from session chair, OFC Director and rural estate manager David Hill at the 2025 Oxford Farming Conference* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1780935922375-IMG_1284.jpeg) *Dominic addressing delegates at the 2025 Oxford Farming Conference* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1780937385550-20260328_131237.jpeg) *A meeting of minds, EA Sustain, March 2026* ### Keeping our cool URL: https://www.scribehound.com/keeping-our-cool/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:26.000Z We can't control the weather. We can change how we farm. Reflections on heat, drought, wildlife, wildfire, livestock and preparing for whatever comes next. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A Country Mile From Manchester URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-country-mile-from-manchester/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:26.000Z Could Andy Burnham's Manchersterism work in the countryside? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Demonised and Proud: My Life as a Hunted Hunter URL: https://www.scribehound.com/demonised-and-proud-my-life-as-a-hunted-hunter/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:27.000Z Is hunting truly the domain of 'sociopathic thugs,' or is this just another case of demonizing an entire community? Discover the reality behind the myths and meet the misunderstood tribe at the heart _This post is for subscribers only._ ### At The Top Of The Year URL: https://www.scribehound.com/at-the-top-of-the-year/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:27.000Z Today is the longest day. The shortest night. The top of the year. And the quiet insult of midsummer is that the light starts retreating the moment we arrive. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Dartmoor Pony-gate: a very British Crisis URL: https://www.scribehound.com/dartmoor-pony-gate-a-very-british-crisis/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:27.000Z What the row over Dartmoor Ponies really says about modern Britain _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Lyme disease: the horror URL: https://www.scribehound.com/lyme-disease-the-horror/ Last updated: 2026-08-05T10:02:11.000Z Antibiotics are meant to cure Lyme disease but what happens when they don't? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Pursuing waders in Persia URL: https://www.scribehound.com/pursuing-waders-in-persia/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:28.000Z 21 years ago, I led a group (fully armed) to Iran to shoot snipe and woodcock _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Beyond the Hounds: How a ban on trail hunting will impact rural life URL: https://www.scribehound.com/beyond-the-hounds-how-a-ban-on-trail-hunting-will-impact-rural-life/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:28.000Z Think a trail hunting ban only affects hunts? Far from it; it could unravel rural economies, destroy traditions, and impact everything from local pubs to racing. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why County Shows Still Capture Britain’s Rural Heart URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-county-shows-still-capture-britains-rural-heart/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:29.000Z From 18th-century innovation to modern marvel, find out why attending a county show is the ultimate way to experience British food, farming, and fun first hand. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Creating a Swift City URL: https://www.scribehound.com/creating-a-swift-city/ Last updated: 2026-08-09T09:25:28.000Z Sometimes, you just need to ignore the wider world and get on with it. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Return to Tarzan's Pool URL: https://www.scribehound.com/return-to-tarzans-pool/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:30.000Z ## Who wants to be a river keeper? How or why did I become a river keeper? Something I have asked myself, particularly why, almost continually for the last forty years. I grew up on the Lower Testwood marshes alongside the river and my Dad always said that mum had found me on the banks under some purple comfrey so until I was about ten years old I thought I’d actually come out of the river. At Testwood secondary school in 1979, whilst my mates were trying to figure out Pink Floyd I was wondering why ranunculus wouldn’t grow in deep water. As you might suspect, I didn’t have many girlfriends. My life was the river. It all began when my Grandad gave me a book that his father had given him, The Gentle Art Of Tramping by Stephen Graham written in 1927\. I read it cover to cover a dozen times and one particular paragraph mesmerised me; *" The river, which, clear and innocent, finds the easiest and most charming way from birth to eternity. We were born on an invisible river which keeps gliding and singing and filling and flowing. We do not know where we go but we know we are on the stream. We do not always perceive the movement, but we observe that the landscape has changed."* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1778689828047-PHOTO-2026-05-13-15-27-22.jpeg) *River Test. From source on the Wessex Downs....* ## I've always been damp....and musty For most of my life I have been at the very least... damp. I’ve never fully dried out since first tumbling into the sparkling forest pools near my home more than fifty years ago as a young lad. It was a total wonder to me that the tiny brook I played in flowed to a bigger stream and then into a river and on to the estuary and finally the oceans of the world. A direct connection to everything, a message in the bottle type arrangement and I thought I could travel around the world and back just by floating down my little forest brook and more than once made myself a raft from willow and reed to do just that. I currently work on the top of the Test at Whitchurch and have been here about 17 years. Before that I was forty miles downstream at Nursling for about 13 years, but I began my career on the queen of the chalk streams, the Itchen at Martyr Worthy with Ron Holloway for 10 years. I was born and bred on the Test at Testwood and spent my entire childhood on the river both helping, hindering, and often running from, river keepers. I was born to be one. Easier to chase than be chased, or so I thought. Many say the Test is the most fabled trout stream of all mired in traditional tales, endless writings and an exalted, exaggerated mystery. To me? The river I jumped in as a kid, worked in as a man, consistently defended like a jealous boyfriend and finally look after and protect like an elderly parent. Not all the ancient old ways are good nor mystery glorious and as a river keeper with chalk stream water running through my veins, perhaps I have a slight guilt about not challenging damaging tradition and exposing these flaws and concerns a little more robustly. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1778689899296-Screenshot_2022-11-10_at_16.11.14.jpeg) *.....to sea.* ## The legendary Mr.Foot So, this short story and film clip is hopefully going to explain something I finally managed to do after many years of thinking about it and was really brought on by the death of my great friend and river keeping mentor, the legendary Vic Foot, himself a Test keeper for 56 years. Together we fished on many Test stretches from the very top to the very bottom and at times Vic would say that we must have seen every beat on the river. It both intrigued yet slightly bothered me, that even after us spending a lifetime living and working on the Test we hadn’t seen but a tiny percentage of it. His death aged 93 or 94, he never was sure of his birth date, prompted me to embark on a charity walk from the source to the sea following as closely as possible to the riverbanks, something that I wrongly assumed would be relatively easy and subsequently underestimated every single requirement. I would walk in waist waders so I could go under as many bridges as possible and stick to the course of the river. It would take about five days and I would sleep in fishing huts each evening. A journey from beginning to end, top to bottom, back to my childhood playground at Testwood and in particular a magical place where I learnt the beauty of moving chalk stream water called Tarzan’s Pool which was about halfway between my birthplace of Testwood, and Nursling where myself and Vic worked. ## Tarzan's Pool The pool was officially called The Wirehouse Hatches and had formed immediately downstream of some ancient sluice gates no longer in use. The deepest part of the pool was probably about ten feet deep and where most of the action took place. Huge willow trees and alders with a fringing of yellow iris and kingcups lead onto lush grassy banks which surrounded the crystal-clear water and made a scene that any celebrity garden designer could only have dreamt of. This was the ultimate in natural swimming pools and we always expected to see Johnny Weissmuller swan dive out of one of the great alders with a knife clamped between his teeth and so it became affectionately known as ‘Tarzan's pool’ and every launch into it was accompanied by a screaming version of his signature tune. The mere mention of Johnny Weismuller gives away how many years ago that we're talking and there's no doubting I’m a keeper who’s beginning to feel my age, perhaps wondering if an amble down something so important to me might help explain what I’ve been doing for the last sixty years? As my wife kindly pointed out - I was remembering my great mate Vic, raising money for a quite incredible charity but also......undoubtedly having a late life crisis. As the crow flies I had about forty-five miles to walk to the sea and being an expert on the way rivers work and knowing that the Test falls about three hundred feet, I was confident I’d be walking mostly downhill. What people won't understand is that whilst the main Test is less than fifty miles long, there are actually hundreds of miles of tributaries, connecting streams, side streams and carriers. Bogs, sedge and reed beds stretching for many miles across ancient water meadows and flood plains. I had a rucksack containing a sleeping bag, toothbrush, notepad, pen and spare socks and was wearing a Naomi House tee shirt in case I got shouted at. I know all of the keepers and would ask permission from the many large estates, riparian owners, mill owners, private owners and fishing syndicates. I could call in a few favours, liaise with the Test and Itchen Association, document my walk, sleep in fishing huts, do something that might not have been done before and raise money for a children’s hospice itself very near to the Dever, a Test tributary. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1778592604964-IMG_5067.jpeg) *What could possibly go wrong?* One of the first things I did was talk with the Test and Itchen director and we came up with a rough idea of where I’d go and whose land I would need to walk through. It quickly became apparent that there was a lot more planning required than initially thought and I ended up with a list of over eighty people that I needed permission from and my initial thoughts of sauntering down a single mown path alongside a babbling chalk stream was as far from reality as could be. ## A face for radio The next change in plans came when I explained my idea to a couple whose house backs onto my beat in Whitchurch, Jane and Andy Fenning. Turns out Jane was a BBC TV director for over thirty years, and she asked how I was going to record my walk, insisting that I would regret not somehow filming it. My only plan was to take a selfie with all the keepers! The Test is possibly the most private river in the world and people’s privacy was utmost in my thoughts with the idea of being followed by a camera team was impossible besides, according to my wife, I have a face for radio and a voice for writing. After much discussion with my boss, advice and casual threats carefully listened to, I was fitted with a permanently running GoPro camera, carried a 360 camera on a stick which I could keep in my pocket and use when required, and would be filmed occasionally by a drone and cameras off bridges and public land etc. This involved the fourth member of the team, BBC cameraman Steve Shearn. My grandchildren refer to me as a ‘Techno Peasant’ so expertise in the filming department was vitally important and Steve supplied, fitted, and attempted to teach me how to use it all. Important to say that this wasn’t just a voyeuristic project being nosey (well, a bit nosey), but being a keeper walking down my river, in memory of another keeper whilst raising money for Naomi House definitely gave me the high ground when it came to authenticity and allowed me access to some very special places. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1778680788232-IMG_5020.jpeg) *The most private river of them all?* I was also asked to give something of a running commentary of my adventure so on this walk I had to remind myself to immediately say what I thought rather than thinking first. That has got me in a whole heap of trouble for much of my life. Another requirement was timing. Obviously couldn’t walk after the fishing had started so first week of April was chosen and cold fishing huts it was. In hindsight, as much as it would be great to see the river in all its summer glory, and warmth, I would have really struggled to get through the reed beds and sedges. The keepers took pity on the old boy, and huts were always warm and welcoming. Nobody really knew how long it was going to take to walk through various beats so planning where I would be at the end of each day was an educated guess although did actually work out uncannily well. Most keepers said they’d like to walk their beats with me and were happy to pass me on like a relay baton to the next keeper downstream. ## Continually lost Walking the entire river is not as straightforward as you’d think. I had to cross it many times, walk through meadows, under bridges, down carriers and tributaries and I got lost most days down the myriad of different connecting streams, dead ends etc. Keepers' ability to give directions on their own beats haven’t changed in a hundred years and boy, did I get lost! I remember Vic Foot telling a fisherman how to get back to Romsey from Nursling; ‘*go down there a way until you get to where my uncle used to live and turn towards Fred Shuttler’s place next to the old school, which isn’t there anymore.’* Before this particular walk, I asked Phil Parker about getting through the Bossington and Pittleworth beats. ‘*Yeah Donny easy, you’ll have to walk down the top bank of the western arm as far south as that little copse we roost shoot pigeons and cross to the eastern arm and on down to brother Nick’s.’* Some things never change. The river is magnificent and amazingly diverse from beat to beat especially as you get further downstream. I was tired of the number of times I said how wonderful it was. It’s immense and nothing like how the average general public would think and it was an absolute joy to be able to walk its banks and meet all the keepers. I remember so well when I was a kid and my Dad saying, *‘how young the policemen are nowadays.’* Every beat I walked through, apart from one or two notable exceptions, I kept repeating to myself how young river keepers are nowadays. With regard the keepers - and I’m ridiculously biased of course - but this is what I wrote of them: > "I’ve recognised every bit of anxiety and worry in their eyes. I’ve seen their triumphs and I’ve seen their tragedies and it’s been a total privilege to have walked their beats with them. This glorious river is as much about the keepers as anything else and its very future is entirely dependant on their passion, on their fight, and of their toil." Honorary life membership of the Hampshire River Keepers' Association right there. As much as I’ll always support keepers, that’s not to say that nowadays, as one of the older keepers, I won’t call them out on things I don’t like or agree with and there’s no doubting some river keeping practices which I’ve seen over the last forty years haven’t been particularly good for the river, but my walk most definitely highlighted a positive, youth driven, ongoing change for the good. Of course the river has its own problems, and we all know what they are and mostly who causes them however, I haven’t really gone too much into that other than a gritted-teeth mention here or there of my beloved water company, Southern Water, and of those tasked with monitoring the destruction caused by Southern Water, the Environment Agency and Natural England, known by river keepers as The Easy Life Agency and Un-natural England, and actually, Southern Water are rarely referred to by their real name! ## Retaliatory shit will not flow upstream I did comment a lot, almost non-stop, on the superb work being done on many of the beats. River restoration projects are mostly brilliant, re-wilding (whatever that means, rewild to what, to when?) But fallen trees left in etc. I saw the general change in the way we manage these chalk streams that has taken place over the last twenty plus years or so of which I’ve always been a great supporter. That’s not to say it’s all been perfect, still not an entirely holistic acceptance and lessons have been learned by failure as well as success. Any work done on a certain beat will obviously have consequences for your neighbours, particularly those downstream, and not always in an agreeable way. A lesson I always gave to fishery students and underkeepers was to prioritise your relationship with him upstream over him downstream. No matter how many times you try, and god I’ve tried, you cannot get any retaliatory shit to flow upstream. Now this is a ten-minute clip, from over seventy hours of tape of the walk to give a taste of what I was up to. It contains a small, in more ways than one, amount of casual nudity and unnecessary profanity but, I’m a Hampshire riverkeeper and that comes with the job. I owe a huge amount of thanks to all the keepers who looked after me so well and all the owners who allowed me to walk through their beats. The T&I who were so supportive and helpful and to Tufton, Wherwell, Kimbridge and Broadlands for letting me sleep in their huts and most importantly to Jane Fenning who never let me rest and Andy Fenning who made the best cheese and marmite sandwiches ever. This walk meant the world to me. Not exactly climbing Everest and it wasn’t a test of fitness, strength or stamina but it certainly was an unexpected test of emotion and understanding and I loved every minute of it. I think to have a record of the walk on film could well be useful in our fight with the wretched water companies in years to come and I also enjoyed writing the adventure as a book - publisher anyone? However, the most humbling thing of all? My subsequent invitation to The Naomi House Children’s Hospice because they wanted to thank everyone involved in this walk and of the great amount of money we raised, very nearly £17K, and me realising that the majority of poorly kids there were about the same age as me and my mates when we were jumping into Tarzan’s Pool more than fifty years ago. It truly was a Test of character, both mine and the river's. ### Forward-to-the-Land URL: https://www.scribehound.com/forward-to-the-land/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:25:49.000Z How a progressive ruralist movement rejected the plough (and completely failed) _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The value of wisdom and experience URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-value-of-wisdom-and-experience/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:30.000Z Want to know why real expertise can't be Googled? Read about the rare wisdom and inspiring stories of four old-school naturalists still protecting Britain’s wild spaces. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Deathbed Curlew URL: https://www.scribehound.com/deathbed-curlew/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:30.000Z Often understanding the dynamics of a conflict can remove the fog of war. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Shooting a Cayman URL: https://www.scribehound.com/shooting-a-cayman/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:26:40.000Z Has conservation become too fond of saints? In the second of two Scribehound reflections on Attenborough's centenary, Patrick Laurie asks 'do we still have what it takes to produce his successor?' _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Celebrating Sir David Attenborough’s Century of Wonder URL: https://www.scribehound.com/celebrating-sir-david-attenboroughs-century-of-wonder/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:26:21.000Z Sir David Attenborough has been shining a light on the natural world for more than seven decades. In the first of two Scribehound reflections on his centenary, Adam Henson pays tribute to his legacy _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Meet Wales’ Rising Star: Bruce Vaughan's First Season URL: https://www.scribehound.com/meet-wales-rising-star-bruce-vaughans-first-season/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:31.000Z Bruce Vaughan is the latest talent to emerge from the Welsh pointing scene. Despite not having his first ride until the end of February, the 16-year-old – from Coity near Bridgend – has already had three winners, along with seven placings, from just 11 rides. Having got off the mark on Ringsend John at the start of the month, Vaughan enjoyed a dream end to the season at the weekend, winning on Designer Destiny – whom he trains himself at home – at Kingston Blount on Sunday, then on Ringsend John again at Chaddesley Corbett the next day *(pictured above - Alun Sedgmore)*. Nephew of licensed trainer Tim, cousin to top point-to-point rider Ed, and a pony racing graduate, he and his father William talked to *Jake Exelby* about how his background has helped him towards an impressive first season between the flags. **What do you do for a living?** I work for Christian Williams two days a week, ride out twice a week for Luke Price, and am resitting some exams outside school. **Talk me through your career in racing so far and how you got into point-to-pointing in the first place?** My parents, grandparents and great-grandparents always had horses and both my Dad and uncle rode in point-to-points. (Tim had over 100 winners, William just the one – on Tixall Boy at Garnons in 1990). I started riding aged two, then did pony club at four. I won my first gymkhana a month after my fourth birthday, then progressed to showjumping, then pony racing aged nine. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/b9cc013d-8afb-477e-843e-18130043de38.jpeg) *A reminder of Bruce's first gymkhana win - aged four!* My first racing pony was Emmie, my showjumper, then the first experienced one was Tealson Topic, whom I sold to (fellow first season rider) Dewi Haddock. We’ve been friends for years. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/2f77cbc7-9937-45e1-b211-01af8456adbc.jpeg) *Bruce and William after The Gentle Touch wins at Hexham* **You had a prolific pony racing career with over 40 winners. Tell me about some of the highlights.** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/8b319029-577f-4c7f-aad0-c2ad5b20d747.jpeg) *Bruce on the prolific Avalon Dancer* In 2021, I won 12 races – nine on The Gentle Touch – and we were champion horse-jockey combination. Then in 2022, I had 21 winners, nine on Avalon Dancer, seven on The Gentle Touch, and five on Zendaya, including the Racecourse Series Final at Cheltenham. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/357ce465-0eea-4459-bb8e-f0ed5ba95e4a.jpeg) *Celebrations after Zendaya wins at Cheltenham* I think we went to 42 meetings that year, in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and did over 30,000 miles. Other good ponies I rode were Gentle Dancer, Lady Moondancer, On The Line and Grey Crow II. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/d3340c56-b992-4c75-9eec-04d67ca78b2a.jpeg) *Bruce with four of his favourite ponies* *William:* Pony racing is really important in bringing jockeys forward. Bruce competed against the likes of Dewi Haddock and Lucas Murphy, and it brings them forward as jockeys. I rode for eight seasons and probably had about 50 rides. Bruce could have that many in a single year pony racing. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/0bddb2b4-d7bd-4abf-80dd-d49008722aa3.jpeg) *Bruce (green and white) pony racing against Lucas Murphy* **How did you manage to combine such a busy schedule with your studies?** It was hard, and definitely had an impact on school, because I was addicted to riding horses! It was hard to juggle sometimes, and I had tutors. **Why didn’t you ride in pony races last season?** I stopped when I was 15, because I was quite tall – I’m six foot now – and was getting too heavy. It was frustrating, but also benefited me, as I’d done so much travelling. Missing it helped me decide I wanted to ride in points. **How much of an influence and a help have your uncle Tim, aunt Abbi and cousin Ed been?** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/f9585b4b-8285-4fe0-b34d-9c572e77bbbd.jpeg) *Big influences - Tim, Abbi and Ed Vaughan (Carl Evans)* I’ve been riding for Tim since I was ten and have learnt a lot from him about how to handle racehorses – they’re crazier than other horses! Ed’s helped me through the process of getting ready for a race and Tim has supplied us with both my mounts – I couldn’t have asked for better ones. **Talk me through your first ride, on Designer Destiny at Kingston Blount in February.** It was the best I could have asked for – we finished fourth, and it was all down to her. She’s simple, knows her job well, and I can put my trust in her, which is a great confidence booster. **And your first win, on Ringsend John at Eyton-on-Severn.** It was immense! I had 46 pony race winners, so was looking forward to my first over jumps. Ringsend John is a nice, laid-back horse with lots of ability, and his front-running style has taught me how to pace a race. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/e12eaacc-27a2-4c60-9e51-edfc5d297aa0.jpeg) *Bruce on the way to his first winner - Ringsend John at Eyton-on Severn (Marilyn Sweet)* **What did it feel like last weekend, with wins on both your horses?** It was great to win on both, particularly to finally win with Designer Destiny – she deserved it, as she’s so consistent. It was overwhelming to have two winners. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/a8279f64-8a63-45ea-8182-4d178ceac0ad.jpeg) *Bruce and Designer Destiny win at a verdant Kingston Blount (Neale Blackburn)* At Chaddesley Corbett on Monday, to beat top novices like Lucas Murphy, Fred Philipson-Stow and Jack Stenhouse felt brilliant. It showed I can ride as well as them and gives me more confidence. **You train Designer Destiny at home, but Ringsend John is with Luke Price. What is the reason for that?** Luke trained Ringsend John for Tim before. He thrived there, so why change something that worked? We had capacity at home, so train Designer Destiny ourselves. We’ve also got two maidens – Gallant Warrior, who was placed in bumpers at Maisemore Park and Lower Machen, and Lady Anwyn. **You’ve had a great first season. What were your hopes before it started?** My ambition was just to try and get as much experience as I could, and I’d have been happy with one winner. So, from starting in late February to having three wins from 11 rides was better than I expected. I feel I’ve progressed well. **You’re friends with Dewi Haddock and Jimmy Munro, who’ve also had good debut seasons. Do you have a rivalry as to who is going to do best?** Not really, no – we’re quite supportive of each other as it’s a big step up from what we did before. Dewi and I pony raced together, and Jimmy was more into trotting. Maybe there will be more of a rivalry next season! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/89d366a6-020d-4363-a0ea-57e255fc7e97.jpeg) *Dewi Haddock is a long-time friend of Bruce's (Alun Sedgmore)* **You, Dewi and Jimmy are the latest in a long line of promising young Welsh jockeys. Why do you think Welsh pointing has produced so much talent?** I feel that the Welsh boys love to work hard. We’ve got smaller budgets, so can’t compete financially, so we’ve had to learn to work hard. Then, when we have the same ammunition, we rise above the opposition. *William:* (as I reel off a list of names who’ve been national champions and/or gone on to professional success) Don’t forget Dai Jones. And Tim – you’ve got to mention Tim! **Which other jockeys do you admire?** James King, a five-time champion, brilliant jockey and great inspiration. And Ed, obviously, as he’s my cousin! **Which horse (not one of your own mounts) would you most like to ride?** Lavorante. He’s been sensational again this season, leading horse with seven wins and four seconds. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/e3c1d5eb-2df2-4a3e-bb4a-57e573fad52f.jpeg) *James King and Lavorante - top jockey and horse for Bruce (Alun Sedgmore)* **What's your favourite course?** Kingston Blount. I’ve had three rides there and they’ve all won or been placed. **What are your plans for next season?** We’ve just bought two more horses at Doncaster Sales – Bold Opinion, who won a Maiden last time, and Samdegoda, who’s still a Maiden. So, potentially, I’ve got five or six horses to ride next season. My main aim is to get outside rides, as you can’t compete if you don’t ride for other people. If I can do that, I’d like to try and have a go at being leading novice. **What are your ambitions in pointing and racing?** Maybe to go professional one day, but I’ve still got a lot to learn, and I want to do at least two more years in points. I’m not sure if my weight will be an issue – I can do 10st10lbs no problem and could probably get lower. I’ve managed my weight quite well this year after struggling in pony racing and am taking it in my stride – I’m not walking along like Skeletor! **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** I’ll leave that one to Dad! *William:* To be honest, I think they’re doing a good job and are being quite innovative with the races. The sport’s changed since Covid and it would be lovely if things settle down, people have more disposable income, and we have more owner-trainer-riders again. **What would you be doing if you weren’t involved with horses?** I’ve always been involved with horses so that’s not something I’ve ever thought about! **What are your non-horsey hobbies?** I used to play rugby and tennis – I won quite a few tournaments. But from the age of 12, horses took over completely. ### Spring’s Wild Soundtrack and a Wedding in Galloway URL: https://www.scribehound.com/springs-wild-soundtrack-and-a-wedding-in-galloway/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:32.000Z From mysterious cow noises to floral perfection for a wedding, peek into the vibrant challenges and joys of spring in rural Galloway. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Bold Proposals for Britain’s Countryside URL: https://www.scribehound.com/bold-proposals-for-britains-countryside/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:26:59.000Z Scribehound Countryside contributors have some policy ideas for Wes, Andy et al... but will they take any of them on? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### It's ok to ask 'Are you ok?' URL: https://www.scribehound.com/its-ok-to-ask-are-you-ok/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:33.000Z In the past couple of years I’ve started talking publicly about poor mental health, causes of and consequences thereafter. Not out of choice particularly, but because I talk to a lot of people in my day-to-day life and there is a definite problem there. My own experiences in recent times have hardly been a bed of roses. If talking about it helps highlight the issues, then so be it, I’ll do my best. None of this is news. We all know there’s a real problem – the biggest problem to face the whole country, not just the rural part of it – and we all know some of the causes; financial, isolation, government policy to name but three. I have talked extensively about these problems and my experiences before. If you’re interested in that, look for the Royal Forestry Society’s ‘Gone Foresting’ podcast. Fair warning, it isn’t an easy listen. This piece, however, is not about that. It is about something I find equally troublesome but probably doesn’t get talked about enough. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1779802822674-Ness_Spaniel.jpeg) *Wet spaniel wrangling courtesy of Vanessa Payne* Feeling ‘Meh’ I think maybe most people understand what ‘Feeling Meh’ means even if it’s difficult to put into words. It’s that sort of down-in-the-dumps, lethargic, can’t be bothered with life feeling you get sometimes. There’s not always something you can point to as a cause, sometimes you just wake up a bit ‘meh’. I have a personal theory that feeling meh (can't be bothered with the air quotes now) is a gateway mood to darker moods. In and of itself it probably won’t harm you and who doesn’t need a cathartic strop now and again? But left unchecked, if you get too many of them or it rolls into a never-ending THING, maybe it starts to become more of a problem. Maybe that’s one of the ways poor mental health starts? As I say, a personal thought and I offer no scientific evidence to support it. Logical though. But before you start feeling meh from reading all that I have solutions! Humour ‘Funny stuff lifts mood!’ Good God no! Could be a headline statement from the ‘Ministry of the Bleeding Obvious’, but it is pretty important because it really works. Humour is a distraction from the problems of life. Everything looks better through tears of laughter and the inability to breathe properly. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1779803532428-Negus_and_Callum.jpeg) *They love the camera, but it's not clear if the camera loves them. Courtesy of Richard Negus and Callum McInerney* Humour between friends takes many forms, but I am particularly fond of the art form that is gentle piss-taking. I take as much pleasure out of a well thought out piss-take directed at me as I do from delivering such a coup de grace myself. An example from my business partner and friend of 35 years. I have a tattoo of a Japanese dragon. It is very good, I like it a lot and dragons are cool. Mark, on seeing it for the first time, asked why I got the flying dog from the Neverending Story tattooed on my forearm. It is a joke he is reluctant to let go of; during discussions over what we’re going to do that day, he will often ask what does Falkor think? It is quite funny and Mark is a funny guy who very often comes out with stuff like this. When it’s a hard day, if it’s hammering down with rain or we’re miles behind, it does help raise the mood. I like to think I give as good as I get, but possibly those are stories that only have significance to a small group of people so I won’t tell them here. Some are probably not repeatable in any case…. All this though is a bit of preamble before I get to what the point of this piece is…. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1779802983711-Beth_'Oss.jpeg) *Fine looking 'oss courtesy of Beth Griffiths* Are You Ok? Three little words but they might be worth asking. We all have busy lives, our own worries and things to think about. It’s so hard to take five minutes out to do anything, let alone send a random message just for the sake of it. But if nothing else it’s nice to be nice isn’t it? I have a couple of little stories to illustrate my point which, for obvious reasons, I’ll keep anonymous and vague. The first is someone who I haven’t known for a long time but I definitely count as a friend. Not so long ago, a group of us were chitty chatting away and as the conversation went along I thought to myself something’s not quite right here, they seem a bit off. I must admit I hesitated a bit; as I’ve said I haven’t known this person for long. Do I ask if things are alright? Is it my place to do so? Have I misjudged this? Is asking it a bit *weird*? But what’s the worst thing that can happen? So I sent a message later that day; “Are you ok, you seemed a bit off earlier?’ Turns out no, not ok. We had a little chat about it and by the end they felt a little bit better about the situation they found themselves in. I can’t say I offered any useful advice or a solution but I did listen and listening is a really important part of a conversation like this. The odd thing is…. I felt better for doing it. Really good actually because I did judge it right and it wasn’t weird. And the question was reciprocated, so that little conversation was beneficial for both of us. ‘Are you Ok?’ can be a two-way street. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1779803070763-Alisa_Dart.jpeg) *Very nice car courtesy of Alisa Allison* My second story is of a friend who went through something pretty nasty that I have had previous experience of. No hesitation this time, I knew what they would be going through and I know I needed help when I went through it. So the message was ‘I know you’re not ok, but I’ve been there and I can help if you need it. Let me know.’ The offer was taken up and I know it meant a lot. I’m not trying to portray myself as a hero mind, although I am dashing and handsome. I’m just saying that it’s ok to ask ‘Are you ok?’. It might be all that person needed. Even if you don’t suspect there’s something amiss, it doesn’t harm to connect. Human beings are social creatures (even those of us that hide in the woods) and knowing someone else is around is reassuring. Why am I writing about this? I am not ok. I will never be 100%. I don’t think it’s something that can be ‘cured’ fully, or at least not in my case (no two people are the same). However, I have made my peace with it. I have had my share of dark days and dark thoughts and I think the worst of it is behind me. It is an inevitability that I shall struggle again at some point in the future, but what I have now is three or four people who will phone or message just to check in once in a while, even if they don’t suspect there’s anything wrong. And that is enough. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1779803179152-Wavy_Windermere.jpeg) *A happy place courtesy of Laura McArthur* A note on the photos. Mental health is a difficult and sensitive topic, certainly not an easy one to write about. I’ve found that one of the things that helps me is trying to find something to be positive about no matter the subject, so I asked Countryslide patrons to send me some photos for this article of something that makes them happy, or smile, or a fond memory. Thanks to Laura McArthur, Alisa Allison, Beth Griffiths, Vanessa Payne and Matt Biddle (cover photo of Torrington, Devon) for those. And Richard and Callum too, if only because that photo made me laugh like a drain! ### A Vet’s Anxious Joy: Witnessing Calving on My Farm URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-vets-anxious-joy-witnessing-calving-on-my-farm/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:33.000Z Experience the highs, surprises, and anxious moments of calving season through the eyes of a vet learning to trust nature on her own farm—click for an authentic slice of rural life. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Rural Britain is Best Understood Through a Train Window URL: https://www.scribehound.com/rural-britain-is-best-understood-through-a-train-window/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:03.000Z Britain is best seen by train: not as a postcard, but in passing slices of limestone, reservoirs, barley, sidings, suburbs, back gardens and steel bones of tomorrow. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A fine bit of casting URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-fine-bit-of-casting/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:04:57.000Z A new documentary on land access has brought an old face back to our TV screens and the countryside isn't happy _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Ten Wins, Countless Setbacks: Fionn Summers’ Gritty Story URL: https://www.scribehound.com/ten-wins-countless-setbacks-fionn-summers-gritty-story/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:34.000Z 28-year-old Fionn Summers continues to progress through the pointing ranks, having ridden his tenth career winner on Riskamatriark at Upcott Cross *(pictured above after the race - Tim Holt)* earlier this month. Summers, originally from County Waterford in Ireland but now based near Minehead, has established plenty of connections since he moved across the water, and enjoyed his first success under rules in 2021\. However, it took him nearly 100 rides to get off the mark between the flags, and he took time out from helping build a swimming pool – he is a groundworks contractor when not riding horses – to explain to *Jake Exelby* why injury has held him back, and the ups and downs of being a freelance. **Talk me through your career in racing so far and how you got into point-to-pointing in the first place?** I grew up in the countryside, near Villierstown. Mum and Dad weren’t horsey – they were journalists and non-fiction authors who have co-written Gold Dagger-winning and Pulitzer Prize-shortlisted books. A neighbour was a Master of Foxhounds, and she taught me to ride ponies when I was five or six. I started hunting, then got a 24-year-old retired eventer. He wasn’t straightforward but taught me a lot. I started showjumping, then producing hunt horses. My first job in racing was for Patrick Crowley, and I’d go to Charlie Swan’s in the summer holidays. I got my amateur licence and had two rides in point-to-points in Ireland, at Lingstown and Bartlemy. **What made you decide to come to England?** Mikey Hamill, a neighbour of mine who was riding as a conditional at the time, came home for the summer and said there was a job working as an amateur for Kim Bailey. I told Mum and Dad that I’d be back to take up a place studying Equine Business at Maynooth University but – ten years later – I’m still here. I knew university wasn’t for me. I had one ride in my first season, at Maisemore Park, but got concussed. **How did your career develop?** I went to Tom Lacey’s, where I spent six months, then went to Devon to work for Richard Woollacott, just two weeks before he died. I stayed with (Woollacott’s wife) Kayley for two years and it was her who got me riding consistently in points. I’d dislocated my left shoulder over 100 times (!) then had a fall at Bratton Down. I’d broken my rotator cuff, but didn’t know, so kept riding for a couple of months, then had surgery, which kept me out for the 2018/2019 season. When I came back, Kayley was moving to Chard, so I went to Nicky Martin’s, where I spent two years and really got going pointing. I may not have been on the best calibre of horse, but I was riding for some really genuine people. **Your first win was Catchin Time for Laura Hurley at 125/1, just as amateurs were being allowed to ride again after Covid. Tell me about that day.** Laura’s always been a big supporter – I ended up riding a lot of hers, both in points and under rules. Catchin Time was 13, Laura’s second string, and I had to get down to 9st7lb. I felt like the winner turning for home – it was so easy that I thought we had another circuit to go. The same horse had been Laura’s previous winner, over four years before! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/dfdf545d-fba7-4544-95b9-c88d16647dec.jpeg) *Fionn in close-up action on his first winner - Catchin Time at Wincanton* **I know you’re freelance. How have you developed your connections in racing and pointing, in particular with the likes of Jane Williams and Stuart Sampson?** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/da5e0e6d-b96c-4e5d-bb93-589f2d94d580.jpeg) *In the winners enclosure with Romancero Le Dun at Exeter* I spent a year with Paul Nicholls – how can you not learn, working with the likes of Harry Cobden and Bryony Frost? When I was there, I met Chester Williams, who was stopping riding, and he and his Mum Jane were looking for a 7lb claimer. So, I worked for Jane as an amateur for two years, and she was very good to me – I had plenty of rides on nice horses and rode in cross-country races in Italy, which was one of the best experiences of my life. I won on Romancero Le Dun for her at Exeter and Galice Macalo at Leicester. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/14ce62dc-4b44-43eb-aa8d-c45951d8919e.jpeg) *Fionn winning on Galice Macalo at Leicester* However, I then fell at Sedgefield riding Galice Macalo again. My left shoulder had been pinned, and I dislocated the right one. I had to have another operation and was out for nine months, just as things were starting to come together and I was riding more under rules than in points. I didn’t know what to do after that. I no longer had a job with Jane. I considered turning conditional, but didn’t think I’d have enough support, so decided to stay amateur and go freelance. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/17a9073d-eede-499c-988e-9723ec36cab3.jpeg) *Have saddle, will travel - Fionn schooling as a freelance* I started riding out for Stuart, who’s always been one of the best trainers in the West Country, which really increased the quality of horse I was riding. That got me more opportunities, rides and winners. I go to his three days a week and now ride most of his pointers. **You had – I think – 96 rides between the flags before your first P2P winner. Was there a time when you thought it wouldn’t come?** Pretty much every single weekend before my first winner, I’d drive home thinking, ‘Why am I doing this? Are the financial and physical strain worth it?’ If you’re not on the right horses, you’re not going to win. Pointing’s becoming increasingly competitive, it’s harder to get spare rides, and there are a small number of big yards who are in a different league. **What were your emotions when you won on Off The Press at Charlton Horethorne?** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/05e858bd-dd97-4dff-988e-c224c59a8211.jpeg) *Fionn en route to victory on Off The Press (Tim Holt)* Firstly, a sense of relief. I’d spent so long banging my head against a wall and finally drove home with a smile on my face. I knew I could ride – I’d had winners under rules – and it felt well-deserved. We won against horses from big yards, Stuart can train as well as anyone and I was delighted to win for him and repay his loyalty. He and I do this because we love it and are appreciative when it pays off. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/6cf74a18-753d-4fba-8fe5-246ee6bbe88d.jpeg) *Celebrations after Off The Press wins* **How did you get to ride Riskamatriark for Charlotte Leary?** I picked up a spare ride for her on Makety, an honest mare who always tries then – when Martin McIntyre got injured, I got my foot in the door to sit on her maidens. Seven out of my last eight rides for her have won or been placed and Riskamatriark’s a nice horse. He won his Maiden by a small margin, and we’d have been pleased to be placed at Upcott Cross in a competitive Restricted, but he jumped and travelled well and won convincingly. I think he can win an Intermediate next season. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/5de5f0a5-b022-4771-a3d6-be714f0f8066.jpeg) *Fionn winning on Riskamatriark at Upcott Cross (Tim Holt)* **Which horse (not one of your own mounts) would you most like to ride?** Anything in an Open! I don’t get many rides in them (he’s ridden in just two from nearly 50 mounts this year). Most of my rides are in Maidens and Restricteds – I don’t get many in Novice Riders races either (just one in the past two seasons). I think that’s partly why it’s taken me so long to have winners, but I’ve always enjoyed the education side, riding three- and four-year-olds that might progress. **Which other jockeys do you admire?** Growing up, Paul Carberry, Ruby Walsh and A P McCoy. Now, under rules, Harry Cobden is so stylish over fences and so quiet, doing a lot without looking like he is, and Sean Bowen is so strong in a finish. In points, nobody’s done it better than Will Biddick, Fly (Martin McIntyre) has taught me a lot and been a good friend, and if you follow Josh Newman, you won’t be too far off the pace! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/a6203209-9524-47f8-ba7a-b7629c83a858.jpeg) *Martin McIntyre - teacher and friend* **What's your favourite course?** I’ve never had success there, but Buckfastleigh is a great course when they get raceable ground. Milborne St Andrew is a good test, as you have to jump and travel well, Charlton Horethorne is a good track, and I’ve had some great days down at Trebudannon, which is a lovely place. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/872038fb-d490-47d8-8c31-3555d1426e3f.jpeg) Racing on heavy ground at Buckfastleigh (Tim Holt) What are your ambitions in pointing and racing? If you put a gun to my head, I’d say to win the Foxhunters at Aintree but, realistically, just to ride as many winners as I can, get on good horses, and be known as a good jockey. I’d also like to race more abroad, particularly in France and America – my Mum’s American, so I have a US passport. What would you do if you were in charge of the sport? I’d bring the start of the season forward to October and finish at the start of May. The way the climate is changing, we only have a few meetings on good ground, then you get heavy ground for two or three months, followed by three to four weeks of genuine ground when it dries. Then it firms up, and people often don’t want to run horses on that ground, even if it’s watered. 25-30 runners doesn’t justify having a meeting, which is why I’d finish earlier and have more autumn fixtures on good ground. What would you be doing if you weren’t involved with horses? As a child, I wanted to be a vet, but a lack of interest at school curtailed that ambition! I cooked competitively in Ireland, and might have gone down a culinary route - my signature dish is a pheasant arrabbiata (!) - but have had to balance my love of food with doing 9st7lb under rules! Is there anything else you’d like to say? ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/fd883857-e628-4a5f-a2a9-ade26aca002d.jpeg) Fionn after winning on Cockspur Balla for Rebecca Vanstone I really appreciate everyone who’s supported me to this stage. As well as those I’ve already mentioned, there are other small trainers like Rebecca Vanstone – I rode Cockspur Balla, her first winner – Gordon Chambers and Roy Smith. I won on Dancing Du Moulin for Roy and on Peacocks Secret for Gordon. I was first or second on all my four rides on him. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/167c5054-f280-4ce4-af2e-c5d642cb753d.jpeg) Fionn scoring on Peacocks Secret at Cherrybrook Fionn Summers is sponsored by [Dig Devon](https://digdevon.co.uk/?ref=scribehound.com) this season. ### Epistemicide, Ethnocide, Ecocide—Who’s Silenced in the Countryside? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/epistemicide-ethnocide-ecocide-whos-silenced-in-the-countryside/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:34.000Z Unpack a hidden crisis: environmental injustice in the uplands is not just about nature, but about whose history and expertise survive—see which ‘cide’ is shaping your countryside’s future. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A Hunting State of Mind URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-hunting-state-of-mind/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:35.000Z Humans can't help hunting and feasting. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Dark Art of Rural Nicknames URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-dark-art-of-rural-nicknames/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:35.000Z Why are the names we have for other people so often something we would rather they didn't hear? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Emma Freeman's Emotional Return: Victory After Two Years Away URL: https://www.scribehound.com/emma-freemans-emotional-return-victory-after-two-years-away/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:35.000Z Emma Freeman *(pictured above after her win - Tim Holt)* rode her second winner at South Hill last Sunday on All Rise Malone, over four years after her first… and almost two years to the day since her last ride. She talked to *Jake Exelby* afterwards about the ups and downs of her point-to-point career with previous mounts Perpignan and Right Of Reply, how she always planned to come back after a break, and why her two winners should actually be three! **How old are you, where are you from, and where are you based now?** I’m 30, from Suffolk originally, and now live near Wincanton. **I know you don’t work with horses. What do you do for a living?** I’m a key account manager. It’s a sales role. **Talk me through your career with horses so far and how you got into point-to-pointing in the first place?** I’ve been riding as long as I can remember – Mum plonked me on a pony before I could walk. Apart from going to our local point-to-point at Higham and the Grand National, I had no interest in racing – I hunted and evented. My grandad, Peter Dixon Smith, had been a point-to-point rider in East Anglia and had horses with Caroline Bailey. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/b8b4f2a7-3dd5-497f-94a0-a065ff723bde.jpeg) *Emma out hunting on Right Of Reply* **You were quite a late starter, not having your first ride until your twenties. Why didn’t you race-ride earlier and what made you decide to do so?** I went to work in a yard in America for a year and, when I came back, I was due to work for an eventing yard in Staffordshire. Before that, I rode out for Caroline Fryer, who said she thought I was good enough to race-ride. I fell out of love with eventing, went travelling to Australia and – when I came back – randomly decided to start point-to-pointing the season after Covid. I was looking for jobs, had friends who rode out at Newmarket, and went for an interview with Hicks & Brown, the company owned by Ed Turner’s wife Rosie. It was after that that Andrew Pennock helped me find Perpignan. **Tell me about your first season, riding Perpignan.** On my first ride, at Dingley, I missed the start and cantered round then second time out, I got to the front too quickly. By the time of my fourth ride at Garthorpe, James Owen – who trained Perpignan – told me to get to the front and stay there, so I did! I won the race, but the judge placed me second. It was the best experience, but gutting at the same time, as everybody told me I’d won. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/3a078a3e-34f1-43c8-8a2c-e46cdb9f7219.jpeg) *Do you think Emma (far side) won this race?* It was a strange season, with fixtures running without crowds, but with live streaming, which is why I knew I’d won. **What about your second season with Perpignan and Right Of Reply, leading up to your first win on the former at Fakenham?** I told James I wanted a second horse, and he had Right Of Reply as a schoolmaster, but I only had one proper ride on him, as I fell off him early on our second start, then he went wrong. Perpignan was tough and game – no world-beater, but great to learn on. We went to Horseheath and I fell off at the second and had lost my confidence after two unseats. So, I was quite nervous at Ampton, but we plugged through the mud to finish second, which gave me back my confidence. **Talk me through that day.** Perpignan ran poorly at Garthorpe but at Fakenham, where James had two runners, he told Connor Baker (Owen’s other jockey), he’d be in big trouble if he came past me, so I knew he was gearing me up to win the race. I remember him screaming at me to keep kicking and we bolted up! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/fece4a2a-643f-4f4e-9667-8c0a5d0cc85c.jpeg) *Emma winning on Perpignan at Fakenham (Graham Bishop)* **You’ve had horses with several trainers, in East Anglia, the West Midlands, the South Midlands and now Wessex. Why is this?** The next season I moved to Newent in Gloucestershire, close to James Ridley’s. I liked the way he trained horses on grass and turned them out in the field, which suited Right Of Reply, as he’d been injured. James gave up at the end of my first season with him, then I lost Pablo (Perpignan) to colic on New Year’s Eve – a horrible way to start the year. I tried to train Right Of Reply myself, but with a full-time job, and the dark mornings, I couldn’t get him fit. I knew that Fran and Charlie Poste were good with young riders, but they were a long way from me, so I could only go there on Saturdays. Right Of Reply had been going well, and I thought we could win at Fakenham again, but I missed the start, which was frustrating. Then we were flying at Eyton-on-Severn – which was due to be his last race before retirement, but he did a leg and we pulled up. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/9ffacec8-e8ff-4289-8303-dfb32705dfa9.jpeg) *Emma on Right Of Reply* **Your win on All Rise Malone came nearly two years to the day since your last ride on Right Of Reply. Why did you not ride last season and what made you decide to come back?** Missing last season was unintentional. I had a horse to ride, but he had a lot of problems. I was always hoping to ride this year – it was never a case of if, but when and how – but I needed a horse. **How did you come to buy All Rise Malone?** I’d moved to Somerset and discovered Will Biddick was nearby, so rang him up and asked him to find me a horse and train it for me. Bloodstock agent Dan Astbury found him at the Goresbridge Sales in December and thought he’d be perfect for me, as he’d won a Maiden in Ireland for a Novice Rider. He’s a big horse, and Dan thought he’d fill out and progress. **Why has it taken him so long to make his debut for you?** He came over on a stormy night in December, slept for a week, and wasn’t right for a while, so it’s taken a long time to get him ready. He hasn’t done very much – I’ve only schooled him twice, once in January and once last week. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/20dbae05-f7dd-4703-bb8a-21ea0f8ea9c1.jpeg) *Emma schooling All Rise Malone at Will Biddick's* **Talk me through Sunday.** I walked the course with Will, who gave me a full breakdown of how to ride it. He told me to sit second but that it would be fine if I got to the front, so I decided to make it alongside Darren Andrews. But All Rise Malone jumped me into the lead at the first, then tried to run out at the third – luckily, I heard Will shouting at me to get onto the inner! We travelled nicely on the second circuit, then hit the fourth from home and I lost a stirrup, and the others came upsides when I was getting it back. He picked up again three out and kept going – I’d had a session on the Equicizer with Rodi Greene, and I was trying to remember what he told me when I was riding a finish. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/4ba92871-3123-458d-96b2-ab1166b6d11e.jpeg) *Emma en route to victory on All Rise Malone at South Hill (Tim Holt)* It was an awesome feeling – I was so emotional, I was crying. **Do you have plans to run and ride All Rise Malone again this season?** We’re hoping to go to Upcott Cross on Bank Holiday Monday, but it depends on the ground, as he needs it Good at best. **Which horse (not one of your own mounts) would you most like to ride?** Regatta De Blanc. I was lucky enough to school her round Dunsmore, and she was an absolute dream. I’d love to ride her. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/c9b2dcfd-86f3-4578-89a7-730735e881bc.jpeg) *Emma giving Regatta De Blanc a racecourse school at Dunsmore* **Which other jockeys do you admire?** Will, obviously, although I’ve never ridden against him. And Alex Chadwick helped me loads when I was at James Owen’s. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/c056c9dc-5ed5-4ea7-9142-f17fbf757f56.jpeg) *Alex Chadwick (right, with Gina Andrews) - great help to Emma (Graham Bishop)* **What's your favourite course?** It has to be Fakenham. I haven’t ridden many tracks but love it there, and it’s so much fun to ride. I also like Larkhill. **What do you enjoy most about pointing?** I started team chasing and doing hunt races, but pointing’s an adrenalin rush. When I get to the start, I’m terrified but, when I get to the finish, I love it! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/b7e7c628-52cd-4c0f-9b45-a0b88a252ab0.jpeg) *Emma team chasing her grandmother's Howya Hun* **What are your ambitions in pointing and racing?** Because I started late, I want to make the most of it while I can. I would love to get some outside rides, and ride more for Will, maybe even go for a novice riders title. I’ve got no grand ambitions but would like to get my Category A licence and ride All Rise Malone in a Hunter Chase. **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** That’s a tricky question, particularly with the restrictions on hunting, but I like to think I’ve already had an effect myself, as the iPad on the line (which was introduced after Perpignan was ‘beaten’ at Garthorpe) has made a big difference. I also like the introduction of the 5lb claim outside Opens for novice riders, as I think it’s better to learn by riding against more experienced jockeys. I don’t know how to get more owners. The Young Horse Maiden Series is great, but it doesn’t keep horses in the sport and pointing costs the same as it does under rules, but there’s no prize money, just a fun day out. I think jockeys should have to do a racecourse school when they first take out a licence – I never did one until I went to Will’s – and I’d like to see Will Ramsay’s Jockey Start initiative extended to the South, as most people don’t have the means to buy a competitive pointer. **I understand your colours have jumped round Aintree. Tell me about that.** Grandad owned Takeover Bid, who was sixth in the 1972 Foxhunters. He was ridden by Hunter Rowe, as grandad had retired by then. **Do you have a sponsor? Who?** Chris Gregory, of [CG](https://www.cg2chiropractic.co.uk/?ref=scribehound.com)[2](https://www.cg2chiropractic.co.uk/?ref=scribehound.com)[ Chiropractic](https://www.cg2chiropractic.co.uk/?ref=scribehound.com), a human and equine chiropractor. We wouldn’t have got to the races without Chris – he’s been a godsend. He’s worked wonders with All Rise Malone, who’s had a few setbacks. **Is there anything else you’d like to say?** I can’t believe I’m back doing it – it’s been a long time coming. Sunday was a dream – I’m so happy. ### Can Wild Grey Partridges Return to our Family Farm? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/can-wild-grey-partridges-return-to-our-family-farm/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:35.000Z Can six tiny partridge chicks, a bantam hen and healthy dose of blind optimism reverse decades of wildlife decline? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Stopped in their Tracks URL: https://www.scribehound.com/stopped-in-their-tracks/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:35:42.000Z The nightingale’s song inspires awe and offers a rare connection between nature, memory, and instant human emotion. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Meet the Loyal Companions Who Changed My Life URL: https://www.scribehound.com/meet-the-loyal-companions-who-changed-my-life/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:36.000Z Explore the legacy of loyal dogs, fascinating canine facts, and the magic of Crufts to uncover why these four-legged friends are truly priceless in every sense. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Forestry often gets a kicking in the media, but what are the solutions? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/forestry-often-gets-a-kicking-in-the-media-but-what-are-the-solutions/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:36.000Z _No content available._ ### From the Kennels to Aintree: Dan Cherriman’s Pointing Journey URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-the-kennels-to-aintree-dan-cherrimans-pointing-journey/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:37.000Z Dan Cherriman *(pictured above with his family after his second win - Alun Sedgmore)* rode his first double recently – at the age of 40 – on Galileo Silver and Hugos New Horse at Woodford, having only had his first winner at 32, and his first ride aged 29. One of just two serving huntsmen to have ridden a winner, Dan is still actively involved in hunting, as Joint Master-Huntsman for the South Shropshire, and obviously has strong views on the future of point-to-pointing if further restrictions are placed on his career, so Jake Exelby spoke to him about this subject, his journey in the sport, his faith… and pipe smoking ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/8d0fdaf4-919a-4f6e-a4d2-dbc5121f8b51.jpeg) *I thought huntsmen were supposed to ride horses, not bikes?* **Talk me through your involvement with horses as a child.** I was born on the family farm at Chiddingfold, on the Surrey-Sussex border. Dad was always keen on field sports like shooting and fishing, while Mum liked ponies, so I grew up doing pony club, eventing and a little bit of hunting. **How did you get into hunt service and what roles have you performed?** Dad had gundogs, so I’ve always loved working dogs. As a teenager, I met the hound puppies, got introduced to the kennels and fell in love with the traditional pageantry involved with hunting. I started volunteering on Saturdays and in the school holidays with the Hampshire and Chiddingfold, Leconfield & Cowdray Hunts and decided that’s what I wanted to do – getting paid to work at the kennels and go hunting was the perfect job! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/11456d46-93f5-4806-bdbc-b9c0f0fcaeb0.jpeg) *Hunting is a passion for Dan, not just a job* Aged 18, I went to work for the Quorn and spent seven seasons there as First Whipper-in, effectively assistant to the Huntsman, who’s the senior professional. My main job was to look after the hounds. While there I met, then married, Jessica Dawson. There are few jobs in hunting so, to progress, you have to move, so I went to become Kennel Huntsman at the Glamorgan, then was offered the job of Huntsman at the Pytchley. I was there for ten years. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/f58e2521-723e-4b69-87b4-59cd29d6db7f.jpeg) *Dan on the hunting field* **How did you get into point-to-pointing in the first place?** I’d had no exposure to racing apart from going to the local point-to-point at Parham, but Rowan Cope and Stuart Morris were Joint Masters of the Pytchley and had both been successful point-to-point jockeys. Lots of hunting people I knew had ridden and/or trained – the likes of Johnny Bailey, Sam Davies-Thomas and Tom McClorey. I’ve always been quite competitive and enjoyed cross-country, so I asked if I could get a horse to ride in the Members. I hooked up with Jo Messenger – whose son Tom was riding professionally at the time and is now assistant to Dan Skelton – as she trained a few pointers at Creaton, where the kennels are based. She’s brilliant at nurturing novices and owner-riders. **Tell me about your early riding career, leading up to your first win with Churchfield Champ.** My first horse was Victor Grumps, who we bought from Dale Peters. He was an old schoolmaster but didn't work out well for me! We got round in our first race, an Open at Bangor-on-Dee, which was a big tick in the box, then finished mid-division at Brafield-on-the-Green, but then the wheels fell off and his jumping went to pot. We fell at the second in our Members, then unseated at the first at Dingley. I had my first win at Umberleigh, having just turned 32\. Churchfield Champ was the first of three horses that I’ve bought, then won on within a week, the other two being Reikers Island, and Hugos New Horse, of course. He was trained by Kayley Woollacott and had won two for Lee Drowne that season, so I thought I could win on him. He was advertised on Facebook, and wasn’t expensive, so I bought him over the phone – the first time I saw him was in the paddock! We won the Mens Open in the fastest time of the day, and it was an absolute dream. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/14a20721-524e-4c8c-a046-c6546d35d0f8.jpeg) *Dan (right) with Lee Drowne and Churchfield Champ* **You rode at Cheltenham – on Martin Cash – before you’d had your first winner in a point. That seems quite unusual.** Tom found Martin Cash and it was Jo’s idea to run him at Cheltenham. I was 30 by then and knew I wouldn’t be around forever. While I wasn’t a competent jockey then, I knew how to ride. Cheltenham was just my second ride under rules, and a great experience. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/562444a8-8479-4bfe-9c82-2fb0d544e879.jpeg) *Dan going down to the start at Cheltenham on Martin Cash* **After that, you had horses with Alan Hill. How did that link come about?** I knew Alan from hunting with the Pytchley. In my first season, there was a charity race at Newmarket, and he gave me Royal Etiquette to ride, to support a huntsman. It was – unofficially – my first winner at 30\. I went to his to ride out, really enjoyed it, and decided to have a horse with him. My first was Brians Well, and I then bought Stage One, who won three for me. **Tell me about Kashmir Peak and Reikers Island, both of whom you rode at Aintree?** It was my boyhood dream to ride over the National fences, and I realised it could be a possibility with Kashmir Peak, a good pointer, who was qualified for Aintree. The first year I had him, it was cancelled due to Covid then – in the second season – there was no pointing and amateurs couldn’t ride in Hunter Chases until after Cheltenham. You were only allowed to ride at Aintree if you’d ridden under rules that season – I hadn’t, because I was busy hunting, so only had a short window. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/6ae952ec-b33a-4adb-ac19-10f5d2b101c2.jpeg) *Dan after winning on Kashmir Peak at Godstone* I was due to ride Stage One at Warwick, but he was kicked at the start and withdrawn and – by that time – it was too late to make any more entries, so I had to find an outside ride. I got one for Micky Hammond – Excalibur in a Carlisle hurdle. He was carrying ten stone and I claimed 7lbs, but I managed to do the weight. We finished fifth and I could ride at Aintree, where we jumped the first and Mighty Stowaway did the splits in front of me and brought me down! I thought, ‘I still want to scratch that itch’ and decided to buy a younger horse. Reikers Island was with Richard Newland, fit and ready to run, and we won at Cartmel just after I bought him – my first and only winner under rules. The next season, we were supposed to be going to Aintree, but I broke my pelvis schooling Kashmir Peak, who ran out through a wing. Huw Edwards rode him and he travelled and jumped lovely to finish seventh, so I was excited about riding him the year after. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/1b8c9cb0-ce30-4ae1-b796-82efc6474052.jpeg) *Dan preparing to ride Reikers Island at Aintree* In 2023, my boyhood dream finally came true. We finished in the middle order and to get round after four years of planning was brilliant. We went back in 2024, but he hated the soft ground and we pulled up, then last year I rode Percussion for Joss Hanbury, so I was lucky enough to go five years in a row. Hopefully Hugos New Horse can get there next year. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/7a4c5bd5-3c7e-4c64-b26f-6fbaf187a0e5.jpeg) *Dan is clear close home on Hugos New Horse (Alun Sedgmore)* **Which has been your favourite horse?** Reikers Island – I won five on him. **What do you think will happen to pointing after a hunting ban?** This is a really important question, and I’m concerned that pointing’s leadership think it won’t be the end of the world if we lose some meetings if hunting goes, because there are too many fixtures and not enough horses. I think it would have a devastating effect, and that we’d go from having too many fixtures to not enough to sustain the sport. At most point-to-points, the landowner and volunteers doing the less glamorous jobs do it for the hunt, not for racing. You could run it as a charity or club meeting but would have to pay the volunteers so – even if you have the landowner’s permission – you might not be able to afford to run a meeting. If you pull the thread out of hunting, the whole thing begins to unravel. I can see a scenario where you have a small number of tracks like Chaddesley Corbett, Garthorpe, Kingston Blount and Larkhill, but the once-a-year courses like Guilsborough would disappear. Pointing’s probably the only sport organised by a different one (hunting). It would be like the FA organising rugby! **Are you aware of any other huntsman who do currently ride, or have recently ridden, in point-to-points?** Mick Wills, who was Huntsman with the Grafton, had ridden in points (and at Cheltenham, like Dan) and won a race. Apart from him, I can’t think of any. For a long time, hunt servants were classed as professionals, so couldn’t ride in points, and most Masters don’t want their staff getting injured race-riding. Some Joint Masters, like Henry Bailey with the Wynnstay, ride in points. **The Shropshire pointing scene seems strongly associated with hunting, with the likes of Guy and Iola Sankey and Henry Bailey all keen hunters and active jockeys. Why do you think that is?** It seems to have clung on to its hunting connections better than other areas, with the likes of Chris Stockton, the Greenalls and Richard Burton. **Which other jockeys do you admire?** Tommie O’Brien is steely, wily and kind enough to give me advice. I think highly of him. And Johnny Bailey was at the top of his game when I started. He was local to me, was helpful in the weighing room, and would phone me and lift my spirits when things weren’t going so well. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/0a936a92-b18f-4f08-af62-d65a13384f46.jpeg) *Tommie O'Brien - wily and steely (Carl Evans)* **What's your favourite course?** Godstone. At my level, you pick unfashionable courses to ride. I’ve had a couple of winners there, it’s a fun day with a good crowd and the hospitality’s fabulous – they really look after owners. I think that, because the South East has low horse numbers, they try harder to attract people from outside the area. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/e982ec3a-7e9e-4d1d-99e5-c52739ad0364.jpeg) *Action from Godstone, Dan's favourite course (Neale Blackburn)* **What are your ambitions in pointing and racing? You’re now 40, so how long do you think you’ll keep riding?** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/b830bc57-1f81-4d52-9f36-2daa987c5540.jpeg) *Dan, on former pointer General Arrow, hunting with the family* I’ve got three children – Jack’s 10, Ted’s 7 and Sidney’s 3 – and Jack is already pony racing. Will I keep going long enough to ride against him? I don’t feel old – when I started, I felt like an up-and-coming jockey – so if I’m physically able and the desire’s there, I’ll keep going. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/6f7c93d8-5d75-4a11-9789-d89ede5f997a.jpeg) *Dan with Jack pony racing at Maisemore Park* When we moved to Shropshire, the plan was to ride at Aintree then retire but, because I came down at the first, I wanted to go back. And watching it on TV this year renewed my hunger to go back. It’s a special place. Cheltenham doesn’t do it for me the same way. **You also train your own Punch Perfect. What made you decide to do that?** Training’s a new string to my bow. I bought him ‘oven ready’ from Josh Newman. We’ve got stables at home and training him myself saves a bit of money – it’s fun to have a go with an inexpensive horse, although it’s hard during the winter when I do so much hunting and daylight hours are shorter. He’s jointly owned with Ruth Elaine de Quincey, who owns Galileo Silver, and we’re going to Godstone on Saturday. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/2e9317ae-7fd8-4bbc-97f7-1c9fc245e847.jpeg) *Dan winning on Galileo Silver at Woodford (Alun Sedgmore)* **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer! But I’d bring back the Veterans category for Novice Riders races. It’s the first year I’m a Veteran, and they’ve scrapped it. **What would you be doing if you weren’t involved with horses?** It’s a light-hearted question, but an area of big concern. Pointing and hunting are two of my passions, and one’s coming to an end, with the other under threat. When I was younger, I wanted to join the Army and I enjoy writing – I write for Horse & Hound – and public speaking. I guess anything I do would involve horses and/or dogs. **I know that you’re a regular churchgoer, often before racing on Sundays. How does that work alongside your riding?** I’m a Christian with an active faith and it’s human nature to think we’re the centre of our lives, but putting God first is important to me – after all, He’s given me the physical ability to ride horses. Yes, I make sacrifices and can’t ride every Sunday, but race-riding’s a hobby and I often want to prioritise church and family, even if it means missing racing. **As far as I’m aware, you’re the only jockey to smoke a pipe. When did that start and why?** Aged 16, I went to an agricultural show and saw an old-fashioned tobacconist's stand and bought a bargain basement pipe with tobacco for a fiver. I’ve smoked, occasionally and for a bit of fun, ever since. I give it up from time to time – during Lent for example – to make me think I’m not addicted (!) but really enjoy it after a day’s hunting or racing. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/117d8a09-5ac2-4a79-b11c-eaa509cb79d5.jpeg) *Hounds and a pipe - among Dan's favourite things* *Dan Cherriman is sponsored by his family business, Ryestead Estates.* ### Not Just Another Little Brown Bird URL: https://www.scribehound.com/not-just-another-little-brown-bird/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:33:14.000Z If you care about curlews, hen harriers, or healthy moorlands, this article reveals the secret star that holds it all together: the unassuming meadow pipit. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Cryptochrome ~ the superpower behind animal migration URL: https://www.scribehound.com/cryptochrome-the-superpower-behind-animal-migration/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:01:37.000Z Uncover the mysterious secrets of bird and butterfly migration, from quantum navigation to multigenerational journeys—discover why every new finding leaves scientists awestruck. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Nature Places URL: https://www.scribehound.com/nature-places/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:06.000Z Have love for nature - will travel... it's now a sixty mile drive to see the nearest blackcock - and has it really come to this? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Galashiels to Glory: Jack Stenhouse’s Racing Journey URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-galashiels-to-glory-jack-stenhouses-racing-journey/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:06.000Z 20-year-old Jack Stenhouse *(pictured above),* originally from Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, but now based in Minehead, Somerset, where he rides as stable amateur for the powerful Philip Hobbs & Johnson White yard, is one of the leading novice riders in the country, both between the flags and under rules, having ridden five winners in each code this season. He recently tasted success over the same weekend at Ayr on Friday, Flete Park in Devon on Saturday, and Cotley at Somerset on Sunday, so *Jake Exelby* caught up with him afterwards to chat about his travels up and down the country… and how he juggles his pointing and rules priorities. **Talk me through your career in racing so far and how you got into point-to-pointing in the first place.** Mum always had ponies and I had my own, but wasn’t that interested – I’d rather play rugby and football. But then, aged 14, I started doing work experience for Katie Scott, who trains at Galashiels. I’d go in on Saturday and Sunday, got the bug and started enjoying it. Katie taught me to ride then, when I was 17, she and Dad went fifty-fifty and bought Cooldine Bog from Doncaster as a schoolmaster for me. **Tell me about your first season. You had ten rides on Cooldine Bog. He must have been really tough.** He taught me a lot. He wasn’t the easiest horse to ride, but it’s better to start off on something like that and learn the hard way – a steering job isn’t the same. You appreciate it a lot more when you eventually get on a good one. In a race, he’d run away with you for the first mile, then you’d have to push him for the second and third – he’d do different things in the same race. We hit the ground a couple of times, but you could run him all the time and he took his racing well. **After that, you moved south to work for Mike Vanstone. How did that opportunity come about?** The plan was always to move south, as there are more opportunities. I’d already met my partner - Shannon Holmes – at the British Racing School in Newmarket, and she’s from Devon. She knew Mike and his partner Linda Blackford, who has a rules licence, and told me they were looking for someone. Linda was a very good jockey back in the day, and what she taught me was second to none. I learned to ride at Katie’s but learned to race-ride from Linda. I worked for them for two years. **You had your first win on Teescomponentsfly at Larkhill. What do you remember about that day?** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/95c05193-9808-409e-9766-0878ba3fc74c.jpeg) *Teescomponentsfly at Larkhill - Jack's first winner (Tim Holt)* I needed a horse to get me going, so Mike and Linda bought Teescomponentsfly and Dad took a leg. He was a nice horse and, though he hadn’t won over fences, he’d won a 2m4f hurdle and was a good jumper. I schooled him round Badbury Rings on our first run together – I was inexperienced and still getting to know him – then we went to Larkhill, over 2m4f on good ground. When I watch the video back, the horse looks so good and I look so bad! I remember winning on him at South Hill last season. I beat Shannon’s sister Mia by a head – it would have been her first winner. I wasn’t invited round for a Sunday roast for a couple of weeks after that! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/d733695c-5265-452b-8b0e-e8473e294580.jpeg) *Jack and Shannon discuss when he's next going to be invited round for Sunday roast* **Your career really took off last season, with six wins. Why do you think that was?** I only had one winner in my first season, from nearly 40 rides, but most were not for Mike and Linda. I spent that season building connections, riding out for different people every day, and – by the year after – people had got to know me. My first outside ride had been for Janet Ackner on Assassins Lullaby at Wadebridge in December 2023, and he gave me my first outside winner, when we got up on the line at Badbury Rings in November 2024\. He was also my first ride at Cheltenham on Hunter Chase Evening last season and he’s still going – I rode him in the four-miler at Flete Park on Saturday. He’d probably be the horse I’ve ridden most – it feels like it anyway! (Jack’s quite right – he’s partnered the horse 15 times). ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/79348d4f-8eff-4efb-b3af-9441dc7eb129.jpeg) *Jack and Assassins Lullaby* **Your 12 pointing winners have come for nine different trainers. Which other connections did you develop when you moved South?** Josh Newman has always been good to me and helped me. I’ve won a couple on Honestlyntrufully for him. And people said I should get in with Teresa Clark, so I started riding out for her when I moved down. I didn’t have any luck for her in my first two seasons – it just didn’t happen for whatever reason – and even though I gave her Caracara a terrible ride at Wadebridge, she said I could ride all of hers this season. **This season, you started working for Philip Hobbs & Johnson White. How did you get that role?** Things were coming to a natural end at Mike and Linda’s – they said it was time to move to a bigger yard – and Sean Houlihan (who won the Scottish Grand National on Saturday on Kap Vert for Hobbs & White) rides the majority of Linda’s. I want to become a professional jockey, so wanted to go to a top yard, and Sean got me an interview with Johnson. I interviewed in April, and started in July, and Philip and Johnson have been so good to me. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/2bdc5b4a-9b40-4540-981b-a8c451bc8b3d.jpeg) *Jack takes instruction from the legendary Philip Hobbs* **How has your season gone? You’ve had more rides, and as many winners, under rules than in points.** I had my first ride in October – Call Me Legend at Fontwell Park – and things have progressed from there. To have the number of rides I’ve had, and riding the calibre of horses I have, winning on Kilwaughter at Newbury, and the Pertemps Qualifier at Uttoxeter on Keable, is unbelievable. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/271293d0-d152-4d1f-be8c-a644b1faa73e.jpeg) *Jack with Kilwaughter and his owners after winning at Newbury* **How did you manage the journey between your winners at courses nearly 500 miles apart on Friday and Saturday?** It was a long couple of days, although having family in the Scottish Borders makes life easier. I flew from Bristol to Edinburgh at 6.00am on Friday, spent a couple of hours with my parents, then went to Ayr. Luckily enough, the horse (the Seamus Mullins-trained Balboa) won. Everything had gone so well, then the flight was delayed and I didn’t get back to Minehead until 2.30am. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/407505be-f493-4512-8d49-ef217d3167bf.jpeg) *Absolut Grey, Jack's winner at Flete Park (Tim Holt)* **Would you have liked to have ridden more winners between the flags? Or does the rules racing come first?** If you’d said to me at the start of the season that I’d have had more rides, and five winners, on the track, I wouldn’t have believed you. I’d set my sights on the point-to-point novice riders title, but things took off on the track, so I couldn’t ride in points some weekends. I want to be professional, so it makes sense to ride under rules when I can. **You plan to turn conditional next season. What are your ambitions in racing for next year and beyond?** The same as everyone, really. To ride for good trainers, ride as many winners as possible, and ride out my claim. I want to become a good, solid jockey who people want to turn to. Like everyone, I want to ride winners on a Saturday. **Which has been your favourite horse?** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/8d992772-b4aa-4263-a79f-8a46e299b97c.jpeg) *Jack wins on Ninth Wave at Cotley (Tim Holt)* In points, Ninth Wave for Teresa Clark. He’s a serious horse. We were third at Badbury Rings and have won twice at Cotley. The quicker the ground, the better he is – he’s amazing. When he won on Sunday, that was the best he’d ever felt, even at 12\. Also, Teescomponentsfly, as my first winner. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/1b636de2-8968-48ca-ac66-3dca31baa4aa.jpeg) *A happy Jack and Teresa after Ninth Wave wins at Cotley* Under rules, Call Me Legend, who was my first ride for the guvnors. The owners, the House family, have supported me for a long time – they also own Caracara – and they’re very loyal, even when things don’t go right. He’s a handy little horse and winning on him at Wincanton – my second win on the track – meant so much. Mr House wasn’t there that day, which is why winning at Newbury on Kilwaughter when he was present, was important. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/f50ab92f-d8bb-460d-a0c8-db27d36b5ead.jpeg) *Jack (left) winning on Call Me Legend at Wincanton* **Which pointer (not one of your own mounts) would you most like to ride?** Grace A Vous Enki would be the easy answer, but also the boring one, so I’ll say Josh Newman’s Al Gasparo. He’s a very nice horse, and Josh rides him with so much confidence. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/3fa46ab4-c044-435c-8a75-d8ad53091608.jpeg) *Al Gasparo (left) and Josh Newman - Jack admires both jockey and horse (Sophie Davies)* **Which other jockeys do you admire, under rules and in points?** On the track, Sean Houlihan has done a lot for my career. We speak every day and go through my rides together. Micheal Nolan has also helped me a lot, Callum Pritchard is a good friend, and Ben Jones is different gravy. In points, Josh Newman. As I said, he’s helped me a lot, I think he’s the best jockey riding and doesn’t get enough credit for how good he is. We give each other a lot of abuse! **What's your favourite point-to-point course?** This is a bit of a weird one, as I never rode a winner there, and am not going to now, but I always loved going to Wadebridge. It’s always freezing there, and p\*sses down with rain but, though it’s a difficult course, you can make ground everywhere if you ride it properly. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/5a34b48f-bc0e-43a4-8213-fe6faa7c0c3b.jpeg) *Wadebridge - difficult course, but Jack's favourite (Tim Holt)* **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** There’s a lot that can be done, but no simple answers. Everyone says pointing has to be more affordable and accessible, yet we’re also trying to make it more commercial, which is kicking out the traditional pointing people, like farmers with one horse. Neither way is right or wrong. I like what the sport is doing to help young jockeys, because pointing’s about learning your trade and progressing. Will Ramsay’s Jockey Start initiative is great – absolutely brilliant for the sport. I rode against Will and he’s doing it in the North, so can they do more with that in different areas, like the South and the Midlands? They say pointing’s nothing without the horses… but it’s nothing without jockeys either. **Do you have a sponsor? Who?** It’s [Lalors Waterproof Riding Trousers](https://lalors.com/?ref=scribehound.com), the brand created by (PPORA Communications Manager) Steph Jones. Steph messaged me before the start of the season to offer me the sponsorship, and it was too good an opportunity to turn down. **What would you be doing if you weren’t involved with horses?** I dread to think! ### Does Britain need a farmer? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/does-britain-need-a-farmer/ Last updated: 2026-08-15T11:07:26.000Z Are the country-born destined to lead the nation to salvation? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Right to Roam or the Right to Ruin? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-right-to-roam-or-the-right-to-ruin/ Last updated: 2026-04-30T05:49:27.000Z The four legged stool of conservation will never work without attitudes changing _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Water. Life-giving and Soul-destroying URL: https://www.scribehound.com/water-life-giving-and-soul-destroying/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:06.000Z Think farming is all about animals? Click to learn how mastering water pipes proved tougher than veterinary school—and how farming has taught me more than textbooks ever could. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "I never leave the farm in May" URL: https://www.scribehound.com/i-never-leave-the-farm-in-may/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:44:45.000Z May is the farm at its most alive—light stretching, hedges bursting, birds singing. A month too beautiful, and too fleeting, to spend anywhere else. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How Harry Coleby Lost Seven Stone and Won Big URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-harry-coleby-lost-seven-stone-and-won-big/ Last updated: 2026-04-24T07:26:13.000Z Most aspiring jockeys don’t wait until the age of 34 to have their first ride. Very few will have shed seven stone in six months to do so. Harry Coleby, an equine chiropractor from Tiptree in Essex, achieved that feat on Little Peter (*pictured above - Graham Fisher)* – owned and trained by Newmarket-based John Berry, who describes Harry as ‘Too modest to blow his own trumpet, but the best horse “backman” I’ve ever come across’ – at Shelfield Park earlier this month, and topped it off with victory. Harry, who also works for Bradley Gibbs, spoke to *Jake Exelby* following his win – on his 35th birthday – about his journey to the saddle and the ups and downs of a life spent with horses. **Talk me through your career in racing so far. How did you become interested in the sport?** I started pony club with the Essex Union aged two and, apart from playing a bit of rugby and football, have never known anything outside horses. I did the Mounted Games, some cross-country, and evented. Pony club was an important building block – I wish it was still as strong as when I was growing up. I show jumped on the Sunshine Tour, going to places like Portugal, and – in 2021 – was third in the National Dressage Championships. So, I can ride in all spheres, including - now - racing! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/7241a06e-d3d3-4fb9-bd1d-bac65d3d715f.jpeg) *A less slim Harry in his dressage days* **How did you get into equine physiotherapy as a career?** I wanted to be a farrier but ended up leaving school at 16 and worked as a bricklayer, which I detested, apart from the friends I made. Then a friend from pony club asked me to come and work as a groom, and I ended up working with showjumpers. I then went to work in a dressage yard, which is a good grounding for training young horses, then ran a livery yard. I’ve always been involved with horses, but it can be tough financially. That’s how I got into chiropractic work. I went to work for a lady whose horse I fixed, then went to Loughborough University, where I did two degrees – in sports massage and equine chiropractic manipulation – and two certificates, in clinical education and veterinary physio. That enabled me to lecture and teach, so I’m not as stupid as I look! I then set up my own business, [Stepflex Ltd](https://www.facebook.com/Stepflex/). ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/477a1e47-4cde-4787-8724-9316bcb03da5.jpeg) *Harry demonstrating his equine physiotherapy skills on Royal Ascot winner Isle Of Jura* **Who do you work for?** Charlie Appleby was one of my first clients, and I’ve been working for him and Godolphin for ten years – before Covid, I used to go to Dubai about twice a month during their season. I’ve worked for the National Stud a lot and have done the stallions at Shadwell Stud. I want to get into more jumping yards, but you need connections and it takes time. Hopefully winning my first race will help. **How did you become involved in point-to-pointing and how did the association with Bradley Gibbs come about?** I was up in Newmarket and rode out for Nick Wright for a season – I had a pointer with him, but it got injured. Former point-to-point rider Paddy Gerety became a friend, he supplies Red Mills to Brad and introduced me. Funnily enough, I’d messaged Brad once a year for three years, but he never replied, so I phoned him, and he picked up. My persistence had finally paid off. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/a95a1a25-af42-4b90-9e3f-2d50cb2605c5.jpeg) *Bradley Gibbs has been a huge help to Harry (Carl Evans)* That was three years ago, and he asked me to come in. At the time, Bradley and one other person were riding 11 lots a day. **What made you decide to want to race-ride and how did the opportunity arise?** It’s always been on the to do list. I’ve show jumped, I’ve done dressage, and I always wanted to ride in a race. I’m great friends with the likes of Adam Kirby and James Doyle – James is a phenomenal person as well as a jockey and lets me use his gym and Equicizer. I’m lucky to have good connections! Covid had knocked my physiotherapy business, so I retrained as a mortgage broker, but was really unhappy. I’d become a parent and it was a struggle with young children. But Brad’s always been supportive – while he never answers his phone, he’d ring me all the time. Last September, he called me and said, ‘I don’t care how heavy you are, come in on Monday morning with your stuff… if it still fits!’ I started going to his every day and it went from there. He promised that, if I could make the weight, he’d do his best to get me a ride. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/18bb82d1-cbc1-4113-86de-da45d9d42509.jpeg) *Harry (right) with winning connections after success for Team Gibbs at Siddington (Alun Sedgmore)* **You’ve lost seven stone in order to race-ride since September. How did you manage to do it? Were there times when you thought you wouldn’t make the weight?** I was 18st4lbs when Brad called. But I was riding nine, ten or even 11 lots a day and we work them well. I stopped drinking for most of that period, I was no longer sitting in an office, I started going to the gym again, and I joined the Tiptree Road Runners. It was mad. I was very strict on food. We didn’t eat out, and I remember my wife, Vicky – who owns a veterinary practice, Clarendon Equine – saying to me at one point, ‘Can we please eat something other than fish and vegetables?!’ But we had two young children – Henry’s about to turn three and Ava’s nearly one – and I knew it would be my last chance to have a go at it. I wasn’t going to give that up. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/b2f95565-75b5-41ca-9b4b-b2935edb2f1c.jpeg) *Harry with wife Vicky and baby daughter Ava* **One of the trainers you work for is John Berry. How did you get the mount on Little Peter?** Brad had bought a horse for me to ride, but it got injured. I’d always start off anything John was planning to run over jumps, and I rode Little Peter back in 2023, after he’d won a bumper at Worcester and before his first run over hurdles. I hadn’t sat on him since then until six weeks ago. I was at John’s one day and he didn’t know what to do with Little Peter, so I asked, ‘I don’t suppose he could run in a point-to-point?’ John, hands on hips, replied, ‘Yeah, he might like it. Let’s get going, I can’t bear to see you not have a ride.’ He’s such a good person – there’s no other way to describe him. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/f97d12ad-5375-449f-86c5-04c36d4f0391.jpeg) *Harry schooling Little Peter at John Berry's* Little Peter was still running on the flat (he’d only ever raced twice over hurdles, and never over fences) but was having a break. We were planning to go to High Easter, but – the Friday before entries closed – Brad suggested that we go to Shelfield Park, because the 2m4f trip would suit him better. **What were your feelings before the race?** Until I went to the start, I couldn’t believe it was happening. Brad was also running Avichi In The Park (who won on the same day). I ride him every day – he’s a tricky character – and Brad’s partner Claire had joked, ‘If you win on Little Peter, you can ride Avichi too!’ I was never going to do that, but it gave me an incentive. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but Ed Vaughan and Harry O’Dwyer helped. I hadn’t even walked the course – I’d done nothing apart from weigh out, and I was a pound light, so I had to drink some water. Brad asked why I wasn’t more stressed, and I replied, ‘Because all I have to do is canter round and not fall off!’ As we walked to the first fence, I thought, ‘Crikey, we’ve never jumped anything this big at home!’ **Talk me through the race itself.** Paddy Gerety, Brad and John had all told me to jump off like I was riding at home, so I didn’t rush him. He jumped lovely, travelled well and it started coming together. I’d done so much schooling at Brad’s that it felt like another day at his. We weren’t straight all the time, but neither were the others, and I kept him in a comfortable rhythm. When I thought he might be getting tired, I tapped him on the shoulder and he lit up. We passed one, then another and – in third with the other two 15-20 lengths ahead – I thought, ‘I’m happy with this’. I kept squeezing and nudging him, and he kept picking up and from three out we were rocking and rolling! Coming round the final bend, we joined the leader. I didn’t want to hit the front too soon, but he winged two out and landed in front. We popped the last, quickened away, and I could sit up a stride before the line knowing I was clear. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/34db5721-575a-4c26-9856-cf220adb90b6.jpeg) *Harry and John Berry after the race* **How did you feel afterwards?** I was knackered! It was amazing – the most incredible feeling. You can’t put a label on it – there’s no way of explaining the elation after the year I’ve had. Brad said, ‘I can’t believe you’ve just won. You’ve been telling me how you’d ride the race for the past eight weeks, you’ve waffled on and you’ve done it as you said. Nobody does that on their first ride.’ I must have told him what I wanted to do at least twice a day. I put it down to good coaching! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/b9bd5890-b9a9-440b-94ea-1f2dc203991e.jpeg) *Harry and Molly Legg (left) jointly receive the Novice Rider of the day award at Shelfield Park* I still haven’t got my head round it three days later. I got home late on Saturday, we went straight to Edgcote on Sunday, and I was up early again yesterday and today. **Is that it now – a box ticked? Or are you going to have another go on Little Peter, and potentially on other horses?** No, I’m hassling Brad for more rides this weekend! Seriously, I’d love to keep going. Little Peter will hopefully go to Garthorpe at the end of the month, and it would be nice to think I could ride ten winners, to prove Saturday wasn’t a complete fluke, or maybe even win some sort of novice riders title. I love it, although I think I’ve probably started ten years too late. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/540a0220-5a6f-4c51-98cf-bf4472cec752.jpeg) *A muddy Harry riding out at Bradley Gibbs' yard* **Do you think Bradley might let you ride one of his?** I think he would if he could, but most of his are maidens. Maybe Avichi In The Park, but I think he’s got more wins in him, and I don’t want to jock off Ed Vaughan or Brad! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/010dd471-98ec-43a8-bba6-050a5f91a696.jpeg) *Ed Vaughan wins on Avichi In The Park at Shelfield Park (Graham Fisher)* **Which horse that you’ve ridden would you most like to ride in a race?** A good mare owned by Beverley Thomas called Highway Jewel. She was such a lunatic that Brad only let me ride her once! **Is there anything else you’d like to say?** I remember Simon Andrews asking Brad at Stratford last season, ‘Who’s that lad who works for you?’ and Brad replied, ‘That’s Fat Harry!’ It’s always been a bit of a joke, but they’re not calling me that this season. ### Becoming An Activist URL: https://www.scribehound.com/becoming-an-activist/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:07.000Z The Government called us NIMBYs; now hear us roar. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Is "No mow May" causing "June bug-ocalypse" URL: https://www.scribehound.com/is-no-mow-may-causing-june-bug-ocalypse/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:02.000Z _No content available._ ### Firsts of the year. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/firsts-of-the-year/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:02.000Z _No content available._ ### Three Things Learned By Being Kicked By A Tree URL: https://www.scribehound.com/three-things-learned-by-being-kicked-by-a-tree/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:08.000Z Writing about your own injury is self-indulgent and dull, but there are few things to be said about rural healthcare. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Time to re-imagineer extra-urban Britain's economy URL: https://www.scribehound.com/time-to-re-imagineer-extra-urban-britains-economy/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:50:26.000Z To be taken seriously by Westminster, Fleet Street and Gen-Z, the countryside needs to use less medieval language _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Bird nesting. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/bird-nesting/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:03.000Z _No content available._ ### Read Yorkshire Jockey Joe Wright’s Story URL: https://www.scribehound.com/read-yorkshire-jockey-joe-wrights-story/ Last updated: 2026-04-16T15:09:46.000Z Joe Wright has been one of the leading jockeys on the Yorkshire and Northern circuits for the past decade. Aged 28 and originally from Carlisle, he achieved his 100th career winner earlier this season and won his second Grimthorpe Gold Cup – the most prestigious point-to-point race in Yorkshire and one of the sport’s four ‘classics’ – on Sam Magee *(pictured above - Tom Milburn)* earlier this month, the day before his birthday. He then doubled up in the next race on Wotter Trotter, who he trains himself. *Jake Exelby* spoke to Joe afterwards to talk through his career and future ambitions, both in and out of the saddle. **Talk me through your career in racing so far and how you got into point-to-pointing in the first place.** Maurice Barnes trains at Brampton, where I went to school and about 15 miles from where I lived. I’d already ridden ponies, then started riding out on Maurice’s racehorses on Saturday mornings when I was about 11\. Then I would ride out before school, one lot became more and I started being late for school! I had my own pony and Mum and Dad would drive me everywhere to race. In the school holidays, I’d work for Ferdy Murphy, who was a big player at the time. I did loads of schooling and racecourse gallops for him. He taught me a lot – how to drink, how to play poker… he was a lovely man. When I was 16, he was keen for me to stay with him, but he was moving to France, so put me in touch with Kate Walton. I lived in her house in Middleham for 18 months and worked with her and Phil Kirby. Phil then moved to Catterick, so Kate joined Micky Hammond and I stayed with her. I spent four seasons there and rode several winners under rules, including Minella Hero, who was my first ever winner, at Hexham. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/9766c84c-5b21-4bf0-9eb5-e50d74ce9b42.jpeg) *Joe after winning at Hexham on Minella Hero* It was Catherine Walton (no relation to Kate), a leading pointing rider in the Northern area, who put me in touch with Justin Landy. He had two horses – Knocklong and Ardea – and my first year pointing was crazy. I won two races on Knocklong, four on Ardea, including the Heart of All England Hunter Chase – I won eight in total on him – and my career took off from there. Those two horses and Justin put my name out there. **How did you build connections alongside Justin Landy when you were starting out as a jockey? Specifically, with the likes of Guy Brewer and Charles Clark?** I’ve had more wins for Justin – over 20 – than anyone else. But when he took out a permit, I stayed pointing. I rode one for Guy – who knew Justin – by chance, and he liked a jockey who was available for all his. So, I’d go and ride out there and rode for him for two or three years. He had some good horses – the likes of Point The Way, Ravished, Snow Castle and Dark Mahler. After I left Micky’s, I was always going back and forth to Malton, so decided to base myself there. I was having fewer rides under rules by then, I got a spare ride for Charles and started helping him in my breaks and lunchtimes. If you put the work in, you get the rewards. **You had nine winners in your first season pointing, then seven winners under rules in 2016/2017\. Did you ever consider turning professional?** We had a chat about it when I was working for Micky Hammond. I had a Category B licence and was riding against professionals. But my weight was becoming a struggle – I’m 6’1” – and was only going one way as I got older. So, I decided to try to become one of the leading pointing riders in the North. **You’ve had your 100th winner this season on Meelick Island? How did that make you feel?** It was a dead-heat at Garthorpe, on my first ride of the season, and there was nobody from Yorkshire there! I was hoping to do it last year – I had 15 winners in points and two in Hunter Chases, including on my own Slaney Opera – but ended on 99\. Hopefully I’ll have my 100th pointing winner – I’m on 91 – in Yorkshire. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/75f66123-f7f7-4743-898e-ee7399ab8ce7.jpeg) *Joe rides his 100th winner on Meelick Island (near side) at Garthorpe (Nico Morgan)* **You’re assistant trainer to Ruth Jefferson. How did that role come about?** I’m good friends with Jamie Hamilton and Brian Hughes and they knew I wanted to get into training properly. I didn’t have family, or the backing of a yard in Yorkshire, then Ruth came up to me at Doncaster Sales and offered me the position as her assistant. I already knew Ruth through former jockey Finian O’Toole, who’d worked for her father Malcolm. She and I bounce off each other well. She’s definitely helped with my pointers, and I like to think that I’ve helped her too. **Who was your first winner as a trainer?** Carriglux at Sheriff Hutton in 2023\. Funnily enough, it was the same race that Wotter Trotter’s just won. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/72e363ef-3f12-473d-9ba1-dc20403166ec.jpeg) *Joe after his first winner as a trainer with Carriglux* **You combine training and riding. What are the challenges involved with doing both roles and how do you manage to fit your own training around your role at Ruth’s?** It’s chaos, to be honest! But they say there’s always a good woman behind a good man and I’d be f\*cked without my partner Alex Duckitt! Take Saturday. I had five rides, one of which I train. I had no time to do my own horse, so had to give it to my team. That fries my head, as I like to be hands on and do everything myself. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/6a0e255f-497d-4bb0-b70d-2c9a32ad9aef.jpeg) *Joe's partner Alex bought him this to celebrate his 100th win* I feed my horses at 6.15, start at Ruth’s at seven, ride six lots for her, then finish at 1pm. I do my pointers all afternoon and we finish at 5.30 after the evening feed. It’s easier when the clocks go forward. I’ve got four horses in at the moment, although I’m starting to turn them out. I may keep one or two going – Wotter Trotter may go to Charm Park, although that’s ground dependent, as he’s a big horse. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/671d1e9c-1b1e-4888-bf29-4d126e7ca211.jpeg) *Joe (right) on his way to victory on Wotter Trotter (Tom Milburn)* I’m looking to expand the yard next season and am always on the lookout for new owners! **Many of your winners have been maidens. Do you focus on buying a particular type of horse to train? And are you looking to emulate the likes of Jack Teal and John Dawson and focus on young maidens to sell?** I prefer buying Maidens. Although Carriglux, Slaney Opera and Wotter Trotter weren’t bought to sell – they’re pointers to go through the grades. Slaney Opera was fourth in a race at Doncaster where I was second on Kilmore Rock to Jack on Ira Hayes. He sold his for over £50,000, I sold mine privately and I couldn’t believe I only had to pay £1,000 for Slaney Opera at Doncaster. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/aab84c5b-081d-43c3-9ed3-0838bbfd7fe3.jpeg) *Joe riding Slaney Opera* But I’d like to focus on Young Horse Maidens going forward. Jim King, Justin Landy’s uncle, helps me buy my horses. He’d give Tom Malone a run for his money – he’s brilliant, under-rated and sees things other people don’t. We like to buy ex-Irish pointers who’ve run one or two times and finished fourth, fifth or sixth in a good Maiden. They can offer value for money. **Which has been your favourite horse?** I’d have to say Ardea – he was brilliant for me. He was bought by Jim out of a field for very little money and was a bit of a handful. When we won our Maiden at Brocklesby Park, there’s a video of the guy we bought him from with his head in his hands! Also, Minella Hero, Point The Way – who gave me my first Grimthorpe Gold Cup – and now Sam Magee, of course! He could end up in a big race, although he’s better going right-handed, which could be an issue for Cheltenham or Aintree. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/9eeec1df-0314-483b-b302-f0166a4b797b.jpeg) *Joe (near side) on Grimthorpe Gold Cup winner Point The Way* **Which other jockeys do you admire? And trainers?** I think Dale Peters is the best point-to-point jockey in the country – different league. He’s mustard! I’ve got on with him since I was a kid, and we have a great craic. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/39a1ae33-84d2-4a15-ab16-27ede9ff1c65.jpeg) *Dale Peters with trainer David Kemp - mustard! (Carl Evans)* I’ve ridden plenty of winners for Jack Teal when he’s been injured or at another meeting. He’s one of the best at getting young maidens ready. They’re not just there for a day out and he’s not frightened to go south. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/eb286340-11c5-4c55-a978-85f3e3775fac.jpeg) *Jack Teal - one of the best with young maidens (Caroline Exelby)* I remember schooling two horses with Jack last year. One was Matterofexpression, who won by 30 lengths for me at Alnwick. But he couldn’t hold a candle to Jack’s grey horse – that was Low Kick, who he sold to Gordon Elliott for £170,000. **What's your favourite course?** Yorkshire pointing has some of the best tracks in the country. I like riding round Sheriff Hutton and Charm Park, and Witton Castle has great viewing. And I love riding at Alnwick. I’ve had lots of winners (17) there and think it’s the best course in the Yorkshire and Northern areas. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/b466fcb6-3406-43b3-9b70-8814012fdf1c.jpeg) *Action from Alnwick, Joe's favourite course (Grace Beresford)* **What are your ambitions in pointing and racing? As a jockey, and as a trainer?** I’d love to win one of the big ones. I’ve had a go at both Foxhunters and have ridden in the Kim Muir. I like to think I’m under-rated and would love to get more rides, but spares are hard to come by in Yorkshire, and most of mine come in Maidens. I’m just missing another Guy Brewer or Justin Landy behind me. I’m using pointing as a kickstart but am undecided whether to take out a rules licence. You have to be realistic and, financially, I’d need a backer. I don’t want to do it half-heartedly and cut corners – that way, you get left behind. **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** I’d take a serious look at the fixture list. Some weekends, I shake my head at the clashes. I also think there are too many Novice Riders and Hands and Heels Races – I didn’t ride in many (just two) myself – and not enough Mens Opens – why should a card have a Ladies and a Mixed Open, but not a Mens? And finally, it absolutely fries my head that if you’ve never ridden a winner, you can ride in a Maiden, jumping 18 fences and getting in people’s way, but you can’t ride in a flat race. I might even go as far as stopping riders with fewer than ten winners from riding in Maidens! **Do you have a sponsor? Who?** Scott Lowther, who owns [LIP Construction](https://www.lipconstructionltd.co.uk/?ref=scribehound.com). When I started riding out for Maurice Barnes as a kid, Scott was an owner with Maurice, and he’s followed my career since then. He’s sponsored me for about eight years. **What would you be doing if you weren’t involved with horses?** I wouldn’t have a clue. Racing’s all I know! ### Permission to speak, Sir? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/permission-to-speak-sir/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:11.000Z Over the last few years, it’s become noticeable that I shout at people more frequently than I have ever done so before. River keepers are quite well known for their short fuses but even after a lifetime on the river I’ve noticed it’s not always at the wretched water companies but more and more at those supposedly on our side. Usually, actually always, it’s directed at those who claim to be in charge. I inevitably apologise although the awkward silence means that they know I meant it and a raised voice usually wins their attention. Shouting at people in charge inevitably happens as you get older and more experienced, unwilling to put up with pointless bullshit. Of course that hard earned experience has not all been positive and I for one have learnt much more through bad experiences than good. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1775819211514-image.jpeg) *Permission to speak, Sir?* There’s no doubting that this generation of river keepers are being made to jump through ever increasing numbers, whilst ever decreasing in size, hoops, partly because of the dinosaur behaviour of our predecessors’ desire to tame and manufacture our streams into put and take stew ponds. It was initially our fault however, this constant battle with irrelevant paperwork has become a barrier for the younger, eco friendlier river keeper and to the progress of river restoration in trying to undo the ‘Kew Garden’ look afforded to some of our chalk streams over the last one hundred and fifty years. ## Meetings about meetings A lot of my mate’s dads were Southampton dockers back in the seventies who were quite possibly the most militant and laziest ‘workforce’ around. They would routinely, once they’d drawn cards to see who could go home that day, have a meeting in the morning to arrange having a meeting the following afternoon which is the kind of traditional non-sense and pointless delay that river keepers have to put up with while listening to uninterested pen pushers reading from an out-of-date script staring out at them from their dubious source of god like information, a computer screen. You realise that you know more about the given subject than the person sat in front of said all knowing computer screen with plenty of letters after their name but unable to understand the workings of a specialist subject, in my case a chalk stream. Unfortunately, these pompous people know very well the power they hold and can dash our brilliant ideas, thoughts and plans of river improvement with the nonchalant flick of a black biro pen. They can curtail excellent work by refusing permission for all manner of ridiculous reasons most of which are bureaucracy (excessively complicated administrative procedure) lead. Yes I had to look it up, but I found it amusing that right in the middle of the word bureaucracy the letters EA jump out at me. Why do river keepers have to constantly rage against the machine of government? The Environment Agency, Natural England, Wildlife Trusts and local councils each of whom demand non sensical requirements before giving, or often not giving…permission. I’ve learnt over a lifetime of working on the chalk streams what improvements and restoration is needed after generations of over management of my beat. I know what is good, beneficial to the river, my knowledge and opinion of moving water honed from forty years of experience both good and bad and taught to me by old keepers who themselves were taught from keepers before. The experience I learned from these men from ancient times was often poor and I disagreed with much of it, but I still learnt. Old keepers did what they were told to do often by his Lordship and the river’s wellbeing was not always top of the list. They were fishermen keepers first and river keepers second and the one thing they never had to worry about or attempt to seek, was permission. Sorry to say that the river sometimes suffered because of it. Everyone, even river keepers, need to be kept in check. I’m interested by all manner of history and spend much of my time on the river wondering about those who have been before me doing the same jobs. The workings of the chalk streams are well documented with many books on the subject but to be able for me to meet older keepers who like their fathers before them spent a lifetime on the river is a real eye opener and while I do at times feel burdened following in their footsteps, eventually the time comes when we’re not afraid to question them or challenge their thoughts. Traditional ways are not always the best way but to be the one to suggest change after two hundred years takes real courage and needs an extremely thick skin. ## Bad Tradition I remember my early days on the river and the instructions for the day’s work from the he who must be obeyed head keeper.“Start at the top nipper, and finish at the bottom. Anything that looks green or thinking of growing needs razing to the ground. It should take you about a fortnight.”I was in awe of this old keeper, he’d been on the river all his life and surely knew everything there was to know on how best to look after a chalk stream beat but even to a young, starry eyed under keeper desperate to learn and obey, cutting down fringe at the end of the fishing season seemed like a pointless and damaging thing to do. Still, as a young under keeper in those days you did as you were told and wouldn’t dare question him or his fifty years' experience. “Putting the river to bed Donny has been October’s job for a hundred years or more, short back and sides, always remember that.” Thirty years later looking at my beat on the top of the Test in autumn time I wonder what the old boy would think. He wouldn’t be impressed. He’d probably say it looked like an overgrown mess and accuse me of being an idle sod. The fringe still standing, the ranunculus not scalped to within an inch of its life and the cress and water celery still reaching out into mid-stream. He’d probably shake his head in disbelief at the large numbers of grayling on show that were looked upon as vermin in his day and a vital part of his duties was to blow them and the pike from the water using his trusted 12 bore and as for the dozen or so fallen trees left anchored to the riverbed. Heaven helps us. Breaking with age old traditions is always a tough thing to do especially so on chalk streams completely enveloped in the history and the mostly out of date bullshit of fly fishing. As a young keeper on the Test, I found the thought of upsetting the apple cart a sobering one and was swayed in what I really wanted to do by not wanting to question an old keepers’ lifetimes worth of experience. I have a great interest in the history of the rivers and the keepers that have worked them but have little time for pointless tradition and admit that the introduction of higher levels of ‘management,’ has helped change it mostly for the better however, the excessive number of pointless permissions now required is damaging that progress. The people in charge that I shout at are always younger than me, much younger than me, in fact most would appear to speak a different language such is the insistence on using their ‘system’ which distances them from that thing called common sense. Their beloved system is all part of the ‘process’ of which removes human involvement and the tricky matter of having to make awkward and unpopular decisions. Not so much artificial intelligence but rather officially unintelligent. One EA water resource manager once explained to me that, “the process is flawed Donny. We all know it’s wrong.” When I suggested that they make a name for themselves and make a change to a flawed process the answer was as woke EA as could be. “I’ll reach out to my team leader Donny.” I’m pretty sure a phone call would be easier, I thought people only ‘reach out’ to the Samaritans but no, a flawed process causes the same reaction. ## Rewild to what. To when? What has finally caused this river keeper to put pen to paper? An example as to what I have to go through to work on my chalk stream beat; I detest the phrase “rewilding.” Rewild to what, to when? Fifty years ago, five hundred a thousand years ago? The river Test is one hundred percent man-made and has been for hundreds of years with its crystal water sucked from the aquifers into main channels to drive our mills and flood our water meadows. To completely and quickly abandon something man made back to nature is vandalism and shouldn’t be done without thought by just this one meaningful generation of green people however, the edges of now redundant man-made ness can be, with sensible thought, carefully knocked off. I spotted such an opportunity within one day of arriving at my new beat on the top of the Test.The river had been lifted by about six feet to feed a watercress farm sometime in the fifties involving thousands of tons of gravel and some serious civil engineering. It looked terrible and made worse because if you looked carefully you could see where it used to run snaking through a small woodland. I was going to put it back onto its original course. I told everyone of my plans and all without fail thought it a wonderful idea quickly followed by, ‘bloody hell Donny, good luck with getting permission!” But everyone I had shared my plans with including the EA, Natural England, Wild Trout Trust and all the other keepers thought it was excellent so it should be pretty straightforward no? No. From then on I basically had to ask permission to get out of bed in the morning. The Test is a SSSI – site of special scientific interest - and my proposed job sits alongside a meadow managed by Natural England. I should have stopped there. ## My job. Undo the civil engineering of a stream ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1775819997630-image.jpeg) *Parts of my beat has been canalised and lined with telegraph poles* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1775820102889-image.jpeg) *And this is what it should look like* It has taken more than two years of non-stop meetings, discussions, arguments, head shakings, paperwork quite literally stacked on my desk and the small matter of thousands of pounds in fees for permits needed for absolutely everything, and absolutely nothing. The same fees for the same routine checks and screening that every job on the same river has to go through. A licence to delay and frustrate. ## The Dorset coastline After contracts had been signed between local EA, NE, local council, contractors and owners, I looked forward to the start of this £250,000 job this coming October however, the flawed process people had one more kick in the teeth for me. An email came through from national EA and NE saying they’d discovered another site that needed screening in case our job would in some way affect it. Our job is about five hundred yards long at the very top of the Test moving a stretch of river about twenty feet back into its original channel. The site that they now thought they needed to screen and charge another £849 for was on the Dorset coastline. About forty miles down the river, ten miles through Southampton Water along another forty miles of the Solent, English Channel to the Dorset coastline.The Environment Agency and Natural England have both been alarmingly complicit and their silence deafening as the water companies dump their sewage into our waterways including the river ten miles downstream of this proposed job, yet they now pounce onto this made-up nonsense. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1775820458615-image.jpeg) *The same river a few miles downstream yet silence from the EA and NE about water company pollution* I had a few discussions about this new fee and about how our job could possibly affect the Dorset coast but got nowhere. I spoke to the national EA responsible and got nowhere. They explained that if the £849 wasn’t paid within ten days our whole application could be delayed or refused. Surely akin to blackmail? The last team leader lady I spoke with finished with my original quote, ‘sorry Donny there’s nothing I can do, it’s a flawed process.”The river keepers who I have desperately tried to keep interested in this job as something we should all be doing have now long gone amazed at my gullibility and any lingering respect or acknowledgement for those ‘in charge’ has gone with them. What a PR disaster, a missed opportunity. I feel sorry for my local EA who are also hugely disappointed and embarrassed that the decision is seemingly non-negotiable. Those that I shout at are all part of the flawed process and would appear to accept it without question but must understand the frustration of trying to gain unnecessary agreements are damaging the much-needed movement of river restoration. There are experts waiting to work on our rivers who are being held up and put off by this obsession with paperwork, permits and non sensical permissions. They claim to have seen off a generation of outdated owner and keeper who have damaged our chalk stream only to replace them with a system, a process, official unintelligence. Flawed indeed. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1775818853013-image.jpeg) *As precious as the rain forests? The progress in repairing bad tradition on the chalk streams is hand cuffed by pointless permissions.* ### How Important is language in public discourse? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-important-is-language-in-public-discourse/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:09.000Z _No content available._ ### Can 'Britishness' be defined by animals? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/can-britishness-be-defined-by-animals/ Last updated: 2026-08-28T12:08:27.000Z Which animals should we put on our banknotes? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Are We Driving the Curlew to Silence and Extinction? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/are-we-driving-the-curlew-to-silence-and-extinction/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:33:49.000Z Curlew Day is a wake-up call—learn why this beloved bird is vanishing, what’s driving its decline, and what controversial solutions could save it before it's too late. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Fishing Close Season URL: https://www.scribehound.com/fishing-close-season/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:10.000Z _No content available._ ### Does anyone have any views on thoroughbreds (out of racing)? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/does-anyone-have-any-views-on-thoroughbreds-out-of-racing/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:10.000Z _No content available._ ### How can we help the public care more about where their food comes from? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-can-we-help-the-public-care-more-about-where-their-food-comes-from/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:10.000Z _No content available._ ### What's your favourite local dialect name for an animal / plant / landscape feature? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/whats-your-favourite-local-dialect-name-for-an-animal-plant-landscape-feature/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:11.000Z _No content available._ ### Time to Get Real? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/time-to-get-real/ Last updated: 2026-08-15T11:09:17.000Z As always during a modern crisis, the government overlooks the greatest lever it can pull. Us _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Bluebells - had to be shared URL: https://www.scribehound.com/bluebells-had-to-be-shared/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:11.000Z _No content available._ ### From Sheep to the Saddle—Dewi Haddock’s Unbelievable Double URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-sheep-to-the-saddle-dewi-haddocks-unbelievable-double/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:13.000Z Dewi Haddock *(pictured above - Alun Sedgmore)* got off the mark – at the age of just 16 and in his first season – in style at the weekend, riding his first winner on Up For Appeal in the Novice Riders race at Howick, then following up immediately when On Springs took the Mens Open. Not only did Dewi ride the winners, but he also owns and trains both horses, doing all the work with them himself – along with Mother Sara – and fitting training the pointers around his job working for Christian Williams. Jake Exelby caught up with Dewi following his double to talk about how he got into racing, his ambitions in the sport, and sheep and chickens! **Talk me through your career in racing so far and how you got into point-to-pointing in the first place?** I was born in Newtownards, Northern Ireland, where my Dad was a huntsman. I’ve been living in Wales since I was three and am from Brackla, in Bridgend. I’ve been riding since I can walk – I think I was put on a horse as soon as I came out of hospital! I didn’t have a choice… but thankfully it’s a choice I like. I did pony club – Mum got me my first pony on loan, then the first one she bought was crazy wild, but I hunted and show jumped it. My first ride was at Cheltenham on Smokey Cot Star, then we bought Tealson Topic, who was more competitive, and my first win was at Trecoed (in 2022) on Rotherwood Spring Festival. They were 138cm ponies – I then moved up to 148cm and got Lil Ron, who won for me at Didmarton and Ystradowen (in 2024). The highlight of my pony racing career was my last ride, at Aintree in October, when I was fourth on Safinas Silverpoet – he came from a polo yard. We do everything ourselves and couldn’t afford to buy top ponies. Then, exactly two weeks after Aintree, I had my first ride in a point-to-point at Lower Machen. **You work for Christian Williams. How did that connection come about?** Through my stepdad, Matthew, who’s also my sponsor – he does a lot of work for Christian. When Kitty’s Light won the Scottish Grand National, he asked, ‘When can Dewi come and have a ride on him?’ and it went from there. I started riding out on Saturdays and in the school holidays and am now full-time. I do six days a week, as well as every second Sunday. I work for Christian in the morning, do my two pointers in the afternoon, then go back to his for evening stables. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/0b5d164b-d470-46d9-bb71-e7fe43121802.jpeg) *Dewi schooling for Christian Williams* **You own, train and ride Up For Appeal and On Springs yourself. How do you get them fit and ready to race?** Mum’s great and I’ve got a good group of friends – the likes of Jimmy Munro, Jonjo Murphy-Knight, Ella Stone and Bruce Vaughan. The old course at Ystradowen is close, so we get together and ride our horses over there. At the start of the season, we probably go twice a week but, now they’re racing regularly, we just keep them ticking over. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/e87c8da7-daec-4912-b21e-8b225a9a3eae.jpeg) *Ystradowen - where Dewi takes his horses to get them fit (Alun Sedgmore)* At home, it’s just roads and small fields – no gallops. We work them through a very long puddle – well, it’s a road that gets very wet! **How did you come to buy your two horses?** Christian’s been really good – he sent us Up For Appeal. But you can’t do a proper job with just one so, with the money we got from selling Lil Ron, we bought On Springs. I saw him advertised and had a chat with (his former trainer) Luca Morgan. Because he’s older, we only need to hack and canter him to keep him fresh. He jumps hedges, ditches, God knows what! **Talk me briefly through your first season. At first, you seemed to gel better with Up For Appeal than On Springs.** Lower Machen (where Dewi was fourth on Up For Appeal on his debut) was a good day – I was very pleased with that. Then at Dunsmore we lost the weight cloth half a furlong from the line. He’s been very reliable and I’ve had a few good spins on him. I fell off On Springs on our first outing at Larkhill, then we were in front when unseating again two out at Wadebridge. He’s quite bold with his jumping and maybe I wasn’t prepared enough. Up For Appeal comes up when you want him to, whereas On Springs comes up when he wants, which caught me out a couple of times! But as I’ve learnt more about him, I’ve got used to him. **It’s taken a while to get your first win, including a close second at Didmarton on Up For Appeal. What have been the frustrations?** Yes, it’s been a long time coming. I was frustrated after Didmarton. We led most of the way and, every time I pressed the go button, the winner kept picking me up. I thought after that that a win wouldn’t come. **Talk me through Howick last Saturday.** On Up For Appeal, I took the lead after the first, picked up the pace and he kept galloping, making the other horses weaken. I couldn’t shake off the second, but he picked up again going into the home straight. I was so proud of him, I couldn’t believe I’d won and had to pinch myself – I was over the moon as my friends and family ran towards me. I was on cloud 39, let alone cloud nine, and I’ve only come down a couple since! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/2a42bdb7-b0cf-4a18-9ba0-8da94c9097d6.jpeg) *Dewi picks up the pace as Up For Appeal wins (Alun Sedgmore)* On Springs was very lucky, I admit. (He was a remote third when the two horses in front came down). He forgot to take himself out of reverse and I couldn’t do anything about it! But the front two were going very quickly and the time wasn’t too bad. I was so shocked afterwards that I didn’t know what to think. Was I dreaming? ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/60ba728a-eb0c-48fa-98b3-2b27d94e8f79.jpeg) *Celebrations after Dewi completes a double on On Springs (Alun Sedgmore)* **You’re great friends with Jimmy Munro, who also rode his first winner recently. How did you come to know him? Do you have a friendly rivalry?** Jimmy’s been my best mate for the past two years. We met hunting and have been close ever since. He used to come and watch me pony racing and we do everything together. There’s no rivalry. Neither of us was bothered who had the first win – we’re both just as pleased for each other. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/e593939a-cc25-4983-8596-fa3051d1ec8c.jpeg) *Dewi (light jacket) hunting alongside his friend Jimmy* Me and our friend Morgan Wolfe – who leads up for me – have just bought some Ross Cobb chickens to fatten up. Jimmy loves his chicken pie, and it’ll be ready for his belly next month! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/05fd4e6a-0add-4728-a00f-81469e3a5c0e.jpeg) *Dewi's about to bake a chicken pie for Jimmy!* **I also understand Byron Moorcroft is a bit of a mentor to you. How has he helped your riding career.** Byron’s always been great to me. He helps me out by doing things like walking courses. He started me schooling a couple of years ago, advising me on balance, position and seeing a stride and always comes to support me ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/b1ca9afb-b967-4e96-a531-b6a2338a9104.jpeg) *Byron Moorcroft and the prolific Ramble On (Neale Blackburn)* **Which horse (not one of your own mounts) would you most like to ride?** Grace A Vous Enki – he’s unstoppable. And our farrier Arron Jones trains a Restricted mare, Myfanwy (out of the prolific Lady Myfanwy). She seems nice and straightforward, and it would be good to have a spin on her. **Which other jockeys do you admire?** Under rules, Sean Bowen, for his strength in a finish, Jack Tudor, who’s always aggressive and ready for it, and Ben Jones – I’m always speaking to his Dad Dai. In points, I speak to Darren Andrews a lot and get on well with James Shaw. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/10b51c1d-d2f9-4624-a223-4764ed07fbd0.jpeg) *Darren Andrews on Myfanwy - a jockey Dewi admires on a mare he'd like to ride (Tim Holt)* **What's your favourite course?** Howick, obviously, in pointing. Under rules, Cheltenham. I rode pony racing there and my goal is to ride a winner there on a big day. **I know you have a Category A licence (to ride under rules against fellow amateurs). What are you most looking forward to about the rest of the season? Any plans to ride under rules?** I hope to have a spin or two for Christian but it’s up to him – only if he thinks I’m good enough. Maybe we’ll run Up For Appeal in a Hunter Chase over 2m4f. Apart from that, I haven’t set any targets. Just keep progressing, keep my novice status and really go for it next season. We may take Up For Appeal to the Hands & Heels race at Dunsmore – it would be nice to win that series. **What are your ambitions in pointing and racing?** I’ll stay pointing this season and next, then may go conditional if I’ve had enough rides. For now, I just want to stay quiet and gain experience, but I’d like to be champion conditional one day, and ride in the Grand National. **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** Bring every meeting possible back to Wales! I know quite a few near us that have gone. It’s meant to be a farmers’ sport but has gone very professional, which can be unfair. **What would you be doing if you weren’t involved with horses?** Playing rugby – I used to play up to a couple of seasons ago, and was quite versatile, but mainly on the wing – or on the farm with the sheep, Welsh Blacks, and chickens, Welsh Speckled Beulahs, I breed. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/43f00954-11ec-4e81-8590-cb1b8fd6cbb2.jpeg) *Dewi proudly showing off one of his Welsh Blacks* **What are your non-horsey hobbies?** I’m a member of Bridgend Young Farmers and go there every week. **Is there anything else you’d like to say?** I’d like to thank Christian Williams and Arron Jones, who gave me my first outside ride, and to say that I’m proud that Mum and I do it all ourselves. Dewi Haddock is sponsored by [M J Wilson Contracting](https://www.facebook.com/p/M-J-Wilson-Contracting-Ltd-100067925541643/) this season. ### Join the Conversation Shaping Our Countryside’s Future URL: https://www.scribehound.com/join-the-conversation-shaping-our-countrysides-future/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:13.000Z Discover the new Scribehound Countryside 'Discussions': a space where rural voices can talk through the issues facing the countryside, celebrate conservation wins and connect with like-minded people _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Swallows! URL: https://www.scribehound.com/swallows/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:11.000Z _No content available._ ### Fjords and Fact Fudging URL: https://www.scribehound.com/fjords-and-fact-fudging/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:43:51.000Z Think Scotland and southwest Norway should look the same? Discover why this popular rewilding myth ignores deep differences in landscape, climate, and history. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### To save the countryside we need to get political URL: https://www.scribehound.com/to-save-the-countryside-we-need-to-get-political/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:15.000Z It seems that when it comes to policy, activists are in the corridors of power while the countryside organisations aren't _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Driving Lessons to a Dream Winner: Lucy Pickford’s Story URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-driving-lessons-to-a-dream-winner-lucy-pickfords-story/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:13.000Z Lucy Pickford *(pictured above en route to victory on Paint The Dream - Tim Holt)*, from Long Newnton near Tetbury in Gloucestershire, didn’t have her first ride in a race until her early 30s, and took over seven years to ride her first winner, but finally got off the mark at Ston Easton on Sunday when Paint The Dream – who she bought earlier in the season from David Brace – took the latest contest in the Jockey Club ‘Hands and Heels’ Series for Novice Riders. Lucy, who helps run her family’s livery yard as well as working as a driving instructor, talked to Jake Exelby afterwards about the reasons for her late start in the saddle, what victory meant to her, and the challenges associated with being a true amateur in an increasingly professional sport. **Talk me through your career in racing so far and how you got into point-to-pointing in the first place.** Mum’s always been into horses – she used to ride in points on horses trained by my grandad. The colours I ride in were his. My uncle on my father’s side, John Pickford, also rode. He died in a fall at Didmarton in 1978. Growing up, I always did pony club and hunting. I was into eventing, and wanted to pursue that, but – as I got older – I realised I wasn’t good enough. The showjumping caught me out! So, I stuck to hunting – I was mad keen. We had three hunters at home, and I’d go out three or four days a week, but two of them retired, so I slowed down. I left school and went to college but walked out of my A-Level course one day. My parents didn’t put up a fight – they knew they’d lost control! I worked for various people in eventing, then set up the livery yard at home – we had a lot of hunter liveries. I thought, ‘Do I want to do horses forever?’ so did a sports remedial massage course, but that wasn’t for me. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/2f508831-5ab1-4fbe-83bf-68c6ed47fa52.jpeg) *Lucy exercising her eventers at Blair Horse Trials* **You didn’t start race-riding until your early thirties. Why didn’t you do it earlier and what made you start when you did?** I’d always had an interest in racing but stayed away because of what happened to my uncle. Then my good friend Will Woodman started pointing, I’d go and watch him, thought it was fun, and decided I had to do it too. I rang Polly Gundry, who I’d met a few times – she’s a lovely, helpful person, and couldn’t have been kinder. I was looking for a schoolmaster but didn’t know where to start. Within a week, Polly called and said, ‘I’ve got the perfect horse’ – Tackler, who’d been with Marie McGuinness – and it went from there. He was an absolute dream, the most special horse, and grabbed my heart. He was plagued with bad luck and injury, and never got to show his talent, but couldn’t have been a better schoolmaster. He’s the kindest horse you could ever meet. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/aa731864-7f3a-4a24-8cc0-025e2867689b.jpeg) *Lucy riding Tackler at Brocklesby Park* I had my first ride at Barbury, then went to Larkhill – for the first and last time – in a huge field. The next season, just before Covid, we ran at Brocklesby Park, then he suffered a career-ending injury at Didmarton. He’s still with us now, very happy in a field we call ‘God’s Waiting Room!’ **How did being a driving instructor come about?** I’m quite a random person and needed to do something that I could work around the horses. I do my own diary and quite like driving. But the livery yard is still busy – we’ve got plenty of eventers for Matt Glentworth, who rode briefly in points for the Newmans when Josh was very young! He’s a great friend and it was such a shame that he was away this weekend and missed my first win. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/a5d9f20c-6f06-46b4-862e-d7dbbf1ea853.jpeg) *Lucy acting as a groom for her friend Matt Glentworth* **Tell me an anecdote from your time teaching people to drive.** One of my worst pupils was an older lady who’d been beamed down from another planet! She didn’t know anything about the car, and I had to spend the whole lesson explaining how it worked. She didn’t even know where the pedals were! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/a69d1435-262b-4a81-8208-b03bbcd2da34.jpeg) *"I like driving in my car, it's not quite a Jaguar"* **How did you come to buy Paint The Dream this season?** A friend of mine, who knew Conor Brace, mentioned that he was being advertised on Facebook. I went to see him with Matt, and it was obvious that Conor genuinely loved the horse – he’d ridden him since he was four. We’ve kept in contact since and he’s given me advice on how to ride him. We took him to Higham, then Ampton. People laugh at me and ask, ‘Why do you travel so far?’ But if the course, ground and race fit the horse, why not? The ground was perfect in East Anglia. **Talk me through your emotions during and after the race on Sunday.** I never go out with a huge plan. I just ride how I feel and try to react quickly and decisively. So, I thought I’d stay with the field, hang on tight, enjoy it and let him do the rest. It all panned out well – I’m convinced that Paint The Dream counted the fences and said, ‘Come on, let’s go’ jumping the cross fence! I never let myself think, ‘We’re going well’ but landing over the last, I felt, ‘This isn’t too bad. It was a lovely feeling, so nice to finally be able to tick that box and relax. It’s always been my dream to have a winner. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/079aa8a8-745a-4631-bfcb-d7eed84e3c1b.jpeg) *A happy Lucy after winning on Sunday (Tim Holt)* **You had your first ride in 2018\. Was there ever a time when you didn’t think you’d ride a winner?** God yeah, all the time! On a couple of occasions, I unseated at the second last when going well. I remember that happening at Badbury Rings on Scotchtown – that was my winner! There have always been knocks, like horses going wrong, and the pandemic. **Tell me about your other horses – Scotchtown and Write It Down.** I got Scotchtown through Carl Llewellyn, who’s helped me over the years. He was a lovely horse, but happier in the hunting field. He lost confidence with his wind and was difficult to train – we couldn’t gallop him before he went racing – but was a clever horse and so careful over his fences. We sold him and he’s having a lovely time doing dressage. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/c7de0d57-f93a-4424-8304-65718aa47273.jpeg) *Lucy in action on Scotchtown* Write It Down is a very different character, a big old-fashioned type – a proper bloke! He’s horrible to school, but God does he jump. I was gutted when he went wrong at Wadebridge (which is what prompted Lucy to buy Paint The Dream) but he’s 100% sound and I’m hoping he’ll come back next year. **You’ve never had more than five rides in a season. What are the challenges of being an occasional race-rider and being a one-horse trainer on the family farm?** There are plenty of difficulties! We start them off at home, which is very flat, with not much land, and the ground gets wet early and quickly, then we take them to Aston Farm (on the Gatcombe Estate). I always work the horses on my own, and have zero concept of speed, always asking myself if I’m going quickly enough. And I have to work hard on my fitness, but nothing replicates riding in a race. **Which horse (not one of your own mounts) would you most like to ride?** I wouldn’t mind a spin on Killer Clown. I was out celebrating with my friend Daisy White (who rode her first Hunter Chase winner on the horse last week) the other night. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/7c689abd-004d-4c2e-9942-5d76d57ef418.jpeg) *Daisy White and Killer Clown (Alun Sedgmore)* **Which other jockeys do you admire?** Carl Llewellyn’s been great to me – he’s really helpful. I did my jockey training with him and had lessons on the Equicizer – I looked like a crane fly having a seizure! Professional sportspeople like him can give you small nuggets of information. In pointing, Gina Andrews is a machine, isn’t she? And Lily Bradstock, who rode Write It Down at Lower Machen when I was ill. I’d never met her before, but she gave him a lovely ride. People in pointing are so kind. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/e942e691-6a3f-4ce3-957c-9ef4d12e6d3f.jpeg) *Lily Bradstock rode Write It Down at Lower Machen (Alun Sedgmore)* **What's your favourite course?** Eyebrows are always raised when I say I love Wadebridge. It’s like a rollercoaster and I like quirky tracks. Didmarton’s a wonderful course – there’s nothing more beautiful than the line of fences down the back straight. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/311c7ad6-0927-4fb5-8964-3a974fc2ca3e.jpeg) *Wadebridge - rollercoaster (Tim Holt)* **What are your ambitions in pointing and racing? Do you intend to retire now that you’ve had your first winner?** No! Paint The Dream ran again at Howick last Saturday. He’s as strong as an ox and always pisses off with me on the gallops. After his second at Ampton, he was so strong that he scared me. He sees his races as nothing more than a decent piece of work. And it’s 100% that I’ll keep going next season. Write It Down was going to be my last horse, but the thought of not having that race-riding feeling was making me miserable! Because I’m older, I’m not going to go back to it in five years, so I’d be an absolute lunatic to give up now I’ve had a winner. My nerve’s better than ever! **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** I’m not sure there’s a huge amount I would do – racing and pointing do things better than most other equine sports. I’d like Members races to be for proper hunting folk, but don’t believe that’s realistic – this year, Didmarton opened its Members race to adjacent hunts. **You’re a keen hunter. What do you think will happen to pointing after a hunting ban?** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/9aa70943-e237-482b-82fd-7b3d6da8a65b.jpeg) *Lucy on the hunting field* I think it will get even more professional, with more point-to-points at rules courses. I can’t imagine every hunt will disappear and think people – like the Tucks at Didmarton – will keep pointing going. It’ll become more a grassroots stepping stone for young jockeys, and less for people like me. Hopefully that won’t happen, but I think it will. **What are your non-horsey hobbies?** Will Woodman and I go cycling in the summer – we’ve got all the gear and no idea. I always have to plan the route – Will can barely get himself out of Didmarton – and, on our last ride, I didn’t tell him how far we were going. We did 50 miles, via seven pubs, with a pint in each. We got home at 1am with no lights and no hi-vis jackets. The last section was the main road from Tetbury to Didmarton – I don’t know how we’re still alive! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/adac15ce-68e1-4c7e-a021-8165fd8232b2.jpeg) *Will Woodman winning at Didmarton - safer on a horse than a bike! (Pointing WM)* ### On The Road URL: https://www.scribehound.com/on-the-road/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:32:31.000Z A road runs through the heart of my farm - it's a space which nobody seems to feel responsible for, and it's always getting faster... _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Nesting Season Begins: An update from the Pennines URL: https://www.scribehound.com/nesting-season-begins-an-update-from-the-pennines/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:14.000Z Spring's here and North Pennines birds are busy! Catch my video update to see their dramatic displays and turf wars before nesting season begins. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### What the heck are those?! A surprising arrival at the Farm Park URL: https://www.scribehound.com/what-the-heck-are-those-a-surprising-arrival-at-the-farm-park/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:15.000Z Find out why scientists and animal lovers from home and abroad are flocking to see our latest fluffy additions _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Food, Fuel, and Frustration: Rural Britain’s Bumpy Ride URL: https://www.scribehound.com/food-fuel-and-frustration-rural-britains-bumpy-ride/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:52:14.000Z From war shocks to soaring costs, explore how global events and government policies are putting rural Britain—and your grocery bill—under real pressure. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Changing Seasons, Challenging Weather and a Glorious Spring Turnout URL: https://www.scribehound.com/changing-seasons-challenging-weather-and-a-glorious-spring-turnout/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:16.000Z From stubborn March rains to gleeful spring turnouts, shifting seasons are altering age-old farming rhythms and why climate adaptation is more urgent than ever. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Read the Inspiring Story behind Teenage Jockey Jimmy Munro’s First Win URL: https://www.scribehound.com/read-the-inspiring-story-behind-teenage-jockey-jimmy-munros-first-win/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:17.000Z 17-year-old Jimmy Munro had his first winner – in his debut season and on just his fifth ride – when Chris Barber’s Mount Sinai got him off the mark at Howick a week ago last Saturday *(pictured with connections after the race - Alun Sedgmore)*. Jimmy, who splits his time between Barber’s and Christian Williams’ rules yard, grew up riding – his father Jason was a champion junior driver and still races trotters and mother Claire has 12 horses at their home at Heol-y-Cyw near Bridgend – and had his first mounts on Uno Mas, a prolific winner for Williams under rules and now owned and trained by former leading Byron Moorcroft, a great friend of Jason and something of a mentor to Jimmy. Jake Exelby spoke to the level-headed youngster after his victory to find out more about him. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/97531daf-f10b-45ef-bd41-6c4c956931d4.jpeg) *(L-R) Jason, sister Emily, Claire and Jimmy with GG Rogue* **Talk me through your career in racing so far and how you got into point-to-pointing in the first place?** We’ve always had ponies around the yard, and I’m told I first sat on a Shetland aged one – there was probably a pony waiting for me before I was born. So, I had no option, really! I did pony club, some showjumping, then started riding Dad’s cobs. I grew up watching Byron pointing, as Dad used to help him. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/eafac60a-686d-4aa1-9ddc-d8c4250596d1.jpeg) *A younger Jimmy driving GG Rogue* Byron had some stores last year that he broke-in for our farrier, Arron Jones, and I used to help him school them. That’s where the idea came from for me to start pointing. **How did the connections with Christian Williams and Chris Barber come about?** I left school and had plenty of spare time, so went to Christian’s to earn a few bob. I started there last Easter and got some experience and strengthened up before I started race-riding. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/6d844e6f-6df4-4939-bb02-4ab5e60d8a11.jpeg) *Jimmy on Dixie Mafia, trained by Christian Williams* At the first Larkhill meeting, Byron and I got chatting to Ed Doggrell, who said I should come up to Chris’ yard. I started working there the week before Christmas and, on my first two days, rode out three lots then went schooling at Lambourn. I go there every week when I can. I’ve ridden Famous Clermont but not Grace A Vous Enki – his rider Georgie won’t get off him. Maybe if she disappears on holiday, I’ll get a chance! Generally, I’m with Chris on a Wednesday and Thursday, riding work and schooling, and at Christian’s the rest of the week. Christian is very supportive of me going to Chris’. **Tell me about Uno Mas.** He’s my boy. He’s 12 now, so has a little bit of age about him but he jumps brilliantly. He doesn’t like the rain – he got smart to it at Buckfastleigh on Sunday, and there’s no point in doing it if he doesn’t like it. He ran out of his skin at Larkhill (the time before) and is waiting for better ground and the sun on his back. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/49ea8703-34f9-4303-9e3e-fa42fce07f5b.jpeg) *Jimmy before his first ride on Uno Mas at Lower Machen (Alun Sedgmore)* **How did you come to get the ride on Mount Sinai?** Ed Doggrell asked me to ring Chris and said I might have the chance to get on her. Uno Mas was also ready to run at Howick but luckily was double-entered, so Byron said, ‘You jump on her, lad’. I’ve got to give it to Ed for making it happen. He’s been very good to me – he could have ridden Mount Sinai himself but went to Cothelstone and let me ride her. **Talk me through your emotions during and after the race.** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/8899da7b-72db-453d-842f-c4e0cd2ac3f7.jpeg) *Jimmy and Mount Sinai at the final fence en route to victory (Alun Sedgmore)* I was more nervous riding Mount Sinai than having my first ride at Lower Machen. But as soon as I swung my leg over her and went down to the start, everything was lovely. We jumped off, travelled well and, when I saw James King (who rode the runner-up) come off the bridle, we galloped home. I was trying to pull up after the race when she got keen again. Dewi-John Haddock came up behind, grabbed hold of me and shook me. I said, ‘DJ, I’m trying to pull up’. He’s my best mate – we’re thick as thieves. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/af93500f-63b9-453b-94c5-f52b97f3a3da.jpeg) *Jimmy (left) with Dewi-John Haddock - thick as thieves* **Byron Moorcroft is obviously a big influence on you. What do you remember of his riding career?** Not much, as I was very young. But I do remember one day at Ystradowen, on a mare he was training himself, he was about 20 lengths clear trapping down to the last, took a pull and she slowed to a trot. He landed on her neck and finished second. I’ve never seen my Dad go so nuts in his life – he ripped into Byron, who had nothing to say (for a change!) ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/d7b242cb-554f-45ea-ae81-b89df7208d8d.jpeg) *Byron Moorcroft and the prolific Ramble On (Neale Blackburn)* **What’s the best advice he gives you before you have a ride in a race?** When I ride Uno Mas, he tells me, ‘If he doesn’t go, he doesn’t go. But if he does, give it your all.’ I just go out there and enjoy it – there’s zero pressure. **You’ve mentioned Ed Doggrell and Dewi-John Haddock. Which other jockeys do you admire?** I like Sam Burton – I get on well with him in the changing room. I used to get on with Sam Lee, bless his soul. He rode a Maiden for Byron last season and it’s very sad he’s no longer with us. Under rules, James Bowen – he rides them flat to the boards – and Jack Tudor’s very good. **Why do you think Wales has produced so many great jockeys?** We’re hard and gritty and have a strong work ethic and, because pointing’s smaller here, it matters more. We’re struggling with the number of fixtures, so every meeting counts. **What's your favourite course?** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/17272f24-2ca2-4b6a-977e-744550a9f461.jpeg) *Racing at Maisemore Park (Alun Sedgmore)* Maisemore Park. It gives me a buzz, and I’ve hunted across the track with the Ledbury. It’s always been nice weather, Byron and Arron Jones have had a few runners there and the viewing’s really good. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/cf556bf5-67d6-4126-a0cd-de561ea9871d.jpeg) *Jimmy out hunting* **What are you most looking forward to about the rest of the season?** I’d love to have another ride on Mount Sinai, but Chris hasn’t decided where she’ll go next. I’ll try to pick up any other rides I can, but am just going to take it steady, see how it goes, go with the flow and try to have fun. **What are your ambitions in pointing and racing?** I’d like to turn conditional… perhaps. I want to do plenty of seasons pointing first, to gain experience, ride out my claim and get in with more owners and trainers. You’ve got to have a good base before you build a house! The first step would be to get my Category B licence (to ride against professionals under rules). But there’s no rush – I’m only 17. **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** I’d try to find a lot more Welsh meetings! It would be good for it to go back to when Byron was riding, good quality racing with him and Bradley Gibbs duelling at the last. **What would you be doing if you weren’t involved with horses?** That’s a difficult one – horses are in my blood. **What are your non-horsey hobbies?** I boxed for a few years, but that’s a lonely sport compared to racing. I’ve got a few dogs, which I like showing, and we farm some cows at home. Apart from that, I’m flat out on the horses. ### Into the Shadows: The Poetry of Pike URL: https://www.scribehound.com/into-the-shadows-the-poetry-of-pike/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:16.000Z From poetry to fly fishing, the pike is a fierce survivor that deserves both our awe and respect. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Every 'Dog' Has Its Day URL: https://www.scribehound.com/every-dog-has-its-day/ Last updated: 2026-03-28T08:45:30.000Z It's opening day of the trout fishing season at Clywedog Reservoir in mid-Wales. It's a day for epic scenery - but even more epic weather as Andy Ford and Rob Hughes head out with fly rods in hand _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How Planting 5,000 Trees Built a Community of Joy URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-planting-5-000-trees-built-a-community-of-joy/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:17.000Z A journey of laughter, muddy boots, and meaningful connections as volunteers from all walks of life band together to restore woodlands and hedgerows, showing the profound joys of working with nature _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Too Small a Country for This Much Driving URL: https://www.scribehound.com/too-small-a-country-for-this-much-driving/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:44:09.000Z Wales looks small on the map, but try crossing it. A short drive can become a minor expedition, and that says rather a lot about rural life, roads, and assumption. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Could an Emoji save Britain’s red squirrels? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/could-an-emoji-save-britains-red-squirrels/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:28:29.000Z Can a red squirrel emoji ignite a movement to save Britain's most endangered native mammal, or does deeper wildlife education hold the real answer? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Tractors to Talent: The Farmers Choir’s Golden Moment URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-tractors-to-talent-the-farmers-choirs-golden-moment/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:35:37.000Z From milking parlours to a roaring Britain's Got Talent stage, the Hawkstone Farmers Choir is proving that music and community can transform rural lives—click to meet the farmers behind the viral sens _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Right To Be Left Alone URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-right-to-be-left-alone/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:18.000Z As you’re reading this, it’s likely a bunch of people are participating in a mass trespass in a woodland somewhere in England. It's selfish and irresponsible and nature will lose. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Gitto’s Triple Triumph: Secrets of a Racing Maverick URL: https://www.scribehound.com/gittos-triple-triumph-secrets-of-a-racing-maverick/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:19.000Z Neil Gittins – known to all as ‘Gitto’ – got off the mark for the season in style at Bangor-on-Dee on Sunday. He ran his entire string of four in three races on the card, and came home with three winners *(picture - Marilyn Sweet)*, going one better than last season, when he had a double at the North Wales venue. Two of his horses – the progressive and impressive six-year-old Great Valley and Blagthebookies – repeated their 2025 double for husband-and-wife riders Guy and Iola Sankey. Neil, still buzzing after his weekend exploits, gave Jake Exelby the lowdown on his horsey and sporting background, as well as his cinematic and Olympic ambitions! **Where do you train?** My yard is on the Shropshire / mid-Wales border. I’ve got six boxes, but just four horses, and Angie Sykes – the former wife of Dubai Millennium’s trainer David Loder – who herself bought Derby winner Sir Percy, acts as my adviser and helps with buying the horses. **Talk me through your career in racing so far and how you got into point-to-pointing in the first place?** I’m from a hunting family – my Dad used to take me and my two sisters out. I have a showjumping background – I rode to a decent level until I was 17, had a 13.2hh pony who won bucketloads of prizes, and thought I’d be the next John Whitaker! But then my athletics career took over. I was a decent long-distance and cross-country runner, and ran for Great Britain at age group level, until a virus knackered my racing career. My engine basically blew up. So, after that, I went back to riding horses. I think my athletic background has been a monster help in knowing how to get horses fit and healthy and in training them. **Your race-riding career was brief. Tell me about it.** I bought a cheap thoroughbred called Tydelmore and rode him in a few point-to-points in the mid 1990s. I remember coming third at Upper Sapey on my first ride. I got pissed and my whole family had left the course. Luckily, I managed to get a lift home with Angie. **How did you get into training pointers and how did you find owners when you were getting started?** After that, I went back to hunting, mostly with the Wynnstay. I got to know Peter Greenall and got a horse, Arctic Challenge, with him that his son Oliver rode in the 2005 Aintree Foxhunters – it was his first ride in the race. I then bred a horse – Seeds Lane – myself, who finished second and third in points before sadly dying of grass sickness. I was just dipping my toe in really – I couldn’t go back into riding as I was too busy milking cows to have the time to do any courses, and had a young family so wasn’t going racing as much as I used to. I then met Guy Sankey, also through hunting – he’s the keenest lunatic ever to put on a pair of britches and flies past me over hedges as if his life depends on it. I used to tell him to stop pointing and stick to hunting because he couldn’t race-ride for sh\*t but was great fun in the pub! Guy and I became close friends, and he started getting nicer horses, which he had in training with Heidi Brookshaw and Caroline Robinson, so I thought I’d get a horse and train it myself. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/176fea7e-8087-4560-9128-cdf9b27ed009.jpeg) *Ben Atkins - third member of Jedward?* Another friend I met hunting was Ben Atkins. Ben’s the second most famous ginger podcaster in the country after Paul Scholes – I hear he dyes his beard. He’s got hair like Jedward – he must be their third member. So, we bought Chief Hopper and went halves on him. He won f\*ck all and was completely gutless, and we didn’t have a clue what we were doing! For God’s sake, we ran him in an Open at Eyton-on-Severn as a four-year-old! He led to four out before weakening, but coming back afterwards, it was like we’d won the race. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/858e4689-30e7-497e-a752-549918abcd8b.jpeg) *Chief Hopper - where it all started (Neale Blackburn)* **Great Valley was your first winner in 2024, after which your career really started to take off. Tell me about him.** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/c2a0fd80-247e-4619-bbfa-28db7da12cc7.jpeg) *Great Valley (maroon and white) gives Neil his first winner at Eyton-on-Severn (Marilyn Sweet)* I bumped into Dave Futter (who owns Yorton Stud), and he told me about Great Valley, who had hurdles form under rules for Dan Skelton and a mark of 91\. He needed a proper holiday and Mark Windsor – who’s a bit of a genius – sorted his back out, but he’s so talented that I was convinced he’d win first time out at Eyton-on-Severn. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/a2942ce2-bb09-4f01-9df1-944ff8253808.jpeg) *A picture tells a thousand words - after Great Valley's first win* He has a decent dam-side pedigree and is by Masterstroke. While the sire had the top-rated four- and five-year-olds last season (Great Valley being the latter), I’m convinced his horses improve with time. Great Valley has put on 30kg this year and I think he’s improved another two stone. The ground didn’t suit on Sunday and he was tired afterwards, blowing for a long time – he’s incredibly clean-winded, so doesn’t do much hard galloping. He’d have run at Stratford this week if we’d had better ground and he’s got such a high cruising speed that I wouldn’t fear any horse. He’ll probably have one more run in a point then go for a Novice Hunter Chase over 2m4f, potentially at Cartmel. I don’t want to over-race him. It’s frustrating that horses on the downgrade can come third in a moderate Hunter Chase and qualify for Aintree, while Great Valley isn’t qualified despite two Open wins. This year could have been his year, but he’s missed his chance. He’s the best jumper I’ve ever sat on – he jumps like (top French chaser) Il Est Francais. **Why has it taken so long for Great Valley to make his seasonal reappearance?** The others weren’t running well and needed a rest, so we stopped for over a month and tested their blood weekly. They just did gentle exercise in that time – no hard work – and showed no sign of illness, but their blood was wrong. So, I went to Bangor-on-Dee with fingers crossed. I was convinced Great Valley would win, but cautious about the others. **You have four horses this season. Tell me about the others.** I bought Mayor Kingston from Sam England – I loved him as soon as I sat on him. I was very excited about his debut at Lower Machen – I had him ‘bob on’ – but he smashed his way round. I thought we were nailed on next time, but it didn’t go to plan. He needs soft ground and a staying track, and I think he’s progressive. He could be Conditions Race standard. My friend Charles Barlow, father of jockey Felix, is involved in the syndicate who own him. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/0c7c0241-ba22-4f8e-a0f9-2a099425ce6d.jpeg) *Mayor Kingston and Felix Barlow win the Maiden at Bangor-on-Dee (Marilyn Sweet)* Push To Pass (who finished fourth in Mayor Kingston’s Maiden) is a gorgeous little horse who ran well on Sunday. Blagthebookies had won a point for Chris Barber and Will Biddick, then went to Harry Derham’s, where he was punted on his only run. The ginger king Ben Atkins found him for me, along with Mayor Kingston. I told Iola Sankey she should buy him. I didn’t think he’d win on Sunday as he was short of work and had suffered the worst from the issues we’d had. But when you’re on a roll… you’re on a roll, and Iola gave him a monster ride. He’s a lazy monkey, but ace when he’s on form. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/a330c4c1-f324-41a5-a73d-1aa7ef028c3d.jpeg) *Iola and Guy with daughter Beatrix after Blagthebookies wins in 2025* **Which horse (not one of your own) would you most like to train?** That’s a very difficult question, but I suppose Grace A Vous Enki. All I’d have to do is stick him in a lorry, drive to Larkhill and guarantee four wins a season! **Which other trainers do you admire?** Alan Hill. His success is no accident. What Gina Andrews is doing is sensational, and for Will Biddick to retire as a jockey, then have a five-timer as a trainer soon after is unbelievable. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/3374b856-28e8-4ea4-a8d5-634685ea7b61.jpeg) *Alan Hill - top trainer and hunting man (Carl Evans)* **What's your favourite course?** Bangor-on-Dee for selfish reasons. I’ve run horses in five races, and won all five, plus a pony race. But Eyton-on-Severn is my home track, and I love training winners there in front of thousands of people. It can get pretty spicy down the far side before you turn for home and the atmosphere is as near as you get to Cheltenham at a point-to-point. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/b861e7fe-a97e-4fdd-8ccf-127d6e3e823b.jpeg) *Eyton-on-Severn - atmosphere like Cheltenham (Marilyn Sweet)* **What do you enjoy most about pointing?** What else can you do in life that compares to the feeling of winning? I’m still talking about nothing but Sunday three days later but – if you do million-pound deals in the city, I bet you stop thinking about it as soon as the ink dries. If you love horses, you can’t beat that feeling. To have three winners at Bangor-on-Dee was very special. **What are your ambitions in pointing and racing?** I’d like to have a few younger store horses to break in. From a business point of view, there’s always more to aim for. All my horses do a lot of flat work, like flying changes, and work on their balance. I’ve won the Silver Fox at Eyton-on-Severn, so the Lady Dudley Cup at Chaddesley Corbett and the Lord Daresbury (Peter Greenall) Race at Tabley would be lovely boxes to tick. I’m not so bothered about Cheltenham – Aintree appeals more, particularly with my connection with the Greenalls. I’ve had some exciting days racing there and taking one with a live chance, and seeing it cross the Melling Road, would be magnificent. I did a project at primary school on Red Rum, and I’ve met and patted him. **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** I’d like there to be six Hunter Chases before Christmas, three each in November and December. Opens should be Opens at level weights – no penalties and no allowances for mares or novice jockeys. Conditions Races are for penalties and allowances. And if a point-to-point has a sponsor who wants to offer £1,000 per race prize money, why not? **I know you’re a keen hunter. What’s the importance of hunting to being a jockey?** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/70cc8cdb-eb5b-4215-821f-edc7f82f7603.jpeg) *Neil in the hunting field* For me, kids who go hunting – like Will Biddick and the Greenall brothers – are better jockeys. Look at the Irish lads – they spend their life jumping hedges – and Iola Sankey must be one of the bravest female riders in the country. I remember Alan Hill riding in the Aintree Foxhunters. He was about seven feet tall (!) and not designed to ride thoroughbreds. He rode like John Wayne but could boot winners round Aintree because he hunted. Rupert Nuttall was the same when he won the Whitbread Gold Cup. The best pilots have hours of flying and, to become a good rider, you need hours on a horse. You learn how to balance and, if you fall off, you don’t make the same mistake again. **What do you think will happen to pointing after a hunting ban?** It’s utterly terrifying. The only reason point-to-points exist is because people give their time for sweet FA. You can put a hunt ball on and make £20,000, but some point-to-points lose money. I fear that the sport might die and we’ll lose tracks like Eyton-on-Severn and just have ‘posh’ courses like Bangor-on-Dee. If you can’t enjoy having a drink at the back of the car, pointing’s f\*cked! **What would you be doing if you weren’t involved with horses?** My dream job would be working in the film industry teaching actors and actresses to kiss! **What are your non-horsey hobbies?** I’m a bugger for buying knick-knacks, little pieces of china, at antique and bric-a-brac shops. I love finding gems – I got a Dupont lighter for £15 that was probably worth about £800. And I’m very good at drinking gin and tonic. If it became an Olympic sport, I’d be chef d’equipe! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/a29521ae-46f7-48fd-bef6-7de5370bb408.jpeg) *Gitto practising for his Olympic role* **Tell me something I wouldn’t know from asking these questions.** My operation is known as Gitto Racing. I wanted to call it “G-Spot Racing: for those who like to come first”, but Ben Atkins advised me not to. ### Inside the High Court Battle to Save Family Farms URL: https://www.scribehound.com/inside-the-high-court-battle-to-save-family-farms/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:20.000Z Step inside a dramatic High Court battle as farmers challenge sweeping inheritance tax reforms that could reshape the future of family businesses—discover what really unfolded inside the courtroom. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Hedgelayer, Heal Thyself URL: https://www.scribehound.com/hedgelayer-heal-thyself/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:20.000Z The muntjac plague is a disaster for East Anglian wildlife. Rather than whining, you can do something about it. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Local businesses: use them, or lose them URL: https://www.scribehound.com/local-businesses-use-them-or-lose-them/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:20.000Z Supporting your local shops, pubs, and producers is more crucial than ever—and see how your everyday choices can save your town from decline. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Stand up and Talk URL: https://www.scribehound.com/stand-up-and-talk/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:21.000Z My grandchildren told me on a regular basis I was a techno peasant twenty years out of date. I detested anything that required using a computer screen and the interweb to communicate. I liked writing things down and then sending them as a letter in an addressed envelope. I trusted the Royal Mail more so than pinging messages across cyberspace on ‘clouds’ that I couldn’t feel or see. Southern Water and their dumping of sewage changed everything for me. As a river keeper all of my life, I needed to let people now, to expose this scandal and I knew that my postman, who I love, and Royal Mail, who I don’t love, were possibly a tad slow and dare I suggest, unreliable. So grandchildren, average age about eight, turned me into a cutting edge, smart phone clued up, savvysocial media believer. I post, but not in a letter box, messages to my ‘followers’ highlighting the scandal of the water companies polluting England’s water and particularly my river Test. I’ve always been good at shouting and overly keen to voice my opinion, particularly at companies with the words Water and Southern in their name, I just needed to update. Luckily for me, an early grounding on the importance of standing up to talk and accepting the flak that inevitably comes with it, came early in my life. As a ten-year-old, I was the very proud captain of the Abbotswood junior school football team. We were not the best and lost considerably more games than we won but we tried our hardest although were in some games lucky to even finish second such were the battering’s that we took. Our boots had steel toe caps with inch long studs screwed into them and the leather football we chased around not only weighed more than us but left an indentation of a stitched seam on your forehead if you stupidly decided to head it which would often knock you flat out and in danger of drowning in the foot deep mud. This greasy, oblong shaped lump of cow hide soaked up moisture better than any chalk stream aquiver I’ve ever seen and should have been patented to roll about on modern day cricket pitches to mop up surface water after rain. The sponge-like quality turned it into more of a medicine ball, something that could have been fired from the gunnels of the Mary Rose Tudor warship and we were terrified if it came at us too quickly and an instant decision made on whether to duck, hang a leg out or just pretend not to see it and hide in the football pitch which always seemed to resemble world war one trenches, a no man's land of terrified schoolboys. If you did bravely decide to kick it your foot would go at least halfway into the ball before it moved with a delayed sling shot effect that would, in time, propel it towards the next ten-year-old victim. A corner kick would need at least three good punts to get the ball anywhere near the six-yard box and I never saw a penalty kick reach the goalkeeper let alone force him to make a save. It was tough being a footballer in 1973 at Abbotswood junior school but I loved every second of it and felt no shame at all in being quite possibly the least successful captain in its long history. One of my favourite responsibilities about being in charge was in having to stand, together with the other sports captains, in front of the whole school assembly each Tuesday morning and give a two-minute summary of your game the evening before. My report, for reasons I didn’t really understand at the time, was usually left until last and seemed to be the most listened to with an audible hush descending on the audience as I stood to talk. Anything less than a ten nil defeat was loudly applauded and the mention of a goal for us, it happened three times one memorable season, resulted in rapturous cheering and unbridled celebration. In hindsight, they were of course making fun of us, but my team of fellow ten-year-olds sat there proudly accepting the praise especially the game where we scored three times although we did think losing 17-3 was not the greatest result and the standing ovation unnecessary. My time as captain, 1971-74, and having to share the losing experiences in front of five hundred mocking kids instilled a few things in me. A total admiration and respect for my teammates, win or mostly lose I have always loved being part of a team and the spirit and loyalty that comes with it, brothers in arms and all that. It also gave me an almost complete lack of fear in talking before an audience either friendly or hostile which eventually, thirty years after Abbotswood football team, lead to me being offered my job here at the top of the Test. Whether standing in front of classmates, the head table at a wedding or any other kind of public speaking, it is generally a nervous and unpleasant experience mainly because the speakers are naturally amateurs and completely unused to an expectant audience. It does get a lot better or certainly less nervy the more you do it which of course most people try their hardest not to. A request to be somebody’s best man is usually a proud moment but is closely followed by worried thoughts of the speech and of the piss taking that will inevitably follow. Best man speeches are nearly always crap which is what they’re supposed to be and all part of the wedding day tradition with the talker really in a no-lose situation. He’s expected to fulfil his duty and fail, forget his words, insult a few people and make a bit of a fool of himself. He’s the warmup act. A brilliant best man speech is rather annoying and a little selfish putting unwanted pressure on the more important people who must follow. It’s your duty to set the bar very low for the benefit of the groom and possibly bride’s father who need all the help they can get. I know very well if I’d announced a narrow loss of less than ten goals for the school football team a hushed disappointment would have filled the assembly hall in a boring anti-climax as in the best man giving a flawless speech. First, and only time, best man speeches are the easiest of all because with subsequent attempts nerves are a little calmer and the speech may be a little too smooth and without that sense of terror and trembling voice that is vital in the required naff delivery and in making things easier for the groom. The groom’s speech is a little easier although deliberately being rubbish can’t be used with such effect. You have people to praise, caterers to lie to, bridesmaids to thank – not personally, and most importantly of course a new wife to impress and make feel proud of her husband acting in such a responsible way. You might throw in a little funny now and again knowing full well your audience will laugh at a wet fart such is their longing for you to appear brilliant in your new life in front of your new family. The groom’s quality of speech is pre-determined to be ‘acceptable’ and ‘lovely’ no matter what he says just as the best man’s will be nervy, ridiculed and crap. Father of the bride is the easiest of all wedding speeches which only requires a well-timed dab of a handkerchief and a mention of when she joined the Brownies, and the audience is yours. A minute or two of reminiscing about how good she was at school and how, thank goodness, she looks like her mother and not you are enough although another little wipe with a hanky as you sit down will have the aunties and mothers with tears in their eyes, your job is done, and you can resume drinking as much as you can of the wine that you mortgaged your house for. It is relatively easy to stand up and talk at a wedding, maybe a bit nervy but really a no-lose bit of fun with not too much pressure apart from acceptable barracking from the ever-present table at the back full of your pissed mates drinking pints of the previously mentioned wine. Talking in front of a room full of sober strangers who might not necessarily be there for a good time is imminently more challenging and contrary to what wedding guests expect and accept from their speakers, this audience is more than often half glass empty and searching for any weakness from the speaker. Such was the audience at the Test and Itchen Association annual general meeting where yours truly was asked to give a talk on chalk stream management in the 21st century as a Hampshire River keeper. I gasped as I pulled into the car park of Sparsholt College where I was giving the speech. There were three or four attendants directing a steady flow of cars into an overflow car park as the main ones were already full. I showed one of the attendants my identity badge and he very quickly stopped the traffic and directed me towards the main entrance where I pulled my pickup in between two gleaming Range Rovers. I just presumed there was something else going on at the college and made my way towards the main assembly hall through throngs of suited posh people. There was tea and coffee provided outside the hall and I stood at a table nervously sipping my coffee watching hordes of people walking into the meeting room, my sweaty hands double checking pockets to see if I’d remembered the sheets of folded paper where I’d scribbled random notes down about who I wanted to slag off the night before. Entering the hall was even more of a shock and the chairman of the board waved me through rows of seats of loudly chattering toffs and sat me down at the front explaining that I was the third or fourth speaker after the ‘quite brilliant’ National Trust media spokesman and he’d introduce me when the time came. He asked what instrument I would prefer to use when giving the power point presentation although when I told him I didn’t know what a power point presentation was he smiled a curious smile and returned to the stage and clapped his hands to gain the attention of the several hundred people. I opened the leaflet that was left on each seat explaining the day’s schedule and included a few words about all the speakers and their particular specialist subject that they would give a presentation on, mine being ‘Hands on chalk stream management in the 21st century by someone who really knows their stuff.’ Calling a river keeper, a chalk stream manager is rather like calling a dustbin man a waste engineer and to suggest I really knew my stuff was completely hilarious although as the sweat began to drip down my back, I wasn’t laughing at all and again checked my pockets for reassurance on having something, anything, written down. I would have given twenty quid for a fag and at least double for a pint of Guinness. Note to oneself, never volunteer for this again, you twat. The chairman welcomed everybody to the meeting and gave a brief resume of all the speakers and who they were and what their subject of expertise was. National Trust, Environment Agency, Natural England, Sparsholt College Professor of Fisheries and a government minister for agriculture and they all stood in turn and smiled at the audience. He then went on about timing etc before a fellow board member lent along the top table towards him and whispered in his ear. He then embarrassingly apologised with a ‘how could I forget our lovely Donny?’ and the bastard introduced me. I stood with a stupid giggle and turned towards two hundred and fifty pairs of laughing eyes as I smiled and bowed my head with my arms raised in mock surrender. Fucking excruciating doesn’t cover it and the thought of pegging it up the middle of the chairs to freedom did cross my mind. At least when I was the ten-year-old football captain I didn’t recognise the ridicule of the Abbotswood schoolchildren, but these arseholes meant business and I was also as far from a pleasant wedding day speech as I could possibly be. Again, I felt the sweat dripping down my spine and was aware that I was sat in a warm puddle feeling like an incontinent Christian waiting for the hungry lions who were sat laughing, right behind me. The first speaker was a very impressive gentleman from The National Trust who by the casually brilliant way he flicked a great long pointer about at the big screen adorned with graphs and percentages had obviously done it many times before. Ten minutes into this razor sharp incredibly boring presentation, I fondled about in my damp pocket and pulled out a screwed-up pile of smudged paper which was my equivalent to this master class of public speaking. I had a pencil in my other pocket and like a cat with a nearly dead mouse I slowly and quietly opened the ball of paper without the two people sat either side of me seeing it and looked for the one dirty joke and crossed it out. I was getting the feeling that this wasn’t the time or the place to start telling my stories let alone my infamous sexual innuendo stories and thought it probably wouldn’t sound as funny as it did the week before after seven pints of Guinness just before midnight in the fishing hut with pissed fishermen. After about forty minutes he stopped talking, the chairman got up and thanked him and introduced an Environment Agency spokesman who carried on where the other one left off with an equally impressive display of pointless facts and figures on the screen. He spoke for another thirty-five minutes and everyone in the hall became aware of a definite wheezing snore from somewhere near the back rows. Again, hardly a breath drawn when the Natural England man took on the baton with a seamless change and carried on with the same boring routine which was completely metronome without feeling or expression and was something he was reading without the need to look at his notes like the hundred times before. If I had paid to go there, I would have left. Then it was my turn and I stood up in what had become a shower cubicle of warm sweat. The chairman again thanked the latest speaker for an excellent speech and looked down his agenda before saying; ‘Ahh yes, Donny. He’s speaking on behalf of the river keepers to give us all an amusing view from their perspective and of the problems the poor fellows face in looking after the chalk streams in the 21st century... which might be interesting?’ I felt like standing straight up there and then and shouting back; ‘Well it might not! If I were you, I’d probably all fuck off to the pub for twenty minutes and then you won’t be disappointed?’ As it were, I just grinned an embarrassed grin and climbed the scaffold towards the microphone, just underneath the swinging hangman's noose. The chairman stood again with his hand up as I pulled my screwed-up paper from my wet trousers and he said, 'Actually I know that the keepers who are at the bottom of the system are having terrible, awful trouble with poaching and perhaps lovely Donny would give us the nod on that?’ Without thinking and without even looking at my curled up smudged notes I blurted out completely unscripted; ‘Well I’ve never been to the bottom of anybody’s system but the one ‘nod’ that I can give you is that I can now say ‘fuck off you thieving bastards’ in eight different languages.’ There was a split second of absolute deathly silence and wide open eyes and then simultaneously, the whole place erupted in loud raucous laughter, the first audience noise since the boredom began nearly two hours previous. When I write it and read it again now the words don’t seem necessarily very funny but because of the situation everybody was in and the tiresome dross that they’d sat through silently pretending to listen, it was just an expression of grateful, pent-up release. The laughter was catching and went on unabated for a few minutes before the red-faced chairman once again stood up and tried to settle the audience down with raised arms. Well of course I was on a roll, and everything I subsequently said seemed either brilliantly clever or hilariously funny although there’s no doubting, I was in the right place at very much the right time and came as a massive relief for everybody there. I still have a copy of my notes on the smudged paper,and I always silently thank the chairman for unknowingly setting me up with the first one liner. I didn’t have any graphs or screens to point at, but I like to think I spoke with passion and with true feeling about something which of course I really care for and again I think that’s an important part of stand up talking to an audience. If you believe in what you’re saying, and people sense your passion then it’s so much easier to get the message across and to engage your audiences’ interest. I spoke for about thirty minutes which is a long time - too long - but it seemed to go very quickly and was very enjoyable. A couple of people shouted out questions, much to the chairman’s horror and undoubtedly against association rules; ‘You say you’re not a river scientist, hydrologist or a particularly clever man Donny so why should the riparian owners listen to you?’ Again, without really thinking (there’s the answer) I said; ‘My opinions are qualified through extensive experience, both good and bad and that’s all it is, my opinions. If I’m on the riverbank and somebody asks me a deliberately difficult question about a plant or river inhabitant that I don’t know the answer to then without any hesitation I just use a name I’ve learnt, Conium Macalatum. They think I’m a clever bugger who knows his stuff and on we go. That’s experience in my books.’ As I stood at the microphone looking out at all the suited posh people, riparian owners, all of them members of every conceivable dust-covered, out-of-date traditional British institution wiping tears from their eyes I once again thought of the mocking school children and of the crying wedding aunties. Perhaps this was the secret of public speaking? Make them cry or make them laugh or perhaps make them do both and confuse them, which I’m good at and it was one of those rare occasions where I had them in the palm of my hand, a strangely powerful feeling. One of the audience members came up to me in the bar afterwards and congratulated me on a ‘splendid talk’ and bought me a pint. He was eventually to become my boss at Whitchurch and always references the eight languages gag as being pivotal in him offering me employment. He also knew that Conium Macalatum was Hemlock and so we immediately had a mutual respect which I’m sure is still the same today. The last couple of stand up talks I’ve done and probably the next couple? Eulogies. I’m getting older in life and my age can be mapped out by the kind of speeches I have been asked to make throughout it. Schoolboy games reports, best man, groom and bride's father speeches, job presentations and finally eulogies. Be clear, truthful... ish, try not to be deliberately funny and most importantly, speak with belief and a passion. Stand up, and talk. Shout if you want especially if like me lately, it’s directed at water companies. ### Make Market Towns Great Again URL: https://www.scribehound.com/make-market-towns-great-again/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:21.000Z From bustling medieval fairs to chain-store monotony - how reviving the link between market towns and the countryside could have a huge impact _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Cows in the Highlands URL: https://www.scribehound.com/cows-in-the-highlands/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:19.000Z Hill Farming or Rewilding or Green Tourism ? Where are the Highlands going ? People are certainly not keen on too much renewable infrastructure as the SSEN proposed pylon line from Beauly to Spittal has been knocked back for the moment. There is a concerted effort from over 100 Community Councils from Dundee to Aberdeen to Beauly to Thurso calling for a pause to consider seriously the actual needs and scale of Renewable Energy production for export to the rest of the UK. At present it is ad-hoc chaos with far too many financial entities / renewable companies trying to climb on the gravy train Net Zero represents. The cost to the economy, business and the consumer never seems to be considered. Everybody knows electricity costs far too much as a result of the pursuit of Net Zero. It is generally thought that the incoherent muddle of the new Land Reform Act will have little effect on the current structure of ownership. Especially where wind farms have increased the value of estates. The system where high net worth individuals ( from all over the world ) are willing to invest in job creation and housing is an astonishingly efficient system that spares the taxpayer. The great debate is really whether the conservation experiment by Anders Polsen ( thesteely-eyed Viking ) and others on their perhaps as much as 500,000 acres has any long-term value. It is certainly welcomed by green enthusiasts and parts of Government that do not understand the value of traditional sporting estates to biodiversity. It also appeals to class warriors who are under the illusion that all sport is done by a privileged elite. Rewilding is certainly upsetting traditional land managers , owners and users. Reducing deer numbers to near zero and banning sheep encourages low value ( for nature ) scrub and trees to develop. I well remember the late Professor of Botany Charles Cunningham from Aberdeen University extolling the virtues of heather for nature. Burning also was essential to preserve the wide variety of flora and fauna he would say to both students and others. The big loser is biodiversity if you destroy heather. Heather is perhaps Scotland’s most unique resource. Trashing it by planting trees is a shocking mistake and destroys a valuable habitat. Next to Polsen’s massive estates old-fashioned small parties of sportsmen no longer rent bed and breakfasts or employ self-employed stalkers and ghillies. They no longer visit the small local shops, and employees at hugely expensive hotels ( such as at Tongue ) hardly make up for the loss of local employment. As farming continues to retreat from the west and the north the landscape will inexorably change and the social structure with it. Progress ? I don’t see it like that. As a farmer in the fertile and clement Eastern Highlands I see this all as an avoidable mistake. Food and Framing Policy is missing. Food Security gets just lip service in our post-industrial society as people assume it comes from supermarkets. Jeremy Clarkson has certainly helped the image of farming but too little and too late. There is an obvious small scale solution which would have a big effect. Cows. There is enthusiasm to see small herds of cows make a return to the Highlands. I can think of several traditional sporting estate owners and farmers who would be delighted to support this idea. There is suitable ground and the required knowledge is still there. Winter feed is easily brought in and there is little need for expensive farm buildings although some might be willing to invest if they saw a good future. All it needs is Government commitment. A simple and cheap scheme would produce great results. Why not a Highland Cow Scheme ( perhaps a few Belties and other rare breeds ) for the far north and west would give a great push to a struggling local economy. The tourists would scream with delight. ### VOICES FROM THE WORLD OF HUNTING URL: https://www.scribehound.com/voices-from-the-world-of-hunting/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:23.000Z Whenever I hear celebrity broadcaster Chris Packham railing against hunting with dogs, I am reminded of former Prime Minister John Major’s comment about Sir Richard Body, rebellious Eurosceptic Tory MP and breeder of pigs and bloodhounds. “When I hear the name Body I hear the sound of white coats flapping,” Major exclaimed in exasperation during one of the Maastricht debates. Watching Packham hurling violent hyperboles at the camera while following a hunt in Dorset I half expected a couple of chaps in white coats to jump out from behind a tree and cart him off to an appropriate institution, by which I don’t mean the BBC. “It’s like I’ve got a Tardis and gone back in time to an ancient mediaeval savagery,” he said as he followed the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt, “where a bunch of entitled lunatics, possibly sociopaths and psychopaths, are riding around the countryside taking vicarious pleasure out of chasing wildlife and then watching it get torn to pieces by dogs.” The hunt, unless he could prove otherwise, was actually trail hunting, with hounds pursuing a pre-laid trail rather than live foxes. Which is not to deny that four people associated with the hunt were successfully prosecuted under the 2004 Hunting Act for hunting a live fox in 2025\. But the point I’m making here is to do with his blanket denigration of everybody who follows a hunt as “ethically and morally bankrupt sociopathic savages.” True, some individuals have broken the law and been prosecuted for doing so, but the vast majority of people who hunt or follow hunts do not break, and have not broken, the law. At one point, Packham opined: “The most tragic thing we are likely to see today is that young woman on a horse. What on earth goes on through these adult minds?” **Listen to the Unheard** Did he bother to stop and chat to that young woman, or has he spent any time in respectful conversation with people who hunt? I doubt it. That young woman on a horse might have been a carer or a vet or a substance misuse worker – like three of the hunting women I recently interviewed, and whose profiles feature in *Real Lives, Real Voices: In Defence of Liberty, Livelihoods and Hunting within the Law*, which is published this week. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1772539645507-Duke_of_Buccleuch_Hunt_(Chris_Strickland).jpeg) *The Duke of Buccleuch hunt in Scotland is now drag hunting (credit: Chris Strickland)* Many of the MPs who voted for the 2004 Hunting Act, which effectively banned most forms of hunting, saw themselves as the tribunes elected by the plebs to take on the toffs. Like Packham, they didn’t even have the decency to visit hunts, talk to hunters or try to understand their world before proscribing it. The view expressed by former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who typecast hunters as bloodthirsty toffs on horseback, is still held by many left-wing MPs, and completely misrepresents the world of hunting. In its 2024 manifesto, Change, the Labour Party vowed to ban trail hunting on the grounds that many hunts were using it as a smokescreen for pursuing live quarry. A consultation to determine how this will be done is about to begin in parliament. The pledge has little to do with wild animal welfare and a great deal to do with false perceptions about the people who hunt. **Saving trail hunting** In November 2023, I wrote in these pages about how the 2004 Hunting Act had been a disaster for the fox, the brown hare and the red deer in the West Country. Instead of making life better for the quarry species, it had made life worse. These were the findings of the Rural Wrongs Project, established by myself and Jim Barrington, a former director of the League Against Cruel Sports and now animal welfare adviser to the Countryside Alliance. In *Rural Wrongs: Hunting and the Unintended Consequences of Bad Law*, we argued that the Hunting Act should be repealed and replaced with something similar to the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 1972, which granted protection not only to domestic and captive animals but to all animals, including hunted species such as the fox, hare and deer. Under the 1972 law, hunting, coursing and fishing were exempt, unless they involved activities which caused “unnecessary suffering”. Under the current government, this is clearly not going to happen, and any talk of repealing the Hunting Act, or for that matter getting protected status for wild quarry hunting on the grounds that it is part of our intangible cultural heritage, is strictly for the birds. At the moment there is only one game in town: convincing politicians that they should not ban trail hunting or get rid of any of the exemptions which allow limited forms of hunting to continue. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1772539674522-Blencathra_hunting.jpeg) *Hunt followers in the Lake District (credit: Charlie Pye-Smith)* **The We Are Hunting project** One of the ways I believe that we can do this is by showing that the vast majority of people involved in hunting are not behaving illegally, and that they are neither bloodthirsty toffs, nor Packham’s “morally bankrupt sociopathic savages”. That’s why Christophe Gailly de Taurines and I established the We Are Hunting project in 2024. Christophe, who hunts with the Warwickshire, got in touch after he heard me speak at the annual dinner of the RS Surtees Society. The chairman had asked me to talk about *Rural Wrongs*, which the Society had published, in an amusing and entertaining way. But there was nothing amusing to be said about the impact of the Hunting Act, so I talked instead about the pleasure I had had over the last 30 or so years dipping in and out of the hunting world. I suggested to the audience that hunters needed to do far more to show politicians and others antipathetic to their activities that they have a distinct culture stretching back centuries, that their activities involve a great range of people from different professions and classes, and that the hunts are a great force for the good in terms of community cohesion and providing entertainment in rural areas. Christophe and I decided to produced material which could be used by the Countryside Alliance, the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA) and others to convince politicians that banning trail hunting would be a disaster, and that the popular stereotype of hunters as members of the wealthy elite is nonsense. We joined forces with my old colleague Jim Barrington, the advertising executive Neil Kennedy, who helped to establish the Countryside Alliance, and the photographer Nico Morgan. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1772539696269-CPS_and_Martin_Watts_2_(JB).jpeg) *Interviewing Martin Watts, staghounds huntsman whose story is told in Real Lives, Real Voices (credit: Jim Barrington)* So far we have produced the book *Real Lives, Real Voices*; a shorter pictorial version, *Real Voices: Dispatches from the World of Hunting*; and a 10-minute film which you can watch on YouTube ([Hunting The Facts - A film about trail hunting people).](https://wearehunting.com/hunting-the-facts/?ref=scribehound.com) **Saving hunting culture** “They came from various places, and various walks of life, but they all had the same destination,” wrote Geoffrey Chaucer in the prologue to *The Canterbury Tales*. Like the 30 pilgrims embarking on a journey to visit the shrine of St Thomas Becket over 600 years ago, the 30-odd hunting people whose testimony you can read in Real Lives, Real Voices represent a great many trades and professions, from undertaker to underwriter, farrier to philosopher, groom to gardener, barrister to builder. Like the Canterbury pilgrims, they share a common purpose. Trail hunting has enabled hunts to retain their infrastructure, membership and traditions within the confines of the law. They want to save it. Were all forms of hunting to be banned, some 12,000 hounds would be surplus to requirements. Inevitably, many would be put down. Several thousand hunting horses would also be out of a job, and at least 500 people who are directly employed by the hunts who lose their jobs and homes. There would also be a serious knock-on effect on farriers, feed merchants, grooms and others associated with the hunting world. Each of the conversations I had was about a slice of life: how people became involved with hunts, why they love hunting, what it means to them economically and socially, how hunting fits in with the trades or professions they practise. One of the things I hadn’t expected, but heard much about, was how important hunting is for many people’s mental health, especially for those who have difficult jobs in the caring professions. Travel around the world of hunting today and you will be struck by a pervasive sense of fear and bemusement. Fear, because hunting people feel demonised. For the most part, they have obeyed the 2004 Hunting Act, yet the Labour Party has now pledged to outlaw trail hunting because some have broken the law. We don’t ban driving because of the carnage caused by drunk driving: we enforce the law and punish the guilty. Likewise, if individuals flout the Hunting Act, the law should be used to hold them to account. Bemusement, because those involved in countryside business ventures – and all hunts are small businesses – are already threatened by new policies, including an increase in the national insurance contributions they must pay; the government’s decision to stop accepting new admissions for the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme; the latest restrictions on inheritance tax relief for farmers; and plans to dramatically expand the area of agricultural land devoted to solar energy production. As Baroness Mallalieu, chair of the Countryside Alliance, has said of the Labour party: “We are almost becoming the cruel party.” **Liberty matters** The Labour Party has certainly become the illiberal party, being depressingly cavalier with our traditional freedoms. Since it came to power, it has introduced, or threatened to introduce, a whole suite of measures which could diminish our liberties. These range from the introduction of identity cards and face recognition technologies in public places to a possible assault on the jury system, whose core principle that individuals should be judged by their peers dates back to the Magna Carta of 1215\. There are also significant concerns about the erosion of free speech. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1772540336846-Beaufort_Boxing_Day_meet_2.jpeg) *Boxing Day meet of the Beaufort Hunt (credit: Jim Barrington)* To ban trail hunting would be another deeply illiberal measure, explicitly designed to prevent people from freely associating in pursuit of a lawful activity. A ban, as you will discover if you read Real Lives, Real Voices, would lead in many areas – as one of the people we interviewed told us – to mass depression. And it wouldn’t do a jot of good for wild animal welfare. Real Lives, Real Voices can be bought at: [https://wearehunting.com/product/real-lives-real-voices/](https://wearehunting.com/product/real-lives-real-voices/?ref=scribehound.com) ### The Real Rural Renaissance Isn’t on Instagram URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-real-rural-renaissance-isnt-on-instagram/ Last updated: 2026-08-15T11:12:05.000Z Somewhere on Instagram, at this very moment, a dachshund is trotting purposefully across a frosted field in a pristine tweed jacket… _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Commentary Box to Winner’s Enclosure: Robbie Scott’s Story URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-commentary-box-to-winners-enclosure-robbie-scotts-story/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:21.000Z Robbie Scott *(pictured right with with jockey Ed Doggrell and trainer Chris Barber - Neale Blackburn),* originally from Shoreham-by-Sea near Brighton, but now based in Northampton, is one of the best-known voices – if not faces – on the point-to-point circuit, based on a decade of commentating in most regions of England and Wales. He hit the headlines last weekend when Chris Barber’s Hang Out – the first horse to run in Robbie’s name – won at Kingston Blount… called home by his owner! *Jake Exelby* caught up with the 27-year-old afterwards to talk through his career in the commentary box, and how he came to own Hang Out as the result of a drinking game with his trainer! **I know you work for SIS. Talk me through what do you do for a living.** I do commentary and voiceover work for their betting shop coverage, including greyhound racing. I do a lot of foreign racing – I’ve commentated on racing in Germany, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru! **How did you get into racing in the first place? And how about commentating? How did the association with point-to-pointing come about?** I’ve loved racing since I was a young boy. Dad was a bookie before I was born and he used to take me and my sisters racing at tracks like Brighton, Plumpton, Fontwell Park and Goodwood. It spiralled from there. When I was about to leave school, I’d decided I wanted to work in the sport and thought I’d give commentating a go. I remember telling Dad one day that I didn’t want to go to school but would rather go to Plumpton and talk to the commentator there about how to get into it. Dad said OK and Simon Holt was working there that day. We had a chat, I sent him a demo tape, and he invited me to Lingfield Park to do a live practice in an empty box. After that, I did another demo – of my commentary on the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot – and sent it round to some point-to-points as an example of my work. My first meeting was the Hursley Hambledon at Larkhill in November 2016\. That was quite a baptism of fire – a difficult first meeting, but if you can do it at Larkhill, you can do it anywhere. The first race was a Members, with just three runners, so it was a perfect start with not too much pressure. I remember a horse called Tommo going off miles clear, and Shantou Breeze was the first winner I called. I think I did five meetings in my first season, and since then, I’ve commentated at a lot of courses in all parts of the country except the Northern Area, which is a bit too far. I’ve been to Yorkshire – I enjoyed Heslaker before it closed – and I’ve been to quite a few courses that no longer exist. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/62e97d49-2d0f-474c-87ab-c1e85c842c71.jpeg) *Robbie commentated at Heslaker before it closed* **What are your career ambitions?** I’ve probably been the most used point-to-point commentator in the last few years. That was never my aim – it’s just happened. Now I’m contacted by people asking for me, rather than the other way round. I’ve had some great support along the way. My dream is to be a racecourse commentator under rules. **What do you enjoy most about it and what are the biggest challenges in the role?** It’s the best job in the world. The buzz and the feeling are magical when you’re describing a brilliant finish and the racegoers are reacting. You can’t get that from other sports – racing is the only one that uses a live public address system, and it’s a real bonus to experience it with a crowd. There’s a lot of driving, some long days, and some courses are harder than others. And the unique challenge of pointing is that we don’t know who’s turning up until an hour before each race, so you only have 20-30 minutes to memorise the runners. It can be difficult when you have big fields back-to-back. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/4fb24401-7db2-46b6-90a4-e8e376f63e50.jpeg) *Robbie commentating from a gantry at the Godstone Bank Holiday fixture* And sometimes you can be high up in a gantry or even a cherry-picker in difficult weather conditions. I remember being at Peper Harow in a monsoon - it didn't stop raining all day and I've never been wetter in my life! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/edaf962c-ed58-4ccc-a121-5efb4d077e07.jpeg) *It doesn't get much higher than the cherry picker at Peper Harow* **What are your favourite courses on which to commentate? Which ones are tricky?** My favourite is Dingley – the best-located racecourse I’ve been to. It’s at the bottom of a valley, and you can see everything. While the commentary box is a long way away, you’re right on the line. Kingston Blount is good – the box is very well placed and high up – and Charing is perfect, as you can’t miss a thing. At tracks like that, it’s your fault if you make a mistake, with no excuses. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/d359936b-0be9-4d91-b53f-386c8016e29c.jpeg) *Dingley - at the bottom of a valley (Nico Morgan)* Larkhill is most challenging. The track’s a colossal size and the fields are usually big. For half the race, they’re going away from you, so you have to watch every horse over every fence, and you can’t see them in the chicane. I use two sets of binoculars there, including a high-magnification pair on a tripod. Badbury Rings is tricky, as they go so far away from you – at the cross fence, the horses are just dots – as is any course where they jump the fences out of sight. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/55700fa9-19e4-4321-b2f4-426703c05761.jpeg) *Larkhill - a difficult course at which to call (Tim Holt)* **There’s a story doing the rounds about how you came to own Hang Out. Tell me about it in your own words.** It was at the Wessex Area Awards at the Holiday Inn, Taunton, and I was hosting. It’s a brilliant bash, there are always lots of people there and the bar’s lively, and I got chatting to Chris Barber. He’d told Joe Hill that he was going to drink me under the table, so challenged me to a drinking contest. I said I didn’t want to, but Chris told me he’d make it worth my while. I warned him that it wouldn’t end well for him (!) but he offered me a share in a horse if I beat him. I won’t go into any detail but, three hours later, Chris was asleep! Owning a horse is a magical thing and Chris is great – his family are steeped in racing. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/31600e60-03b5-4a76-bf8f-5efaee4e4eb9.jpeg) *Chris Barber (with Famous Clermont) - lost drinking game to Robbie (Caroline Exelby)* **Peter O’Sullevan is famous for his dispassionate commentaries on the likes of Attivo and Be Friendly. You seemed fairly calm on Saturday. How did you control your emotions?** It was a funny experience. I didn’t want to make it obvious, but I was watching the whole field, yet only watching Hang Out, if that makes sense. Three out, I thought we had a chance, two out, I was thinking ‘This is on’, but the runner-up soared over the last, so it had to be a close finish, didn’t it? I called the race to the line, as I couldn’t call him the winner unless I knew he’d won. (The margin was three-quarters of a length). ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/b79fc037-1d85-452e-8e3b-6996c3ddad06.jpeg) *Hang Out making his move after two out (Neale Blackburn)* Lots of people had turned round to watch me in the box by the end of the race, but I tried to call it deadpan – ‘Hang Out wins for (jockey) Ed Doggrell, Chris Barber and Robbie Scott’ – I didn’t want to make it about me. When I came out of the box, everyone gave me a cheer and seemed happy for me, which was fantastic. It’s what dreams are made of. **I gather another horse might be running in your name this season. Can you tell me anything about him/her.** Hang Out is going to the sales, so Chris tells me there may be another one that we can run a few times and have a bit of fun with. And I understand you’ve now got your own colours – black and white for Newcastle United. Tell me how those came about. I haven’t got them yet, but that’s the plan. My grandfather is from County Durham, so he and my Dad have always supported Newcastle. I suppose it would have been easier to follow Brighton, but I was never given a choice. I’ve been ‘Toon Army’ since day dot. **Which has been your favourite horse on whom you’ve commentated between the flags?** I’ve called some brilliant horses in points – Hazel Hill, Porlock Bay and Premier Magic, who all won the Cheltenham Foxhunters, and Cousin Pascal, Famous Clermont and Latenightpass, who did the same at Aintree. I’ve also called many brilliant races. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/80ae7ff3-bb11-4d33-939c-4f140d1f4a91.jpeg) *Porlock Bay (far side) and Premier Magic - two Foxhunters winners called by Robbie (Pointing WM)* **Do you have any funny moments you can share?** At Larkhill, there was extremely thick fog all day. I was told a race was off but could only pick out about three of the runners. I saw a horse pass the line, worked out who it was, and said, ‘He’s either clear first… or clear last!’ Because the commentary box is well back from the track, I needed a fence steward with a walkie talkie to tell me the 1, 2, 3 over each jump. **Which horse would you most like to own?** I’m a watcher, and like seeing young horses come through – like Tom Lacey’s recent Maiden winners. Histrionic was impressive at Larkhill earlier this season, and Grace A Vous Enki is a fantastic horse to watch – but I wouldn’t want to own him, as I couldn’t take the stress! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/17afbdc8-3429-4901-8e37-68fdb4374f1a.jpeg) *Grace A Vous Enki and connections - fantastic horse to watch (Tim Holt)* **Which jockeys do you admire?** Izzie Hill’s an amazing rider, as is her brother Charlie - they're both good friends. Gina Andrews’ record is a testament, and nobody apart from Izzie challenges her. James King is the calmest man I’ve ever met, and Ed Doggrell can do no wrong at the moment. I loved calling Will Biddick – another real horseman who I loved watching win from the front. As an amateur jockey, I’d put him up there with the likes of Derek O’Connor and Jamie Codd. We’ve lost a champion rider but gained a great trainer. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/5512151a-50a6-46f9-99f9-aa4767d4f939.jpeg) *Will Biddick - fantastic horseman (Neale Blackburn)* **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport of pointing?** I think lots of things are going well and we’re lucky that we seem to have a lot of young racegoers. Could we boost that more? And maybe we could have an App, with instant access to results? But it’s not really my forte. **Aside from Newcastle United, do you have any hobbies outside racing?** I’ve just come back from a game of snooker. I guess I’m OK – my highest break is 44, when I missed a pink for the half-century. And I'm a keen swimmer - I used to play water polo. I'm doing a five-and-a-half mile swim the length of Lake Coniston in June for [Level Water](https://www.justgiving.com/page/robbie-scott-1?utm%5Fsource=SFMC&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=LFCFRUK%5FDay3%5FPageIncNew&mi%5Fu=55188355&mi%5Fecmp=LFCFRUK%5FDay3%5FPageIncNew), a charity that helps disabled children to swim. ### Deer Deserve Better Than Simplified Narratives URL: https://www.scribehound.com/deer-deserve-better-than-simplified-narratives/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:19.000Z ## The stage is set. All in the stalking community and the deer world will now, I'm sure, have read the latest government plans relating to deer. Moreover, I am sure you will have read the BDS response and that of other organisations. What is very clear from this is that some of the six species we are fortunate to have in the UK are going to get a pretty tough ride going forward. Whilst the rationale behind these measures is for the good, is this demonisation of our deer going to deliver the results we want or is it going to resurrect the exact behaviours and mentality that we have worked so hard to minimise? ## The importance of sure footing. Two million. There are two million deer in the UK. Are there? Why not one point five or three million? This number is, at best, hypothetical and speculative. This could be an over -inflation or a dramatic underestimate of the current population and this is the very foundation of any initiative regarding deer. I find this troubling. Should this not be carried out on solid fact and be entirely data led? While there has to be an understanding that gathering accurate data is precarious this number has been bandied around for a considerable amount of time. Drone surveys give an insight into what's on the ground and anyone managing territorial species will have a good idea via their spring census what they have but how do we account for the areas we cannot survey and are not managed? The transient nature of herding species leaves room for discrepancies and although we can predict with a level of accuracy a future population based on fecundity and split of sexes how do we do that without a solid, or at least more solid, datum point? ## Not all are equal. What's evident is that there are areas of the UK with a vast overpopulation of certain species of deer. Drone surveys from some areas show deer moving at night in volumes akin to a Serengeti migration and the trail of destruction left in their wake is quite devastating. The woodland bare and browsed with the ground so trampled that any flora that escapes the appetite of the deer is destroyed underneath its feet. You can guarantee the herd will march through the field of rape the day before it's cut resulting in pods emptied onto the ground and months of hard work and expense ruined. Territorial species, specifically roe, can wreak havoc if not managed in a way that utilises their behaviour to reduce damage. A woodland without a dominant buck in will become a proving ground for all those looking to establish territory and an overpopulation of does with their selective browsing feeding habits will soon put pay to the forester's efforts in regen or planting sites as well as the woodland ground flora. Muntjac, the silent assassins, are spreading at a rate of knots. Roadside plantings and railways are super highways for this robust and resilient little deer and they will make a home anywhere. You only have to look at the HAD (Humane Animal Dispatch) call to urban area rates now to understand their spread. This being said, a one-for-all approach would be catastrophic. ## Proceed with caution. The problems highlighted are very real, this is without doubt, but they are not universal. This is not a blanket problem and if caution is not exercised we run the risk of it being perceived as exactly that. Deer downgraded to nothing more than vermin. Shot with impunity and years of hard work recognising them as the vital ecosystem engineers they are undone. In the areas of high density and vast overpopulation they will have to be hit hard but this has to be applied proportionately. The three hundred acre farm with four roe deer on does not need to remove them down to a national deer "problem". The future will rely on all with an interest in deer management and their welfare doing their bit for both the deer and the land. Reducing numbers where required rather than managing large areas for sporting interest at the expense of the aforementioned. Not allowing invasive species such as the CWD (Chinese water deer) to expand its range because it presents greater sporting opportunities and those who manage areas they physically cannot keep up with accepting help to work towards getting it done. ## In the crosshairs. Deer, as it stands, are currently firmly in the crosshairs of the government and in some instances rightly so. These areas will need addressing and addressing quickly to prevent the situation being expedited but I urge everyone who has a passion and a love for deer to proceed in a manner that reflects that. Keep to the core principles of deer management and do the job on whatever scale is necessary with welfare at the heart of it. Some deer in some areas require a firmer hand at this point but let's reduce to a manageable level and not eradicate. They are a wonderful asset to the countryside from the iconic red stag or white hart to the rutting fairy rings of the roe deer. The diminutive muntjac with its characteristic bark and the squeal of a sika. The hare-like brazen mid-field behaviour of the CWD with its characteristic canines. All of these, native or invasive, are part of the countryside now and deserve our respect through management and understanding and I worry over-demonisation will undermine all of their virtues. Deer aren't the enemy, they just need an adjustment! ### The Rare Breeds Revolution Began With My Dad’s Vision URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-rare-breeds-revolution-began-with-my-dads-vision/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:26.000Z Discover the extraordinary story of Joe Henson, the visionary who turned rare farm animals into a world-first attraction—proof that passion and perseverance can change an entire industry. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Deer Dilemma: Uncovering the UK Venison Shortage URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-deer-dilemma-uncovering-the-uk-venison-shortage/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:34:18.000Z ## Where Are All the Deer? The new year saw me step into a new role, moving away from feathered game and focusing solely on sourcing venison. It turns out I wasn’t the only one with that idea. Suddenly, everyone seems to have decided that venison is the meat of choice. The problem? There’s none to be found. The Government has stated that around 750,000 deer need to be culled every year to keep numbers under control. In reality, that simply isn’t happening — and those of us trying to source British venison are feeling the consequences. ## Why Are So Few Deer Being Shot? I watched a video on Instagram recently blaming the shortage on imported New Zealand venison. The claim was that the volume being brought into the UK has removed any need for British deer. That simply isn’t true. Trust me, I am actively trying to source significant quantities of British venison, and it just isn’t there. One small game dealer I spoke to suggested the weather was a major factor. Fog and relentless rain have made conditions either impossible or deeply unappealing for stalkers to get out. Another stalker pointed to a lack of incentive. There may be some truth in this. In certain areas, game dealers are paying as little as £1.10 per kilo, while in others prices reach £3.30 per kilo. That level of disparity is stark, and it inevitably affects motivation. This is matched on the other end, when trying to buy trim, a pallet load at a time we are quoted varying prices from £3.00 a kilo up to the unaffordable £5.50 a kilo. Apparently the dog food market is also very interested in buying up venison trim and they are currently our main competitors. It seems our dogs are eating better than most humans. ## The Scottish Challenge Scotland faces a unique and complex set of challenges when it comes to deer management. Culling deer there is difficult due to a combination of vast, rugged terrain; fragmented land ownership; reliance on voluntary management systems; and deep-rooted cultural, ethical, and economic considerations. Despite estimates suggesting an additional 50,000 deer need to be culled each year to protect biodiversity, hitting that target is far from straightforward. Key issues include: - Vast and inaccessible terrain. Red deer roam across enormous areas of the Highlands, often in remote and difficult landscapes, making population control logistically challenging. - A voluntary management system. Deer management largely relies on voluntary cooperation between land managers and Deer Management Groups (DMGs). There is no legal duty for landowners to control deer numbers, leading to inconsistent culling levels. Plus the deer moving to land where there is no deer management taking place. - Fragmented ownership and conflicting priorities. Particularly in the Lowlands, fragmented landownership makes coordinated action difficult. Some estates worry that higher culls for conservation could undermine the economic value of stalking, as reduced deer density impacts sporting income. - Cultural and ethical opposition. Deer, especially red stags, are powerful cultural symbols. Large-scale or “aggressive” culls have faced criticism from some groups, including concerns around shooting pregnant hinds. - Logistical challenges. In remote areas, extracting carcasses can be dangerous or impractical, leading to animals being left on the hill. While organisations such as NatureScot do have statutory powers to intervene where environmental damage is severe, the preference remains to work collaboratively and voluntarily with landowners. That said, rising ecological pressure has prompted legislative changes, including allowing year-round shooting of male deer to help increase cull numbers. However from the many people I have spoken to there does not seem to be much take up of the year round cull. ## Other Factors at Play Another explanation I was given is that this has been a mast year. With an abundance of natural food available, deer have stayed deeper in woodland, making them far harder to spot and shoot. Apparently, mast years are often followed by a rise in deer numbers, as higher nutrition levels can lead to an increase in twins being born although someone said that this was just an old wives tale. ## Still Searching In my search for venison trim alone in the last two weeks, I have contacted 133 deer-related businesses and individuals. I am still waiting to hear back from 32 so fingers crossed a consistent supply avails itself. Now it is the end of the shooting season I am sure more people will turn to controlling the deer on their land. However, if you have venison to supply, or know someone who does, please do get in touch. ### A Conversation of Death URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-conversation-of-death/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:31:48.000Z What happens when co-evolution goes backwards _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The last trouting men in Beadnell Bay URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-last-trouting-men-in-beadnell-bay/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:22.000Z You never really know when you are witnessing the end of part of rural life but we often are _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Are we really that bad?? Are we the worst in the G7? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/are-we-really-that-bad-are-we-the-worst-in-the-g-7/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:23.000Z Sick of 'doom and gloom' in UK nature debates? Discover why our environmental story isn't as dire as you’ve been told—and how the right data paints a different picture. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Molly Armytage’s Dream Double: Pointing’s Next Rising Star URL: https://www.scribehound.com/molly-armytages-dream-double-pointings-next-rising-star/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:23.000Z Molly Armytage, who turned 20 last month, rode her first winner when steering Illico De Cotte to victory at Badbury Rings (above - Tim Holt) – and promptly followed up on her first mount under rules, taking a Hunter Chase at Leicester on 50/1 shot Enqarde. It’s no surprise that Molly is a talented rider – her father is Grand National-winner (and fellow racing journalist) Marcus, while her aunt and uncle are pioneering female jockey Gee Armytage and Mark Bradburne, another leading jockey with over 350 wins to his name. Jake Exelby spoke to Molly after her momentous double and discovered her steady build-up to success in the saddle and her level-headed approach to what she hopes to achieve in her career. **What do you do when you’re not riding?** I study at OMBS – Oxford Media & Business School. It’s like a university, and I do digital marketing, business studies, IT and event management. I share a student house in Oxford during the week and go home – near Lambourn – at the weekends. The course lasts a year, and I don’t know what I want to do afterwards. I’m taking the riding as it comes. This week’s been good – but you have bad weeks too. I’d love it to go in the right direction, but it might not. The next step is a Category B licence (to ride against professionals), and I may go and work in a yard, but I wouldn’t be averse to doing a job alongside racing. OMBS are great at finding jobs for their students and they’ve also been understanding about letting me go off and ride. **With your family background – your grandfather Roddy was also a leading trainer - was it always inevitable that you’d start riding yourself?** I obviously grew up riding, doing lots of pony club and hunting with the Old Berkshire. I went to school with Olive Nicholls – she was doing Shetland pony racing, which I thought was cool, so I did it too. It was great fun, but I hardly ever finished! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/d8320ec3-6558-410f-8a73-896aaec80548.jpeg) *A younger Molly in shetland pony action - in the colours in which her Dad won the Grand National* Gee felt sorry for me, so got me a racing pony – Merryment Top Cat, who used to be Tristan Durrell’s. Then Dad got me The Bisky Bat, who was quite a character. We bought him out of a field for £200 and he was ten but hadn’t been in training since he was two! But Claire Bonner did a great job on him and he’s now at the British Racing School at Newmarket. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/059a501c-683b-48fa-9cb0-fa3f30c4b1c0.jpeg) *Molly after winning at Cocklebarrow on The Bisky Bat* Covid came along, so the pony racing fizzled out, but it was great fun while it lasted. **Tell me about your first point-to-point season, riding Monbeg Legend. How did the connection with Katie Croft come about?** Dad was riding out at Nicky Henderson’s when Katie and her partner David Fehily were there and told them that I’d help them with Monbeg Legend, so I started riding him out. I didn’t know anything about pointing at the time and just thought I’d become an amateur under rules. He was so safe – a baby could have got round on him. **Why did you only have one ride in your second season?** There were a number of reasons. Firstly, my Mum, Amber, was ill – she sadly passed away this time last year. I was doing my A-levels, which were the priority, and knew I had a gap year coming up, so was relaxed about it. Then we were waiting for good ground, which never came. It was a wet year. After that, I spent a few weeks in France, working for Louisa Carberry. She let me school and was so helpful to me – her and husband Philip taught me so much. **Your career really progressed last year, with four seconds on Baunmore Jet and Enqarde. How frustrating was it not to ride your first winner?** I wasn’t frustrated really – I was just happy to be riding at all. But I did think I’d need to win a few this season! **Tell me about Baunmore Jet. You sound very fond of him. I understand there are some well-known names among his owners.** When we got ‘Brian’, I knew I had to get a syndicate together. A lot of the people involved are Dad’s friends and fellow racing people – it was so kind of them to join in. I won’t mention any names as there are 40 in total, so it would be a long list! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/2617a440-80f6-40ac-879e-6154da48fe5a.jpeg) *Molly in the paddock at Larkhill on Baunmore Jet* Brian’s been so good at giving me experience. He stays sound, does the job and has been a great stepping stone. **How did you come by the ride on Enqarde? Talk me through your win on him last Tuesday.** Celia (trainer Celia Plunkett) is a family friend and Dad and Gee both rode for her. I think she had horses with my grandad too. While she had a jockey for him at the start of last year, I said I’d love to ride him, so she let me whenever I was available. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/a234cbe0-d59b-44be-b298-38806e791021.jpeg) *Molly riding Enqarde at Brocklesby Park* He ran best last season when he was relaxed going to the start, which he was at Leicester – that was a good sign. I’d had good instructions from Celia and Alice (her daughter, TV presenter Alice Fox-Pitt) – they told me to stay with the pack and make sure I had fun! He jumped well, and we didn’t get into a battle to make the running. He was in a good rhythm, and we were making up lengths at the fences. I kept thinking he’d drop out, but he stayed on… and just kept going. It felt amazing, although I was surprised to win – I don’t think anyone was expecting it, although I was surprised he was such a big price, as he’s won first time out before. Celia’s a really cool lady and her and her team, Laura and Jill, work so hard. They deserved their reward. *And how did you get to ride Illico De Cotte?* (Trainer) Will Biddick rang me last week. He knew I was looking for another pointer, thought I might be interested in Illico De Cotte, and his owner Jeremy Hill said I could ride him on Sunday. I’m now going to share the horse 50/50 with Jeremy and I’ll keep the ride on him going forward. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/441bae32-5d81-40c0-bca3-b338275316bf.jpeg) *Jeremy (right) and Molly after Illico De Cotte wins (Will Shields)* It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if the other horse (Walk Of No Shame) hadn’t run out at the second last, but I didn’t feel under any pressure at the time – I guess we’ll never know! **Which other jockeys do you admire?** Among the professionals, Rachael Blackmore – obviously – and I really like both Charlie Deutsch and Ciaran Gethings. In points, Gina Andrews and Izzie Marshall are easy to admire, as was Will Biddick before he retired. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/c593cf03-b951-46d0-96aa-928c959d198d.jpeg) *Charlie Deutsch (blue and green) in action in his pointing days* **What's your favourite course?** When I started, I really liked Larkhill – you don’t have to count the circuits! Maisemore Park is great and Cocklebarrow and Lockinge are fun days out – what any point-to-point should be. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/601bc7b5-8f06-4a48-baef-db831c914f3f.jpeg) *Lockinge - what a point-to-point should be (Carl Evans)* **What are you most looking forward to about the rest of the season and what are your ambitions in pointing and racing? Do you hope to emulate the success of your father, aunt and uncle?** There’s no pressure from Dad, Gee and Mark, who’s my jockey coach – they’ve all been very helpful. Of course I’d like to emulate them, and I’d consider turning professional if the opportunity came to me, rather than me looking for it. **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** I’d make it easier to watch replays of races, as access to videos is important for selling horses. I think GB Pointing and the ‘blue mics’ are really good. **What are your non-horsey hobbies?** I used to play hockey when I was at school and have lots of fun in Oxford that doesn’t involve horses! **You have an interesting middle name, Cinderella. Do you know the reasons behind it?** I’m going to name and shame Dad here! It’s got nothing to do with the Disney princess – I don’t think he knows she exists. He had a relative he liked called Cinderella. It’s totally random and I just appreciate that it’s not my first name! ### Black to Bluegrey URL: https://www.scribehound.com/black-to-bluegrey/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:24.000Z It's hard to shift direction in farming - but buying a new Whitebred Shorthorn bull for my Galloway cows is a lesson is a whole new world... _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Alone In The Pennines URL: https://www.scribehound.com/alone-in-the-pennines/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:25.000Z Venture into a snow-laden world at sunrise where hopes of dramatic wildlife spectacles turn into rare, soulful encounters with black grouse—discover why these fleeting moments are unforgettable. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Will ploughing end civilisation, or is the concern something else? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/will-ploughing-end-civilisation-or-is-the-concern-something-else/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:24.000Z Some stories have a hidden meaning, intentionally buried deep within the soil. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How Tribalism Is Undermining Britain’s Nature Recovery URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-tribalism-is-undermining-britains-nature-recovery/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:15:33.000Z How have we allowed the critical debate on nature restoration to become so binary and horribly tribal? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Small scale, Big impact! URL: https://www.scribehound.com/small-scale-big-impact/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:26.000Z ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1771527032785-IMG_8436.jpeg) *A beautiful double rolled loin of roe.* As I write this we are coming off the back of the wettest winter we have seen. The persistent rain has relentlessly fallen for somewhere near the amount of days that once required the building of an arc and I, as I'm sure you the reader, have just about had enough! Deer management in the doe season, which really is roll your sleeves up time, can be hard enough. As fallow wise up to the chase at the latter stage of the season and the roe remain in family groups with more than the usual one or two sets of senses to avoid, soggy waterlogged ground and the un-breaking weather firmly add to the stalkers woes. What this time off the ground does do is allow for some time of reflection or thought and it was on one of these such days that I began to ponder the progress made in the promotion of wild venison and how far we have come with it. I don't watch much television, I genuinely don't seem to find the time. I do now know how to watch Youtube on the TV and this is something I do dig about at. However, on this occasion I looked over the top of the book I was reading as I heard the words roe saddle. Masterchef. The professionals so it said, was on and there on the bench was a saddle, or best end, of roe. It transpired this roe saddle was there to be used in a skills test and as I watched the chef demonstrated what he wanted the candidates to do with said roe saddle. The candidates came out one by one to take part in the test and they all, not only knew what this was, but proceeded to butcher and cook the saddle beautifully. Some of the accoutrements to the saddle went a bit sideways for one chap and I put this down to him being a more slender chef than the others, my wife said this was ridiculous however, I don't trust a thin chef! Overall it was a pleasure to see. Would we have seen this even 10 years ago? I can't recall seeing wild venison on mainstream TV aside from the river cottage fellow. Just how far have we come in the promotion of wild venison and is it being steered in the right direction? ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1771529620378-IMG_8406.jpeg) *Amazing wild venison burgers are always a popular choice.* I own and run a small venison production business as does a good friend of mine and we have often discussed how the demand locally has grown. My rationale for starting said business was two fold. Firstly, I actually enjoy processing and seeing the result of a job well done and secondly, I resent being paid barely enough to cover the tag and bullet for a 10kg muntjac. To be clear this sort of endeavour is never going to help you enormously in the financial sense. Yes it washes its face and covers the cost of stalking but the margins in this arena aren't overly huge, especially if you were to pay yourself accurately for your time. It is a labour of love and one I am sure many of you can relate to. Are small producers, like myself, driving the change from the opposite end to organisations trying to market venison? ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1771529757938-IMG_8386.jpeg) *Familiar, relatable produce like these stunning sausages are a great icebreaker into the venison journey.* When venison is driven by various organisations the narrative always seems loosely similar. Get it into supermarkets, this is a nigh on impossible task for a multitude of reasons and I don't see this changing anytime soon. Get it into schools and hospitals, this has been done on a small scale but does this have any real potential to cope with the volumes we need to cull? Prisons and the homeless has been another idea banded around and I see the financial saving from this and its viability as an outlet for overspill but neither of these sectors are going to be inspired to take a trip to their local farm shop or producer and buy it again. Someone significantly more eloquent and philosophical than myself once said from small acorns great oaks grow and in this analogy I think the small independent producers are those small acorns. They are the ones on the coal face quietly putting venison on the tables of local families with minimal marketing campaigns and the overheads associated to them. Could that funding then be used more constructively? There is no getting away from the fact that to attain accreditation and set up a processing facility requires some monetary input. It can be as expensive as you make it but there are a baseline set of standards we must achieve and adhere to so we can trade. The process with the local authority is not as daunting as one would expect and I have found my EHO (Environmental Health Officer) to be nothing short of brilliant. You can pay for extra "coaching" from them but I found the basic service I utilised to be very helpful and others have reported the same. So its not beyond the wit of any man, or woman, that spends there time in pursuit of deer to do this. I do believe more could be done the help those who desire to do so. Could some of the funding used at the top end, with arguably limited success, be allocated to programmes that aid this? Get the people who are closest to it driving it? It would be coming at it from the opposite end I agree but I'd argue small producers put more venison on the plates of "non deer people" than anyone else. Perhaps this is something for those at the other end to ponder the next time weather stops play? ### Meat Supply at Risk as UK Slaughterhouses Disappear URL: https://www.scribehound.com/meat-supply-at-risk-as-uk-slaughterhouses-disappear/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:24.000Z Discover how the UK’s vanishing local abattoirs and butchers threaten animal welfare, food quality, and the future of your Sunday roast—find out why this hidden crisis matters. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Behind the Silks: Meet Pointing's 'Hat-trick Hero' Jeremy Hill URL: https://www.scribehound.com/behind-the-silks-meet-pointings-hat-trick-hero-jeremy-hill/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:25.000Z Jeremy Hill *(pictured above with jockey Fred Philipson-Stow and trainer Will Biddick at Wincanton)* has been a regular on the point-to-point scene since his teenage years and has increased his involvement in recent years, both as owner and – through his Hare Management Group – as sponsor. Having helped support the West Mercian Awards in the previous three seasons, he moved into race sponsorship this year at Lower Machen and has now taken his first steps into racehorse ownership himself, with two pointers with Will Biddick and one with Alan Hill. When *Jake Exelby* interviewed Jeremy last week to find out what fuels his passion for the amateur sport, his grey and green silks had yet to taste success – he’d been knocking on the door with three seconds and a third from his first four starts this season – but his luck changed with a vengeance at the weekend. His whole string was in action at Brocklesby Park on Saturday and Badbury Rings on Sunday... and all three of them won! **Where are you from and where are you based now?** I’m Gloucestershire born and bred, having grown up in the village of Gretton, near Cheltenham, and gone to school in Winchcombe, the same one as jockeys Lily Pinchin and Tom Marquand. I hated school, apart from maths and sport – I was county level at cricket, football and rugby. I now live at Puckrup, near Tewkesbury. **How did you get into racing in the first place? And point-to-pointing? How long have you been going pointing?** I got into racing, and gambling – massively and badly (!) – through my Dad. I was always into hunting – I didn’t ride but used to be a foot follower for packs like the Cotswold, and Cotswold Vale Farmers. I got into pointing as a youngster – Maisemore Park was my local track – and, because I have an addictive personality, I started getting involved, helping with things like the car parking. I used to go with Scott Joynes and Tony Evans, who both became jockeys, and particularly enjoyed the social side, and seeing youngsters coming through. I used to love watching Julian Pritchard – he was like a dream professional. **Tell me about The Hare Management Group. Why did you decide to go into this line of business and how long has it been going?** I didn’t know what to do when I left school, so started doing a bit of gardening. It got to the stage – before Covid – where I was lead gardening contractor for Cotswold Inns. I then set up the company, which I named because I love hares – I have lots of pictures of them in my house. I manage teams of tradesmen, and we specialise in Renovation and Property Maintenance and Garden Design and Landscaping. Most of our work is for a leading national brewery. **How did you come to sponsor the West Mercian Area Awards?** My first sponsorship was a rider in one of the Larkhill charity races. I did the West Mercian Awards both to promote my business in my local area and to put something back into a sport I love. **And you sponsored the first race of the season at Lower Machen (which I won!) Again, how did you get into that and why choose Lower Machen (rather than a West Mercian course)?** I’m a huge fan of Welsh pointing and don’t want to see it disappear – we need to cross the bridge to support it. I remember going to Lower Machen before it closed and loved it. I went to visit the course when it was being prepared for this season and got talking to Tim Jones and his wife Cathy. They really went out of their way to look after their sponsors – no sport can survive without them. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/e7dd20aa-805e-4cc2-803e-c4c241b3d7b4.jpeg) *Action from the race at Lower Machen that Jeremy sponsored (Alun Sedgmore)* **I’m not aware of you having pointers before this season. Is this your first year as an owner?** It’s my first season as a sole owner. I was in a syndicate with Kelly Morgan that owned Due Reward – he won, with Gina Andrews, at Mollington but I was at Eyton-on-Severn that day! Kelly’s brilliant and I met some great people. **Tell me about your three horses, Illico De Cotte, Dollanstown and Drayton Flyer. How did you come by them and what are your hopes for the season?** Last season, at Larkhill, I had a large bet in a match on the outsider of two, but the jockey rode a finish too early. Will Biddick was parked next to me and introduced himself when I showed him my losing betting slip! We got chatting, I said I’d be interested in buying a horse and – in the summer – he rang me and said he’d bought four at Doncaster. He must have caught me on a good day, as I bought two of them – Illico De Cotte and Dollanstown! Will’s got a good team, led by head girl Georgie Lock. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1772180390635-Georgie_Lock_-_key_part_of_Will_Biddick's_team_edited.jpeg) *Georgie Lock - key part of Will Biddick's team* We targeted Lower Machen with Illico De Cotte as I wanted a runner there. I didn’t know what to expect but he ran a blinder to finish second. He then went to Dunsmore, where he was odds-on, and was second again – the race may have come too soon – then was third in a Hunter Chase at Wincanton. It was a great day out and I can’t fault their hospitality. He runs in the Ladies Open at Badbury Rings with Molly Armytage. I like giving young jockeys a chance, and she’ll claim 5lb. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1772180569444-Molly_and_Illico_De_Cotte_on_their_way_to_victory_(Tim_Holt)_edited.jpeg) *Molly and Illico De Cotte on their way to victory (Tim Holt)* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1772180454903-Jeremy_and_Molly_Armytage_after_Illico_De_Cotte_wins_(Will_Shields)_edited.jpeg) *Jeremy and Molly Armytage after Illico De Cotte wins (Will Shields)* Dollanstown also went to Dunsmore and ran well to finish second. He’s going for one of the Maidens – I hope it’s the weakest (!) – at Badbury Rings. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1772180699019-Dollanstown-Ed-Doggrell-1st-leads-Prince-In-The-Park-James-King-3rd-farside-Southgate-Avenue-Ed-Vaughan-2nd-Maiden-NWFAA-Div-2--2048x1368.jpeg) *Dollanstown and Ed Doggrell on their way to winning (Tim Holt)* It’s a shame Will’s no longer riding – I had a big bet with Mark Hill for him to win the title so, when he announced his retirement, I told him he owes me more than a winner! Mark’s one of the best bookies to bet with, and probably the fairest on the circuit. As for Drayton Flyer, I’m a massive fan of the way the Hills train, and that they travel to support pointing nationally. I said to Joe Hill at Lower Machen that I’d be interested in having a horse with them and he mentioned Drayton Flyer. I’d seen him run under rules and he’s a nice big horse, a real chasing type. He runs at Brocklesby Park with James King. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1772180795616-Jeremy_with_James_King_and_Joe_Hill_after_Drayton_Flyer's_win.jpeg) *Jeremy with James King and Joe Hill after Drayton Flyer's win* It’s an expensive hobby having three, but I’m not married and don’t have kids, so why shouldn’t I enjoy it? **Why do you have pointers, when the prize money and owner benefits are minimal compared to rules?** If I had a choice between, say, Stratford-upon-Avon and Kingston Blount, I’d be at the latter all day long. It’s informal, sociable, and the grass roots of racing, both for stars of the future and horses who no longer have a career under rules. You’re in the middle of the countryside, with all types of people. You can have a picnic, have a drink and it’s a relaxing day out. I’ve got to meet people like Phil Harris and Dai Davies from Wales, and I love having a drink with the legend Len Vickery. He’s generous with the whisky and a great guy to be around! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/d1b850d0-2992-4f92-90e1-98a01ce6489a.jpeg) *Len Vickery - legend (David Simpson)* **Which other pointing trainers do you admire along with Will Biddick and Alan Hill?** Josh Newman and Bradley Gibbs, both of whom combine training and riding really well. There are a lot of younger ones coming through, like Hannah Marshall, Luca Morgan and Justin Brotherton. I really rate him – he knows how to get a horse ready. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/2ced9099-f114-43d0-87c9-46e974b4457e.jpeg) *Justin Brotherton (centre) - knows how to get a horse ready (Caroline Exelby)* I also admire Max Comley, who started training pointers and - to me - was as good as anyone. Now he's training under rules and is a name for the future - with the right ammunition, he'll train a lot of winners. **Which jockeys do you admire?** There are loads! Among the men, Charlie Marshall, Josh Newman, James King, Paddy Barlow, Huw Edwards, Darren Andrews, Ed Vaughan and Zac Baker. And Will wasn’t too bad before he retired! Of the up-and-coming ones, Fred Philipson-Stow and Lucas Murphy. Gina Andrews’ record speaks for itself – as both jockey and trainer. Izzie Marshall’s very talented, as is Ellie Callwood. I’m a massive fan of Megan Bevan – she’s strong, rides a race well and could be a future star. Amber Jackson-Fennell is another one to watch. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/a395fb7e-b0d9-47eb-b111-5757a9e944bf.jpeg) *Megan Bevan in action - future star (Tim Holt)* **Which current pointer (not one of your own) would you most like to own?** Follow The Dream and Woodstock Octo, both of whom are nice, progressive horses. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/0bd9e5b0-6768-40c9-8393-2b2d9e46aacc.jpeg) *Woodstock Octo (near side) - progressive (Graham Fisher)* **What are your favourite courses?** I love Lower Machen. I also really like Dunsmore – the viewing is great and I enjoy racing in Devon & Cornwall. Maisemore Park, my local track, is a good day out and Chaddesley Corbett is fantastic for horses and well looked after by Jim Squires and his team. **What are your ambitions in pointing and racing?** My dream would be to have runners in the Foxhunters at Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown. And my big dream would be to win one of them! **As an owner, what would you like to see point-to-point fixtures offer you and what would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** I’m a massive fan of the way that Lawney Hill presents from the paddock and Kingston Blount and Kimble, and Carl Evans at Chaddesley Corbett – I don’t know why more West Mercian meetings don’t use him. All point-to-points should have presenters like them. And I’m a big believer in better hospitality for sponsors and owners. You go to somewhere like Eyton-on-Severn and it’s unbelievable – if one fixture can do it, then everyone should be able to. You need to make it extra-special for sponsors and owners. I appreciate that it costs about £25,000 to run a meeting but, as I’ve said, no sport can survive without sponsors. So, if I was to run a point-to-point myself, I’d pay someone a commission to find 100+ sponsors and supporters contributing £250 each – some would pay more – which would cover all the costs of the meeting, including decent hospitality. You could then look at reducing the gate price to bring in more people. I’m also a big fan of after-parties – they do it really well at Bitterley. You’ve got to look at it from a business point of view and – like under rules – you need to encourage a younger audience. If you target Young Farmers Clubs, and give them an after-party and entertainment they like, you’d bring in a couple of hundred people, and it takes some of the hassle away as you know money’s coming in. I think what they’re doing with GB pointing is good – the sport needs to think out of the box to get new people involved – but it needs to be promoted right. You can’t have tunnel vision, and you need to move with the times and do things differently. The days of putting out a few boards on the road are gone! ### The Dangerous Bit At The Top URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-dangerous-bit-at-the-top/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:41:55.000Z A cardiac arrest on a Welsh ridge, an RAF Sea King hunting through the mist, and the question of why we consistently underestimate the mountains on our doorstep. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Days Like These URL: https://www.scribehound.com/days-like-these/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:27.000Z ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1769983690940-20251206_100948.jpeg) *Waiting...* ## The run up to Christmas The final quarter of 2025 pressed in on me with a weight I felt in my bones. Not just the familiar pre Christmas frenzy, but something denser, more insistent. Brass bands are woven into the British imagination as tightly as mince pies and tinsel, and somehow, I found myself playing twenty two bursts of Christmas music in twenty four days. Add to that the choir concerts, the carol services, the seasonal obligations to family and friends—people I always feel I neglect through December’s first frantic weeks—and the quiet, persistent worry over my parents’ health, and the month became a blur of obligations stacked on top of one another. Work offered no refuge. The beer industry is always a tempest in December, the supermarkets demanding ever faster output, ever tighter logistics, as though beer itself were a seasonal lifeline. This year, the business sat beneath a metaphorical “For Sale” sign, and the uncertainty seeped into everything. With a new, fairly novice team to shepherd and the looming possibility of unemployment for the second time in a year, I found myself cajoling others while privately running on fumes. So my days in the field—those small pockets of sky and silence—became not just welcome but necessary. Whether I’m picking up or shooting, the space does me good. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1769983776148-20251231_141646.jpeg) *Pockets of Sky and Silence* On the Tuesday before Christmas, I stood in a field with seventy yards of space between me and the line of guns. My mind churned through unfinished tasks: the email I might not have sent, the ingredients I might have forgotten, the jobs I might have left half done. Weeks of restless four hour nights had left me hollowed out, running on adrenaline and caffeine, brittle as frost, a breath away from disaster. ## The release Only the dogs anchored me. Bridget, young and sharp eyed, scanned the sky for potential runners with the intensity of a creature born to work. Sadie, older and more dignified, shuffled a few inches farther away, as though proximity to Bridget and me were a mild social embarrassment. Their presence, their purpose, reminded me of my own. Slowly, the mental static began to thin. The world around me emerged in layers. The day was cool and bright, but last night’s rain still clung low in the sky, a heavy, lingering cloud that wasn’t quite mist. The sun strained through it, casting an eerie, pewter coloured light across the fields. The hedgerows, stripped back to their winter bones, held tiny birds that flickered in and out like sparks. The air smelled of wet earth, crushed grass, the faint mineral tang of standing water, and the faint musk of damp Labrador. With barely a breath of wind, the smallest sounds rose to the surface: water trickling through sodden grass and soil, the soft rustle of reeds, the distant cough of a pheasant shifting in cover. Even the silence had texture—thick, damp, and strangely comforting. Sadie huffed, poised on the edge of a whine, and I caught the reason—the distant, almost imperceptible rhythm of the beaters approaching. The snap of flags, the high whistles, the clack of sticks, all drifting toward us like the first notes of a familiar overture. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1769983853373-20251220_095353.jpeg) *Sadie (at the back) poised to whine* Then the first shot cracked the stillness. What followed was a flurry of wings and sound, birds rising and falling, shots echoing along the line. Bridget streaked out for a long runner, returning with the triumphant speed of a creature doing exactly what she was made to do. The rest of the day unfolded in a gentle blur: quiet conversations, muddy climbs in and out of Land Rovers, the steady rhythm of working dogs, interspersed with moments of stillness where the world felt wide and breathable again. By the time I drove home in the gloaming, we were all tired and damp, but something inside me had eased. I felt steadier. Ready. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1769983924834-20260101_154031.jpeg) *The Gloaming* ## Turning a corner Five weeks later, the darkest stretch of the year was behind us. Work had begun to right itself (a new owner and a glimpse of a future), life felt less frantic, and I found myself once again in that same field, this time as a back gun on the final day of the season. The week’s weather had been relentless, and the ground that once whispered with trickling water now swallowed my boots with every step. The trees, slick with the weeks’ rain, shone almost black against the washed out sky. The birds, sensing the lengthening days, were louder and more insistent, their songs threading through the muffled thud of gunfire despite my ear protection Bridget was home in season—much to her dismay—so it was just Sadie and me. She sat closer than usual, perhaps resigned, perhaps hopeful, and only huffed once when I missed a bird she clearly deemed embarrassingly easy. The miss reminded me, again, to slow down. To wait. To let the moment come to me rather than rushing toward it. My shooting improved, but what stayed with me were the in between moments: the woodcock zigzagging through the trees like errant thoughts, the triumphant cackle of a cock pheasant who had survived the season, the faint warmth in the air hinting at the promise of spring. The countryside felt alive in a way that winter rarely allows—quietly, subtly, but undeniably stirring. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1769983967409-IMG-20260104-WA0170.jpeg) *Watching the sky* Driving home later, boots soaked and dog content, I realised how deeply I rely on days like these. Not for sport, not for spectacle, but for the quiet recalibration they offer. For the fresh air and the movement. For the way the world narrows to a single task, a single breath, and in doing so expands something inside me. ## The future? And lately, I’ve been thinking about how fragile that access feels. In the UK, shooting sports have become a point of political contention. Some campaigners argue for tighter restrictions or even the phasing out of certain forms of shooting, while many people involved in rural life express concern about what that would mean—not just for conservation or the rural economy, but for the thousands who find their mental equilibrium in these landscapes. For many, days in the field are a form of grounding, a way to reconnect with nature in a structured, purposeful way. Supporters of shooting often say that without this access, without these rituals that draw people into the countryside through the darkest months, something vital would be lost. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1769984027750-IMG-20260104-WA0219.jpeg) *Running back with the bird* I don’t know what the future holds for the sport, but I do know what these days give me: steadiness, clarity, and a sense of belonging to the land rather than merely passing through it. It’s days like these that carry me through the darkest stretches of the year, through the noise and the pressure, through the seasons when life feels too full or too fragile. They remind me that even in the busiest, most uncertain times, there is still space to breathe. ### Creating Wild Places That Will Outlive Us All URL: https://www.scribehound.com/creating-wild-places-that-will-outlive-us-all/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:26.000Z As a farmer and landowner, I am in a privileged position to make real difference, but what will my legacy be? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Nutrient Neutrality and the English Talent for Self-Sabotage URL: https://www.scribehound.com/nutrient-neutrality-and-the-english-talent-for-self-sabotage/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:28.000Z Can we be a country that is both efficient and ecologically sensitive? Its a challenge, but scrapping Nutrient Neutrality for developers won't do a jot to help. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Don't Talk About Beef (it'll upset the tourists) URL: https://www.scribehound.com/dont-talk-about-beef-itll-upset-the-tourists/ Last updated: 2026-07-17T17:55:11.000Z Pride in farming is only possible if farmers are proud enough to tell their story. Here's how a cowboy experience on a ranch in Costa Rica reminded me of that. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Weather, cheese, bread and beer. Salisbury's Water Meadow Secrets URL: https://www.scribehound.com/weather-cheese-bread-and-beer-salisburys-water-meadow-secrets/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:29.000Z From record-breaking rains to a cheesey comeback,. This is the uplifting tale of water meadows, people, and food culture that have weathered every storm. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Seventeen Years Between Wins: James Innes Rides Again URL: https://www.scribehound.com/seventeen-years-between-wins-james-innes-rides-again/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:29.000Z James Innes *(pictured above winning on Theoldbogroad at Friars Haugh in 2025 - Grace Beresford)*, who plies his trade on the Northern circuit, is almost certainly the current jockey with the longest gap between winners. James was absent from race-riding between the 2007/2008 and 2021/2022 seasons, rode his fourth winner in March 2007, but his fifth not until April 2024, over 17 years later. *Jake Exelby* talked to him after he rode at Friars Haugh at the weekend about his life in and out of the saddle. **How old are you, where are you from and where are you based now?** I’m 43 and grew up in the Scottish Borders, where I live now – about 20 minutes from Kelso. I work for (insurance company) Brown & Brown, who used to be Weatherbys Hamilton. I’m married to Bess and have two children. Freddie is six and Isobel four. **Talk me through your career in racing so far and how you got into point-to-pointing in the first place?** I did pony club camps when I was younger, and quite a lot of hunting. Mum was MFH of the Buccleuch and Dad was a steward under rules. I was basically a spoilt little brat! I hunted, but didn’t have to look after the horses, which kept me interested. I was away at school in London and spent a week with Barry Hills aged 15 – I learnt a lot that wasn’t on the school syllabus, and it was much more fun than pony club! While I was at Oxford Brookes University, I spent most of my time riding out at Henrietta Knight’s – Mum’s from Oxfordshire and Hen had taught her to ride. That was the time of Best Mate and Edredon Bleu, and she was one of the first people to do groundwork with racehorses. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/12cce7aa-7394-48a9-abbd-d04a7179cad0.jpeg) *Henrietta Knight - James rode out for her (Caroline Exelby)* I also spent time with Jonathan Sheppard in Pennsylvania on my gap year, which was again a lot of fun and an eye-opening experience. When I was still at school, I had my first ride pointing, on Warner’s Sports at Dalston in 2000\. I lost one stirrup at the first, then both next time round! At the time, my ambition was just to finish a race. It was very different then – slabs of Tennents and packets of fags in the changing room and very daunting for a teenager. Nowadays, I’m friendly to young jockeys as I remember what it was like. **You had your first wins on The Next Waltz in 2002\. Tell me about him.** Mum got him from Len Lungo (for whom he’d been a prolific winner). He was thin as a rake, no matter how much you fed him, and used to plant himself, but was an adorable horse – a decent schoolmaster, who jumped like a stag. I’d have won more on him if I’d known what I was doing. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/b6657b65-c16d-424a-90fc-27a72eb75e19.jpeg) *James (left) winning on The Next Waltz in 2002* **Your last win before your career break came on Majed (who had been a classy youngster for Martin Pipe). Tell me about him.** He came to us from Lucy Normile and was even more of a pet than The Next Waltz. He just got bored of racing – next time out after he won, we had to drag him out of the box. He was thinking, ‘Why do I have to do this again?’ I was lucky to ride him – my job was not to fall off! **Why did you stop in 2008, having ridden four winners in what seemed a promising start to your career?** It wasn’t a conscious decision, but I was based in London and had other things going on and then moved to Chile for a year to work in a vineyard – I think I’m the only person to have won a point-to-point and an endurance race in Chile, both sponsored by Land Rover! When I came home, I went to work in Gloucestershire for wine merchants Haynes, Hanson & Clark, and – while I did a bit of hunting – I didn’t have horses of my own at first. **And why did you decide to come back in 2021 – a 13-year gap is a long time?** I met Bess while I was in Gloucestershire and started spending more time with horses. I then got Special Agent (whose dam was second in the Oaks) to hunt with the Beaufort, who’d been owned by the Queen and trained by Nicky Henderson – an extraordinary pet! When I started working for (insurance broker) Lycetts, I moved back to Scotland and started hunting with the Buccleuch again – with Mum so involved, I didn’t have much choice! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/c9e9bba6-3c78-4439-9a82-1b28c81adb0f.jpeg) *James hunting Special Agent with the Beaufort* I took Special Agent schooling at Nick Orpwood and thought, ‘This is more fun than hunting’. To me, jumping a steeplechase fence is the best feeling in the world. In my 30s, I’d run across various deserts – and the Arctic – but nothing’s more fun than pointing. **Talk me through your comeback.** My first ride back was on Drumlee Sunset, another old schoolmaster, who I’d bought from Tom George for £2,000 at Goffs. As we jumped the first fence, Gina Andrews was next to me – I had no idea who she was! Then came Manetti – a complete thug – from Nick Alexander, and after that I went to Goffs again and bought two five-year-olds, Hendrick’s Girl and Theoldbogroad. **Tell me about your emotions when you won on First One D’Ana at Overton. It was a dead-heat. Did you think you had won immediately after the race?** First One D’Ana was owned and trained by Nick Orpwood. I’d ridden him at Corbridge but didn’t think we had a chance at Overton. I genuinely couldn’t give a monkeys whether I’d won – it was just brilliant flying at speed over the fences – so I was pleased with the dead-heat and relieved that I could prove to Bess that I could still do it. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/e1f47d65-92ca-4d16-a31e-6fbc59d488b8.jpeg) *Celebrations after winning on First One D'Ana (Sean Tasker-Brown)* I’d promised Freddie a toy tractor if I won, so he followed me into the weighing room, and I went into the farm shop in my silks to buy it! **And do you realise that – in your first ever win – you’d beaten James Cookson, whose daughter Tash dead-heated with you that day?** I didn’t have a clue until you told me. I didn’t know Tash at the time, though I’ve got to know her since. I’ve also ridden against Sam Herdman as well as his mum Morag (nee Neill). It’s weird when I’m riding against people who are closer in age to my children than me. **Tell me about Theoldbogroad, your most recent winner.** He’s an absolute saint who jumps like a stag. Tim Kent from Goffs put me in touch with Jerry McGrath, who sent me a list of horses for my budget and convinced me that ‘Bog’ was the one. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/8659765e-d57f-4967-9d0b-879eb7b80b2b.jpeg) *James with Theoldbogroad after Friars Haugh success (Sean Tasker-Brown)* **Do you have any other horses to ride this season?** We’ve just bought Strackan from the Goffs online sale. He was trained by Henry Daly, is only seven, rated 123 and won at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day 2025\. Hopefully the slower pace of pointing and the Northern wind will suit him. I rode him in the snow earlier this week. Welcome to Scotland! **Where do you like to get your horses from?** Goffs, who are based in Hawick. I know most of the team there from hunting. **Since your return, your horses have been trained by Nick Orpwood. What made you decide on him as your trainer?** I’ve known Nick for a long time – he trained the likes of Eco Warrior for Mum. He’s just down the road and has a great team, including his wife Emily, and is very knowledgeable – a wonderful horseman and the senior jockey in the Northern Area. He does a lot of pre-training for professional yards, too. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/8e79b3b5-d5f1-4d45-a4b5-02f52caf4531.jpeg) *Nick Orpwood on Eco Warrior* **Which current pointer (not one of your own mounts) would you most like to ride?** I’m quite fickle, so whichever horse has just beaten me in a race… as long as it’s not a chestnut! **Which other jockeys do you admire – both those you rode against when you started and now?** When I was younger, there were greats like Clive Storey – he was the number one – Jimmy Walton, Andrew Richardson and Pauline Robson. They would help us true amateurs as long as we didn’t get in their way! Now, Nick of course, plus John Dawson, Jack Teal, Joe Wright and Paddy Barlow – his GB Pointers social media account is brilliant. I admire any jockey who gets on a 4yo or 5yo and have a lot of respect for the trainers trying to sell young horses based on the ‘Irish model’. **Who else do you admire and respect in pointing?** Wassels Young, who does a great job at Overton, and Louisa Cheape for her dedication to the new course at Pusk – anyone who builds their own course. On that subject, people like Will Easterby and Jack Teal do a lot of hard graft in Yorkshire, which is great, as they benefit as jockeys. Then there’s Will Ramsay, whose Jockey Start is a great initiative. He’s so enthusiastic – you can’t say no to him – and he gets professional trainers involved. He could get the likes of Nick Orpwood or John Dawson to ride his horses, but he’s gone down the opposite route. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/c4070cd0-39f1-4dc4-a910-b0eb70e97676.jpeg) *Will Ramsay in his riding days (Grace Beresford)* **What's your favourite course?** Friars Haugh. It’s just 20 minutes down the road, so it keeps Bess and the children happy. Did you know there used to be a fence at the top of that hill? You don’t realise how steep it is until you’re giving a child a piggyback up it! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/37efbdc3-da82-4882-8fd2-6e66919069ff.jpeg) *Coming down the hill at Friars Haugh (Grace Beresford)* **What are your ambitions in pointing and racing?** I’d love to win the Buccleuch Cup Hunter Chase at Kelso, which is sponsored by the company I work for – I was third last year on ‘Bog’. But really, just to keep enjoying it and not make a fool of myself. **Your mother, Snippet, is also involved with pointing. What does she do for the sport?** She’s a pocket rocket to whom you can’t say no. As Will Ramsay said, I was ‘voluntold’ to be Chair of our local point-to-point! As well as being MFH, she stewards and has horses in training with Nick Alexander. **Trail hunting is no longer legal in Scotland. How has this affected pointing and what do you think will happen to pointing if it is banned in England and Wales?** I’m probably the wrong person to ask, but hunting struggles and pointing relies heavily on hunt volunteers. A lot of young riders haven’t been hunting which is a worry – it’s a good breeding ground for jockeys and helps keep people interested in pointing. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/eb39da9c-5c2f-472d-8134-9ab21e0c1a6f.jpeg) *Freddie and Isobel with Bess and their hunting ponies* **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** On the above point, it would be good if jockeys had to go out hunting, and volunteering at their local meeting, before getting a licence. I’d also like to see professional trainers being allowed to run horses in certain types of races – not Maidens. We’re struggling for jockeys, so it would be invaluable to give rides to young people who work in a yard. There are a lot of good things happening, like changes to race conditions. The sport’s not stuck in the past. ### Could Ancient Greek Gods Help The British Countryside? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/could-ancient-greek-gods-help-the-british-countryside/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:30.000Z Understanding how the Greeks thought about their gods could help us tackle the big questions facing rural Britain _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Who Keeps the Countryside Running? It’s Not Just the Farmers URL: https://www.scribehound.com/who-keeps-the-countryside-running-its-not-just-the-farmers/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:28.000Z While farmers remain the backbone of rural Britain, they do not work alone. This is a celebration of the unsung heroes whose roles shape our landscape. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How Did Storks Sneak Past England’s Wildlife Watchdogs? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-did-storks-sneak-past-englands-wildlife-watchdogs/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:05:25.000Z The surreal story of Britain's white stork releases: unchecked risks, non-existent oversight, and a fundraising frenzy _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Dating life in the countryside URL: https://www.scribehound.com/dating-life-in-the-countryside/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:30.000Z Rethink Valentine’s Day with one farmer’s refreshingly real take on rural dating, self-discovery, and tree-planting as the ultimate antidote to romantic clichés. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Rising Star Tom Britten’s Pointing Journey to Success URL: https://www.scribehound.com/rising-star-tom-brittens-pointing-journey-to-success/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:40.000Z At the young age of 27 and with a string of just six, Tom Britten (*above right - all photos Caroline Exelby unless stated)* is already making a name for himself on the pointing scene, having taken big Hunter Chases at Cheltenham and Stratford, including the ‘Horse & Hound Cup’ at the latter venue, with What A Glance in 2024, and training the progressive Ocean Drifter to win four on the bounce in the past two campaigns, most recently scoring in a competitive Mixed Open at Chaddesley Corbett. What’s more, unlike many successful handlers, Tom – who works for Alastair Ralph in the mornings – has to train his horses part-time. *Jake Exelby* caught up with him on a wet Wednesday at his Highley, Shropshire base, to talk about his background, the secrets behind his success and his plans to train under rules. Arriving at the yard, I meet Tom (Amidnightstar), reigning female novice champion Clara Brewitt (Ocean Drifter), the current leader in the equivalent male race Fred Philipson-Stow (What A Glance) and work rider Tom Collins (Suttons Hill) as they’re about to make the mile-and-a-half walk to Ralph’s gallops at nearby Billingsley. “We don’t have a walker at home,” Tom tells me, “But the 15 minutes up and down hills to Alastair’s really benefits the horses and strengthens their backs. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/ba6944c7-9d65-49cc-8da4-2b1d74d21903.jpeg) *A scenic view of Alastair Ralph's gallops* While none of his family worked in racing, his parents Sue and Paul both used to ride in points – “The thing we have in common is that we all rode just one winner,” laughs Tom – and grandmother Ann Taylor, who bought What A Glance as a foal, has been a fixture on the pointing scene for longer than even I can remember! (Fascinating Fact: Ann trained Behest to win at the Cheltenham Evening Fixture as far back as 1981\. The horse was ridden by Helen Hart, mother of my fellow point-to-point correspondent Claire, who used to train Tom’s only winner as a jockey, Orange Nassau). ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/7f2a78bd-4851-435e-ab2b-db12e53b1af3.jpeg) *Tom with grandmother Ann (left) after Orange Nassau's win (Pointing WM)* Tom explains how he got into the sport of racing. “I’m from Little Comberton, near Pershore in Worcestershire. I grew up with ponies and did a lot of hunting. Mum was a member at Cheltenham, so I used to go with her, and Dad was really into his pointing – Chaddesley Corbett and Upton-on-Severn were our local tracks. I pony raced – I had two winners at point-to-point tracks and one at Cheltenham, riding against the likes of Alice Stevens and Sam Lee. I loved it and thought I wanted to be a jockey.” Tom is matter of fact about the reason he retired from the saddle aged just 22, after the sole winner (at Woodford in 2019) from about 50 rides. “I wasn’t good enough,” he shrugs. “And only got round twice in my last season. I did it for enjoyment, and weight wasn’t really an issue (Tom must be at least 6’3”), although I struggled to do 11st 2lbs with the allowance in Mixed Opens.” In any case, training was already on the cards. “I used to ride out for Tony Carroll and went to Philip Hobbs for two summers, as some friends were in a syndicate with him,” recalls Tom. “I was supposed to go to university, the Royal Agricultural College, but never made it. I went to Nicky Henderson’s for the summer and didn’t leave. I was there for two years, when he had the likes of Altior, Santini and Shishkin, then became pupil assistant to Oliver Sherwood, then to David Dennis.” Tom confirms how the move to Shropshire came about. “Alastair gave me the opportunity to be his assistant, so I moved here in 2022\. I kept my pointers there for a year before taking on this place.” However, after three years, working full-time for Ralph didn’t leave Tom enough time to train his own pointers. “I’d go to Alastair’s at 7am, work all morning, rush back here at lunchtime, ride as many lots as I could, then go back to Alastair’s at 4pm for evening stables. There was lots of toing and froing!” Unsurprisingly, Tom’s gained a lot from his various roles, starting with his time at Seven Barrows. “I’ve learnt to leave room to work on the horses early in the season so they’re ready for the big targets in the spring, and to keep them fresh and well throughout the season. Nicky’s not hard on his horses, but it’s difficult to train like him – there’s a new breed of owner who wants results more quickly.” Tom expands on his thinking. “French-breds, broken-in as yearlings, have become popular, and don’t seem to have as much longevity as stores coming from pointing, which has more of an effect than people realise. When I started going racing, the likes of Denman and Big Buck's would go to the Festival year after year and perform every time. Lots of horses now have just one good year and we’re breeding horses to become more precocious – many National Hunt horses are flat-bred and not as many want soft ground.” As Tom admits, he’s been lucky to have two good horses in his care, firstly What A Glance, who had looked more of a two-and-a-half miler who wanted better going, until winning over 3m2f in bottomless ground at Cheltenham! “He’s always worked like an aeroplane at home,” laughs Tom again, “And he’s out of a seven-furlong mare, so I got stuck on the idea that he wouldn’t get three miles. But he was hitting the line strongly over two-and-a-half but not quite getting up. He’d been running well in points against the likes of Ihandaya and Deise Aba, and I didn’t think the Cheltenham race was the strongest of the night.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/01c5ee66-19a6-4165-a7e2-0d044a1e3ced.jpeg) *Tom celebrates as a muddy Murray wins at Cheltenham (Neale Blackburn)* However, the soft conditions nearly scuppered Tom’s plans. “Rider Murray Dodd and I walked the course, and it was horrifically wet – I fell out with my girlfriend, who didn’t think he should run – so I told Murray to drop him out and pull up if he hated the ground, but he loved it. We then went to Stratford because he was in great form, and you don’t get many chances at the Horse & Hound. It was over even further and there was still plenty of cut, but he won again.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/0eca96f0-d2dd-4aad-a440-b4d4565bed47.jpeg) *Before doubling up at Stratford (Neale Blackburn)* Last year, What A Glance was never right, and he cracked a splint bone in the Cheltenham Foxhunters. “We’ll see how we go,” says Tom cautiously. “He’s unlikely to go back to the Festival and we’ll work towards the Cheltenham and Stratford evening meetings again. He’ll probably go to Ludlow early next month, (where he was going well when falling four out) then maybe for the Walrus at Haydock. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/74368690-d999-4998-8e86-a680e33a6393.jpeg) *Fred and What A Glance in motion* Tom tells me how he obtained Ocean Drifter, his other stable star. “He had good form under rules for Oliver Sherwood but was fragile. Oliver and owner Tim Syder gave him to Cameron Johnstone-Baker – we worked together when I was there – and, when Cameron moved to Emma Lavelle’s, he asked if I’d like him.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/8404234f-f23b-4872-a140-e72c8e6497f8.jpeg) *Clara and Ocean Drifter gallop through the rain* “Clara (Brewitt) gets on well with him,” continues Tom, “And won’t get off him in a hurry! He’s got a non-rules agreement, so we’ll stick to points. Frustratingly, many of the big races are Mens Opens – we can’t run him with Clara in the Lady Dudley Cup – so he’ll keep running in Ladies Opens. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/502aacc3-0b43-4c7a-99ae-0e45269e28b9.jpeg) *Clara and Ocean Drifter win at Chaddesley Corbett (Graham Fisher)* Tom talks through his other pointers. Suttons Hill showed good form under rules in Ireland without winning and has been placed, after front-running, on both his British starts. “We may need to change the tactics with him,” admits Tom. (He was held up at Cocklebarrow but was hampered and unseated Clara). ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/d5ee7c6d-11b7-425c-9698-122c6a87fbcb.jpeg) *Tom C preps Suttons Hill for Cocklebarrow* “Amidnightstar won a hurdle at Hereford but has had two years off. She’s doing things right and seems OK now. She’s owned by Lynn Wallace, another great help to the yard. Impact Player ran in a bumper for Gary Moore. He was green and backwards, is well bred, and will improve for further and fences. And Grass’s Jet came just last week – (owner-rider) Will Badlan sent him to me. He’s a maiden, who’s been in the wilderness, and I’m still figuring him out.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/35f66f7b-52f0-42c1-91e7-6d80aa271b4c.jpeg) *Tom B and Amidnightstar* With Murray Dodd, and Toby McCain-Mitchell, who rode What A Glance last year, having turned conditional, Fred Philipson-Stow will ride the horse this year, and Tom confirms how he chooses his jockeys. “People I get on with and people who come in and ride out,” he states firmly. “Both Fred and Clara help out, they listen, and they give good feedback. Fred’s riding with confidence, gets his horses settled and jumping, and is very talented. He probably under-rates himself. It’s the same with Clara – she’s really improved since she started riding Ocean Drifter.” I ask Tom if he’s thought about going down the young horse sales route so popular at the moment. His response is frank. “Potentially down the line, but you need the time to do them properly and, working at Alastair’s, time is something I don’t have. Older horses are easy – you just tack up and ride them out!” However, it seems that Tom may soon be lost to pointing. “I’ve done my first two licenced trainer modules, with the third next month,” he tells me. “I’m looking for a yard, then I’ll apply for a licence. While Ocean Drifter will obviously stay pointing, you need plenty of ammunition when you’re starting out under rules, so the others will come with me.” Tom explains the reasons behind his decision. “I love pointing, it’s not as serious, everyone’s more relaxed, and it’s more fun. But from a business perspective, I have to make money and – while I try to keep the costs down – there’s no incentive to own pointers. Even when you’re buying and selling young horses, it’s hard to make a go of it – you might sell one for £100,000, but you probably need to buy five to find that one. You need a syndicate of backers who can afford to lose money and it’s a gamble at the end of the day, a big gamble. There’s a lot of pressure to deliver and I like to find a consistent horse who can give the owners a fun day out. As Tom obviously has strong views on pointing, I ask my usual question about what he’d do if he was in charge of the sport. “I don’t know,” he confesses. “It’s a difficult one. The biggest problem facing the sport is if hunting gets banned, as you’d lose a lot of free support and help, and we’d struggle to finance what the hunts do. I’d try to find a big national sponsor – maybe one of the sales companies – but that’s easier said than done.” He has mixed views on the new social media approach that the PPA is taking. “It certainly appeals to young people,” confirms Tom, “And gets the sport across to a wider audience. But those people can’t afford to have a horse in training and that’s what you need – if you’re struggling to buy a house, you can’t afford a horse!” So how do you get more young riders into pointing, Tom? “There are lots of them who’d love to ride in a race,” he answers. “So, could you allow, say, a trainer to give some of his horses to his staff, to train and ride in points? You’d have to put a cap on the number of horses, and their level – maybe up to three, rated no higher than 110\. I know a lot of pointing people are against professional trainers, but it’s even harder to get a ride under rules and it would be a cheaper way to get people involved.” Tom’s final word comes in response to my question of what would happen to him in a world without racing. His reply is simple – “I wouldn’t know what to do!” ### The search for a new car URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-search-for-a-new-car/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:40.000Z Why do 4x4 all look the same these days and why have they all become "soft-roaders"? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Surprising Signs of Change in Rural Policy URL: https://www.scribehound.com/surprising-signs-of-change-in-rural-policy/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:41.000Z Two surprising broadsheet articles hint the tide may be turning for rural Britain—could change could finally be on the horizon? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Lower Drink-Drive Limits Will Kill Village Life URL: https://www.scribehound.com/lower-drink-drive-limits-will-kill-village-life/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:41:17.000Z The government's push for tighter drink-drive limits won't just crush rural pubs, but other key institutions of rural Britain _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Cowboys and Corn; Visiting an American Farming Convention URL: https://www.scribehound.com/cowboys-and-corn-visiting-an-american-farming-convention/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:41.000Z Why would a British farmer fly to Missouri in winter? Because in one room sat forty years of hard-earned farming wisdom—and I wanted to listen. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Can we discuss political philosophy with animals? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/can-we-discuss-political-philosophy-with-animals/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:42.000Z Is the modern world actually something animals want to escape? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Inside Jo Priest’s Winning Point-to-Point Team URL: https://www.scribehound.com/inside-jo-priests-winning-point-to-point-team/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:42.000Z *Team Priest - (L-R) Jo, Kauto No Risk, Will, Karaktere D'Enfer, Tilly, Shannon and John (all photos Caroline Exelby unless stated)* Jo Priest, who trains a string of 11 pointers at the historic Caradoc Court stables in Herefordshire – where John Edwards enjoyed so much success under rules with the likes of Pearlyman and Yahoo – has long held a reputation as one of the shrewdest handlers in the business. Last season, she enjoyed a strike rate of over 25%, and eight of her ten horses won – four first time out. She enjoys a 100% record this season too, her Karaktere D’Enfer having taken a Young Horse Maiden at Chaddesley Corbett on his pointing debut, denting some reputations from the ‘sales yards’ in the process. *Jake Exelby* paid her a visit recently to find out more. Following a successful career in the saddle, primarily riding the horses owned and trained by Mel Lloyd, Jo has been training pointers – apart from a brief spell in the mid-noughties with a rules licence – for over 20 years, and last year was her best yet, with eight winners. Czermno gave Jo her first ride at Eyton-on-Severn in 1993 and her first winner at Weston Park later that same year. Then in 1994, she was joint-champion Ladies Novice Rider (with Samantha Wallin), three of her wins coming on Couture Tights. “He was my favourite, and the best horse I rode,” recalls Jo with a glint in her eye. I won twelve on him in total, ended up buying him, and had him for the rest of his life. I had a proper relationship with him.” Jo moved to Caradoc during Covid. “I’d been training at Upton-on-Severn,” she explains, and I got one of the small business grants they were offering. That paid for the move, with enough left over to see me through when there was no racing and I wasn’t earning. It was supposed to be temporary, but I was asked if I’d like to stay, said ‘yes’, and the rest is history!” “It suits me here,” continues Jo. “It’s an old traditional yard, with well-established gallops. We’ve got schooling fences, an all-weather woodchip gallop, a round carpet gallop for a warm-up, then two grass gallops – a river meadow and a steep hill. And we can hack the horses ten for ten minutes and use Tom Symonds’ deep sand.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/da7c93ad-3e6f-4ca9-a40c-acba4550a58c.jpeg) *The view from the gallops at Caradoc* “The training’s gone better since the move,” Jo goes on. “And I’m enjoying it more than ever. I’ve picked up new owners and more horses. People enjoy coming here – everyone knows the history of Caradoc and owners get personal treatment – and the results speak for themselves.” The agenda for the morning is three sets of work – two up the all-weather and one over the fences. First up are Sam Lee on Master Tim, a four-year-old owned by Peter Burke, who’ll start out in a point-to-point bumper, and Shannon Nixon on last season’s Chaddesley Corbett winner Llandinabo Lad, who’ll be out later in the season. “Shannon bought Western Cowboy (who won at Didmarton last year) from Will Badlan and will have her first ride on him soon,” Jo tells me. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/bd93774b-32b1-4a28-bd40-2a39357ffc63.jpeg) *Shannon and Sam on Llandinabo Lad and Master Tim* Next to go are Shannon on Karaktere D’Enfer, Sam on Laugusto, an unraced five-year-old owned by Robert Jones, who also has Bitterley winner Is Our Otis with Jo, and Will Badlan on Costafortune. “He’s aptly named,” smiles Jo, as he didn’t cost me a penny, even though he was bought for £55,000 as a three-year-old. He’ll run for my Mum and Dad, Sue and Martin and, if he doesn’t make a racehorse, he’ll be a nice hunter.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/7c37de74-d616-4c56-a765-012a099b11a9.jpeg) *Sam (Laugusto), Shannon (Karaktere D'Enfer) and Will (Costafortune)* “I think Laugusto will be nice,” she adds with fingers firmly crossed. “He’s well-bred and is very similar now to Is Our Otis when we first had him. I’ll be disappointed if he can’t win a point-to-point bumper.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/4537e6b8-52f3-4ec0-bd6c-1c4937f2c98f.jpeg) *Shannon and Sam schooling Western Cowboy and Is Our Otis* We finish by watching Western Cowboy (Shannon), Is Our Otis (Sam) and Millsbridge (Will) school over four fences. Millsbridge is homebred by Steve Whistance, for whom his dam Milly Malone won a point and two chases. “He’s by Blue Bresil, ran for Adrian Wintle under rules and is a similar type to Thais Toir (who won a Maiden for Jo and Whistance last season). Steve just wants to win a race with a homebred.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/7baebdf4-55e9-4a57-95de-7e453f137708.jpeg) *Will and Millsbridge jumping* I ask Jo about her enviable first time out record. “I don’t like going to the races when I don’t have a chance, as used to happen sometimes when I trained under rules. Having a horse costs owners a lot of money and I like to work them hard and feed them harder! If you’ve got the fittest horse, you’ve got a chance of winning even if you’re not the best in the race.” Jo confirms how the facilities at Caradoc get her horses fit. “Even on an easy day, when you’re going for a hack, you go up banks and canter across meadows. It feels fun to the horse, but they’re working hard. It’s the same for novice riders,” she adds. “It’s one thing to be able to gallop in a straight line, but the river meadow really tells you whether someone can ride.” Jo has a reputation for supporting novice riders, who were responsible for half her wins last season, two of which came in the hands of Will Badlan. “I’ve known Will since he was six,” Jo says. “He bought his first pony from me. He’s a great lad, who works hard. Shannon’s another hard worker from a non-horsey background. She does roofing for a living, so she’s really strong. She comes in from Stourbridge at least three times a week and does three or four lots. She’s come on leaps and bounds in the three months she’s been here.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/18381e89-bae3-4a32-b070-8069dfae1dfc.jpeg) *Shannon and Llandinabo Lad cool down* Jo explains why she’s so supportive of the novices. “I’m not from a horsey background either, so needed someone like Mel Lloyd to have faith in me. Someone asked him once why he was putting up a novice girl and he replied, ‘Jo’s in my yard mucking out seven days a week – she deserves to ride.’ I needed that help, and I want to help others.” As well as her young riders, Jo will be using Zac Baker – “He fits in with the team, I love the way he rides and the owners love him” – and today’s work rider Sam, who’s ridden three winners for her at a 100% strike rate again this season. The one horse not taking part this morning (Striking Out, has yet to come back in and Jo is awaiting delivery of A Mighty King, a new horse from Ireland bought for Will Badlan) is Kauto No Risk, four times a winner from eight starts, who missed last season. “He’s costing me a fortune in vet’s bills”, laughs owner John Hargreaves – who also co-owns Karaktere D’Enfer with Justin Hoskins – “He won’t be out for a while, as he’s a better horse with the sun on his back. I think he’s got a big race in him. He’s not a Cheltenham horse, but we might target the John Corbet at Stratford – he’d beaten the 2024 winner of that race the previous month.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/1fa47c17-586c-45ab-9ef1-cfd470a4611f.jpeg) *Kauto No Risk (red and purple) beats the 2024 John Corbet winner (Marilyn Sweet)* John also part-owned the horse Jo nominates as the best she’s trained, Ballyboker Breeze. “I got him from Jason Maguire,” she says. “It took me two seconds to say yes when Jason asked if I wanted him. He was electric to watch in a race, a lovely horse with star quality, and was also a ‘nice person’. He still comes back to the yard every summer.” However, she holds regrets about what might have been. “We lost out with Covid – 2020 would have been his best season.” It’s quite normal for Jo not to have had many runners by mid-late January, as she admits. “I only brought Karaktere D’Enfer in early, as there aren’t many opportunities. January’s a difficult month – you have to travel – so what’s the incentive to get horses in early? Anyway, most of my horses want better ground. More of the horses will start running in February and there will be lots of opportunities over the Easter period.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/360401a0-83e4-4fb5-a0e4-b33a871dc976.jpeg) *Karaktere D'Enfer wins at Chaddesley Corbett (Graham Fisher)* “They need to sort out the fixture list,” continues Jo. “I don’t understand the logistics of the areas – you have nothing for several weeks, then two on the same weekend. For example, Bitterley and Sandon both race on Easter Saturday, and will attract the same horses. And…” – she’s on a roll now – “Someone has to have the authority to overrule people objecting to meetings being rescheduled!” Jo doesn’t have any full-time members of staff, but also on hand to help with the horses when I visit is Tilly Davey, a high-level eventer, who rides a lot of the flat work at Caradoc and who has done dressage with Kauto No Risk. “Tilly comes in Monday to Friday,” confirms Jo, “While Vicky Adams does weekends. Then (trainer-rider) Joe Neal is here three days a week, and I also want to mention Alice Garfield, who runs the Caradoc Estate. She’s so helpful – she harrows the gallop and puts up the schooling fences. Work done, Shannon tells me how she got the pointing bug. “I’ve always had horses, but just as a hobby, but I’d never galloped a racehorse before I spent a month at Justin Brotherton’s in the summer – Justin’s a lovely person and Will and Sam have been supportive too. When I was there, I decided to buy Western Cowboy and jumped in at the deep end! I’ve been having jockey coaching with Charlie Poste but I’m leaving plans for my first ride in Jo’s hands!” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/a7da8738-50df-4d38-920f-1840dcc0fa1b.jpeg) *Western Cowboy (far side) wins for Will Badlan at a sunny Cotley (Tim Holt)* “We need to do more to encourage riders like Shannon,” suggests Jo. “It’s so flipping expensive in your first year, when you may only have two or three rides. Your licence, medical, coaching and equipment cost up to £1,500 – plus there’s the time you have to take out of work. I think there should be more help towards the cost of equipment – under rules, you can borrow it from a shared pool.” Having won a Young Horse Maiden already this season – albeit not one of the GB Bonus Series and not with a horse to sell – Jo has firm views on these races. “Sales horses don’t contribute to the sport – they get one entry, one run, then you never see them again. So, should a percentage of revenue from sales horses go back into pointing? We throw in loads of money, our horses stay pointing and the crowd get to know the horses. I want people to follow the likes of Karaktere D’Enfer.” John has an innovative idea. “Wouldn’t it be better to have a bonus for horses who go through the grades?” he asks. “It wouldn’t stop them going under rules afterwards, and my argument to the BHA would be that putting money back into pointing would get the sport into better health by creating more opportunities. If you encourage people to leave, the sport will keep shrinking. There has to be a long-term plan and a big picture strategy – otherwise, we’re just reducing the sport to fit the horse numbers.” As someone who’s spent over 30 years in the sport, Jo has seen a lot of change. “The ground conditions are so much better now,” she confirms. “Take someone like Jim Squires at Chaddesley Corbett. He does a phenomenal job, and you know you can trust what he says.” And what does she miss about the ‘old days’? “I’d like to go back to a time when you had to hunt your pointers,” she replies. “We still hunt ours when the Ledbury meet here – about half a dozen times a year – and we’d like to go out more but just don’t have the time.” “It was more low-key then,” Jo says. “You didn’t have the big professional yards, and everyone was on a level playing field. One of the biggest trainers when I was riding was Sheila Crow – she’d be small now.” I conclude by asking Jo what she loves about a sport to which she’s dedicated most of her life. She smiles once more. “I just love horses. I’ve always loved horses.” ### It's Big Farmland Bird Count season URL: https://www.scribehound.com/its-big-farmland-bird-count-season/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:42:28.000Z Why spending 30 minutes watching the birds on your patch matters for them, and us _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Last Grown-ups in the Room? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-last-grown-ups-in-the-room/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:43.000Z When all else fails, try the parish council _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The cloud that nearly ate me URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-cloud-that-nearly-ate-me/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:43.000Z Joni Mitchell described clouds as "Rows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air", now come and look at some interesting clouds from both sides with me. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Into the Ring URL: https://www.scribehound.com/into-the-ring/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:40:33.000Z Rural people often feel like they're being pushed around by lazy prejudice - a trip to the bullring in Bilbao is a reminder to look harder and make up your own mind... _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Partying to Planting: The Millennial Hobby Revolution URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-partying-to-planting-the-millennial-hobby-revolution/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:44.000Z From plant parenting to sourdough starters, find out why traditional hobbies are making a comeback—bringing purpose, calm, and a sense of control to modern millennial life. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Law of Interdependence- Part Two URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-law-of-interdependence-part-two/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:44.000Z Trail hunting faces extinction. Why did farmers win their PR battle, but hunters didn't? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Regenerative: The most divisive word in the English language? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/regenerative-the-most-divisive-word-in-the-english-language/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:44.000Z Challenging groupthink, saving ecosystems, and facing controversy: Allan Savory is regarded by some as a pioneer of regenerative agriculture, but as a crank by others _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Jockey Dreams and Sibling Rivalry: Meet Michael Treneer URL: https://www.scribehound.com/jockey-dreams-and-sibling-rivalry-meet-michael-treneer/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:45.000Z Michael Treneer, a 25-year-old chartered mineral surveyor from Devon, rode his fourth winner at Wadebridge on Sunday, on his family’s homebred mare Bright Aura *(pictured above - Tim Holt)*. A true amateur, who shares the rides on the four pointers trained by mother Deborah with his older brother Barnaby, Michael spoke to Jake Exelby afterwards about his involvement in the sport, his ambitions – both realistic and aspirational – and his competitive rivalry with his elder sibling! **Where are you based?** I live on the family farm at Dean Prior, near Buckfastleigh. You can see the point-to-point course from the farm. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/c74dffd4-6877-4174-bb17-9655690d9941.jpeg) *Michael riding Ballydesmond (inside, green colours) at Buckfastleigh, the course he can see from the farm (Carl Evans)* I work for a Belgian company called Sibelco, whose office is opposite Newton Abbot racecourse, which is conducive to watching racing during my lunchbreak and after work! **Talk me through your career in racing so far and how you got into point-to-pointing in the first place?** I can’t remember when I was first put on a pony. Mum and Dad are both hunting people and Mum’s family are from a strong pointing background. My aunt Rebecca married George Welch, and my cousins Hannah and Tamby Welch have both ridden in points. I grew up with Pony Club and started pony racing aged nine. I had one winner at Garthorpe and one in Ireland, from three rides on my one day there. They called it pony racing but the horses were 16.2 hands! **Talk me through your first rides in the 2016/2017 season… and your first win on Syracuse’s Dream at Flete Park.** I started pointing aged 16, so I’ve done nine full seasons, and had my first ride on a horse called Doubletoilntrouble. He’d been Barney’s schoolmaster too, and was incredibly safe, but past his best and had lost his enthusiasm. There were a couple of others that I rode before Syracuse’s Dream, who was usually Barney’s ride, but for some reason he couldn’t be there that day, so I rode him for the first time. We found the right race – the Members – and a win looked unlikely for quite a long way. If you watch the replay, we hardly feature! There were just four runners, my cousin Tamby was second and two friends also rode. None of us had ridden a winner before. Syracuse’s Dream had a funny habit of stopping travelling with a circuit to go, then not jumping fluently. But he suddenly decided to pick up the bridle between two and three out, joined the leader at the last and ran on. **Tell me about your other winners, including Bright Aura.** Static Jack was probably the most capable horse I rode. He had a bit of a personality but felt classy when he won a decent Mens Open at Cherrybrook. It’s a shame it was behind closed doors during Covid. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/8fc8fbbc-594a-4eac-9993-b23421384581.jpeg) *Cruising to victory on Static Jack at Cherrybrook (Hazel Mansell-Greenwood)* Treacys Jim won a funny race at Vauterhill. We weren’t convinced about running but decided to take our chances, as he was a ten-year-old maiden. He dutifully obliged and it was his big day in the sun! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/42cdb646-2b9e-4712-b6cf-601980aaff1f.jpeg) *Winning on Treacys Jim at Vauterhill* Bright Aura’s a fifth-generation homebred, from a line started by my grandfather, and she’s the first of our homebreds I've ridden to win. Will Biddick and Alice Mills both won on her dam, Riteway Round, and she’s the first of her foals we’ve raced. **The vast majority of your rides have been on your family horses. Is that a conscious decision, or would you like more outside rides?** With limited time, I like to focus on getting our own horses as right as possible. It’s competitive getting outside rides, but I’d absolutely take an opportunity if it came. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/4d453389-be8e-4da7-8db0-fcdc7b908beb.jpeg) *Michael (centre, green with green/yellow cap) in action at Kilworthy in the Welch colours (Carl Evans)* **Before your win on Bright Aura, Barnaby won the same race on Do Whatever in 2024\. Is there a rivalry between you?** I don’t think, if you asked any two brothers born just 18 months apart, that they’d say they weren’t competitive! Mum’s keen for us not to ride against each other too regularly because, when we do, neither of us seems to do very well! We do like to both ride in our Members race and hope we can this year. Barney won it last year with Do Whatever, but I rode Bright Aura in the Maiden that day. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/ccfda4c9-3d75-4843-b3ca-9ef2e3ecfd49.jpeg) *Barney wins at Wadebridge on Do Whatever (Tim Holt)* **It appears that the two of you tend to keep the rides on the same horses. How do you decide who rides each horse at the outset?** We try to be fair, as Barney and I both want to ride and – ideally – we have a couple each to ride and look for a replacement when one retires. As you say, we try to stick to the same horse, but we both ride them all at home and – if one of us can’t ride on the day – the other will take the mount. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/870b571f-cad6-4c78-9718-899601e0881c.jpeg) *Ballydesmond (Michael), Bright Aura (Barney's girlfriend Katie) and Do Whatever (Barney) on the gallops at home* We’ve got four pointers this season. As well as Bright Aura and Do Whatever, there’s Ballydesmond and Pirates’ Tale, who’s owned by the Welchs. We do everything ourselves at home. Barney’s an accountant in London and comes home at the weekend to hunt on a Saturday and go pointing on Sunday. During the week, my Dad Edward and I do one or two lots before I go to the office. Dad complains that I make him canter in the dark, but needs must! **What has been your career highlight?** It’s hard to choose between my first winner and winning on a homebred last weekend. All winners are satisfying when you’ve done all the work with them yourselves. **Which has been your favourite horse?** Syracuse’s Dream is special to us as a family. He gave both Barney and I our first winner, ran 51 times for us and won four races. In 2018/2019, he ran 11 times, starting on the first day of the season at Buckfastleigh and finishing on the last at Umberleigh. It’s great to have a horse like that. We still have him at home and friends event him. He’s a mega team chaser and does the odd day’s hunting. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/63e2950b-794d-4f47-8bb9-da8b1ff2e487.jpeg) *Michael on Syracuse's Dream* **Which horse (not one of your own mounts) would you most like to ride?** Fresh from Sunday, Emma Summersby’s new horse Clonagoose, who won the Restricted. He looks pretty classy and I think he can go through the grades. Further back, Stuart Sampson’s River Myth (also owned by John Gardener). She wasn’t particularly big, but was gutsy and always ran her race. Attitudes count for a lot. Our friends now have her as a broodmare. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/0579dccd-44b5-4b43-acba-019220ad168e.jpeg) *River Myth - gutsy (Tim Holt)* **Which other jockeys do you admire?** Being an amateur and doing it for fun, I admire people like that who’ve been successful, so Darren Edwards. And, as a horseman, Will Biddick. There’s a reason he’s ridden so many winners. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/e8f94687-3a79-40af-bef0-863f9066b24a.jpeg) *Darren Edwards winning on his final ride (Tim Holt)* **What's your favourite course?** I’m morally obliged to say Flete Park as I’ve just taken over as Clerk of the Course! Seriously, it’s a great setting with a great atmosphere. It’s also fun to ride, a quirky, up and down track that feels like you’re on a go-kart or a rollercoaster! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/1692edf8-b234-4127-86b9-00c2188e2edf.jpeg) *Flete Park - rollercoaster (brother Barney is on the inside in the green colours) (Tim Holt)* Bratton Down at the end of the season is also good fun, and I really enjoy it, even though I’ve only ridden there three times. **What are your ambitions in pointing and racing?** Before I started, my first ambition was to no longer be a novice rider when I hang up my boots. Obviously they’ve changed the limit from five winners to ten now, which is good as it allows novices to get more experience. However, getting the 5lb allowance in more races is challenging for me personally. I’m 6’2” and sit behind a desk all day, so will find it difficult to do 11st 2lbs on Bright Aura! I’d love to ride in both Foxhunters’ if I had a suitable horse but a more achievable aim is to win our Members race – Barney has, so I need to too! That’s on a par with the Foxhunters for me. **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** I wonder if they could raise the weights by 5lbs, like they’ve done in National Hunt racing. We used to ride at 12st 7lbs and nobody’s getting any smaller. Plenty of hunting people used to have a pointer and bringing down the weights may have closed the door to them. That could be a benefit to Members races, as it would allow people to dip their toe in the water and hopefully get the bug. It’s an expensive day out, so it would be good to make riding cheaper and more accessible. Fixture scheduling is also a hot topic. I understand the idea behind spreading them out, but hunts make their income from the meetings and the most successful ones are those with the highest footfall. If you lose a meeting, it’s hard to get it back, and there's got to be a balance. **What’s your opinion on the new ‘blue mic’ social media and video content?** That’s a question and a half! The authorities are trying to cater to a wider demographic, but does that mean you’re no longer talking to certain groups? I don’t think the sport should be pigeonholed. Ireland seems to be all about Young Horse Maidens but the glorious thing about British pointing is that there are lots of genuine amateurs who do it for enjoyment. We mustn’t forget our roots. **You’re a keen hunter. What do you think will happen to pointing after a hunting ban?** Mum’s family have Dart Vale connections, but we now hunt with the Dartmoor. She hunts twice a week and Barney and I go out on Saturdays and some Tuesdays. We have a separate team of hunters, and have also taken all our pointers out at least three times this season. It settles down the younger ones, and sweetens up the older ones. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/13676728-58f9-4d33-b02d-1bc550e807f9.jpeg) *Michael out hunting* Organising fixtures after a ban will be challenging and maintaining enough fixtures for the season might be hard, as people put in their time, effort and money to raise money for the hunt. In the meantime, we’ve all got to do our bit to protect hunting and stand up for it. It means a lot to a lot of people and we can’t just sit there quietly. **What are your non-horsey hobbies?** When you’re pointing, hunting and team chasing for nine months of the year, there’s no time for anything else. But I play cricket for Holbeton, who play at Flete Park, so I see a lot of the course between March and August. I’m a medium-fast bowler – but no Jofra Archer – and a specialist number 11! **Is there anything else you’d like to say?** It would be interesting to trial an extended distance Conditions race early in the season. The longer races tend to be Opens, later in the season on better ground. What about some of those races for lower class stayers? Michael Treneer is sponsored by [South Hams Arborists](https://southhamsarborists.co.uk/?ref=scribehound.com) this season. ### How a 1970s Nightmare Film Still Saves Lives Today URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-a-1970-s-nightmare-film-still-saves-lives-today/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:45.000Z From TV revolutions to farm tragedies, explore how the way we communicate safety has changed—yet why UK farming remains the country’s most dangerous job. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Ban banning stuff URL: https://www.scribehound.com/ban-banning-stuff/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:45.000Z I’m writing this a few days after New Year - happy new year to you all! - and I’m not going to lie I’m in a grump. I spent the few hours when 2025 ticked over into 2026 with my dog who doesn’t like fireworks much. I kind of get why the ooh-aahs are so well liked as a way of marking the new year but surely 10 or 15 minutes from midnight is enough? It started around 10pm and went on till about 1.30 in the morning here. Just ban them if no one’s going to be responsible. **'Civilised' debate** It’s been interesting to observe the recent debate around the government’s ban of trail hunting. Setting aside the ignorance, name-calling and hate, it is obvious that it’s a very polarising issue. You’re either for - defending your livelihood in some cases, tradition in others - or against - defending an ideal or attacking something you don’t like. There’s not really a middle position. That’s the social media insight of course. I actually think 90% of the nation is either completely ambivalent or if they do have an opinion, it’s a passing one and no further thought is given to it. I discussed this with my wife. She is one of the 90% that hasn’t given it much thought. She is against animals torn up for ‘sport’; dog fighting or cockfighting for example. We all should be. The difference between that and trail hunting is that it is criminality and takes place in the dead of night, away from prying eyes. But as for trail hunting, she thinks chasing a smelly rag is just, well, chasing a smelly rag. Drag hunting the same. I described the clean boot, she thinks that could be a laugh. At the end of the day it doesn’t really affect her world much, she has more pressing matters to attend to. Would she see it banned? No. Banning, partial bans or just attempting to ban stuff in the countryside is endemic. Just a few off the top of my head - hunting, shooting, wood burners, plastic tree shelters, pesticides, lead ammunition, and badger culling. Rarely is something else put in place to do the job of the banned thing. Don’t think governments do this for any other reason than to cling to power, and in the case of the current one desperately. A ban is an easy headline grabber and can play very well to the gallery. One thing governments are very good at is caving under pressure from well resourced lobbying groups and celebrities. **(Un)intended Consequences** First and foremost, even the rumour of a ban is enough to cause problems. Uncertainty kills economies as businesses put plans on hold while they wait to see what’s going to happen. Shall I mention mental health again? It’s a concern, isn’t it? Since trail hunting and wood burners are at the forefront of our minds – the list of the banned is endless - let’s see what the consequences of potential bans are. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1768650763987-Bloodhound_runner.jpeg) *How would you like to be chased across the countryside by a pack of hounds? Erm, quite a lot actually. (photo courtesy of Richard Negus)* Trail Hunting Loss of livelihood. The human impact will be catastrophic. Hunt staff, livery yards, tack and feed merchants, tailors, kit suppliers, vets, farriers, horse dealers, there is a long list of businesses that will be affected. Some will go out of business entirely, some will be forced to scale back with the inevitable redundancies that will go with that. This will have a knock-on effect on other pastimes particularly point-to-point racing. Horse and Hound. I don’t know what will happen to the hounds but I can’t imagine it’ll be good. Speaking to a few people in the know, the informed guess is the best will be drafted overseas, one or two might go with hunt staff but a good proportion will have to be euthanised. It is said in some quarters that they can be rehomed. For one they’re not pets but think about this; according to the RSPCA, at any one time there are approximately 100,000 dogs in rescue centres across Britain waiting to be rehomed. There are barriers to rehoming; I wanted to rehome a dog but was told I couldn’t because I had a child under 10 and I wanted to take it to work with me (out in the woods every day! What better life can there be for a dog?). If we can’t find dogs a home, then what chance a hound? The good news is horses are unlikely to suffer the same fate as the hounds; they can be turned to other activities or retired if need be. Good job too, because the RSPCA say there are currently around 7,000 horses in need of rescue or new homes and rescue organisations are already at full capacity. A social event. One of the most important (the most important maybe?) aspects of trail hunting is the gathering together of people who might live very isolated lives. Rural areas don’t have high population densities, and it is conceivable people may not see another soul for days on end. It can get lonely, especially in the winter. I am involved with a mental health drive to identify and tackle the causes of poor mental health in forestry. Isolation is one of the biggest problems and is the same for a lot of rural people. Taking away a social event, any social event, is going to have a negative effect on people who really need that human contact. Charity fundraising. Hunts raise a lot of money for charity, all worthy causes. No hunt, less fundraising. I spoke to a hunt master whose job it is to fundraise. The job is two-fold; raise money to enable the hunt’s activities and social events, see the points above as to why that’s important. But the other part of the job is to raise money for local charities. Of particular note, one of the recipients of regular donations is the Air Ambulance, an organisation totally staffed by volunteers and vital for the area. As someone who works in remote areas this is a service that could save my life and I have a lot of appreciation for that. Wood burners Loss of livelihood. The human impact will be catastrophic. Of all the points I raise here about the loss of livelihood, this one most clearly shows government and lobbyist indifference to people. Take away a business’ market, the ability to sell its product, it will inevitably have to cease trading, as will the support businesses such as machinery dealers. As will the businesses that manage Britain’s woodlands, particularly harvesting contractors. It’s not a hard concept to get your head around. Loss of managed woodland. Woodlands have to be managed to maintain their health, the same as anything else. In a lot of cases firewood production pays for the costs, if this outlet is taken away then management becomes unviable. Habitats will suffer, leading to declines in wildlife. Like it or not, firewood is a sustainable source of heating. You can grow trees again and again, you can't do that with gas. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1768650910066-MB_woodland_management.jpeg) *Managing woodland is vital to its health and firewood production is a part of that. (Photo courtesy of Matt Biddle)* This is all covered in much more detail in the livestream myself and Richard Negus did in December. Each of those two examples have a common theme. Loss of livelihood. The human impact will be catastrophic. That’s the third time I’ve written those two sentences and I make no apology for repeating it because that’s the inevitable outcome of all this. What will these people do for work? Where will they go? It’ll be a migration to towns/cities that no one wants. The countryside will be empty, services will dwindle alongside other businesses. You wouldn’t want to own a pub, shop or garage in a village full of second homes. Most people in the countryside love their job, are consumed by it. It is fair to say it’s more than a job, it’s more than a vocation in fact. It is life. How many people will go to the village pub to relax and still want to talk about their job and furthermore enjoy that conversation with people who have exactly the same mindset and a genuine interest in what you are saying? Could you say the same for someone working in a factory who can’t wait to retire? I’d say not. What we are talking about here is not just jobs but an entire life. Imagine having to give that up? **A ban doesn’t fix the issue** Of course there are reasons given why a thing must be banned; a smokescreen for illegal hunting, a build-up of a certain type of a particulate in the air, a pesticide having adverse effects on wildlife. Banning these things though, is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Or to use an analogy I made up as a deer wandered across my path the other day; if you wanted to cull that deer we can all agree that what you need is a stalker that knows how to shoot and can dispatch said deer without causing undue pain. There is also the added benefit that the carcass can be turned into food. Banning stuff is akin to using napalm. Everything around it gets destroyed and I might not kill the deer, just horribly maim the poor thing. There won’t be a lot to eat after either. What is needed is precision. This means managing a situation for the benefit of those people involved in it. Think about trail hunting again. The reason given to justify banning it is that it is used as a smokescreen for fox hunting. Really? During every hunt the master makes sure there’s a fox to chase? Give me a break. In every walk of life there are people who can’t stay within the law and you’d be naive to think otherwise, but they are a tiny minority. We already have legislation to cover that. Trail hunting is not the problem, a lack of enforcement of the law is. If fox hunting is a problem, give the authorities the tools to confront it. And while they’re at it they can do something about hare coursing and fly-tipping which really are problems. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1768652251600-Tube.jpeg) *You can ban plastic and pesticides, but the work still has to be done. What replaces the things you ban?* Likewise, there may be a high level of a certain kind of particulates in the air but any worse than diesel fumes for your health? No, obviously not. Is it so bad as to justify the decimation of an entire industry? No. But you could look to make sure firewood is good quality. We’ve all seen bags of soaking wet plastic bags of ‘firewood’ in supermarket foyers. Deal with that, not punish a small business selling a good quality product. Yet again, we have regulations in this country to ensure firewood quality and Defra have appointed a not-for-profit organisation called Woodsure to run the ‘Ready to Burn’ scheme. If a ban is on the horizon is this an admission that Defra’s own scheme has failed? If so should both Defra and Woodsure be held to account first? **Back to my fireworks** I said at the beginning I thought fireworks should be banned. I don’t, and of course they shouldn’t, but it does neatly illustrate why banning stuff is not the answer. Why should all the people who enjoy the displays at the London Eye, and in Edinburgh and anywhere else have that taken away from them because a tiny majority can’t control themselves? Why should I, again in the minority I’m sure, be able to dictate to the majority just because I don’t like it? I haven’t really written this for the benefit of the majority of people who are likely to read it, you already know about it and in all likelihood agree, if not with all I say, then most of it. I’ve written it for the benefit of the vast majority of the population who may not have an opinion either way but are overwhelmingly exposed to a negative viewpoint. This is a different viewpoint, one that is balanced, written by someone directly affected and I hope will inform. Mostly I have written it for the diehard ban everything crowd, particularly those who resort to name calling, insults and violence all in the name of an ideology. And, even though I have put forward a balanced point of view and set out the ramifications, won’t care. I hope you can accept the consequences of your actions with a clear conscience. I couldn’t. ### Moments That Stop Time: Finding Magic in Nature URL: https://www.scribehound.com/moments-that-stop-time-finding-magic-in-nature/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:36:17.000Z In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to forget the quiet, extraordinary moments that nature offers. In this month's article I'm exploring the moments in nature that stopped people in their tracks. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Law of Interdependence URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-law-of-interdependence/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:37:12.000Z At School I learned there is a positive for every negative. In this two part article I highlight why a partial victory for the farmers is not a total win for the countryside. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How Will Thirlby Hopes to Revive Pointing’s Farmer-Trainer Tradition URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-will-thirlby-hopes-to-revive-pointings-farmer-trainer-tradition/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:46.000Z Based at Grendon, near Atherstone, Will Thirlby *(pictured above with fiancée Annabel and Colibri Bleu - all pictures Caroline Exelby unless stated)* is one of an increasingly rare breed in the sport of point-to-pointing nowadays, a farmer-trainer-rider. After a promising start to his career as a jockey, with a high of 12 wins in 2018/2019, Will went to study at the Royal Agricultural College, before returning to help father Tim run the family farm – with 2,000 dairy goats to milk daily, it is the second largest such operation in the country – and then started training in his own right, notching an initial success with Colibri Bleu at Garthorpe, following which he proposed to partner Annabel James, using a plaiting band as a makeshift engagement ring! *Jake Exelby* paid him a pre-Christmas visit to learn about the 26-year-old’s plans, both for his string of seven this season, and beyond. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/d6ff8b12-239b-40ea-a781-5783fb2e91d9.jpeg) *You'd think Will would look happier after a win and a proposal! (Nico Morgan)* With Will out galloping Colibri Bleu when I arrive at his Fields Farm base, I am greeted by Annabel, who gives me a stable tour. “We only had five runners last year, none before February, and we’ve already had five this season, so it’s keeping us nice and busy,” she smiles, adding, “My role in the yard is to run Will’s life!” As well as Colibri Bleu and Dingley winner Tony’s Tipple, the yard houses maidens Sofana – “A wonderful little mare who’s been fourth twice but did a leg schooling so had a year off before coming back at Garthorpe” – and Miracle Millions, who was off for nearly 1,000 days before returning this season, along with two new purchases. “Chiroqui Princess came via David Phelan from Ireland, where she was second three times, and is an absolute sweetheart, and Colonel Whizz is a gorgeous boy we bought at Doncaster. He was rated 98 at his best for Olly Murphy.” However, the apple of Annabel’s eye is ‘Ollie’, an unraced and unnamed 4yo by Passing Glance. “He’s my favourite to ride… but unfortunately he’s a sales horse!” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/bc88eb3b-009d-4366-9c51-3b3e6146920e.jpeg) *Ollie - being aimed at bonus series race* Returning to the yard, Will confirms his fiancée’s plans. “My current ambition is to have one – Ollie – to sell on at a profit and one, hopefully Colibri Bleu, who can go through the grades from Maiden to Open. He’s grown up a lot since last year and is a different horse – he was running a fantastic race before falling at Garthorpe.” As for the profile of the horses he trains, “I’m definitely looking for maidens – I’m getting priced out of the more experienced horses I’ve had, like Get On The Yager and Here He Comes.” Another side project for Will and Annabel is breeding, and they’re currently looking for a stallion to send the mare Sion Hill, who suffered a fracture on her Cocklebarrow debut but remains in their barn as a broodmare for owners Lily and Tom Dalby. Will also confirms, again with a smile, what Annabel said about their respective roles. “I decide what the horses do each day, and when they’re ready to run. But Annabel’s the voice of reason, my sounding board – she tells me when I need to buck up my ideas!” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/5aff6922-5cd7-44e7-8352-f17601d32b0f.jpeg) *Will and Chiroqui Princess kick up a storm* I talk to Will about his facilities as he saddles up Chiroqui Princess. “We’ve got two gallops – one carpet, that used to be woodchip – and one deep sand. “I’ve copied the best,” he laughs. “I went to work for Willie Mullins for three months when he was putting his in and was with Tom Ellis when he did the same. Tom was one of the first (British pointing yards) to have deep sand and it’s helped him be successful.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/833a9af6-627e-41e4-aaf8-2ebec9435f63.jpeg) *Becca riding work on Colonel Whizz* Colonel Whizz - who was to go on to finish a good second at Ampton on his pointing debut - and Becca Collins accompany Will three times in each direction round the one-and-a-half-furlong gallop and Becca tells me afterwards, “I’ve been working for Will for just over a year. I used to be in the Army, with the King's Troop, and rode in their point-to-point race several times – my best finish was second. But I’ve got no desire to ride in a proper point-to-point – I prefer showjumping!” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/59603776-3daa-4560-900a-2c9d7af36e69.jpeg) *Will and Becca returning to the yard* Work (with the horses at least) over for the day, we return to the farmhouse and talk over coffee. “I’m not really from a racing family,” Will admits, “Although my Dad – Tim – and Mum, Victoria, both race-rode. Dad had a mid-life crisis, got divorced, stopped smoking, lost three stone, and started racing! I think he had seven rides, and fell three times, while Mum had a go just for fun with one horse and won at Welbeck. She was a three-star eventer and found pointing easy compared to that!” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/974c1584-5b0c-4b35-a1f7-ef59cca54c9f.jpeg) *Will's Dad Tim (left) in action during his brief career* As for Will’s own riding background, “I’ve been riding since I could walk, did pony club and competed in the Prince Philip (Mounted) Games until I was 17 – I won the World Pairs in Denmark. I progressed to pony racing with a mare called Princess Propellor. We won at Garthorpe, then raced in the Charles Owen series at rules tracks. That was a different league – I was up against the likes of the Bowen brothers and McCain sisters.” Will’s pointing career began on horses trained by Tim, and his partner Kirsty Smith, who passed away in 2022\. “I idolised her as a trainer,” Will says sadly. “She had an eye for detail, loved her horses, and was the driving force for my own passion.” His first rides came on Oryx Falcon at Thorpe Lodge aged 16 – “You always remember your first jump, we just hacked round at the back and finished seventh of eight: nowadays I’d pull up but continued because of the buzz and excitement” – and his first win a month later, on Arkose. Will recalls Arkose fondly. “He was a lovely old horse, who we bought from Sam Hutchinson. We won the Members at Dingley then, next season, we won a Timico Mixed Open at Ampton. I was just seventeen and remember being sat in behind Gina and Jack Andrews, then bolting up. We went to Cheltenham for the Mixed Open Final that year.” The best horse Will rode for Kirsty was probably Ardkilly Witness, who took him to the Cheltenham Foxhunters in 2019\. “I remember going to Jamie Snowden’s to try him out,” he laughs again, “And couldn’t hold one side of him! So, I said, ‘I’ll have him’. Cheltenham was one of the best days ever. We were outsiders, but it was a great day out, and the build-up was incredible. My aim is to get back there, and I’d also like to ride round Aintree, but you need the right horse.” As for the future, “Will I be doing it when I’m 50? Probably not, but I think I’ve got another ten years in me, then I’ll carry on training.” Annabel chips in mischievously, “He wouldn’t know what to do without a stable full of horses!” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/22596e63-ca11-4b2b-897a-d0a4bd73bfc5.jpeg) *Will winning on Ardkilly Witness at Mollington (Neale Blackburn)* Will is refreshingly honest about the reasons his winning tallies each season slowed down after what was a breakthrough season. “I’d been working for Tom Ellis since my A-Levels and was riding good horses, including Master Templar, who bolted up at Ampton. Through Tom, I got to know Fred Hutsby. I’d ride out and school for him and had a few winners, including Downbythestrand at Stratford. After that, I went to Alan King’s – I thought I’d turn professional, but changed my mind, and lost the momentum I’d been building in points.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/07382aad-c760-4687-b29b-d993c81364f7.jpeg) *Downbythestrand carries Will to victory at Kimble (Neale Blackburn)* Covid, a series of injuries including a broken leg and collarbone, then Kirsty’s passing, didn’t help Will’s career in the saddle, but did convince him of his true vocation. “I came home to help Dad run the farm, and to train the pointers, which is something I always wanted to do. I want to be a farmer-trainer, the way pointing used to be. But I think I’m a generation too late – farmers don’t train horses any more due to the cost and there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s a lot more professional now,” continues Will. “That’s not meant to be a negative, but fewer farmers with horses makes the field sizes smaller, and that’s why there aren’t as many jockeys either.” “The biggest killer is the cost of owning a racehorse,” Will states. “And the lack of hunts down here makes a difference. We’re farmers, and used to hunt with the Atherstone, but it doesn’t exist any more.” However, rather than bemoan the state of the sport, Will is positive about the future. Dismissing my customary question about what he’d do if put in charge of the sport – “I couldn’t do the job: it’s incredibly difficult” – he praises the new ‘blue mic’ social media content, “It’s wonderful, and you’d hope it’s bringing in more horses,” as well as the new GB Pointing Bonus Young Horse Maiden Series. “Ollie’s going to be aimed at one of those,” he confirms. “It’s a fantastic initiative. There are lots of entries, plenty of runners and a real buzz around it.” “Syndicates are the way forward,” he adds. “Take Peter Bennett, a long-time owner with us, who’s had the likes of Black Valentine – he’s now involved with Miracle Millions and Tony’s Tipple. We’ve got room for more owners and would like to form more syndicates – we’re looking for people to come into Colibri Bleu. Outside owners make it more sustainable for us in the long-term and, just as importantly, syndicates bring new people into the sport. Part of the fun is going back to the lorry with your owners after racing – it’s not the same if it’s just the two of you.” Mention of Tony’s Tipple again makes Annabel’s face light up as she reminisces about their win at Dingley. “I never watch Will ride,” she admits sheepishly. “I just listen to the tannoy. I heard the commentator say, ‘He’s going too wide,” but we’d walked the course beforehand and decided to go wide, for the better ground. Will knows the horse inside out – that’s a perk of riding them yourself every day.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/fd98ece4-2b13-4b3f-bf22-ee724a509437.jpeg) *Dingley winner Tony's Tipple says hi to the camera* Will agrees. “You ride with a different confidence when you train the horses you ride in races. Yes, it’s difficult to juggle training and riding – and you can’t ride out at other yards – but I do it because I love it. It can be hard work – I feed the goats between 6am and 9am, ride until 1pm, farm in the afternoon, then go to the gym in the evening. I’ve learnt a lot from Tom Ellis,” he adds. “How to train a horse, how to get it fit… and how to be the last to leave the horsebox park!” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/e8c27ab9-e6a7-4a69-ba17-2b6b4ace2547.jpeg) *Some of Will's 2,000 goats* Asked for a final word, Will turns serious. “The Injured Jockeys Fund and Oaksey House were fantastic when I broke my leg – they had me running on a treadmill just three weeks later. The work they do should be better advertised in the pointing world. I know they have stands at some meetings, and ads in the racecards, but why not have banners round the paddock at every fixture, and dedicated races to promote them more. Without the jockeys, there would be no racing to enjoy.” ### Bang to rights URL: https://www.scribehound.com/bang-to-rights/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:07:37.000Z Just how defensible is driven red leg partridge shooting? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Resilience, resistance, community and hope. Lessons from ORFC. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/resilience-resistance-community-and-hope-lessons-from-orfc/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:47.000Z The uplifiting speeches, personal reflections, and urgent calls for solidarity that made this year’s Oxford Real Farming Conference an unforgettable gathering for farmers and activists alike. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Last Orders for the Countryside URL: https://www.scribehound.com/last-orders-for-the-countryside/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:47.000Z How Government Policy Is Quietly Killing the Rural Pub _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Hedgelaying, Immortality and Tradition URL: https://www.scribehound.com/hedgelaying-immortality-and-tradition/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:47.000Z The job of hedgelaying—where timeless craft, local dialect, and nature's resilience, create living, immortal barriers on our Cumbrian farm. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Corgis to Cockers: the Royal Family's surprising canine influence URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-corgis-to-cockers-the-royal-familys-surprising-canine-influence/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:48.000Z How the Royal Family's canine choices—from Queen Elizabeth's corgis to Camilla's rescue terriers—have shaped dog breed trends and inspired a nation of pet lovers _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Champion Conditional to Trainer: Luca Morgan's Story URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-champion-conditional-to-trainer-luca-morgans-story/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:48.000Z At the age of just 24, Luca Morgan is already a high achiever, both in the saddle and as an up-and-coming trainer of point-to-pointers. Turning professional in 2019, after two seasons riding between the flags, Luca went to work for Ben Pauling and was crowned champion conditional jockey in April 2023 before his sudden retirement that November. Turning immediately to the training game – with his first runners in February 2024 – he has already proved himself a shrewd operator with both older horses and youngsters, with the classy Givega targeting top Hunter Chases this season and Baron Du Brizais, who took the opening GB Pointing Bonus Maiden of the season at Lower Machen, making £90,000 when going under the hammer at the Goffs Coral Gold Cup sale. *Jake Exelby* went to see him at his impressive Sandall House base, near Warwick, to find out more about a young man on the rise. Luca *(pictured above holding Givega, with partner Paige Topley and Baron Du Brizais - all photos Caroline Exelby except where stated)* has a mix of horses in their yard, from pre-trainers for former boss Ben Pauling, to youngsters to run and sell, to established pointers. “The pre-trainers underpin the business,” explains Luca. “They pay for the keep of the stores that I buy to sell on. Then the older horses are mostly owned by The Gambie Gang, comprising Mum and Dad and a group of family friends. I’ve done well for them, with the likes of Givega and On Springs (who Luca rode to five wins under rules, then trained to win three points last season). I also bought a young horse for them – J’Envoievalserenki – who won at Badbury Rings.” Luca, originally from near Bath – “pretty much where Neil Mulholland trains” – has been at Sandall House since he retired as a jockey and expects to run, “Six four-year-olds, two more 5yos and five older horses,” this season. Surprisingly for one who’s done so well, so young, he’s not from a racing background. “Mum and Dad weren’t interested in racing and had no idea about the sport,” recalls Luca, “But I wanted to be a jockey since I was about five. The mum of my best mate at primary school had a riding school and I went to have lessons every Saturday morning. Mum and Dad then bought me a New Forest pony – Maisie – who dropped me most days! I had to wait until I was nine to ride her in a race – it was the pony racing day at Wincanton – and I thought she was a rocket… but she wasn’t!” “My parents were massively supportive,” adds Luca. They used to take me to ride out for Seamus Mullins – I told him I was 12 but I was only ten – then Paul Nicholls, and pony racing at the weekend. It was Matt Hampton who got me into pointing – I met him when we both rode out for Paul – and he taught me so much. We get on really well and he’s a great trainer. I rode a horse called Billy Two Tongues for him and learnt loads… mostly because he was a terrible jumper!” Luca clarifies why he turned conditional after his second season, in which he rode six winners, along with the PPORA points series. “I was riding almost as much under rules as in points, so thought I might as well get paid for it. Ben Pauling put me up one day in a hands and heels race, then agent Dave Roberts called and said Ben was looking for a 7lb claimer. Two weeks later, I was there and never looked back.” “I rode my first double at Uttoxeter (in December 2019),” continues Luca, “And – while I think I had another 50 rides before my next winner for Ben, because he had a bug he couldn’t shift, which prompted him to move yards – I had an amazing time. Ben was brilliant to me. I was claiming, but riding in Grade One races, and on horses like Northern Bound, Shakem Up’Arry and Slipway. I won seven races on Northern Bound, and he was a real darling – you could put your nan on him!”” “I always believed in myself,” says Luca about his championship season, “But didn’t expect to win the title, particularly as I was only claiming 3lb at the start of the season. I remember messaging Ben in August saying I wouldn’t mind giving it a go and it’s all down to the support of Ben, as well as people like Michael Scudamore.” Luca is honest about the struggles with his weight that forced him to retire just six months after his title. “It was always an issue,” he admits. “Even when I was 17 or 18, I was sweating every day. After I got the trophy at Sandown, I went to Tenerife for a week, but didn’t go overboard, as I knew I had to ride at 11st2lbs when I got back. When I got on the scales, I expected to be 11st5lb but was a stone heavier. I managed to lose it all, but couldn’t see straight, and my ears were popping. While I felt fine on the horse, I drank buckets of water afterwards and put it all back on. I had two rides booked at Ludlow – also at 11st2lbs – for Nicky Henderson, so had to do it all over again.” “I told Ben I needed a break,” a sombre Luca goes on. “He was very understanding and I was still riding out every day, but – when I came back – I broke my foot and was concussed on my first ride, so had to stop again. I came back one more time but one night, I’d been in the bath two hours and hadn’t lost any weight, so I said to Ben, ‘That’s it.’ I was upset more than anything,” Luca admits. “The hardest part was ringing Ben, as I hate letting people down.” Younger brother Beau – best known for his association with Becher Chase winner Twig (trained in points by Matt) – still rides as a conditional but, as Luca explains, didn’t get the bug until he was older. “He didn’t start until he was a teenager,” laughs Luca. “I taught him to ride one evening while Mum was making dinner and had him jumping hurdles by the end of the night! As for the rapid move into training pointers, “We already had horses at Paige’s Mum and Dad’s place, so thought we’d give it a go. We found the yard and, the day we moved in, Ben sent us four pre-trainers.” Luca’s first runner was Perfect Pirate, who gave him a maiden success at Paxford later in the year. His first full season provided five winners to go with one in each of the first two weekends of the current campaign. So, after such a flying start, how far off is a move into the professional ranks? “It’s an ambition,” confirms Luca, “But it’s a bit of a way off. It depends how the next couple of years go and I’m enjoying training the young horses.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/ead4b745-6bc3-49d1-943e-4d570c93530d.jpeg) *James King and Ellie Holder on two of Luca's 3yos* As we watch a group of unnamed 3yos canter round the indoor school, then up the all-weather gallop, before taking a few schooling hurdles, Luca outlines his plans for the season, starting with Givega, who won at Horseheath. “I’d literally die for that horse,” he smiles. “He’ll probably have just two more runs this year, going to Leicester for a Hunter Chase at the end of February – first prize was £7,000 last year – then to Punchestown (for the Irish Champion Hunter Chase). He’s better going right-handed than left and is fragile – he’s got feet like poppadoms!” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/86630a0b-3dd7-4fc7-a545-f92f15c0489f.jpeg) *Archie Wilson and Fergus Gillard come up the gallops* Other older horses include Just Lucky Sivola – “Who I got from Paul Nicholls, and who’ll go for Conditions Races, then possibly a Novice Hunter Chase” – and another talented but fragile prospect, the mare Rossea. “She won her Irish point-to-point and was then sold for £95,000,” Luca tells me, “Then got a leg. She was going to run last year but I stopped with her when the going got good. She’ll run in a Restricted.” Obviously, some of our chat focuses on a horse no longer in the yard, Baron Du Brizais. Luca confirms how he came by the horse. “I went to Ireland with Dan Astbury and we bought four stores. I sold a filly privately and a Harzand gelding won a schooling race at Chaddesley Corbett and is now with Oliver Greenall. But Baron Du Brizais is the first of mine to run in a Young Horse Maiden, and the first to go through the ring.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/dc792d24-817a-4315-aa9e-87096c1f69bd.jpeg) *Baron Du Brizais takes the Young Horse Maiden (Alun Sedgmore)* “I can’t afford pedigrees with my budgets,” explains Luca of how he and Dan select the stores they buy. “For the first group we bought, I looked for up and coming sires – like Capri, Harzand and Nirvana Du Berlais – with black type through the dam.” “We’re getting towards the Irish model,” states Luca in relation to Young Horse Maidens. “The likes of Fran and Charlie Poste, Gina and Tom Ellis and Jack Teal are among those doing a fantastic job. The more people who have young horses, the greater the depth – it’s not about the publicity but the strength of the racing. At Lower Machen, we beat horses trained by Tom Lacey, Chris Barber, Josh Newman and the Postes, which showed the bonus race was working.” The sale of Baron Du Brizais was bittersweet for Paige, as she explains. “My Dad, David, broke him in, and I’ve ridden him from the start, since he was a 3yo.” The 2019/2020 leading female novice rider, whose promising career was interrupted by Covid, confirms that she’s retired – “Unless there’s a particular horse that makes me want to come back.” Her time in the saddle was ended abruptly – and tragically – when her best horse, Garrettstown, was killed on the road by an errant driver. “I retired on the spot,” Paige says sadly. “Perfect Pirate was with him at the time, and wouldn’t go on a road again, which was hard, as we didn’t have gallops at home.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/94efeb44-1b13-4a7e-a108-3cdd154e80b7.jpeg) *James on Hexham second Via Romano* One of the 5yos is Hexham second Via Romano, and the other - the aforementioned J’Envoievalserenki - will be staying at Sandall House and targeting the new 0-110 Series Final. “His highest rating in Ireland was 108,” says Luca, “And he’d probably be 6lb or 7lb higher over here. A series with a big final is a good thing as it gives you the chance to win decent prize money.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/fb5ac5ee-b879-40ec-882b-dd3a12f13138.jpeg) *Paige and J'Envoievalserenki* “It would be good to have more finals,” Luca opines, “With higher prize money. Cheltenham and Stratford both come at the end of the season so suit the same horses who are running at that time of year. What about the early season horses? You could have, say, a final for Maiden winners in March, or a big Hunter Chase meeting in December.” Indeed, Luca is generally positive about the new initiatives being introduced in the sport. “I’m glad that things are changing,” he confirms. “Having a slot on Racing TV is massive, the GB Pointing Bonus series is brilliant, and the social media is going in the right direction. We just need to make it more affordable for owners,” he concludes, before admitting, “But that’s a question to which I don’t know the answer! It’s hard to get owners to buy pointers when you can get £350 for finishing eighth under rules, more than you get for winning a point-to-point. People will spend money at the sales for a dream – winning a point-to-point isn’t a dream!” My last question to Luca, as so often, is why he loves pointing, especially not having the sport in his blood. “I don’t know,” he confesses. “It’s hard to explain – if you presented a business plan for pointing to the Dragons Den, they’d laugh at you! I just love racing, and pointing’s more relaxed. And I love winning! Winning at the weekend is why I do it. My dream is to buy a horse at the Cheltenham Sales and come back to Cheltenham to win a race with it.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/8b6fd6cb-ead1-45d9-96cc-e5234bb7696f.jpeg) *Luca and his riders with his 3yos... and Bean* ### The Subtle Art of Doing Bugger All URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-subtle-art-of-doing-bugger-all/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:48.000Z Break free from the cult of busyness — why mastering the art of doing nothing may be the best resolution you ever make. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Landscape Recovery Fund: Where Did the £12 Million Go? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/landscape-recovery-fund-where-did-the-12-million-go/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:49.000Z Are expensive conservation industry plans really 12.5x better than what farmers deliver for less? I dive into the numbers and the secrecy behind government wildlife funding. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### January's Small Larder URL: https://www.scribehound.com/januarys-small-larder/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:49.000Z January looks empty but it's lying. The hedgerows are still feeding us if you know where to look - and our ancestors worked out the same tricks thousands of years ago. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A doggy tale – how joining a new shoot put the wag back in my world. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-doggy-tale-how-joining-a-new-shoot-put-the-wag-back-in-my-world/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:49.000Z My heartfelt journey with two extraordinary spaniels explores grief, loyalty, and that unbreakable bond—all with stories that will make dog lovers smile, laugh, and maybe even cry. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### If we love the countryside so much, should we create more of it? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/if-we-love-the-countryside-so-much-we-should-create-more-of-it/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:39:14.000Z Is it time for some bold thinking to excite progress in Britain? We could start with The Wash _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Red Deer to Regenerative Farming: Rethinking Agricultural Science URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-red-deer-to-regenerative-farming-rethinking-agricultural-science/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:39:05.000Z Your browser does not support the audio element. If you are interested in nature and conservation, you may have heard of the name of Frank Fraser Darling. He was one of the first people to study the life and social habits of Red deer in the Highlands of Scotland, and published a significant book on the subject ‘A herd of Red deer’ in 1937. Fraser Darling was a graduate of the Midlands Agricultural College, and started his working life as a dairy hygiene adviser. Prior to WW2, he lived for a season on the remote island of Rona, studying the life cycle of the Atlantic Grey seals, described in ‘A Naturalist on Rona’. During the war he lived on Tanera Mòr in the Summer Isles, trying to make a living from farming, detailed in his book ‘Island Farm’. Later, he produced newspaper advisory articles for farmers of the West Highlands, which were ultimately collated in a book, ‘Crofting Agriculture’. If you read, or re-read Crofting Agriculture, you might be surprised at how many of the basic principles of farming practice were understood back in the 1930s. They didn’t have the technology to measure nitrate leaching or gaseous emissions, or unravel the complexities of organic matter breakdown in soils, as we do now. But Fraser Darling understood, for instance, that the fertile machair soils in the coastal regions of Scotland were formed from a combination of wind-blown shell sand, effectively lime, being deposited on peat (acidic soils) with organic matter being built up from the dung of the crofters’ cattle over generations. Doesn’t this sound a bit like regenerative agriculture now ? ## From agriculture to ecology Towards the end of the 60s Fraser Darling became an advocate for ecology, then a new discipline. What is interesting is that one of the founding fathers of ecology came from a background of farming and dairy hygiene, his understanding and interpretation of animal behaviours, came not simply from studying biology in the lecture room, but from living with, and depending on a close relationship with large farm animals. ## The progressive farmer When I started on a dairy farm in North Nottinghamshire before heading off to university, there were four of us students. A mix of pre-Uni students like me, and day-release students from Brackenhurst Agricultural College. Grandad, as we called him, was still active on the farm, and would proudly tell anyone who asked, that he had once met the then principal of the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester who asked him, “Mr K., why doesn’t a progressive farmer like you take on some of my best agricultural students ?”. Of course, this reference to being a ‘progressive’ farmer was designed to massage his ego, and it obviously worked. Every year he took on another group of students or school leavers, cheap labour as we could be paid 75% of the AWB minimum wage at the time, but undoubtedly a lot of hassle for the family to manage a new group of feckless 16-18 year olds every year, and try and knock us into some sort of shape. Meanwhile grandma told me how she had gone to the old Midlands Agricultural College to study poultry production in her youth. As she said then it was a ‘little college’ not like the institution I would be going to at the end of the year, the University of Nottingham with its School of Agriculture at Sutton Bonington. ## Nothing stands still in farming Sutton Bonington (or SB) has been in the news recently because of the University’s decision to close, amongst others, its BSc Agriculture course. Unsurprisingly, this has created disquiet amongst alumni of the former School of Agriculture (now School of Biosciences). I know that in writing this article, I will have no impact on a university which has to consider rationalising its courses in the face of cuts in public funding. And in this, Nottingham is not alone as most of the university sector are under similar pressures. And if you are an agriculture graduate of Plymouth Polytechnic, the University of London, or the University of Edinburgh, you will probably be resigned to the fact that you’ve been here, seen it all before. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1766307266954-Screenshot_2025-12-21_at_08.54.06.jpeg) **Source: Farmers Weekly, November 2025* And if you aren’t an ex-student of SB, or even an agriculture graduate, this may not seem relevant to you either. So does it matter if we lose another agriculture course in the UK ? Are there bigger questions we need to ask about the nature of agricultural education and research, and what the farming sector needs for the next seventy years. Let’s state at this point, you don’t need an agriculture degree to be a good farmer, and there will also be people with agriculture degrees who would make poor farmers. But that isn’t really the point of studying agriculture at university. > A scientific training should bring a man to know how things work, or if he does not know something new to his observation, how to find how it works. Training in science should also so raise a man’s powers of observation of natural phenomena that he gets into the way of finding problems which need a solution \- Frank Fraser Darling, Island Farm, 1943 As I started work in 1984, the farm hosted an ADAS open day called ‘Sandland 84’ showcasing all sorts of irrigation kit and new (well, pre-digital) technologies. I then spent much of the first summer doing basic tasks like pulling fat hen out of sugar beet fields by hand. It was a testing year, and I timed it perfectly arriving on the farm just as milk quotas were imposed, demanding the culling of the growing 150 cow dairy herd (small now, but a decent size by the standards of the time). As a consequence, the son who looked after the dairy herd was in a bad mood for most of the year and we students bore the brunt of his wrath. This was an early introduction to the vagaries of life in agriculture, and the direct impact of political decisions made many miles away, on a family business. ## The development of agricultural science Bearing in mind that the University of Nottingham took over the old Midlands Agricultural College after the war, when teaching, research and advice in farming was re-organised, did the impact of the lecturers who trained Fraser Darling carry on after the war, influencing its teaching and research into the 1970s and 80s ? That’s a question for the historian, but when I started as a student, Prof JD Ivins was still operating as head of the Department of Agriculture. He had started at SB as a lecturer in 1948, and no doubt there was a connection with the advisers and practitioners who had been before, their research interests grounded in practical agriculture. > At the same time he has developed and encouraged an effective school in the Department of Agriculture, where he has initiated two lines of research. The first, which arises logically from the theme of the Nottingham School, is the effect of cultural practices on the growth of the potato crop. The second, which is more peculiarly his own, is an attempt to bridge the gap between crop and animal husbandry by a study of the utilization of grass by the grazing animal. His use of small balanced herds of identical twins has given a precision to measurement that has not hitherto been possible, and the more critical evaluation of pasture productivity that results affords interesting potentialities for the future \- On JD Ivins appointment as Professor of Agriculture in 1958: Nature No. 4529, July 1958 By the time I got to Sutton Bonington in 1985, crop husbandry was known as agronomy, somewhat to the displeasure of Prof Scott who took over from Prof Ivins. He disliked the general use of the term ‘agronomist’ because, back in the day, an agronomist was effectively someone who sold agrochemicals. Rather than someone who tried to apply the science and principles of crop physiology in order to understand crop growth and development, and manage crops more effectively. Meanwhile animal husbandry had been renamed ‘animal production’ to the chagrin of one of the management lecturers of the time who felt that ‘husbandry’ was better, maybe implying we had lost something in the sense of animal welfare. ## Big hitters Other big hitters were still operating at the time, John Monteith was still active, he of ‘Penman-Monteith equation’ fame, which will be familiar to anyone involved with irrigation scheduling, and Eric Lamming, who famously authored the report on anabolic growth promoters in cattle, which was ignored by the European politicians of the time. Lamming would terrify first year students by striding into the lecture theatre and singling out some poor individual to ask them if they knew what brown fat was. Which of course they invariably didn’t. One of the major features of SB was the hosting of regular Easter schools in Agricultural Science which started in 1955\. These didn’t impact directly on undergraduate students, but perhaps subliminally, they underscored that our teaching was based on the new research, and that in turn, the school was connected with the best of researchers in other parts of the world. Much later, I was lucky enough to be involved with a meeting on Yields of farmed species which was probably the last of the Easter School series, held in 2004. The thinking on the yields of individual crops which came out of that Easter school, and the reasons for apparent yield plateaux, led to the development by my former colleagues at ADAS, of the Yield Enhancement Networks (YENs). Aiming to understand variation within and between farms which ran for over 10 years until 2025, recently the YENs have been highlighted by an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture as one of the few initiatives in recent years to connect researchers with farmers and to indicate how we might increase yields on farm. If you want to learn to farm, you can go to study farming at Harper Adams, or the RAU at Cirencester. Those institutions have grown and benefited from the demise of their competitors, and they are now reaping the benefits. So it is worth asking why it is still of value to have a Russell Group university still teaching a BSc in agriculture ? Speaking personally, although enrolled on the BSc Agriculture course, if I hadn’t had to walk the coals and study biochemistry in my first year, something that really went against the grain at the time, I wouldn’t later have been able to work in a food science lab in France. And if I hadn’t studied agronomy, I wouldn’t have been helping manage the HGCA funded work that later led to the Wheat Growth Guide. And if I hadn’t studied physiology and breeding of crop plants, I probably wouldn’t be in a vegetable growing business now, working on their plant breeding programme. Although Fraser Darling went to SB, prior to the growth of the university sector in the UK, he exemplified I think one of the great benefits of a scientific education. The agricultural adviser who became the ecologist. At SB in the 80s, you would find the vegan food scientist having to rub along in first year lectures with someone who had worked for a year on a livestock farm, or the farmer’s son or daughter from an arable farm, who had to brush up against someone who wanted to study environmental science. If you don’t get those experiences, you end up working in silos. ## On a theme of sustainability Just about every university (well, at least 97 institutions in the UK according to UCAS) now offers a degree course in some endless variation on a theme of ‘Sustainability’. For example, in Environmental Management and Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Futures, Education for Sustainability and so on. On the other hand, I would guess there are only about a dozen institutions that still offer an agriculture degree. > What does sustainability even mean ? \- Jeremy Clarkson, Clarkson’s Farm If you only have, on the one hand, farmers trained at agricultural universities, and on the other, consultants trained at universities without any agricultural research or taught courses, then it will be no surprise that there is little common ground between the land owner and the conservationist, or between the farmer and the auditor sent to monitor them. The demise of the agriculture course at SB in part underlines the lack of research funding for work which directly helps farmers. Lecturers need to be honing their skills by engaging in high quality research and the industry needs to see that the research is relevant. For example, a huge programme of work on field beans in the mid 80s, supervised by Paul Hebblethwaite dominated my time at SB and was enough work to keep three honours students busy in their final year projects, as well as a number of MSc Agronomy students from overseas. At the same time, nutritionists were investigating the antinutritional factors in beans and their impacts on animal nutrition. There has been a dearth of research on legumes in the forty years since, until recent farmer-led work through the NCS project. The problems of course closures are not unique to Nottingham of course. Newcastle University which I attended later, has closed its BSc Soil Science course, and it has more recently been suggested that Cambridge University close its Vet School. We have to be realistic, Nottingham University is not closing down the Sutton Bonington campus wholesale, as Imperial College did with Wye, or as Plymouth Polytechnic did with Seale Hayne. Moreover, in 2010, Nottingham invested in the first new vet school in the UK in 50 years on the Sutton Bonington campus. Animal Science undergraduate courses are still strong, and there is undoubted synergy between them and the Vet School. It is up to the industry to argue for more applied research and the necessary public funding to support it, research which can take place both on commercial farms, and allied with institutions still involved in research and education. Otherwise, we rely more and more on spillovers in R&D, as economists call them, from other more advanced economies like the Netherlands and, the USA (‘advanced’ here interpreted fairly loosely). So over to the new universities. It will be down to the likes of Nottingham Trent (formerly Brackenhurst), Anglia Ruskin (Writtle) and Lincoln (Riseholme) to take up the baton and produce the next generation of agricultural scientists. And let's hope there will still be ecologists who come from an agricultural background and who can balance the necessity to produce food with a respect for nature. And with that, I'll leave it to the man himself to conclude: > I am wholly in favour of anyone engaging in farming having a scientific education in the principles of agriculture, but that education should not be designed to give him a set of ineluctable precepts on which, if he keeps them, he cannot go wrong \- Frank Fraser Darling, Island Farm, 1943 ### Why our future (and past) lies in the soil URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-our-future-and-past-lies-in-the-soil/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:51.000Z Healthy topsoil is our greatest national asset: why do we treat it like dirt? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Walk URL: https://www.scribehound.com/walk/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:51.000Z What happens when you stop and walk a farm for a year? Owls appear, soil speaks, and farming looks very different. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How Many Farms produce food? Food Security at Risk URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-many-farms-produce-food-food-security-at-risk/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:19:33.000Z *Emma Reynolds, Secretary of State "My Wycombe constituency is a semi-rural seat and I represent a vibrant rural economy, with 89 farms, fantastic country pubs, local shops and community hubs" CLA Conference November 2025 PHOTO: CLA* ## Apparently I live in a constituency with 89 farms. According to her speech at the CLA conference in late 2025, my local MP represents 89 farms. Having lived here all my life, I found the number implausible as I thought I knew - or know of - all my farming neighbours. Likewise I, and all the farming bodies thought that the governments assertions that their original IHT tax policy would only affect a tiny proportion of farms was rubbish. Their argument was built on sand. This matters. Because the entire inheritance tax fiasco — the tractor rallies, the anguish, the money spent with accountants & solicitors, and the behind-the-scenes campaigns in Whitehall — was directly affected by this kind of statistical nonsense. Most people think a farmer is someone who produces food. Milk. Wheat. Beef. Things that end up in shops, or at least in cows. It seems that for the moment Defra has a different definition. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1766064392297-Wycombe_Constituency_for_Scribehound.jpeg) **The Wycombe constituency in Buckinghamshire: 78% of the land area in rural wards and 10% semi-rural.* ## What counts as a farm (apparently) In Government-speak, a “farm” is anything with more than five hectares of land. Five hectares is twelve acres. Twelve acres is not a farm. It’s a field. Or a paddock. Or, in the Chilterns, a sloping bit of thin ground that struggles to be productive. On twelve acres around here you can: - keep a few horses or mow some hay - own some Alpaccas you talk to - produce almost no food at all But congratulations — you are now a farmer. Why? Because if you own livestock, or let a neighbour’s sheep wander about tidying up your pony paddock, you need a County Parish Holding number. That puts you on the Rural Payments Agency system. And once you’re on that system, you’re officially a farm. So parish councils are farms. Woodland is a farm. Vineyards are farms. People with a few decorative alpacas are farmers. And somewhere in the middle of all this are the people who actually produce the food we need. They are all counted the same. Which is how Wycombe acquired 89 farms. ## The minister in wellies [Emma Reynolds](https://members.parliament.uk/member/4077/career?ref=scribehound.com) — now the Secretary of State for Defra — is my MP. She’s intelligent, pragmatic and, it seems, willing to listen. Before she was elected, and again afterwards, she came to visit some farms in her patch including mine. The muddy, noisy, spreadsheet-heavy sort. She met dairy farmers, arable farmers, tenant farmers — people who worry about whether the next generation can afford to carry on. These were not tax dodgers. They were not oligarchs. They were not hiding money behind a hedge in Monaco. They were asset-rich, cash-poor and utterly dependent on Agricultural Property Relief to stop the farm being broken up when someone dies — which, inconveniently, farmers still do ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1766064588473-EmmaReynoldsMP.jpeg) **Emma Reynolds, MP for Wycombe, meeting the Lacey family on their award-winning dairy farm in October 2024.* Did these visits help to fix the tax policy? Unfortunately not. There were conversations to be had by Emma and her ex-colleagues at the treasury. Thankfully, just before Christmas the inheritance tax threshold has moved upwards. Credit where it’s due. ## The real problem no one seemed to address The problem wasn’t just the tax threshold. It’s that the Government doesn’t know who the real farmers are. Of those 89 “farms” in my constituency, perhaps 30 actually produce a meaningful amount of food. The rest belong to: - people with Alpacas or dressage horses they will never eat - estates owned by people who don’t live here - very wealthy individuals for whom agriculture is largely a tax dodge None of these people will be forced to sell land to pay inheritance tax. Offshore wealth is perfectly safe. The person who is worried is the one milking cows at 5am. And the wonks in the Treasury - who have never been on a real farm - looked at the numbers and said: “Only a small number of farms will be affected.” Yes. Because you’re counting 'holdings' not farms. Of course the people Rachel Reeves thought she was going to tax, including the super-wealthy who would not know how to start a tractor, lamb a ewe, understand what FYM was or why you needed an SBI were not too concerned about paying 20% over 10 years, it certainly wouldn't disturb their sleep in their Swiss ski chalet. ## The thing we quietly dropped Here’s the really irritating bit. The EU — yes, that EU — had a concept called the “active farmer”. The idea was simple: if you want protection or support from your government, you should probably be doing some actual farming. Managing land. Taking risk. Producing food. Although the bar was set rather low, presumably to protect many of the small-scale and part-time farmers in France etc. I’m pleased to see that the active farmer concept was raised by Minette Batters in her report, but the bar seems pretty low to me. Perhaps she didn’t want to burden us farmers with yet more evidence tests. Emma Reynolds has listened. She has moved the dial. That deserves some credit, but it would be better still if she could persuade the Treasury that their policy was deeply flawed from the start and drop it entirely. Perhaps she could also ask her colleagues in Defra address the difference between someone who owns land and someone who farms it productively. The question isn’t how many holdings there are, it's how many active farmers we can afford to lose before someone in Whitehall realises that pet Alpacas are not the same thing as food security. I'm not the first to raise this, Minette Batters spotted this issue back in November 2024, but my research in the Wycombe constituency seems to validate her viewpoint. ## 'There are serious questions to be asked as to whether the advice given to ministers is correct' > Ministers claim that 73% of farms will not be affected by the changes. Yet they haven’t explained how they got to that figure. I suspect it includes so-called ‘lifestyle’ farms that don’t produce significant amounts of food and comprise less than 40 acres. Remove these and, according to the NFU, at least 50% of family farms will incur inheritance tax. It’s imperative that the Government publishes the data on how it came to 73%. Ministers must also consult with the industry and conduct a full impact assessment on the effects for farming, rural communities and national food security. Left unchecked, the entire fiscal bucket for food producers could have far-reaching consequences. \- Minette Batters - November 2024 - Country Life Magazine - [Article](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/comment-opinion/minette-batters-there-are-serious-questions-to-be-asked-as-to-whether-the-advice-given-to-ministers-is-correct-276155?ref=scribehound.com) ## How to test this in your own constituency If fellow subscribers would like to stress-test the Government’s figures locally, the method is straightforward especially with modern free-to-use mapping systems such as The [Land App](https://thelandapp.com/?ref=scribehound.com) 1. Overlay your constituency boundaries with Land Registry data 2. Cross-check against scheme participation - available in the Land App 3. Apply your local knowledge. 4. Ask one simple question: does this holding produce food at scale as a viable business? Then compare the result with the number your MP or Defra believes represents “farms” in your area. If you would like help - just pop a note in the Comments and I'll try and respond. ## Footnotes 1. ONS [definition](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/agriculture-in-the-united-kingdom-2021/chapter-2-structure-of-industry??ref=scribehound.com) of a commercial agricultural holding: Includes land parcels over 5 hectares or smaller areas meeting minimum crop or livestock thresholds. Office for National Statistics, UK Agriculture statistics. 2. County Parish Holding ([CPH](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-county-parish-holding-cph-number?ref=scribehound.com)) numbers: Required for livestock ownership and interaction with the Rural Payments Agency. 3. Active farmer principle: Introduced under [EU](https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2024-01/direct-payments-eligibility-conditions%5Fen.pdf?ref=scribehound.com) Common Agricultural Policy reforms (2013 onwards) to distinguish genuine agricultural activity from passive land ownership. 4. [Farm Profitability Review:](https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2025/12/18/farming-profitability-review-recommendations-published/?ref=scribehound.com) Published by Defra, December 2025, chaired by Minette Batters. 5. [Inheritance tax threshold change](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/inheritance-tax-reliefs-threshold-to-rise-to-25m-for-farmers-and-businesses?ref=scribehound.com): Announced December 23, 2025, raising the agricultural threshold from £1m to £2.15m. 6. Recommended: the Scribehound article by George Browne [Am I a Farmer](https://www.scribehound.com/countryside/lifestyle/s/on-the-farm/am-i-a-farmer) ### Ladybird’s Wildlife in Britain, Fifty Years On URL: https://www.scribehound.com/ladybirds-wildlife-in-britain-fifty-years-on/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:52.000Z You might be surprised by what has changed _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Loopy lupins to the rescue URL: https://www.scribehound.com/loopy-lupins-to-the-rescue/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:52.000Z A cocktail of lupins, distorted history, misleading facts and a twist of land reformist nationalism, makes for a compelling narrative for tree planting in Scotland, but don't be fooled. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Future Salmon for the Frome URL: https://www.scribehound.com/future-salmon-for-the-frome/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:39:35.000Z How an exciting new project for salmon recovery has been the official green light _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A Wodwo for the Mountains URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-wodwo-for-the-mountains/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:53.000Z The story of a wild man cursed by God and cast into the Galloway Hills offers a good opportunity to explore an abundance of hairy, naked men in folklore and beyond. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Is the Countryside Melting Away? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/is-the-countryside-melting-away/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:36:50.000Z Oh how the countryside is used to charm and relax us throughout the festive season! _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A Cotswold Christmas: Magic, Memories, and Farm Traditions URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-cotswold-christmas-magic-memories-and-farm-traditions/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:45:24.000Z Step inside a Cotswold farmhouse this Christmas for cosy traditions, magical landscapes, and the vital role of local farms and businesses in making the holidays truly special. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Will The Batters Review Really Save British Farming in 2026? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/will-the-batters-review-really-save-british-farming-in-2026/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:54.000Z Minette Batters pulls few punches in her review, exposing the looming tax and subsidy crisis threatening family farms—yet is it enough to change the odds for UK agriculture in 2026? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Positive Forestry URL: https://www.scribehound.com/positive-forestry/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:55.000Z A while back I was privileged enough to appear on the Countryslide podcast (the nation's premier rural affairs podcast, or so I’m told by those in the know – Richard Negus primarily) alongside Matt Biddle - a harvesting contractor based in Suffolk - to talk about the UK forestry industry from the point of view of people on the coal face. Or tree bark. Or something. Perhaps cheekily, Matt and I had asked if we could come on to the show because we are passionate about forestry, see it as a positive thing and want to spread the word. It seems the show was well received and people liked hearing from two blokes who actually get dirty hands. **Lies, damn lies and negativity** The forest industry has a terrible record of promoting itself - that issue is a whole other subject on its own - but I’ve never been shy of grabbing an opportunity, so here we are. We were prompted by the merry-go-round of rural criticism that exists on social media which focused on forestry in recent weeks. It happens in real life too, as a contractor I’m fair game for all kinds of abuse. Next week it’ll be something else, shooting I expect given the time of year. What we wanted to do was highlight the positives that the forestry industry brings in the face of overwhelming negativity, vitriol and personal attacks. In a lot of cases these opinions are factually wrong, a lie, based on a lie, a lie reposted, opinion based on a lie, opinion designed to sell a book, opinion designed to sell one’s ideology, you get the idea. These things don’t particularly bother me, I work in a rural commercial sector it comes with the job. It is what it is. What does bother me is this rhetoric is all the public really gets to see and this informs public opinion which in turn informs government policy. So policy is implemented on the basis of ideology rather than fact, which is daft. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1767008031330-Positive_Forestry_4.jpeg) *From newly planted to mature crop to trees waiting to become useful products, timber is all positive* I will stop that rant there because it isn’t news - me and others have been talking about this for a long time - but mostly so I can get onto the positive. For a bit of context, I will briefly have to talk about the negative first. Before I start I should say I will be invoking the ‘Voldemort’ rule, which is - I shan’t be naming any of these individuals or organisations that are peddling this nonsense. We all know who they are, and I refuse to give them any publicity. Sell your own sodding career. I say sell your own career slightly tongue-in-cheek but actually that is exactly what it is. It can’t be anything else. These are intelligent people after all, they must know that what they are saying is factually wrong, disregards science and established knowledge gleaned over hundreds of years of humans managing woodlands. So it’s self-promotion. In all honesty, I have to also hold my hands up to that too, but there is a crucial difference. My views are moderate, I think we need a bit of everything from preserving habitats on one hand to banging out commercial timber on the other and everything in between. One of the things that annoys me about these Voldemorts is that they refuse on every level to engage in meaningful debate. It is pontificate, misdirect, opinionate, ignore. Damning evidence they know their position is on very shaky ground? I think so. **Consequences of ideology** The thing that really, *really* angers me is when Voldemorts talk about the evils of conifer plantations or banning log burners or whatever else might have popped into their minds that morning. They never think of the impact that has on the people who make their living from the woods; contractors, managers, estate workers. It is us who will lose our jobs if their ideology came to pass. It is us that have to face abuse simply for doing our jobs. The complete lack of empathy towards those of us who really do make a difference is a disgrace I find hard to stomach. Unfortunately it is not just individuals guilty of this, there are environmental organisations hellbent on pushing the narrative that commercial forestry is evil and a blight on the countryside. But then they are driven by membership, donations and a large PR budget so maximum return means keeping the public onside and as we know people are taught from a young age all about nature but not really about all the ways we achieve good management for it. Money rolling in is more important than pesky facts. Trees are emotive things and if you can push that button effectively you can say almost anything you want. Anyway, that’s enough of that. On to #positiveforestry! **Forestry - it's all good** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1767009195648-Positive_Forestry_1.jpeg) *A complete industry; good for nature, good for the climate and good for the economy* In the context of climate change, forestry is one of the few ‘complete’ industries insofar as it can do everything we need it to do. Want to produce a viable alternative to high-carbon building materials such as steel and concrete that can be replenished over and over again? Forestry can provide that. How about producing a truly sustainable method of heating? Forestry can provide that. Or maybe you want to create a habitat for mammals/birds/reptiles/flora/fauna? Guess what, forestry can do that too. What I really want to talk about is the much-maligned world of commercial forestry, a world I have inhabited for most of my life in one way or another. Say ‘commercial forestry’ and it conjures up a vision of serried ranks of conifer trees planted in arrow straight rows up and down a hillside. While this is true it is not the whole picture. Forestry is nuanced, but for the sake of simplicity we can divide commercial forestry into two broad areas; upland and lowland. Those ranks of conifer trees marching up the hill we can describe as upland forestry. I will guarantee you that you will never find a forester who will try to tell you these plantations are as good ecologically as a broadleaf wood or ancient woodland. But they serve a different yet crucial role; providing products that can lock up carbon, store carbon and replace carbon intensive materials such as steel and concrete. **Your house is full of timber!** There is a classic example used to demonstrate why we plant conifer trees; look around your house, so much of it is made of wood. The floorboards, 1st and 2nd fix, tables, chairs, your kitchen, doors, stairs, rafters and roof trusses are all wood and, with some exceptions, all come from softwood plantations somewhere in the world. I say somewhere in the world because the UK imports 80% of the timber it uses. Much like food, it is worrying that we rely so much on imports. A large part of Britain’s economy is construction, what happens if overseas supplies either dry up or the price rockets? Doesn’t bear thinking about, so logically we should be planting a lot more. We even have a mandate from government to achieve an increase in tree cover from 13% to 16.5% of the landmass. Still far less than the European average of 38% but more is still better. Happily, a house is a good metaphor for construction in Britain – mostly carbon intensive building materials with a small amount of materials that lock up carbon. Timber technology has come on in the last few years and should increase the percentage of timber used. There are other reasons why we plant almost exclusively conifer on upland sites. One is nimbyism, another is government policy guided by the aforementioned envNGOs who also almost exclusively focus on nature recovery rather than timber production. These two together push timber production to the fringes. But mostly, upland sites tend to have poorer soils and are more exposed to the elements limiting the range of trees that you can plant. Basically, you need a hard bastard and his name is Sitka Spruce. Sitka is a fantastic tree. It grows well just about anywhere, with good form if managed well and produces high quality structural timber. Even the bits that don’t make the grade, tops and edge trees for example, can be chipped for biomass or to make OSB. Complemented by other species such as Norway Spruce and Scots pine to break up monoculture, what’s not to like? ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1767009464057-Positive_Forestry_5.jpeg) *We planted this a few years ago. Mostly oak with minor species mixed through. Timber and nature in harmony* **Commercial doesn't just mean conifer!** Commercial forestry is not just confined to upland conifer plantations. Lowland forestry offers a varied mix of broadleaf and conifer species which can meet a whole host of objectives. Because the soils tend to be better and less exposed your options are almost infinite. Forest Research recently published a list of the 28 best species to grow in England, and a slightly different one for Scotland, with the aim of future-proofing our timber stocks in the face of warming temperatures. We already plant most of the species listed in lowland areas and have done for a long time. What we really need if we’re to have diverse woodlands serving a range of objectives is more lowland woodland creation. Where I live in the Forest of Dean is a particularly good example of what I mean. Go anywhere in the Dean and you’ll find a mosaic of different tree species all happily growing alongside each other. Plantations of Douglas fir, Norway spruce and Scots pine with intricate understoreys of regen conifer and broadleaf species stand right next door to broadleaves waiting for the day when they are felled to make high quality timber. Some of the conifer plantations will be clearfelled and replanted, and nowadays that means a mix of species and a lot of the time broadleaves incorporated into edges to support habitats for small mammals, invertebrates and flora/fauna. Monocultures are pretty well a thing of the past. Some plantations are selectively thinned and either allowed to regenerate on their own or the gaps planted as continuous cover. We have plantations of coppice species such as Sweet Chestnut and Hazel, which if well managed are a fantastic source of timber for fencing and hedging products as well as a vital habitat for the aforementioned small mammals such as dormice. I like dormice. It is unfortunate that many of these plantations have been ruined by deer and squirrels but we must remember that is a management problem, the concept is sound. **To combat climate change, do the simple things well** Timber is a very simple game. Plant tree, look after tree, fell tree, reap reward for all that hard work, start again. I’m a firm believer that timber should be the backbone of our industry. It’s the bit that makes the money and pays for all the other nice things we want. But moreover timber is about producing a variety of products of the best quality we can. This process is called silviculture and done properly it will solve a lot of problems. We have a problem of over-complication in this country where we must jam every conceivable outcome into our woods, when actually doing the simple stuff well is by far the better method. Timber production, I believe, should be a major contributor to the British rural economy, the driving force behind the whole industry. It is a shame that it is currently fragmented, riven by polarisation and those of us that advocate for a moderate ‘all things for all men’ approach are so often vilified for it despite it being the clear way forward. It only makes me more determined to fight for it though. So there you have it, forestry is a good thing despite what you may have heard. I hope my (very) basic explanation has done enough to sway you all to bat for team forestry. So do me a favour, spread the word about #positiveforestry wherever you go. Viva la Revolution! ### The crazy economics of illegal fly-tipping URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-crazy-economics-of-illegal-fly-tipping/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:49:36.000Z How lazy regulators, a broken justice system and punitive taxes are bringing "the new narcotics" to a field near you soon _This post is for subscribers only._ ### When the Wild Hunt Rides URL: https://www.scribehound.com/when-the-wild-hunt-rides/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:38:36.000Z The ancient myth of the Wild Hunt is a tale whose moral is one that modern fieldsports enthusiasts would do well to heed. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Beware a Cowpat in the Dark URL: https://www.scribehound.com/beware-a-cowpat-in-the-dark/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:56.000Z This year, my family became yet another farm safety statistic after Mum slipped on a cowpat and seriously injured herself. It’s a cautionary countryside tale – be warned. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Strickley Christmas URL: https://www.scribehound.com/strickley-christmas/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:56.000Z The cows still need milking, then there's the mucking out and feeding to do, but bacon and rum butter make it worthwhile _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Scatterbrained to Storm Ready: URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-scatterbrained-to-storm-ready/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:56.000Z Can anxiety be an unexpected superpower? Step inside the whirlwind of a 'tidsoptimist' whose anxiety, childhood and coping strategies come together to prepare for a winter storm _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Would you clone your dog for £50,000? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/would-you-clone-your-dog-for-50-000/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:37:49.000Z Are cloned pets the answer to heartache, or a costly illusion? The rise of designer animal duplicates _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Hobbies: Why the extra things are everything URL: https://www.scribehound.com/hobbies-why-the-extra-things-are-everything/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:57.000Z Is it possible to do everything in life – work, family, deer, or breeding rare livestock? Some people certainly seem to be able to _This post is for subscribers only._ ### LIVESTREAM: The return of Britain's wild boar URL: https://www.scribehound.com/livestream-the-return-of-britains-wild-boar/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:57.000Z Wild boar have been steadily making a comeback in Britain - and with them come opportunities, but also challenges _This post is for subscribers only._ ### LIVESTREAM: How Woodburner Laws Could Ignite a Forestry Crisis URL: https://www.scribehound.com/livestream-how-woodburner-laws-could-ignite-a-forestry-crisis/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:58.000Z Discover how new UK woodburner laws could transform the forestry industry in a LIVE chat with expert Nick Adams from Kilmaha Forestry _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Plovers in Peril - balancing access and nature URL: https://www.scribehound.com/plovers-in-peril-balancing-access-and-nature/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:06:06.000Z When it comes to access to nature, simple, crude ideas won't provide solutions, but hard work and collaboration will. This project to conserve Common Ringed Plover shows how balance can be struck. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Can Wildlife Trusts Really 'Save' Rothbury’s Wild Heart? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/can-wildlife-trusts-really-save-rothburys-wild-heart/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:59.000Z Can a £30 million conservation buyout really save Rothbury’s rare wildlife, or is this just another well-funded rewilding fantasy bound to repeat past failures? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Words We Use to Talk About Nature Are Disappearing URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-words-we-use-to-talk-about-nature-are-disappearing/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:41:39.000Z The vanishing language of meadows, rivers, and rain reveals our growing disconnect from nature—and why restoring these lost words could help us care for the world around us. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why Bother? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-bother/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:24:59.000Z The Future of Small Business Is Now Less Certain Than Ever _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Budget 2025, 2 weeks on. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/budget-2025-2-weeks-on/ Last updated: 2026-08-15T11:24:09.000Z A Budget preaching fairness but silent where buses don’t run and potholes have names — written for tomorrow while rural Britain waits today. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Back in the Saddle: Milo’s Triumphant Return URL: https://www.scribehound.com/back-in-the-saddle-milos-triumphant-return/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:00.000Z After retiring from the saddle at the end of the 2023/2024 campaign, Milo *(pictured above winning on Yippee Ki Yay at Larkhill - Tim Holt)* has returned this year with a couple of big targets… and a big bang, winning on his first two rides back, Grandads Cottage at Garthorpe and Yippee Ki Yay at Larkhill. He talked to *Jake Exelby* on his way back from a day’s hunting about his background, career and future plans. **Tell me about today and your enjoyment of hunting.** I was out with the United pack, near Bishop’s Castle in Shropshire. My fellow jockey Guy Sankey was there too, and it was wild! We had some hairy moments but got back in one piece. They have an amazing set-up – it’s brilliant country and they have a great huntsman in Jason Wood. If I don’t go home at the weekend, I try to take a day off during the week – like today – to hunt. I grew up with it – it’s a family thing. My Mum and Dad, Sara and Ben, have always had ponies and hunters. At home, we hunt with the Monmouthshire, where former jockey Charlie Dando is Master of Hounds. He’s seriously hard-working! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/85737b6d-0aff-4d2d-8907-1e93c8fce1aa.jpeg) *Milo hunting on Dakota, who he bought from Rowan Cope* **What do you think will happen to pointing after a potential hunting ban?** I think there will be a lot fewer point-to-points, and a move to more Club meetings, like the West Mercian Area Races this weekend. I also think it’ll be a struggle to find volunteers – why would you give up your time if it’s not raising money for the hunt? However, I hope that more packs would move into drag hunting and that the hunts and point-to-points can find a way forward. **Talk me through your career in racing so far and how you got into point-to-pointing in the first place?** I started pony racing aged nine and we’ve been affiliated with the Sheppards since then. One day, hunting with the Ledbury, Stan Sheppard told my Mum I needed a faster pony, and persuaded her to buy Dehaven Chipmunk. He then said, ‘You can’t buy the pony without the boots’, and sold us my first racing boots! From then, Matt, Nickie and Stan took us under their wing. Although I rode fewer than ten winners, I moved on to pointing when I was 16. **Talk me through your first rides and your first win on Butney Rock.** Matt found Butney Rock from Ireland. He’d been good – rated over 130 at one point – but had lost his way. He was a great schoolmaster on the track, although he was difficult at home. We won on our third outing at Lockinge on rock hard ground, which is what he wanted. Unfortunately, he got a leg the next season. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/82a33983-972d-4a81-b1d0-9e1788e34b6c.jpeg) *Milo rides his first winner on Butney Rock at Lockinge in 2017 (Neale Blackburn)* **How did your career progress after that?** Next came Ballycahane. Matt and Nickie had worked for Arthur Moore, and he’d regularly recommend horses for Matt under rules or to go pointing. Ballycahane was an absolute giant, and – as a maiden rated over 100 – had a great profile for pointing. We went through the grades together – that’s how you build a rapport with a horse. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/7af4143e-5433-4db7-9c3d-2a2756b520de.jpeg) *Ballycahane wins in front of a large crowd at Cocklebarrow (Neale Blackburn)* Organised Solution and Risk And Roll were next and were both amazing. Risk And Roll was bought from Paul Nicholls. He wasn’t a great jumper, but I’d have been mad to turn down the chance to have a bite of the cherry at Aintree – David Maxwell burst out laughing when I said I was riding him in the Foxhunters! Yippee Ki Yay is another to have gone through the grades, from Maiden to Hunter Chase. We were looking for a pointer in Ireland, Ed Bailey told me about him, and Harley Dunne convinced me to buy him. He won at Bangor-on-Dee three weeks after he arrived and, once he gets in a fight, not much gets past him. **(I think) all your winners apart from No Dice have been in your family colours. Tell me about him.** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/7a7f71eb-6bf3-43ad-a362-badc31400f27.jpeg) *Winning on No Dice at Dunsmore (Tim Holt)* No, I won on One Fer Mamma under rules (for Matt at Warwick). No Dice was half-owned by me, and half by Jim Squires and Judith Healey. They’re proper pointing people who do so much for the sport and we’ve never had a cross word. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/dfcc61bc-90e1-4deb-9f1b-98a49ebf955a.jpeg) *Jim and Judith with rider Alex Edwards in their colours (Carl Evans)* **You ‘retired’ at the end of the 23/24 season and came back this year. Why did you stop in the first place and what made you decide to return?** I really meant to retire. I was moving to London full-time and I’m 6’4” – when I wasn’t riding, my weight went up to 14 stone – so I thought it was a natural time to bring my career to a close, going out on a high after Yippee Ki Yay won at Kelso. But I had two itches – which were too big not to be scratched: to ride in the Cheltenham Foxhunters, and to get round Aintree. So, I was persuaded to come back to have one last go. As for the future, I’ll see how it goes. Grandads Cottage is ten, so has got another two seasons in him, and I probably won’t buy another horse. But nothing’s set in stone! I understand you’re targeting both Foxhunters with Grandads Cottage. Both you and your brother Ivor have ridden in the Aintree version only to unseat at the fifth. Presumably the plan this year is to get over that fence! And then… Ivor rode Yippee Ki Yay at Aintree last year and exactly the same thing happened – at the same fence – as to me and Risk And Roll. I’d have put my last dollar on them getting round! Grandads Cottage is more of a Cheltenham horse – he’s got the class for it – and might be taken off his feet over the shorter trip. But he needs to win again to qualify for both races, and it’s easier to qualify for Aintree. He’ll run again in January. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/c28af649-e689-42f5-81d7-6f689912788c.jpeg) *En route to success with Grandads Cottage at Garthorpe (Nico Morgan)* **Do you know if your brother Ivor intends to ride again this year?** Yes, he plans to. He was concussed at Aintree and has been out in Zambia on his gap year but is in the process of getting his licence back. He’s got Highstakesplayer, who was second at Cheltenham in May, to ride. He’ll run at Larkhill next week and Ivor hopes to ride him at Aintree – he’s already qualified. **What has been your career highlight?** Winning on what I thought was my last ride. Also, my double at Bangor-on-Dee on Yippee Ki Yay and No Dice. But I beat Ivor by less than two lengths in the Restricted – he hadn’t ridden a winner at that stage, so it was a difficult journey home! **You have a particularly good record in Hunter Chases (four from nine). Why do you think that is?** It’s nothing to do with me – the horses have been well-placed! We don’t normally run our horses in Hunter Chases – apart from the big meetings – unless we think we’ve got a serious chance, and we’ve targeted Novice Hunter Chases with young progressive horses. **Which horse (not one of your own mounts) would you most like to ride?** A Jet Of Our Own, who Nickie trains and Fred Philipson-Stow rides. He’s high-class, jumps and travels, and can run regularly. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/fcdd16a5-5b87-4623-a323-39abd8f28c66.jpeg) *A Jet Of Our Own and Fred Philipson-Stow win at Cheltenham (Neale Blackburn)* **Which other jockeys do you admire?** In points, you don’t get much better than Will Biddick and James King. And Bradley Gibbs will never give you an inch. Under rules, Stan Sheppard. Not only is he a hell of a rider, but he’s been so much help to me growing up. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/5a82fffc-a33e-4164-bc86-111551a9c8f5.jpeg) *Bradley Gibbs - never gives an inch (Carl Evans)* **What's your favourite course?** I’ve had my most winners at Chaddesley Corbett, but I’d say Bitterley, even though I’ve not won there. It’s a really good, galloping track. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/3ea2ca9b-8557-4cac-94a9-ab075b13c6ca.jpeg) *Racing at scenic Bitterley (Mark Pugh)* **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** It’s not original, but why can’t we consolidate resources between tracks with – say – three sets of portable fences being taken round the country and have a centrally-resourced fence-building team. That would bring down costs, reduce labour, and be more efficient. I occasionally go team chasing, which is far more dangerous than pointing! There always seem to be loads of good jockeys with high-class ex-racehorses. They’ve got the adrenalin and buzz for riding over fences, so I think the GB Pointing team should go to team chases and promote our sport, raising awareness. We could also subsidise the RQCs for team-chasing riders. **What are your non-horsey hobbies?** Horses are my number one hobby, but my mates in London aren’t interested, so it’s good to get stuck in with them down my local pubs in Fulham, The Rose and The Boundary. **Is there anything else you’d like to say?** I’ve been incredibly privileged to be in this position and would like to thank Mum and Dad – Mum in particular has been the driving force behind giving Ivor and me our passion. Fingers crossed Ivor gets some of my luck too. And the Sheppards have been by our side through thick and thin and have made it enjoyable. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/3f77d974-1e22-479c-aa4f-5c7158d00d10.jpeg) *Matt and Nickie Sheppard - with Milo through thick and thin (Caroline Exelby)* ### RS Surtees: The Man For The Moment URL: https://www.scribehound.com/rs-surtees-the-man-for-the-moment/ Last updated: 2026-08-28T12:12:11.000Z Why does the author of Handley Cross and Mr Sponge continue to have relevance today? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A good, old fashioned fishing story! URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-good-old-fashioned-fishing-story/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:00.000Z How a spontaneous girls' afternoon led to an unforgettable hour-long battle with a giant Icelandic salmon. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Many Countrysides of Britain URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-many-countrysides-of-britain/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:51:39.000Z We talk endlessly about the rural–urban divide, yet miss the truth that matters most: the countryside itself is split. Some counties thrive, others merely endure - and until we face that disparity, we’ll keep misunderstanding the places we love. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Holding Natural England's feet to the fire URL: https://www.scribehound.com/holding-natural-englands-feet-to-the-fire/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:06:40.000Z When we take a broad perspective on the evolution of the debate about prescribed burning, we see clear evidence of "gate keeping" and the impugning of the work of good scientists to keep inconvenient evidence out of the policy picture. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A Norwegian Christmas Tree Saga URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-norwegian-christmas-tree-saga/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:40:33.000Z A festive lesson in how not to say ‘thank you’. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Can Britain’s Lost Rainforests Really Be Restored? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/can-britains-lost-rainforests-really-be-restored/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:52.000Z Author and conservationist Merlin Hanbury-Tenison joins us to discuss his first book 'Our Oaken Bones' and his ambitious vision for restoring Britain’s fragmented temperate rainforests. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Climate Change is the Biggest Threat to Our Farmed Landscapes URL: https://www.scribehound.com/climate-change-is-the-biggest-threat-to-our-farmed-landscapes/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:02.000Z The challenges facing Britain's farmers are legion. But extreme weather is by far the biggest threat to our food security. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A New Chapter in the Scribehound Countryside Story URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-next-chapter-in-the-scribehound-countryside-story/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:02.000Z It is now two and a bit years since we embarked on the grand adventure that is Scribehound Countryside. Back then we were just ‘Scribehound’, and Scribehound was just us. Some of you have been with us since our earliest experiments in writing about rural life; others have only just joined us on the track. Whichever camp you fall into, we’re delighted you’re here – and we hope you’re enjoying yourself as much as we are. Since our launch in 2023, Scribehound has expanded to include Collectives covering gardening, food and most recently, motoring, with many more to follow in the coming months and years. As Scribehound the platform grows, it is important that Scribehound Countryside has a distinct identity, both from the other collectives and the platform itself. So Scribehound Countryside has a new logo. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1764594276710-countryside-colour@4x.jpeg) Scribehound Countryside is a space for anyone who believes the countryside can flourish. The brilliant rural thinkers who make up our Collective come from all manner of backgrounds and share a wide variety of perspectives, but we are all united by a shared love for the countryside – and a desire to see Britain’s landscapes, ecosystems and rural communities flourish. We might disagree on how best to achieve this, but it would be a dull world if we all agreed with each other all the time. We’re here to spark intelligent, respectful conversations about the past, present and future of the land: how it’s shaped, stewarded and lived in, and how it might look tomorrow. Think of us as a think-tank for people with muddy boots. Our new logo says as much. A tree stands over a hedge and a cultivated field, a landscape shaped not just by nature, but by calloused hands, history and hard work. This is the countryside we’re interested in: not a romantic emptiness, but an inhabited, managed, fiercely complex place, where people and nature can thrive together. The logo reminds us of the layers beneath every story we tell. We’re also taking this opportunity to shake things up a little. The Scribehound team have been working hard over recent months to develop a suite of new features for the platform, offering a greater variety of content formats that bring us closer together and make Scribehound Countryside even more of a conversation. This means that we’ll be able to bring you live Q&A sessions and panel discussions hosted by the creators that you can get directly involved in via the live chat. We’ll also be able to bring a wider range of voices into the Scribehound Countryside universe with interviews and book clubs. You’ll also notice a looser publishing rhythm. You’ll still hear from the full cohort of creators each month, but some days you might get, say, an article and a livestream, and on others we may leave a gap to allow you to get outside, feel the wind in your face and the mud under your boots. You are part of this, too. Scribehound Countryside thrives on shared curiosity and love for the countryside. We want your questions, your stories, your lived experience, your challenges, your wisdom. We want the conversations that unfold in the comments and the ones that spill over into the pub. The first chapter of Scribehound Countryside has been a joy. Here’s to the next one, and many more after that. ### The Beltie That Broke the Rules... and my spirit URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-beltie-that-broke-the-rules-and-my-spirit/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:03.000Z Things go wrong in farming... it's a fact of life. But sometimes problems strike right at the root of who we are as farmers, and maybe it's time we _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Dirt, Disputes, and the Joys of Growing Your Own URL: https://www.scribehound.com/dirt-disputes-and-the-joys-of-growing-your-own/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:03.000Z Why growing your own food is never as simple as it looks. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why Partridge Shoots May Be Saving Our Wild Uplands URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-partridge-shoots-may-be-saving-our-wild-uplands/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:03.000Z But for how much longer? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Woolmen Sheep Drive: London’s Quirkiest Tradition Returns URL: https://www.scribehound.com/woolmen-sheep-drive-londons-quirkiest-tradition-returns/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:04.000Z Nothing quite prepared me for one of the barmiest, most spectacular and wonderfully uplifting days of my life – the annual London Sheep Drive. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The rules of the game URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-rules-of-the-game/ Last updated: 2026-08-28T12:13:57.000Z Our failure to eat the birds we kill represents an existential threat to the future of shooting. Here’s how to stop the rot. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### LIVESTREAM: What does the Budget mean for the countryside? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/livestream-what-does-the-budget-mean-for-the-countryside/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:08:11.000Z Join our livestream as we look at what Rachel Reeves' Budget statement means for nature, farming and rural communities _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Is industrial fly-tipping coming to a field near you? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/is-industrial-fly-tipping-coming-to-a-field-near-you/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:40:58.000Z A massive illegal waste dump beside the River Cherwell has triggered alarm in Oxfordshire. Join our livestream as we unpack the scale of the crime, the cost to taxpayers and the environment, and ask who should be held to account _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Winter is Coming URL: https://www.scribehound.com/winter-is-coming/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:05.000Z Winter is Coming ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1759170580391-IMG_0178.jpeg) *Winter on the farm - author image.* Long before this phrase became somewhat popular, especially when uttered by the dour Sean Bean in Game of Thrones, I myself was wont to mutter the same with a barely concealed amount of joy, mixed with a little trepidation. The signs of winter are reasonably well established (we have all been caught out before – one way or another) and known only too well to those of us who use this platform, but the feelings that this season provokes are mixed – for me the anticipation of winter is full of hope for cold weather, a return to the winters of my youth. To know that Mother Nature is pressing the pause and reset buttons on the world around me, which has so often held the promise of a fine spring and a good year to come. As a landscaper and gardener people are often perplexed by my hopes of a period of weather that must surely cost me my income, but my response is two-fold: 1\. How much money can I make during a drought in summer – bugger all, so what is the difference? 2\. The benefits of winter are underestimated by so many people. While plants, particularly annuals are governed in their life cycle by the hours of daylight and day length, the warmth of the ground and environment cannot be underestimated. Anyone with fruit trees will understand the awful effects that a warm winter and a false spring can have, with trees throwing out blossom that is then cut down by frozen winds. This is akin to the lack of dormancy, brought on by the cold winter, which plants need to achieve their goals the following year. A cold winter is the best killer of nuisance insects, having a large insect burden on young plants come the spring means that their growth is negatively impacted. Even snow is beneficial to so many gardens. It acts as an insulator and actually protects plants from the rogue frozen winds and frosts. Winter has much to offer, aside from the beauty of frozen stems of verbena bonariensis and echinops bannaticus. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1759172002916-IMG_3545.jpeg) *Image by the author* I have spent the last week regarding the quality of the game birds that have been released on the shoot where I live, they look fit and healthy and should provide many days of challenging enjoyment ahead. This year marks my return to the beating lines, after a couple of years of absence, but a recent loss of some winter work has meant that I have more time to devote to one of my enduring loves. Though this year I will be returning without my beloved spaniel, who died a couple of years ago. To date I am still divided about the acquisition of another. And with so little work for a dog over the last two years there seemed little need to seek to replace a friend that I considered irreplaceable. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1759172125599-DSC_1821.jpeg) *"On My Way" - Image by the author* I am sitting in the office at home, desperately trying to make the accounts balance, which has inevitably led to my reclining the desk chair and looking out of the window and regarding the stark view of Titterstone Clee to the northeast of my home. The neighbouring farm has a slowly beautiful plume of smoke rising from their centuries-old brick chimney. And while the sun is undoubtedly shining, the shadows are lengthening and there is no heat left in the day. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1759173531037-IMG_0173.jpeg) *Titterstone Clee - by the author* Today has been spent watching my son’s rugby team lose their match, in a rather humiliating manner, but the joy of being there on the side of the pitch, wearing slightly too many clothes as the sun makes its presence felt, is hard to hide, and I knew that the jacket would come in handy later on, when I watched the Colts play at home. As I am writing this piece, I can hear the hens scratching around beneath the windows. It is not the sound of gravel being moved by these dinosaur-like diggers and scrapers, it is the sound of crisping leaves, not yet dried, but approaching their version of rigor mortis. There are growing sloughs of the things appearing daily – how do they find their way to the thresholds of every door to the house? I am certain that if I piled the damned things up the resulting mound would be taller than the tree that bore them all summer. So, to resume… Winter is definitely coming. The short days and morning frosts, of which we have already had a couple. The Farmer’s Guardian reports that the long-range forecasts suggest a colder than average winter lies ahead. I’m inclined to agree and not on the basis that a cold winter follows a warm summer – we need to look back thirty years for that to be a truism. However, there are early signs that La Nina is developing already in the Pacific Ocean and this usually spells a period of cold weather for the northern hemisphere. I had better see to my preparations, what to do? The firewood pile is looking very healthy, though the chimney is yet to be swept. I’ve serviced the, ever unreliable, Discovery and the preheater is apparently working (it won’t last!). The stocks of rock salt are plentiful and there is a mountain of pallets in the yard, ready for The Boy to cut into kindling, for both use and sale. I have already anticipated the cold with a nice piece of roast pork loin – summer Sunday roasts are just not the same thing. I’ve taken another glance through one of my winter preparation bibles: the wood fire handbook by Vincent Thurkettle – it is well to acknowledge that there is greater expertise than yours out there. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1759173605929-Image_29-09-2025_at_18.58.jpeg) *Available on Amazon and all good book sellers - read it!* All I need now are for the clocks to go back, the winter wind to rise. Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drench’d our steeples, drown’d the cocks *Wm Shakespeare: King Lear Act III, Scene II* I desire the cold,the inclement. Bring me the days of solid ground The log fires, The insulation, The family meals All around. I really must sweep my bloody chimney! ### Would hunting and shooting be half as fun without the winter chill? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/would-hunting-and-shooting-be-half-as-fun-without-the-winter-chill/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:05.000Z Is getting chilblains and being soaked to the bone half the joy of field sports – or is there an argument for relocating some rural pursuits to the summer months? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### River Wye’s Real Story: Beyond Chicken Farms and Lawsuits URL: https://www.scribehound.com/river-wyes-real-story-beyond-chicken-farms-and-lawsuits/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:40:03.000Z They say it's a dead river - but is the River Wye really finished thanks to pollution from chicken farms? And could a multi-million pound lawsuit derail the campaign to save the river as anglers show all may not quite as bad as it seems! _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How Ed Vaughan Became Wales’ Hottest Point-to-Point Talent URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-ed-vaughan-became-wales-hottest-point-to-point-talent/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:07.000Z Ed (pictured above with Mum Abbi and Dad Tim - Carl Evans) had 16 winners last season following a record-breaking 31 in his first year, as well as seven to date under rules. With the return of racing to the popular course at Lower Machen – near Newport – kicking off the 2025-2026 point-to-point season, Jake Exelby caught up with the leading Welsh-based jockey to find out about his ambitions for this year and beyond, and his views on the state of the sport in the Principality. **You finished your A-Levels in the summer. What are you doing now?** I’m taking a gap year and working full-time for Dad. I haven’t decided whether to go to university and keep riding at the same time. **Do you have a rivalry with your Dad, e.g. to beat his own career total?** When I was first getting going, I kept my head down, but I’ve started taking the mickey out of Dad’s style, particularly when I rode against him in the Newmarket Town Plate. **Four of your family rode in the Newmarket Town Plate this summer. What was the finishing order? Why didn’t your brother Henry? Does your sister Grace plan to follow you into the saddle?** I think Grace was second, Mum – who’s also ridden in a charity flat race – third, Dad fourth and me fifth. Dad only beat me because his horse was rated about 40lbs higher than mine! Henry doesn’t ride – he’s into motorbikes – and Grace has done some pony racing. She enjoys it but hasn’t got the bug like me. **You had a stellar pony racing career. Tell me about a particular highlight.** Winning the Dingle Derby (Ireland’s most prestigious pony race) aged 11\. (Bloodstock agent) Tom Malone, who’s a good friend, always has a horse for the race and told me a year earlier that I’d win it, but I never thought that was realistic. It was one of my best days ever. I was riding against the likes of Dylan Browne McMonagle, who’s just become Champion Flat Jockey in Ireland and (leading Irish jumps jockey) Sam Ewing. **You had a record-breaking first season as a jockey, riding more winners than any novice jockey had done. How did last year go in comparison?** Last season was tricky because I knew I wouldn’t ride as many winners, so to get 16 was a fair effort, particularly as Dad didn’t have as many horses. I think I can still improve on those numbers. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762519934200-Ed_breaking_the_Novice_Riders_record_with_win_31_at_Umberleigh_(Tim_Holt).jpeg) *Ed breaking the Novice Riders record with win 31 at Umberleigh (Tim Holt)* **What has been your career highlight?** My five-timer at Ystradowen in my first season. I don’t know how I did it – one winner would have been enough, but five was unbelievable. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762519951123-Ed_completes_a_five-timer_at_Ystradowen_(Alun_Sedgmore).jpeg) *Ed completes a five-timer at Ystradowen (Alun Sedgmore)* **Which has been your favourite horse?** Last season, it was Eva’s Oskar. I only rode him four times, but he was great round Aintree (where the pair were sixth in the Foxhunters). And in my first year, Poli Roi. We won four races together and he taught me so much. You could ride him from the front, the back, the middle… ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762519965755-Ed_winning_on_Poli_Roi_at_Ampton_(Neale_Blackburn).jpeg) *Ed winning on Poli Roi at Ampton (Neale Blackburn)* **Which horse (not one of your own mounts) would you most like to ride?** Gracchus De Balme, trained by Joe O’Shea. When he won at Aintree, he just popped away in front and jumped like a stag. **Which other jockeys do you admire?** Of the younger ones, I’m a massive fan of Rian Corcoran, who’s turned professional now. Jack Stenhouse has gone to work for Philip Hobbs and Johnson White. I’ve only watched him a few times, but he looks a natural. And Clara Brewitt looked good when she was riding last year. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762519983972-Rian_Corcoran_-_Ed's_a_massive_fan_(Tim_Holt).jpeg) *Rian Corcoran - Ed's a massive fan (Tim Holt)* Going for experience, Dale Peters is a brilliant jockey and knows so much. I always keep my ears open around him! Gina Andrews is fantastic year in, year out – she’s relentless. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762519999301-Dale_Peters_(right)_-_knows_so_much_(Carl_Evans).jpeg) *Dale Peters (right) - knows so much (Carl Evans)* **Unlike many of your peers, you haven’t turned professional. What are the reasons and do you have any plans to do so?** I’m too tall and heavy to turn professional, or even ride for a long time. I did think about it over the summer, but I’m under no illusions that I could make it, as it’s a hard old game. **As well as your Dad, who will you mostly be riding for this season?** My main contact will be Bradley Gibbs. He doesn’t ride as much as he used to, as he’s not getting any lighter! I’ve been going there (Gibbs is based at Lemsford in Hertfordshire) more than ever recently. Brad knows how to get a horse ready, and he’s got some nice ones, including a few youngsters. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762520021824-Bradley_Gibbs_(right)_will_provide_most_of_Ed's_ammunition_this_season_(Caroline_Exelby).jpeg) *Bradley Gibbs (right) will provide most of Ed's ammunition this season (Caroline Exelby)* I also hope to have rides for Luke Price, another fantastic trainer who knows how to place his horses, and have been riding out at Chris Barber’s. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762520038515-Ed_winning_in_Luke_Price's_colours_(Tim_Holt).jpeg) *Ed winning in Luke Price's colours (Tim Holt)* **What are your ambitions in pointing and racing? Is being champion P2P jockey a realistic target?** I want to keep riding winners, take it season by season and keep an open mind. It’s always been about the riding for me – I haven’t thought about training. As for being champion, sitting here now after last season, probably not as I can’t see how I would have enough ammunition. Brad’s one of the best trainers in Britain, but Josh Newman has so many horses and James King rides for so many people. **Lower Machen returns this season for the first time since 2019\. Obviously you haven’t ridden there over fences, but do you have any memories of it?** I actually rode ponies there, so know the course pretty well. I think the configuration is similar (to before it closed) but less undulating. It will probably be more stamina-sapping – especially if the ground’s soft – with a gradual climb from the bottom of the home straight. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762520066047-Racing_returns_to_scenic_Lower_Machen_this_weekend_(Alun_Sedgmore).jpeg) *Racing returns to scenic Lower Machen this weekend (Alun Sedgmore)* **What are your riding plans for Sunday?** I’ve got two rides for Dad, and hopefully one or two spares – it’s a local track for me and I want to give the Welsh Riders' Championship a real go this season. We run Spirit of Legend in the Open. We got him from Henry de Bromhead and he’s got some lovely form. If all goes well, we may look at Cheltenham or Aintree further down the line. **What are your views on the state of Welsh pointing, with so few fixtures compared to the past?** It’s already doing better this season with the return of Lower Machen, thanks to Dai Walters. But there are hardly any trainers in Wales – even Brad’s moved away! The cost of qualifying and training a horse is mental and doing so with just one or two horses as a hobby isn’t viable. It’s good to have one of the Young Horse Maiden bonus races in Wales as hopefully people will target it and come across the bridge. **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** I try not to have too much of an opinion, but I wonder if you could put together a ‘grounds’ team with a single set of fences and take them round to different meetings to reduce the amount of work involved. As for the social media and videos, it’s definitely not a negative, and could be a positive. I don’t know how much impact it will have (on horse numbers) but we’ll find out more this season. **What are your non-horsey hobbies?** Horses take up a lot of your time, but I used to play rugby, as a winger for my local team, Cowbridge. The state of Welsh rugby? Oh God! We didn’t have a great time last year, but it can’t go any further backwards… *Ed Vaughan is again sponsored by* Dragon Studios *this season.* ### Vanishing Clarity: Chalk Streams and the Fading Art of Scrutiny URL: https://www.scribehound.com/vanishing-clarity-chalk-streams-and-the-fading-art-of-scrutiny/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:11:56.000Z Chalkstreams are silver threads of English treasure. But their future, and that of those who champion them, is hanging by a thread. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### My BBC: The bit you don’t see on the news URL: https://www.scribehound.com/my-bbc-the-bit-you-dont-see-on-the-news/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:07.000Z I can’t defend what Panorama did or deny the mistakes, but I can tell you about the BBC I know, how it changed my life, and why I won’t give up on it. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why most rural stories never make it into the mainstream media URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-most-rural-stories-never-make-it-into-the-mainstream-media/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:48:49.000Z How the countryside can get better at making its case _This post is for subscribers only._ ### When farming is in your blood, not on your land. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/when-farming-is-in-your-blood-not-on-your-land/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:08.000Z I'm a 'new-entrant' farmer, but I'll still tell people that I come from a farming family _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Sawdust and serenity URL: https://www.scribehound.com/sawdust-and-serenity/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:08.000Z Craft and craftsmanship are the antidote to our breakneck culture _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Luck or destiny? You decide. - A Remarkable River Tale URL: https://www.scribehound.com/luck-or-destiny-you-decide-a-remarkable-river-tale/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:04:34.000Z We no longer hunt to survive. As apex predators, we have the luxury of simply observing nature, rather than chasing it. So what drives us in 2025 to still be in the chase? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### What an 80-acre fire taught me about land access URL: https://www.scribehound.com/what-an-80-acre-fire-taught-me-about-land-access/ Last updated: 2026-08-15T11:23:22.000Z A wildfire in 2022 highlighted the inherent tension between public access and ecological integrity. This article explores the Right to Roam debate, seeking practical solutions. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Autumnal Brilliance at Strickley URL: https://www.scribehound.com/autumnal-brilliance-at-strickley/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:09.000Z Before winter arrives, we get to marvel at and enjoy the natural wonders of autumn on our farm _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Rising Star Justin Brotherton Shares his Secrets URL: https://www.scribehound.com/rising-star-justin-brotherton-shares-his-secrets/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:09.000Z The 39-year-old (pictured above with Molly Legg on Horizon D'Ainay and Sam Lee on French Symphony), son of former rules trainer Roy, rents stable space at David Bridgwater’s Wyck Hill Farm yard, near Stow-on-the-Wold in Gloucestershire and has high hopes for the coming season. *Jake Exelby* paid him a visit in advance of the new campaign to watch some of his string work and school and to find out about his background in the sport, plans for his horses, and his views on point-to-pointing as it strives to attract a new, younger audience. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762518363750-Schooling_at_scenic_Wyck_Hill_Farm.jpeg) *Justin with Molly, Sam, Horizon D'Ainay and French Symphony (all photos Caroline Exelby unless stated otherwise)* On arrival, I am greeted by Justin and today’s work riders, point-to-point jockeys Sam Lee and Molly Legg. “I normally ride work myself,” laughs Justin, “But Molly and Sam come in on Wednesdays so I can have a day off! Harry Greasby (who is in his final year at university and works part-time for Max Comley) also comes in to ride and is very helpful and enthusiastic. He made me aware that Kayf Hernando was for sale.” Aside from the jockeys, Justin is quick to praise team members Lou Bannister and Scarlett Rogers, saying, “I was struggling for staff when we moved here, but Lou and Scarlett are two really good people. Lou is (professional jump jockey) Harry Bannister’s cousin, and has a great racing background, having worked for Sue and Harvey Smith among others, while Scarlett used to work for Colin Tizzard. I mustn’t forget my wife Abi!” adds Justin. “I couldn’t do it without her. She’s a residential surveyor but does all the paperwork for the yard and becomes a member of staff at the weekend. She rode Horizon D’Ainay in the Newmarket Town Plate in 2023.” The move to Wyck Hill Farm came before the start of the 2024/2025 campaign. “I’ve known David for years,” Justin tells me. “He used to ride for Dad when he trained at Elmley Castle in Worcestershire – I was at school then. When I left, I worked for Dad, then went to Sam Drinkwater’s, then David’s. I was with David for six years, and learnt loads, as it was so different to my old man’s. He chucked me in without any armbands, getting me to drive the lorry, go to the races on my own and talk to owners.” Racehorses have obviously always been in Justin’s blood, and he tells me about his grounding and ambitions. “Dad started with pointers – he won on Vulrory’s Clown, who has a race named after him at Doncaster, as a youngster – then got a licence. Though he started as a National Hunt trainer, he moved into flat racing, and most of his best horses were sprinters. I’d like to go professional, and potentially train flat horses myself, but I’m not saying it’s going to happen, and I’ll only do it when I’m ready.” Justin had 17 rides as a jockey between 2015 and 2019, mostly on his own Gold Duster, getting off the mark in his final campaign. “I wanted to be a jockey, but couldn’t do the weight, so got an amateur licence for the flat. Dad didn’t have the numbers, so I bought Gold Duster from Tim Underwood to go pointing. My Mum, Wendy, who was the glue for Dad’s training operation, was ill – she passed away in 2015 – and I got Gold Duster so she could watch me ride. We were placed several times, but my riding wasn’t as good then! I carry her hunting brooch as a lucky charm – I had it with me in every race I rode and hold it while we have a runner.” “In 2019,” Justin goes on, “I got to ride Accord. David was training him under rules but had chucked him out in a field. His brother suggested I have a go on him, so David said, ‘If you catch him, you can ride him!’ I did and remember the day because it was April 1st. I thought I’d have a go the next season, but David told me, ‘No, this one!’, so I rode him out twice a day to get us both fit! We were second to my friend Thomas Murray on Gabrial The Great at the first Kingston Blount May meeting, we went back for the next meeting there and I thought I was booked for second again, but he winged two out and we won easily, before going to Garthorpe and winning again. That was my last ride, because Covid came the next season.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762518414322-Justin_winning_on_Accord_at_Kingston_Blount_(Neale_Blackburn).jpeg) *Justin winning on Accord at Kingston Blount (Neale Blackburn)* “I always wanted a go at training properly myself,” continues Justin, “But couldn’t do it at David’s, as his yard was full. Abi had two horses at livery, so we rented eight boxes from Harry Wheeler – an amazing guy – at Laverton, near Broadway, where we live. One of Dad’s owners gave me a horse, then David sent me two breakers. I was also working for DJ Jeffreys because he trains near Harry’s, so Abi had to do all the mucking out. We trained from there in our first proper season (2023/2024) then moved here as we wanted an all-weather gallop.” Highlight of the season spent at Laverton was Horizon D’Ainay’s Larkhill hat-trick, which got Justin off the mark as a trainer, and Justin explained how and why he came to buy the horse. “I like maidens rated in the mid-90s from big yards, because it shows they have ability, and they’re no good to me if they’ve won! I’ve also always liked quirky horses – I used to ride the problem ones for Dad – my first technique was to work out the problem! I bought Horizon D’Ainay privately and the different way of doing things (in a small yard) suited him – he was buzzy and nervous when he came and I trained him on his own, as he was far too keen.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762518452303-Horizon_D'Ainay_and_Toby_McCain-Mitchell_win_at_Larkhill_(Tim_Holt).jpeg) *Horizon D'Ainay and Toby McCain-Mitchell win at Larkhill (Tim Holt)* First up, we watch Molly on Horizon D’Ainay and Sam on French Symphony, who fellow rider Will Badlan – “A huge help, an owner who really understands the game, and who comes in every week to school” – bought as a six-times placed, 98-rated maiden from Ben Pauling’s yard, go three times up the all-weather gallop. “The facilities here are great,” confirms Justin. “I also take them to Martin Keighley, Richard Phillips and Fred Hutsby for variety.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762518490781-(L-R)_Sam_and_Molly_canter_through_the_morning_mist.jpeg) *(L-R) Sam and Molly canter through the morning mist* Between lots, I talk to the two riders about their aims for the season. Molly is in her third year working for Tom Ellis and his wife Gina Andrews and achieved her first successes last year on Young Rich. “Wednesday is my day off, so I come to ride out here and at Fred Hutsby’s,” she explains. “As (Fred’s son) Tom has turned conditional, I’m hoping to have more rides for him this season, as well as for Gina and Tom. I’ve put together a syndicate of my family and friends and got (seven-time winner) Tigerbythetail to ride this year.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762518510659-Molly_and_Horizon_D'Ainay_cool_off.jpeg) *Molly and Horizon D'Ainay cool off* Sam, who will have the mount on most of Justin’s horses in races, is a more hardened campaigner, with 36 winners to his name, including six last season after a two-year break to run the family farm. “I also hope to ride for Jo Priest, as well as Charlie and Fran Poste,” he confirmed. Asked about one of his mounts to watch, he laughs, “French Symphony – if his owner will let me!” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762518524409-Sam_washes_down_French_Symphony_after_work.jpeg) *Sam washes down French Symphony after work* Second lot sees Molly on a Getaway mare owned by pointing stalwart Sarah Dawson and Sam riding a Jeu St Eloi – the sire of dual Lady Dudley Cup winner Jeux D’Eau – four-year-old owned by the Hobbs family, who have had success in recent seasons with the likes of Tara Storm and Kauto Riko. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762518604363-Molly_and_Sarah_Dawson's_Getaway_mare.jpeg) *Molly and Sarah Dawson's Getaway mare* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762518617928-Sam_schools_the_Jeu_St_Eloi_4yo.jpeg) *Sam schools the Jeu St Eloi 4yo* Horizon D’Ainay is owned by the Pitchfork Partnership – which comprises Justin’s sister-in-law Keeley Brain, schoolfriend Paul Smaylen, friends Mike and Emily Parrot and Mike’s mum Madeline Curtis. “They also had Kayf Hernando last season and their only dream was to have one winner,” explained Justin with a smile. “But their strike-rate in points is five from 11 and, as Horizon D’Ainay also won two area awards, all of them got a trophy that year!” His 2023/2024 flag-bearer is one of about half a dozen pointers Justin plans to run this season, although he won’t run, “Until he’s ready and the ground’s safe.” French Symphony may start in the older horse Maiden at Dunsmore, while Crystal Box could take in the bumper at Lower Machen on Sunday. Dadavic is targeting another bumper, at Larkhill in December, while Justin hopes Gladiateddi can build on his Edgcote debut. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762518650021-(L-R)_Dadavic,_a_pre-trainer_and_Crystal_Box).jpeg) *(L-R) Dadavic, a pre-trainer and Crystal Box* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1762518666295-Gladiateddi_says_hello.jpeg) *Gladiateddi says hello* Looking after owners is Justin’s key concern when I put him in the PPA’s hypothetical hot seat. “You have to get to the races early to get a good spot to picnic and watch the racing,” he tells me. “Owners should have dedicated parking with a good view of the action. Some courses are good to the owners – Larkhill give us extra passes when we ask, and Paxford always invite us into the marquee, even though I’ve never had a runner there.” “To get horses,” Justin continues in the same vein, “You’ve got to get owners. Maybe syndicate owners should pay a small annual fee to be guaranteed free entry when they have a runner. Syndicates are a great way to get into the sport, and they may become sole owners in future. It’s important to be honest and truthful with owners – I keep mine involved every step of the way, telling them even if their horse has stepped on a stone and has to miss just one day of work.” Justin has mixed views about the new race conditions for the coming season. “I didn’t think it was a good idea to remove Conditions Races (as the PPA was planning before consulting with participants in the sport) as they provide opportunities for horses who can’t win in a higher grade, but what they’ve done for novice riders, giving them more chances by extending the number of winners they can ride, and allowing them to claim in more races, is good.” Justin is a keen advocate of point-to-point bumpers, saying, “They’re a great idea. Going straight over jumps can be hard, so they give horses experience, and the shorter distance sharpens them up. They’re also good for educating future two-mile hurdlers – not every horse is a three-mile chaser.” He's also a fan of the increased use of video to promote the sport, but cautions, “The videos always seem to focus on young people, but we should also promote people who’ve been in the sport a long time, who have stories to tell and advice to share. Getting youngsters involved is positive, but we also need to cater for the older audience to keep them interested – maybe even reduce entry prices for them! In a nutshell,” concludes Justin, “The game needs to move with the times but include the past!” Asked about other potential innovations, Justin comes up with an interesting idea. “The PPA should have seminars for trainers, like they do for stewards and course officials, and like the modules you take when applying for a licence. It would teach us how to deal with situations and help us with media training – I’m rubbish at that! Justin sees pointing as, “For young horses coming up, older horses ending their career, and jockeys of the future. Take Toby McCain Mitchell – someone else who was a massive help when I started. I’m delighted he’s doing so well as a conditional. It should be a stepping stone for everyone – trainers, bloodstock agents… even vets. (PPA Chief Veterinary Officer) Graham Potts used to be a farm vet but wanted to get into racing so started out by helping at his local point-to-points.” As I take my leave, I ask Justin the secret of his success. He pauses before admitting, “I love the science. I like finding a way to get the talent out of old monkeys like Kayf Hernando and see them progress. I don’t know what I’d do if I had big numbers, as I like to treat my horses as individuals.” ### Silence or Sellout? The Conservation Industry’s Strange Quiet URL: https://www.scribehound.com/silence-or-sellout-the-conservation-industrys-strange-quiet/ Last updated: 2026-08-15T11:24:46.000Z Gold or Green: has money silenced nature's supposed guardians? The mystery of why the most draconian attack on environmental protection in a generation has seen the conservation industry's most muted response for decades. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Is DEFRA Fit For Purpose? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/is-defra-fit-for-purpose/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:10.000Z When DEFRA makes yet another howler, it's time to ask how on Earth we arrived where we are. Everything you read below is true - astonishingly! _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Country Life, But Not As You Know It. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/country-life-but-not-as-you-know-it/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:48:56.000Z The fantasy image of a Cottage Core lifestyle led Marie Antoinette to the guillotine. Should we be more honest about what actually constitutes 'real' country life? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Whose Land Is It Anyway? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/whose-land-is-it-anyway/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:41:38.000Z The push to create more National Parks raises important questions about who - and what - the countryside is for. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Not Just Jam and Chutney: Why Foraging Is an Act of Resistance URL: https://www.scribehound.com/not-just-jam-and-chutney-why-foraging-is-an-act-of-resistance/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:11.000Z As convenience replaces connection, we've lost the confidence to forage and preserve. This is a call to trade screen time for hedgerows, to fill pantries not bins, and reclaim the quiet wisdom once found in every countryside kitchen. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Wildlife Myths We Want to Believe: Pheasant vs. Curlew URL: https://www.scribehound.com/wildlife-myths-we-want-to-believe-pheasant-vs-curlew/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:12.000Z Confronting a surprising reality of commercial game shooting, are we ready for several rival ideas to be valid at the same time? It turns out the truth is sometimes a moving target, from the hills of Galloway to beautiful oak woods of North Wales _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Bouncing Pup to Proud Retriever: A First Field Day URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-bouncing-pup-to-proud-retriever-a-first-field-day/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:12.000Z It’s the young gundog’s first day in the field, nerves, feathers, and biscuits galore. From the thrill of the first drive to the pride of that all-important retrieve, this is one pup’s lighthearted account of discovering picking up! _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Ruin to Resilience: The Library That Sparked Change URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-ruin-to-resilience-the-library-that-sparked-change/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:13.000Z ## The daring journey making a stately house carbon neutral I always loved books so when I came across a draughty shell of a historic stately home with a library (and several holes in the roof for star gazing), I had to have it. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1761922459022-IMG_1425.jpeg) *Nestled in the Perthshire countryside* ## The dry rot silver lining With it being over ten thousand sq feet, I needed to find ways to make it sustainable so I could avoid high heating bills. I like it warm and sitting in my library with five layers of clothing during cold Scottish winters, was not for me. The house was riddled with dry rot, but, as they say, every cloud has a silver lining, and the dry rot is what, inadvertently, saved the house and my pocket. To make sure dry rot is treated, you must strip back the lath and plaster so the stone walls can be washed and treated. After that was done, it was time to rebuild the walls and that is where the silver lining came about. From the outer wall, add an air gap, 140 mm Kingspan, another air gap (for services and of course as further insulation) and then finish off with another 60 mm Kingspan and plasterboard. To keep the heat bridges at a minimum we used vertical i-beams. Do the same to the ceiling and the floors, add triple glazing and you have a house that withstands the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter. Not that summers are generally that hot in Scotland. It was important to live in the house, during the journey to learn and understand, despite the dust, the holes in the roof and the nothingness that aligned with a house that had been stripped to the bare essentials. ## Holes get patched and a library appears ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1761922739173-image.jpeg) *You have to really love books to be able to see what was* Joining the eccentric echelons of stately house owners was not enough, and it was important to focus on the future, on warm clean rooms, not to mention a library. The library was always the trophy, but being able to afford keeping it heated was, out of necessity, more important. I now have one library and two reading rooms, the latter two being a bit of self-indulgence when I had more books than could fit in just the one. And yes, I do have a bit of a habit, but it kept me going through the years of dust and dirt, and impossible challenges, that luckily always ended up as the silver lining. The house is finally finished, and it is carbon neutral. As part of doing the grounds, I will add solar panels to take it over the line into the realm of having a carbon negative footprint, while still ensuring all the rooms are heated, and jumpers banished to the wardrobe. ## Nearing carbon neutral ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1761922988811-image.jpeg) *A library has appeared* Though not done before, it was surprisingly easy. Perhaps I am just a full glass kind of gal, or perhaps my memory has more holes than the roof had on acquisition. It does, however, show what happens when you concentrate on the long term, rather than just renovating with a quick lick of paint. Not that a quick lick of paint would have been possible with this house, as the dry rot would have permeated the paint job and loosened the cornices. That is of course if the rain did not get to them first. Cornices are, if anybody is interested in this strange piece of information, surprisingly heavy, and can definitely do some major damage where it falls. I know this because I, in my eminent wisdom, decided to get rid of a flaking ceiling rose, by attacking it with a broom handle. My endeavour was successful, but the hole in the floor and the splatter of plaster, opened my eyes to what would surely have been a breach of health and safety regulations. ## Success ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1761923055261-image.jpeg) *Great Hall before* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1761923071759-image.jpeg) *Great Hall After* Now it is just the outside that needs attention: a greenhouse in the walled garden for art and spa activities. And, of course, solar panels and a spot of rewilding, hedgerows to encourage wildlife, and, last but not least, well-drained paddocks for the horses. Looking back, I took on the house because I did not know any better. Well, I actually took it on because of the romantic notion of having a library. It seems so easy to do up a house, when you do not know anything about doing up houses, when you are not a builder, when you are not an architect or even an engineer. Little knowledge is a dangerous thing. However, if combined with a pinch of stubbornness, grit and the ability to learn from others, especially via random YouTube videos, then you get somewhere. But the saga does not end here. ## Monetising carbon for everybody Spending evenings in front of the fire in the lovely, newly renovated drawing room, observing sustainable efforts in Switzerland, impelled the vision that others could do the same with the right financial incentives. Based on those thoughts, a new Swiss bank is about to be launched, a regulated bank that allows people to trade their carbon offsets and invest their money for with a safe and sound foundation. The bank also has its own crypto coin backed by offsets, a bit like using carbon for gold. Carbon is gold, if we are to have a world to hand on to the next generation. This makes supporting the countryside financially sound and shifts the economic base back to the countryside where it used to be, and where it rightly belongs. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1761925362937-Icon-01.jpeg) *Shifting the economic base back to the countryside* ### The Sacrifice of the Peasant to the Hare URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-sacrifice-of-the-peasant-to-the-hare/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:32:35.000Z Conservation once served the aristocracy. Does the talk of badgers, beavers and wolves do the same? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why Birds Fly URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-birds-fly/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:13.000Z (And how the dinosaurs never went away) _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why Venison Is Suddenly the Hottest Meat in Town URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-venison-is-suddenly-the-hottest-meat-in-town/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:45:54.000Z Demand For Venison Soars It’s a great day in the office when a stockist calls to say they can’t get hold of any venison – all the game dealers they’ve spoken to are out of stock. Sadly, I can’t put all the glory at Eat Wild’s door. Although we’ve been opening up new markets and moving large volumes of venison, there’s actually a less positive reason behind the shortage: beef prices are increasing by 17% year on year. The price of beef in the UK has risen sharply, with prime cattle deadweight prices now £2 per kg higher than during the same period last year. According to AHDB, the average beef price was up 6% year on year for the 12 weeks ending 20 April 2025 and currently sits £2.11/kg above year-ago levels. Some finished cattle prices have even been approaching £7/kg deadweight. In the week ending 10 May 2025, the average overall GB deadweight steer price stood at £6.98/kg – an increase of £1.42/kg (25%) since the start of the year. The price is now £2.11/kg higher than a year ago and £2.68/kg above the five-year average. This has had a huge knock-on effect on those who feature beef on their menus, prompting many to look for more affordable alternatives. This is where venison comes in – and we at Eat Wild can highlight the many benefits of wild meat. I have mixed emotions about this shift. My cousins are beef farmers and rely on that income, though they’re adapting by diversifying – running smaller herds and selling beef boxes directly to consumers rather than supplying restaurants. We absolutely need to eat venison and reduce deer numbers, so it’s fantastic that demand is growing. However, we must ensure restaurants aren’t promoting venison as a sustainable alternative and then serving farmed deer. I’ve spoken to a few restaurants (ahem, Zizzi) recently to find out whether the venison on their menus was wild or farmed – and they couldn’t give me a clear answer. There’s still a real need for education about the differences, and while I applaud those exploring alternative proteins such as venison and pheasant, it’s vital they have all the facts in place before making sustainability claims. ### Banning Burns and Lead: Has Britain Gone Bonkers? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/banning-burns-and-lead-has-britain-gone-bonkers/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:11:48.000Z Has the UK gone officially mad ? Let me first start by agreeing with everyone who points out that my country, the USA, is without a doubt in completely certifiable territory. But in some areas we have to worry less, fieldsports among them. It pains me to say, but Mr. Trump has gotten a few things right, such as strengthening NATO and recognizing that the bureaucracy needed streamlining. Unfortunately then his narcissistic streak gets in the way and it all goes downhill quickly. We are, in my humble opinion as a longtime Republican, now former, about to see major inflation with these tariffs, and here I was convinced the Republican Party were the champions of Free Trade. But enough about that, why am I wondering whether the UK has gone mad ? When the pro-shooting organizations such as the BASC, CA and GWCT out of the blue and without any consultation with very involved players such as ammunition manufacturers, gunmakers, gamekeepers, nor even their members, proposed to move away from lead ammunition, completely ignoring to back it up with proven scientific information, something that they always like to point out concerning their adversaries, I was very much taken aback regarding the mental state of the organizations who should have the back of the shooting community. As we all agree, those who shoot have an obligation to their quarry, which includes making certain that the shooter tries at all times to make a clean kill, and if the quarry is wounded to retrieve this as soon as possible and dispatch it. This will not be possible with many birds shot with steel, especially on the high birds that are so popular these days, but the birds will die from the steel pellets inside that will start rusting and infecting the bird. At closer range the steel will go right through and the bird will bleed to death, again many beyond the range of the pickers-up. Bismuth does not have sufficient impact for a clean kill in many cases and tungsten, which deforms although not as well as lead, cannot be afforded by the majority of guns. Meanwhile, nobody can quote a single case of lead poisoning caused by eating a game bird, whether bought at the supermarket or at a game dealer store. As soon as the first customer shows up at a dentist office with a broken tooth from eating a game bird, the supermarkets will refuse to sell game shot with steel. All the people so scared of the lead are completely silent about possibly as many as 8 million houses in Britain with lead water pipes, known to have caused lead poisoning, or the 60% plus buildings with lead roofing, nicely polluting the groundwater, let alone say anything about the lead-based paint still present in an estimated 70% of all houses in the UK. All of the above a lot more serious than a pheasant shot with lead. This in itself would be sufficient to make us foreigners question the sanity of animal rights activists and other anti shooting persons in the UK. But now the Government has, once again in my humble opinion, gone completely bonkers by basically banning heather burning. They should instead be encouraging and increasing it. Sir Keir Starmer, Dame Angela Eagle, Emma Reynolds, Mary Creagh and Baroness Hayman must be secret climate deniers, or possibly pyromaniacs, who cannot wait for the next wildfire to destroy thousands of acres. I would not be surprised if none of them have ever worked on a farm or come along on a shoot. They seem to be actively assisted by an outfit called Protectors of the Wild. I presume Wild Justice was also a delighted participant. Their protection and justice must not cover any animals or flora, both will not have an enjoyable experience when getting caught in a wildfire. Of course, many of us are well aware that the well -being of animals is not what it is really about, it is about jealousy of a perceived elite having a good time, and meanwhile trying hard to get rich from actively thwarting the grouse shooting squires. There is good reason that the angling community does not hear a peep from these people, although they hunt fish, and when I say they it includes me. I agree it is regrettable that a bird cannot be released once successfully shot, then we could only keep what we want for the larder, but that is not possible. If the worry is that the game shot cannot be sold, consider limiting the number of birds that can be released per acre and limiting the size of the bag, both a lot more ethical than banning lead shot. From experience I can assure you I had huge fun on a local shoot having lunch sitting on hay bales in a barn and with a bag of 60 various birds, including some magpies and jays, actually more fun than on a 500 bird day with a very good lunch, terrific claret in a beautiful country mansion. Also fun but not as much as with good friends, good lies and good laughs in the barn. So now I am wondering whether an army of grouse moor peat depth inspectors will be hired and trained to see where the depth is exceeding 30 centimetres so they can prevent burning. Apparently they are not brave enough to state that heather burning is banned on any moor where grouse is shot by humans. Facts and especially scientific studies do not come up in the conversation, after all they provide inconvenient truths. Instead Ms. Creagh has the gall to state that “heather burning is damaging the precious ecosystems found in these iconic landscapes”. Either she has no clue what she is talking about or she is deliberately stating wrong information, both qualities that politicians worldwide excel at. No matter that burning regenerates the vegetation which makes ground nesting feasible and the new growth provides good cover from avian predators. In addition it provides great food when the chicks are a few weeks old and ensures the presence of insects when the chicks are still younger. I am happy to say that here in the USA we have actually, most unusually, learned our lesson. This includes even animal rights activists, tree huggers from California and bunny huggers from New York. I imagine even the ladies with little white poodles who think the more deer the better, until the Coyote follow the deer and show an unhealthy interest at lunchtime in Daisy, the tiny poodle with the pink bow in her hair, are now in favour of burning. Climate change, I will not get into a discussion to what degree influenced by us humans, is real. That means, more drought, harder rains, more storms, more lightning, harder winters, etc. All these contribute to more wildfires, even hard rains do, because they will run off the land not soak it, and it is a widely held mistaken belief that a wet area is not in danger of a wildfire. To the contrary, it may be smouldering for a few days and then explode when least expected. For years, wisdom here was to let nature run its course and take care of all the debris and broken off branches and other highly flammable stuff that was left on the ground and any fire that started was extinguished as soon as possible. Any fire was considered bad, even those started by our indigenous people, who have used burning for many hundreds of years as they knew it was beneficial for the land, its flora and fauna. Until the wilffires were getting too big to be extinguished quickly. Ranch houses, holiday houses, villages, whole areas of towns burned, many lives were lost, animals perished, old trees and young trees burned to a crisp. And year after year it was getting worse, and then it dawned on most people exposed to these dangers that the solution might actually be controlled burns, maybe the Indian tribes were right. These days just in the State of California there are around 30 citizen groups, called Prescribed Burn Associations, with large groups of volunteers and more are sprouting up. This includes quite a number of sceptical huggers, both the tree and bunny variety. California being California, they even invented a new profession, Fire Ecologist. Not surprising seeing that of all the wildfires in California between 1950 and 2023 that were considered major, only two happened before the year 2000\. Tribal members are allowed to do controlled burning again on their land. This benefited the animals, plants and even prompted salmon to come once again up a river that had become much cleaner. In 2017 one of these groups did a prescribed burn just a few months before the Nuns Fire in that area. The fire destroyed many acres but on the ground of the prescribed burn it left a perfectly intact ecosystem and did not go past it. Professional firefighters became convinced of the benefits of controlled burning. As one Chief put it “we can either burn it on our terms or it is going to burn on its own time and on its own terms”. In the SouthEast of the USA we are very used to prescribed burning. All the Quail shooting plantations do it. Where I have the pleasure of shooting, the courses are burnt every two years. Everyone knows the benefits for the land and its occupants. This happens in March after the Quail season is over and the Departments of Natural Resources control who burns when, mainly to control the amount of smoke over the nearby roads. Without it, it would be a very different story, not just for the birds, but for the entire biodiversity. In the 31 years that we have been shooting there, I do not recall a single wildfire out of control in our area. There have been wild fires in the mountain areas, but nothing compared to the Western States. And herein lies my fear for the moors of England. Contrary to general belief, only about 15% of wildfires are caused by natural causes, mainly lightning. 85% are caused by humans from campfires, burning cigarettes thrown out of a car, an evening in the open with the barbie, and unfortunately pyromaniacs. Once the grouse shooters are pestered away and no more gamekeepers look after the well-being of the moor, the urban humans will invade and not be limited to stealing eggs and killing small animals and invertebrates and such, but starting fires, being oblivious to the perils they are exposing nature to, it is just another High Street with heather. I suspect that it will leave the Chris Packham’s of this world cold that curlews are gone, heather no longer blooms and deer have moved to more welcoming places, the only important thing is that the grouse shooters have disappeared. I would like to quote this paragraph from the South Carolina Dept of Natural Resources: Woody vegetation such as shrubs and most hardwoods are generally not adapted to tolerate fire and are therefore killed back with the use of prescribed fire. The repeated use of fire over time can eliminate this woody vegetation from the understory of a forest stand, allowing native species of grasses and forbs to thrive in the absence of the woody competition. Native grasses and forbs are fire-adapted and highly responsive to fire, often resprouting in just a matter of a few days after a prescribed fire. Not only is the lush new green growth excellent forage for many species of wildlife, this herbaceous layer is also very diverse. Different flowering and seeding times for a wide variety of plants provides additional food sources directly for wildlife throughout the year. This wide variety of understory plants also serves host to different varieties of insects, another primary food source for many wildlife species. Along with the wide array of food sources, this native vegetation also provides much needed structure for [ground nesting birds](http://www.talltimbers.org/images/pubs/FireBreedingBirdsBooklet-small.pdf?ref=scribehound.com). So, do I think the United Kingdom has gone officially mad, no even this bloody foreigner is not so rude as to state that, there are still lots of intelligent and logical thinking people in the country. But are the Government and the many supporters of this stupid policy making a big mistake that I fear will have major consequences, yes they are. It is very sad that this is based on completely wrong personal reasons instead of on sound science. And a healthy discussion about such matters is very difficult these days. In this respect I would like to end with a quote of a very wise philosopher, Erasmus of Rotterdam, commenting on all the turmoil following Martin Luther’s 95 Theses and the subsequent reformation, to show that in some ways we humans have made remarkably little progress; “I see some people endowed who are so uncontrollably attached to their own opinion that they cannot bear anything which dissents from it. I ask you, what sort of sincere judgment can there be when people behave in this way? Who will learn anything fruitful from this sort of discussion—beyond the fact that each leaves the encounter bespattered with the other’s filth?” ### Scars URL: https://www.scribehound.com/scars/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:14.000Z Scars are field notes written on skin: rough, imperfect, but proof a life was lived in full. Out here the land leaves its margin notes too—scratched in mud, inked by wire, pencilled by weather. Messy perhaps, but they make the story sing. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Unsung Conservationists: Farms, Fields, and Quiet Triumphs URL: https://www.scribehound.com/unsung-conservationists-farms-fields-and-quiet-triumphs/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:15.000Z A new award seeks to recognise the best of practical nature conservation; keyboard warriors need not apply. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Woodcock, worms, and wheelbarrows. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/woodcock-worms-and-wheelbarrows/ Last updated: 2026-08-28T12:12:39.000Z How a casual observation led to a piece of citizen science that lifted the lid on the link between woodcock and soil health. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### LIVESTREAM - Bulldozer Economics, Fairies, Mast Years and Tweedwashing URL: https://www.scribehound.com/livestream-bulldozer-economics-fairies-mast-years-and-tweedwashing/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:15.000Z Join the livestream for a look back at some of October's highlights _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Wild Rivers, Lone Roads: A Solitary Highland Adventure URL: https://www.scribehound.com/wild-rivers-lone-roads-a-solitary-highland-adventure/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:16.000Z Your browser does not support the audio element. ## **Preparation** The family is away, far away, all the way across the Atlantic way—the annual pilgrimage to the in-laws. I am deemed too outdoors and backyard to share the stay, left to kick my heels. It is a hot August, and I know how John McNab felt, or rather his creator, John Buchan; **‘ennui**’ would be pushing it, but I do need a distraction to slap any listlessness on the head. Forget Heathrow, queues, liquids, and scanners – head North, old man. Chuck everything, and I mean everything, in the car. Gone are the days when I hurled a Tesco's placcy bag with a toothbrush and a pair of pants somewhere in the back of the car, anywhere – if it got misplaced, so be it. Indeed, I now have an agenda, a printed itinerary, I admit – it's laminated in large bold font with postcodes, mobile numbers, and downloaded podcasts to keep me sparky through the average speed time warps. A collection of something fishy - The Last Salmon (Jim Murray), Countryslide & The Wildfood People, (Rich Prideaux), Skinners Countryside, and then political/business – Diary of a CEO and Political Currency. Well-placed Cadbury's, crème caramels, and Jimmy's iced coffee, and I am raring to go. Rods and lines for spate rivers, canal sections, lochs, and big river floods, along with 10,000 flies, should do the job, which will allow me to whittle it down to one rod and two or three flies. However, it is a huge relief knowing I have choice, along with 50 shades of gilets. After an early night, I am woken by the grating, jarring, piercing, and yes, really whining screech of the garden’s single ‘spoilt' ‘buzzard fledgling. “*Kee-ah, kee-ah,kee-ah*” and on and on it goes. This is not the gentle, sometimes soporific ‘mewing’ of an adult buzzard. The poor parents are nowhere near the nest, sat hunched three hundred yards away from this plaintive begging—a demand for food. I am not so lucky. To make absolute certainty, I will not drop back to sleep, a green woodpecker rocks up on the larch tree with its wild echoing laugh, the ’*yaffle*’. He can jubilantly mock the buzzard, a wild, echoing laugh, something like a hurried “ *klu, klu, klu, klu* “ spat out from the trees. In folklore, the green woodpecker was said to have betrayed a secret and was cursed forevermore to hammer on trees, laughing at its own fate. It appears to be laughing at me for still being in bed, but it will vanish as soon as I poke my head out of the window – **that will be the ‘spirit’ bit.** ## **Outward Bound** Would the A9 Sassenach toll road in Scotland be kind to me? After all, my Defender is approaching four years old. Or would I have a massive “Nick me” target on my Southerly plates? I convinced myself that stopping at John Norris in Penrith would make the Gods look down kindly on me, but then popping into the House of Bruar probably ruined the karma. There comes a point where the amber petrol warning light can no longer be ignored, and besides, I need a pee. Welcome to the realisation of how much biomass we, humanity, have created. The sweet, intoxicating smell of service station urine where a thousand souls release the pent-up waste of bio-abundance. Pints of the stuff poured over the **single-use plastic splash guards** tossed into each bowl. I assume they are single use? Some Prof with a PhD in physics designing them with a child's spirograph. ‘Now wash your hands’ ## **West Coast Spate River** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755601158045-certain_trip3.jpeg) *I followed the bright stream down to the sea, with not even a goat path to help our descent* White horses break the bay – the aftermath of Storm Floris, in turn broken by the wing-borne plumes of water, shattered by gannets spearing mackerel. In the distance, the Summer Isles bring perspective to the place. After seven hours, I am here at the mouth of a little spate river, where it opens its heart to migratory salmon and sea trout, weary-kneed and drunk with the delight of fast running, fast taking salmon climbing its rocky waters. With not even a goat path to help our descent, we had scrambled around and across boulders with just a fly line for company, and happy fish. A trending question thanks to Robert Macfarlane’s recent book of the same name. It may seem far-fetched, and has only recently become a question. They had always watered our lands, brought protein in from the sea, and hosted a web of creatures below and above the watermark. Giving a river legal personhood means the law recognises it as a rights-holder, like a company or an individual - **a right to flow unencumbered, free from pollution, and represented by appointed guardians to protect it from harm**. I leave this ‘live river’ with its oxygen pumping from a million trickles through the sphagnum moss and a trillion raindrops off the Atlantic. ## **North Coast** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755601418728-certain_trip_1.jpeg) *Dare to touch this water, and all the eyes below will see you* I am still pondering this thought two days later as I fish the River Thurso, winding across the flat meadows of Caithness. Is it alive? We give it live expressions, **it's on its knees, down to its bare bones, and so it is.** Being very north, the air has a fresher breeze - just geography, but there are subtler differences – starlings sing from the chimney pots – you don't see that much in the south any more. Perhaps it’s the crane flies in the pasture – the **permanence of the pasture**, the permanence of time we have lost. I like it. These glossy colloquial gossips, destined to be our neighbours, until we kicked them out. We didn't raise their rent; we just made a different world for ourselves and never gave them a second thought: new, denser perennial rye and fescue grasses, regularly doused to banish moss and worm casts. For what? To replace a glossy songster on the chimney for a green lawn – well, that's my theory. Twenty-five swifts scream above the starlings, on the rooftops, and the telephone wires are heavy with tens of swallows, prepping for the long slog South. Every few yards along the single track, meadow pipits flit into the heather, a sparrowhawk watches from a fence post, and a young short-eared owl begs for food like the southern buzzard. The difference here is simple: Insects – **we should have a Royal Society for the Protection of Insects (RSPI).** Would we then need the RSPB? Sand martins accompany my casting, relying on the river to carve fresh steep banks of clay, where each spring they tunnel homes of darkness to hide their treasured eggs. No river, no martins, and no me standing in my waders, wondering about those little black holes dotting the bank, while I curse the high temperatures sending the fish into a lethargic sulk pressed to the riverbed. ## **East Coast** I drive south, the East coast to my left, crossing the Helmsdale and the Bogie, all the time the North Sea shimmers like the Med as the hot weather plume moves North. There is chatter about rain. South of Inverness, the distant, mighty Cairngorms, clothed in their summer purple, lie enfeebled by the darkening mass of brooding weather, the hills **pushing the cloud higher, to breaking point**, spill point as the car's headlights automatically react to the gloom. Will the rain bring respite? Have I got my timing right? The next morning in Banchory, the evening's localised thunderstorm has raised the river Dee by five inches. Where the river Feugh enters the main stem, there is a clear demarcation between clear but slightly peat-stained water and the muddy main river. My chance? But within a few hours, everything is back to low water levels, the sun shines bright, and water temperatures rise again. The dog walkers arrive, and everyone wants to throw everything they can find into the water, finally concluding with themselves, both man and beast. Retreating to the cool solace of the fishing hut feels the natural course. On the way, I draw in the scent of freshly strimmed grass, now sweetening into hay, and relish the sugar burst of blackberries. The ghillie, the owner, a surgeon from Hull, an American from Idaho, and myself, content with our retreat into history – yet more troubling than the graffiti on the bridge or the discarded dog shit bags **a curious detachment from those around us outside**. That does not bode well ## **Homeward Bound** Back on the motorway, heading southbound. Sat nav says ETA 19:00\. The constantly changing speed limits irk me. Three days earlier, it was tourists jamming on the brakes to see some Highland cattle in a field: now it's cars sitting on my bumper adding to my water-whipped weariness. I miss the remoteness, the wildness, and the solitude already. I wonder what the political reformer, journalist, and agriculturist William Cobbet, best known for his book Rural Rides would have thought? ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755601841505-book_3_release.jpeg) *How it should be! Fast release in cold clean water* ### Restoring Hope to Hunting: Why the Fight Isn’t Over URL: https://www.scribehound.com/restoring-hope-to-hunting-why-the-fight-isnt-over/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:16.000Z This month's column doubles up as my closing Speech to the Hunting Kind Conference in London today. The title of my talk, given to me by the organisers, is the restoration of hope to the hunting community. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Deer by post - the tremendous joy of shifting venison URL: https://www.scribehound.com/deer-by-post-the-tremendous-joy-of-shifting-venison/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:05:47.000Z A venison pie has made me question everything I thought I believed about pies, and my relationship with deer themselves _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The history of Britain's rural nomads URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-history-of-britains-rural-nomads/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:17.000Z Today we mostly think of homelessness as an urban phenomenon, but Britain has a deep and fascinating history of rural homelessness too. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Solar Parks or Farmland? The Debate about a Changing Countryside URL: https://www.scribehound.com/solar-parks-or-farmland-the-debate-about-a-changing-countryside/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:17.000Z Red oxide days to solar arrays. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Farewell to Jilly, the Queen of country fiction URL: https://www.scribehound.com/farewell-to-jilly-the-queen-of-country-fiction/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:43:36.000Z With the passing of Dame Jilly Cooper, we have lost a true countrywoman _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why Autumn’s Wild Harvest Is a Seasonal Treasure Trove URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-autumns-wild-harvest-is-a-seasonal-treasure-trove/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:19.000Z As summer gives way to autumn the woods, hedgerows and orchards are groaning with berries, nuts, and fruits - its a time of plenty for foragers, livestock and wild animals alike _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Every time you say you don't believe in fairies, a fairy dies. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/every-time-you-say-you-dont-believe-in-fairies-a-fairy-dies/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:19.000Z Why Grown-ups still whisper thanks to the fairies. The magic of nature and the stories we still tell. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Will Banning Cool Burning Ignite Even Bigger Wildfires? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/will-banning-cool-burning-ignite-even-bigger-wildfires/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:21:13.000Z Can a blocked gully stop wildfire in its tracks? According to Natural England, yes, it can. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Is the future of the countryside safe in the hands of Gen Z? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/is-the-future-of-the-countryside-safe-in-the-hands-of-gen-z/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:43:00.000Z They get stick for being woke snowflakes addicted to TikTok, K-Pop and Fortnite. But have you ever spent three days in a field with Gen Z? I did recently. And they surprised me. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Talking Billhooks in London URL: https://www.scribehound.com/talking-billhooks-in-london/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:20.000Z 1851 was the year when Britain began to forget the countryside. I asked our finest agricultural writers to help our nation remember. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Are Fishing Competitions the Key to Tuna Conservation? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/are-fishing-competitions-the-key-to-tuna-conservation/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:20.000Z Is competition in fieldsports and fishing healthy for conservation? Or are these two worlds in total opposition to each other? The recent UK Bluefin Tuna Championship has been pilloried by the anti-brigade. But are they totally missing the point? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Wash: Britain’s Wildest Estuary Faces a Reckoning URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-wash-britains-wildest-estuary-faces-a-reckoning/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:42:46.000Z The Wash spans 150,000 acres and is one of the UK’s last great wildernesses. It faces an uncertain future with threats of inappropriate development and the effects of climate change. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The mission to save England's chalk stream salmon from extinction URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-mission-to-save-englands-chalk-stream-salmon-from-extinction/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:26:21.000Z Project White Hart aims to save the English chalk stream Atlantic salmon — a living relic of the first fish to enter our nascent island millions of years ago — before it disappears forever. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why big business always gets the countryside wrong URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-big-business-always-gets-the-countryside-wrong/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:21.000Z Big brands love to employ rural imagery in their marketing, but all too often it rings hollow. Here's why _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Best of Days URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-best-of-days/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:22.000Z From the beginnings with butter, to leading glorious dairy queens around the ring, Westmorland Show is a special place for our family. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Reform: friend or foe? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/reform-friend-or-foe/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:22.000Z The countryside is coming round to Nigel Farage and bookies reckon he's going to win power. But what would he actually do with it? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "Build Baby, Build!" URL: https://www.scribehound.com/build-baby-build/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:44:49.000Z A sleepy Suffolk village is being swept up in the 'tide of progress'. It is drowning out its sense of place, pride and the voices of local people. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Year the Woods Overflowed URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-year-the-woods-overflowed/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:23.000Z This autumn the woods have gone into overdrive: acorns hammering rooftops, orchards collapsing under fruit, hedges dripping with berries. A mast year once fed pigs and fuelled wars - what do we make of nature’s unruly glut today? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### SUV Nation URL: https://www.scribehound.com/suv-nation/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:24.000Z The curious symptom of ‘Lifestyle Britain’ _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Reimagining National Service: From Conscription to Civic Revival URL: https://www.scribehound.com/reimagining-national-service-from-conscription-to-civic-revival/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:24.000Z National service once meant barracks and boots. Today, could it mean barley fields, biodiversity, and belonging? We explore how a reimagined scheme might serve both people and countryside. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Is Eating Game the Secret to Saving Countryside Traditions? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/is-eating-game-the-secret-to-saving-countryside-traditions/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:25.000Z **Do We Really Need Eat Wild?** I have now returned from maternity leave and used the time as an opportunity for reflection. There has been a levy board for farmed meat since 2008\. The [Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)](https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C5CHFA%5FenGB984GB984&cs=0&sca%5Fesv=ec29702a6463f262&q=Agriculture+and+Horticulture+Development+Board+%28AHDB%29&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwij55-%5FjoCQAxUGXEEAHQrUH-gQxccNegQIAxAB&mstk=AUtExfBXZ01Z7cFv%5FX-oEL7%5FGGzuH5yNJJxP3ZGXVLfkpwPbwKJK9hthp14bbCtrpx34wnWaFRMw155FfyjUEM-rqW6tZ6-fTiNr3lpWxPg7fQJRRFfbGBtsSb4lM3Hnx-iKy6edlXUAouus6vI24s8-fVh8K60G8B4xv8DhzjNvZhlt%5FMac3YOTsdSAiVijr5ZtT6%5Fa&csui=3&ref=scribehound.com) was formed by the consolidation of the British Potato Council, Home-Grown Cereals Authority, Horticultural Development Council, Meat and Livestock Commission, and Milk Development Council. It is a **statutory levy board** funded by farmers and others along the supply chain to support and improve the competitiveness and sustainability of Great Britain's agriculture and horticulture sectors. Exactly what Eat Wild does with game, but using a **voluntary levy** that has limited take-up. ## What does Eat Wild do? Eat Wild is doing something that really matters — building public support for shooting by showing its true value through food. By getting game on more plates, into more kitchens, and in front of new audiences, Eat Wild helps create social licence for shooting and the countryside. It changes perceptions, tells the real story, and shows how wild food can be part of a modern, sustainable lifestyle. Shooting isn’t just a countryside tradition – it’s a vital part of how many British farms manage land, wildlife, and food production. This campaign is about backing those who care for the countryside and putting real, wild food on British plates. This is about much more than just great food — it’s about defending a way of life, and making sure shooting has a future. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1759224515872-7.6_million_hectares.jpeg) *How Eat Wild translates the work the shooting community does into easy-to-understand language for those in towns.* ## Sector Changing Over the last few months, we have seen just how important this work is. Some game dealers have criticised us for drawing attention to the oversupply of partridge, while others have praised us for highlighting the issue and pledged to take more birds home this season. Sporting agents have welcomed the new markets we are opening up, though we know some shoots remain frustrated with delays in payment for their birds. These conversations—whether positive or challenging—prove that Eat Wild is sparking debate and driving change in the game meat sector. With such a small team, our progress may sometimes feel hard-won, but the results speak for themselves. Eat Wild is making an impact. We are building markets, inspiring chefs, and ensuring game is seen, cooked, and enjoyed by more people than ever before. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/0d3d3fa4-f29a-481a-b3f0-ea97a20c21d0.jpeg) ## Do We Actually Need Eat Wild? We firmly believe the answer is yes—but we want to hear your views too. Our mission is clear: the only sustainable way to justify shooting in this day and age is to ensure that every bird shot is eaten. Food is the most powerful way for people to understand and appreciate the work carried out in the countryside, and Eat Wild exists to make that connection. Let me know in the comments your thoughts or if you would like to support us, you can donate [here](https://checkout.square.site/merchant/VR7SDWPZ097D1/checkout/VN5UDY6XO5NBYYI2OSTQZBZV?ref=scribehound.com). ### Six Rivers, One Mission: Iceland’s Salmon Comeback Story URL: https://www.scribehound.com/six-rivers-one-mission-icelands-salmon-comeback-story/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:17:08.000Z Six Rivers Iceland are making huge steps in the right direction for Atlantic Salmon, learning more about them and ensuring their survival ... Should we be taking note? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Can Farmers Align with the Political Left? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/can-farmers-align-with-the-political-left/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:26.000Z Could anti-Trump public sentiment be harnessed to free the countryside from the burden fo the Inheritance Tax? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Threadbare: How We Unravelled the British Wool Industry URL: https://www.scribehound.com/threadbare-how-we-unravelled-the-british-wool-industry/ Last updated: 2026-08-28T12:05:47.000Z British sheep farmers once traded in gold, now they earn pennies for fleeces that shaped an empire. As synthetics dominate and local mills vanish, is it too late to save British wool—or are we on the brink of a natural fibre revival? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How do you live happily in the countryside? Bite your lip URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-do-you-live-happily-in-the-countryside-bite-your-lip/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:26.000Z Don't gnash your teeth or hit WhatsApp when your neighbours annoy you. Let 'live and let live' be your motto or you'll never survive rural life _This post is for subscribers only._ ### 'And the Ministers Did Change Faster Than The Seasons' URL: https://www.scribehound.com/and-the-ministers-did-change-faster-than-the-seasons/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:12:20.000Z A butterfly flaps its wings in Hove and farmers find themselves with their tenth Secretary of State in ten years. A good outcome for food, farming and the environment has never seemed so far away. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Wild Masks and Ancient Mischief in Portugal's Borderlands URL: https://www.scribehound.com/wild-masks-and-ancient-mischief-in-portugals-borderlands/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:27.000Z The region of Tràs-os-Montes is rich with folklore and festivities - but at a time of great change for rural places across Europe, is it possible to draw tourists in to experience old traditions without changing or damaging them? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Be careful what you wish for URL: https://www.scribehound.com/be-careful-what-you-wish-for/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:31:50.000Z Now that the government has announced the end of prescribed burning on moorland Chris Packham will be giving his poodles - Sid and Nancy - a jubilant hug. But are there unforeseen consequences of this new legislation? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Be more RSPB: how your shoot can earn millions URL: https://www.scribehound.com/be-more-rspb-how-your-shoot-can-earn-millions/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:28.000Z With shoots doing all the heavy-lifting in UK conservation, why do so few of them grab the free money available to conservation projects? Here is a guide to what you can get. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Should We Be Nervous About Australian Beef Hitting UK Shelves? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/should-we-be-nervous-about-australian-beef-hitting-uk-shelves/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:28.000Z Demand for beef is rising, UK herds are shrinking and Australia is positioning itself to fill the gap. Instead of clinging to false assumptions about lower standards, isn’t it time we proved why our story deserves to be chosen first? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Nation is Bust: Should We Axe DEFRA to Survive? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-nation-is-bust-should-we-axe-defra-to-survive/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:45:23.000Z How much of the Green State do we need to keep? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Hare Coursing: Police issue warning over 500-strong event URL: https://www.scribehound.com/hare-coursing-police-issue-warning-over-500-strong-event/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:29.000Z The lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside. - Sherlock Holmes _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Secrets of the Hedge - LIVESTREAM reading and Q&A URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-secrets-of-the-hedge-livestream-reading-and-q-a/ Last updated: 2025-09-26T20:24:12.000Z Pour a glass, pull up a chair, and join me for a livestreamed reading from Words from the Hedge _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Battle lines over Britain’s most divisive bird URL: https://www.scribehound.com/battle-lines-over-britains-most-divisive-bird/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:29.000Z The strange saga of the Hen Harrier and the plan to reintroduce them to the south of England _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Cirencester’s Royal Ag: 180 Years Shaping Land and Lives URL: https://www.scribehound.com/cirencesters-royal-ag-180-years-shaping-land-and-lives/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T13:43:17.000Z As the RAU celebrates its 180th year, I look at the past and future of this institute of the countryside _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Are Shedding Sheep the Farming Game-Changer We've Needed? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/are-shedding-sheep-the-farming-game-changer-weve-needed/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:30.000Z Maybe these low labour sheep will mean we can have a holiday? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Reform-shaped elephant in the room URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-reform-shaped-elephant-in-the-room/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:31.000Z Is anti-immigrant rhetoric really supporting farming communities or is it dividing us more? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How UK Biofuels Rose, Stumbled, and Still Matter URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-uk-biofuels-rose-stumbled-and-still-matter/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:46:00.000Z From warm beet pulp to biofuel battles: A farming saga _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why Is Modern Nature Writing So Dreadfully Dull? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-is-modern-nature-writing-so-dreadfully-dull/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:32.000Z What does the modern nature writing scene tell us about how the literati view the countryside? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why Angling Is Saving Kids Failed by Education URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-angling-is-saving-kids-failed-by-education/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:32.000Z Many young people are failing in our 'one size fits all' state school system. Kids with special educational needs don't fit into it either. Is teaching them to fish the answer? 'Angling Mentors' is an initiative offering a potential solution. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Is rewilding really a threat to food security? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/is-rewilding-really-a-threat-to-food-security/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:33.000Z Food security isn’t threatened by rewilding or nature recovery—it’s undermined by climate change, fragile supply chains, and systemic waste. This piece calls for a more grown-up conversation in pursuit of a resilient approach to feeding Britain. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Hedgerows Uniting Ireland’s Farmers, Artists, and Poets URL: https://www.scribehound.com/hedgerows-uniting-irelands-farmers-artists-and-poets/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:33.000Z Ireland's Hedgerow Fest was such a feast for the eye, heart and soul. It even brought me to tears. Join me up the bumpy track to Mount Briscoe. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Lady Who Lives in a Bank: The Unbreakable Spirit of Rural Iowa URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-lady-who-lives-in-a-bank-the-unbreakable-spirit-of-rural-iowa/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:34.000Z Almost a year into Donald Trump's second term, I’ve been travelling the Midwest of America hearing voices from the Corn Belt. This is the story of an unlikely reunion in a small town you’ve probably never heard of, because everyone should meet Judy. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Truth About Apex Predators and Trophic Cascades URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-truth-about-apex-predators-and-trophic-cascades/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:30:12.000Z Is it really true that introducing large predators to the countryside will have such great knock-on benefits? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Is the countryside really 'irrelevant' to Britain's economy? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/is-the-countryside-really-irrelevant-to-britains-economy/ Last updated: 2026-08-15T11:11:07.000Z As (another) new minister takes on the Defra job, it is time for politicians to look at the countryside as more than a rung on the greasy ladder _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Our Farm, Our Cows, Our Swallows URL: https://www.scribehound.com/our-farm-our-cows-our-swallows/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:35.000Z You can keep your great migrations and ocean-breaching whales, because together our swallows and cows make the finest spectacle in nature _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Right Subject; Wrong Target URL: https://www.scribehound.com/right-subject-wrong-target/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:18:52.000Z Leaping exclusively on the sewage bandwagon might get it off your chest, but it may also be missing the point _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The UK’s New Food Strategy Leaves Farmers Hungry for Real Change URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-u-ks-new-food-strategy-leaves-farmers-hungry-for-real-change/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:36.000Z It took eight months, countless meetings and no shortage of egos to deliver a food strategy that offers more slogans than solutions. Meanwhile, the sector it claims to support is bleeding out. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Gut-Rot to Glory: My Wild Cider Awakening URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-gut-rot-to-glory-my-wild-cider-awakening/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:37.000Z A technicolour introduction to apple-based alcohol has grown into a quest to discover the perfect pint, from Galloway to Galicia. Here's the best of what I've learned... so far! _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Mind the Gap: England's Journey from CAP to Chaos URL: https://www.scribehound.com/mind-the-gap-englands-journey-from-cap-to-chaos/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:38.000Z It was all supposed to be so different. From the heady promises of 2016 to the cash strapped reality of 2025: how food, farming and the environment is standing on the cliff-edge of a political cock-up made [proudly] in Britain. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Have we LOST OUR MINDS about solar? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/have-we-lost-our-minds-about-solar/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:07:33.000Z Are solar farms ruining the countryside — or saving it? From “they poison the earth” to “Britain’s too cloudy,” I’ve heard every myth. This isn’t a sales pitch. It’s a farmer’s eye view of what really happens when you mix solar panels, sheep and soil _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Waggle Dance of a Beekeeper’s Year URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-waggle-dance-of-a-beekeepers-year/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:39.000Z From battling wasps to tasting the seasons in honey, this year as a beekeeper has been full of hard truths and sweet discoveries. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Clutching at the rewetting straw URL: https://www.scribehound.com/clutching-at-the-rewetting-straw/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:47:49.000Z How can we have arrived at a place where wildfire risk mitigation on our heather moorlands is now being based on a soggy prayer? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The joy of owning classic cars - but not the models you might expect URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-joy-of-owning-classic-cars-but-not-the-models-you-might-expect/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:40.000Z My cars are both awful and brilliant - and one might win Goodwood Revival approval _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Rise and Fall of Quiet Wild Camping URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-quiet-wild-camping/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:40.000Z This summer’s ‘fly camping crisis’ was no accident. Sell the countryside as a stage for freedom and people will act accordingly - social media granting a licence no code of conduct can contain. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Are there too many people? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/are-there-too-many-people/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:40.000Z A very old theory teaches our political class to expect disaster - and create it. Here, the food system plays a key part _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Old Tricks, New Science: Rethinking Farm Innovation Today URL: https://www.scribehound.com/old-tricks-new-science-rethinking-farm-innovation-today/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:41.000Z Is regenerative farming full of snake oil salesmen or is it built on robust foundations? Is it anti-science or can't science keep up with the thinking of it's adherents? What is the role of agricultural science and if does have a role, who pays ? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Harvest Merriment and Folk Horror in the English Countryside URL: https://www.scribehound.com/harvest-merriment-and-folk-horror-in-the-english-countryside/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:41.000Z “…let them be merry all harvest-time long” Tusser August is biting the heels of September, at the time of writing, and the summer has now started its inexorable slide into the mellow days of early autumn. If June and July are the months when the summer season starts its engines, August is the one where it opens the throttle fully. It’s peak-time for rural tourism, and harvest time for many of the arable crops, that have been ripening steadily during the more verdant and humid, early summer months. The ‘vibe’ of the English countryside during these often long, hot and dusty ‘Dog Days’ of late summer brings to mind words such as fruitfulness, abundance, ripeness, and so on. When it comes to the vernacular of the countryside, the English language contains a richness and depth for describing all things rural. This expansive lexicon also gives a sense of the emotional associations we make to the land and its people. Words like ‘Arcadian’, ‘pastoral’ and ‘bucolic’ fall into the romantic tradition; one which typically sees the rustic way of life through rose-tinted spectacles, where hills roll, lambs gambol, and apple-cheeked children have robust, earthy fun, during summers filled with fresh air and adventure. Down-to-earth Ma and Pa Larkin-esque figures; designed to give the impression of a folksy wholesomeness, brought about by a life of earthbound toil, are also archetypal of these kinds of idyllic flights of fancy. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755716180424-IMG_0418.jpeg) *Picture credit: Elizabeth Harvey-Lee.com* At this bountiful time of harvests, country shows and fetes, your mind is probably far away from some of the more sinister and oppressive descriptors of the countryside; words such as ‘backwater', ‘the sticks’ and ‘hinterland’ which begin to creep into something darker and more forbidding; contrasting somewhat with the warmth and golden light of the season we’re currently in. But if you allow yourself to wander down those shady linguistic lanes, other words, such as ritual, superstition, and folklore, might also begin to form at the tip of your tongue. After all, the crops that need bringing in at this time of year have to see the shadow of the reaper and his scythe, before anyone gets to toast a health to the barley mow. The figure of John Barleycorn is an ancient totem, dedicated to the spirit of sacrifice. Often titled ‘The Corn King’, he is the crop personified, whose job it is to die so that life can begin anew in the agrarian cycle that has sustained most of mankind since pre-history. Over the course of our agricultural existence, and up until relatively recently, it has been common to craft talismans from the stalks and stems of the year’s harvest, to keep and carry over to the next year. Corn dollies, thought to contain the spirit of the crop, were given safe haven indoors throughout the winter until they could be buried on ‘Plough Monday’ the following year, during the new cycle of sowing, in order to secure the fortunes of the next crop. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755713769232-Images.jpeg) *Picture credit:tinsmiths.co.uk* Prior to this more symbolic form of sacrificial amulet-making, it is thought that offerings of a more flesh and blood origin were presented to the old gods, in return for success with the sickle. ## Summery execution The purveyors of any decent folk horror know, and actively lean into, these old tropes of sacrificial harvest rituals. A village’s close community ties, as well as the ossified class structure of Old Britain, which to some extent has been literally set in stone in the layouts of ancient villages and hamlets, where farmstead abuts Manor House, church adjoins rectory, and cottages surround alehouse, also feature as a sinister undercurrent. In addition to a wealth of adjectives used to describe field and furrow, there is an array of well-worn archetypes, beyond the rosy-hued jolly farmer stereotype, that are applied to rural folks, acting as convenient shorthand in dramatic depictions, or for poking a bit of fun in their more comedic representations (we’ve all seen the big-eared boys on farms, etc). Many of these less charitable depictions of country types can often be traced back to the febrile imaginations of people who view the countryside more as a recreational playground full of charming fauna and pretty golden fields, than as a dynamic, working landscape; shaped and maintained through the active management of folk who’ve long drawn their living from understanding its rhythms. The Disneyfied version of rural life getting sullied by the less romantic realities of animal husbandry, food production, and pest and predator control bites hard for these guys, who appear to take their cues about farming and land management from ‘The Tales of Peter Rabbit.’ In their imaginings, the green and pleasant land, to which they mainly flock for weekend walks, is broadly populated by bloodthirsty toffs, and their hard-bitten gamekeepers, whose pedigree names read like a What Three Words location, and whose faces resemble a map of the London Underground, sketched in spidery broken capillaries, and who would like you to get orf their land. Or by gouty and dyspeptic, shotgun-toting old farmers, much like famous agriculturalist, and walking advert for Allopurinol, Jeremy Clarkson; who would also like you to get orf their land ([unless explicitly invited onto it](https://diddlysquatfarmshop.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopBKVHdQpb230FjE2wIgfgs2QaiDj-r6Igq2MFQYSYGdEsOS9pU&ref=scribehound.com)) Then there are the ‘locals’; those denizens of small, closed-off communities with small, closed-off minds, many of whom may be blood relatives, who openly display an innate distrust of (if not a downright hostility towards) the ‘outsiders’, who invariably don’t understand their ‘country ways’. (This latter trope having been most notably invoked to comedy perfection in The League of Gentlemen’s murderous shopkeepers Edward and Tubbs, with their “local shop for local people”.) ## The fiends in the furrows Now don’t get me wrong, I think most of these depictions are wildly exaggerated grotesqueries, but they are arguably aggregated around some small nuclei of truth. Though caricatures, folk like these do exist in isolated pockets of the country, I’ve met some of them! But it’s the idea of these characters being a widespread reality which has given rise to a mythology of pastoral weirdness which, when coupled with notions of rural hostility, hands down a received wisdom about the countryside, often leading to most of its inhabitants being pigeonholed into these clumsily sketched stereotypes. It’s true that we have in the past been famed as a [nation of eccentrics](https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/British-Eccentrics/?ref=scribehound.com), with many of our more [quirky pastimes](https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/blog/days-out-uk/quirky-unusual-festivals-uk?ref=scribehound.com) taking place in the pastures of Deep England. This in turn has gifted us with our own distinctive brand of rural strangeness, much of which revolves around themes of harvest, hunting, and sacrifice, and the peculiar festivities we’ve created to celebrate them. Now hugely popular, the term ‘Folk Horror’ (a previously niche subset of literature, T.V, and film) covers a broad and fairly nebulous category of pop culture, where all of those neuroses, and the unease which the agrarian life strikes into the heart of modern, urban man, is evoked for thrills. A typical plot device in this genre usually revolves around having a couple of oblivious urban rubes drop into these landscapes, where the past refuses to stay buried, and there’s more than a suggestion that the future fertility of the land is only guaranteed by the spilling of blood. Usually theirs. There’s plenty of fear in the fens, badness on the broads, fiends in the furrows, and menaces on the moors for the incautious townie, who blows-in to the countryside in pursuit of quiet leisure, unaware of the dark underbelly of ‘old ways’ and archaic practices; “the pattern beneath the plough” as it were, which long ago wove together the threads of rural life. ## Nowt so queer as Folk (horror) As a turn of phrase ‘Folk Horror’ is said to have been coined back in the dim and dusty early 70s by a critic who, charged with reviewing a key and arguably foundational work in the canon: ‘The Blood on Satan’s Claw’ came up with the term. This is a film in which the plough literally does unearth a long-buried evil, which afflicts the inhabitants of the surrounding settlement in some truly grisly ways. The term was later revived as a descriptor in the 2010s by Mark Gatiss (of previously alluded to ‘League of Gentlemen’ fame) who, in his ‘History of Horror’ nominated this film, together with two other iconic theatrical releases: The ‘Witch-Finder General’, and ‘The Wickerman’ as being the lynchpins of an unholy celluloid trinity, representing the birth of this genre. Unlike more standard horror flicks, where the mood is set via the pathetic fallacy of bare winter trees, stormy weather and a general sense of seasonal drabness, the folk horror habit is to jarringly place all of the unsettling paranoia and disturbance in a context of summer sunshine and fruitfulness. It heightens the fear and confusion to have the weird and uncanny aspects of ‘The Olde Ways’ playing out to a backdrop of birdsong, wildflowers and rural idylls. In folk-horror land, this might necessitate a procession of mask-wearing villagers chanting ‘Sumer is icemen in’ as the sun sets on a scene of bucolic beauty, which invariably signals that someone isn’t seeing the sun rise again, as infamously demonstrated in The Wickerman. Summerisle, both the name of the fictional island and its eponymous gentry, where Wickerman events take place, demonstrates the sunshine season being unsubtly invoked as central to the community’s ceremonial practices for guaranteeing the soil’s fecundity. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755716268075-Google_Search.jpeg) *Iconic Wickerman scene courtesy of bbc.co.uk* Ari Aster’s ‘Midsommar’ is another fine, yet terrifying, example of the use of this season’s unsettling and claustrophobic tendencies to render the horrors of the midsummer festivities, around which the plot revolves, all the more troubling. Midsummer as a calendar date has long been depicted as a time of high eerie in the English countryside. The Perpetual Almanack of Folklore cautions its readers on the eve of this day to: “protect \[their\] houses, byres and beasts against fairies and evil spirits…” as they abound on this night, as it’s alleged to be “the most uncanny and dangerous of the year”. ## Midsummer madness Also known in antiquity as Johnsmas Eve or St John’s Night, in many rural areas the superstitious custom was to build great pyres on hillsides as the sun set, to ward off any phantoms or sprites, who may be lurking with ill-intent. It’s still common to see old cottages with a shrub or two of the St John’s wort growing nearby, as a botanical insurance against the evil eye. On Midsummer’s day, you’d have been well advised to turn your coat inside out, in order to avoid being led astray by Robin Goodfellow, that mischievous puck who rides high on the season’s heat-induced delirium. Another source of harvest-based anxiety comes in the form of crop blights; specifically ergotism, which has been known in times past to cause mischief among rural populations. Usually brought about by damp conditions at the point when the head of a grain crop is ripening, or from too aerobic conditions in grain storage silos, this fungal imposter has been held responsible for inducing population-level hallucinations and hysteria. An outbreak of it has been posited as the most likely cause of the mass-hangings and burnings of suspected witches, during the Salem panic in 1690’s America. We take for granted nowadays the high cost and energy intensive methods for grain drying that growers use, often leaving them out of pocket at the end each harvest, to avoid this sort of crop-ruining catastrophe. Maybe the real horror story here is the little return most farmers see for the Sisyphean task undertaken to raise a crop each year, in the face of ever-increasing production costs, climate instability, and yield prices that have remained near static for the best part of two decades? ## Reaping what you sow The tools of the harvest probably bear some responsibility for their associations with horror and calamity, which characterises a lot of anxieties, old and new, surrounding the harvest season. The sickle, pitchfork, and scythe have all been appropriated as symbols of either disastrous communalist agricultural policies, village vigilantism, or death itself, respectively, so it’s little wonder that the sight of them can summon an involuntary shudder. Modern equipment, while probably having a slightly lower injury rate per usage, though being no less lethal, can still strike fear into the hearts of many of us of a certain vintage. Anyone who attended a rural primary school in the 70s and 80s, would more than likely have been made to sit down and watch the public information film ‘Apaches’ every year, in the week leading up to the summer holidays. I’m sure this was done as a well-intentioned insurance policy to secure our safe return to the classroom the following academic year, but such endeavours have spawned [entire bodies of work](https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3670179/horrors-apaches-vintage-british-safety-films-formative-fears/?ref=scribehound.com) dedicated to the lifelong negative impact these warnings engendered in their tender-aged viewers. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755716328365-The_Horrors_of_'Apaches'_and_Other_Vintage_British_Safety_Films_[Formative_Fears]_-_Bloody_Disgusting.jpeg) *Still from terrifying, once-seen-never-forgotten Public Information Film ‘Apaches’, credit: Bloody-disgusting.com* It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Harvest time in days of yore was usually greeted with excitement and good cheer. In his superbly researched 1950’s book titled ‘Ask The Fellows Who Cut The Hay’ [famed folklorist George Ewart Evans](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b00rv8yk?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile&ref=scribehound.com) details the pre-mechanised modes of crop-gathering, recalled during interviews with retired old farm workers employed in the late nineteenth, and early twentieth century. In the chapter entitled ’Taking The Harvest’ he states that: “Under the old community the harvest was the climax of the year, not merely an incident in the more mechanical and depersonalised round on the farm as it has become today.” It sounds like, for all the endless toil required to bring the crops in, a merry old time was had by all. Typically, such a gargantuan task, coupled with a short window of opportunity, would require the efforts of the whole village. The term ‘taking the harvest’ refers to a formal process, whereby the workers from every farm in the locale, plus any seasonal workers of more temporary residence, would meet in the kitchens of each farmhouse to agree a contract of work. In many cases this would result in an agreed period of “twenty four fine days” the wording allowing for any period of inclement conditions to stop work without affecting pay. In addition to a wage, each man or boy would be granted an allowance, which would usually take the form of a Coombe (four bushels) of wheat at a reduced price, a free bushel of malt (most households engaged in home brewing) and a few pounds of mutton each week. The workers would elect a man to negotiate the terms and conditions of the contract, and he would be known as the ‘Lord Of The Harvest’, becoming for that short period of time the most important member of the community. He would usually have a second in command, referred to rather whimsically as the ‘Lady Of The Harvest’. The signing of these contacts, and the settling up process at the end, after the contract had been satisfactorily fulfilled, would result in festivities known as ‘Harvest Frolics’. The second frolic, marking the end of the harvest would be funded by the ‘largesse’ collected over the course of the harvesting period. “Crying Largesse’ as it was known was a custom with roots in antiquity. Shakespeare’s contemporary Thomas Tusser wrote in his ‘Five Hundred Points Of Good Husbandry’ of 1573: “Grant harvest lord more by a pennie or twoo to call on his fellows the better to doo: Give gloves to thy reapers, a larges to crie, and dailie to loiterers have a good eie” In a ‘Letter from Norfolk’ dated 1826, the unknown author writes: “It is general practice on the first day of Harvest, for the men to leave the field about four o’clock and retire to the alehouse, and have what is here termed a ‘whet’; that is a sort of drinking bout to cheer their hearts for labour. They previously solicit any who happen to come within their sight with, “I hope, sir, you will please to bestow a largess upon us?” If the boon is conceded, the giver is asked if he would like to have his largess hallowed; if this is assented to, the men all “holler largess” at the tops of their voices.” The women and children of the vicinity would be employed as ‘gavellers’ and ‘binders’, where the cut crop would be raked into rows, and bound into sheaves ready for ‘stooking’. The smaller children would sometimes be given sturdy sticks with which to patrol the fields for rabbits. Any bunnies caught fleeing the scene would be treated to a swift bonk on the bonce, and would go to the pot as an added harvest bonus. Women and children (usually girls as the boys were considered too roguish for such work) would often also be tasked with the process of ‘gleaning’ once the harvest had been brought in. In Ewart Evans’ book, where events take place in the Suffolk village of Blaxhall, it was customary for the local church sexton to be paid a few shillings extra to ring the bell at harvest time; once at 8am then again at 7pm, signalling the window of opportunity for the gleaners to gather the fallen grains from the fields, once the crop had been cleared. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755716649317-Summery_execution_-_by_Vanessa_-_The_Ruralist.jpeg) *Wild harvest. Photo by Annie Spratt, Unsplash* ## Use your loaf August 11th in the old calendar marks the eve of the Celtic celebration of ‘Lammas’ - Loaf mass, the start of the harvest season, since moved to the 1st day of August. You should start seeing the Harebell, or ‘Harvest Bells’ growing wild now. Considered unlucky to pick, these pretty wildflowers have an association with the mystical hare. This time of year often brings the added headache for farmers of hare-coursing, which can render large swathes of arable crops un-harvestable, as the sighthounds which pursue their quarry are often followed at high speed by the ‘longdog’ men’s cars, irreparably damaging and flattening the ripening grain. This particularly ugly form of rural crime has seen a spike in recent years, piling more stress and worry onto a situation already dogged by the expense and uncertainty brought on by the vagaries of the English weather, and temperamental farm machinery. On a more upbeat note, you can look forward this month to wild blackberry harvesting, if you haven’t already begun, as well as damsons, plums, and the first of the autumn raspberries and winter squashes coming into season. The 24th brings the feast of St Bartholomew, or Bartlemas. He is the patron saint of butchers, tanners, and leather workers. Since he was apparently martyred by being skinned alive, this seems like a fitting tribute, and a reminder that things could be worse! It’s usually about now also that the first chill of autumn can be detected in the air, so enjoy the last of the summer’s warmth, as the dog days are nearly over. Happy harvesting! ### Discovering the Best Shotgun Cartridge: A Beginner's Journey URL: https://www.scribehound.com/discovering-the-best-shotgun-cartridge-a-beginners-journey/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:41.000Z ## The hunt for the right cartridge I cannot pretend to know enough about shooting a shotgun to give a scientific discussion as to what makes the best shotgun cartridge for shooting clays and game, but what I can do is report back on what I have found as I try to find what works well for me. Since properly learning to shoot, and making the decision to want to pursue competition I have fired roughly a slab a week of cartridges at clays, and a few boxes at game on top of that. Whilst this may not be "final" and it may not be totally comprehensive, this is what I have found as someone learning to shoot, not only with the view of filling the pot, but also with the view of competing in clay shooting. I also have the advantage that I currently have no "brand loyalty" and I am on a reasonably tight budget, I cannot afford to buy slabs of premium cartridges, but I want to shoot a lot and practice as much as possible, for this article I will mainly focus on clay shooting. ## Gamebore Velocity+ The first cartridge I knowingly loaded into my first shotgun, I got these from a clay shooting ground on Anglesey, I think they were about £7.50 per box, and I couldn't hit anything with them, but that isn't the fault of the cartridge! After a lesson with Ed Solomons, I had a few boxes left in the drawer and had a bit more of a consistent mount and an idea of how things "should" feel, so thought I should give them a proper go. Personally I found these cartridges a bit "kicky" the recoil felt robust, and hitting clays on the edges didn't really lead to convincing breaks, after a few more good practice sessions and trying them again, they felt "good" but they didn't seem to inspire confidence in the same way as some other cartridges I have used. I have however shot the Clear Pigeon and they hit hard and shoot nicely so it may be a case of needing to explore more of the Gamebore range to find the right balance of budget and cartridge. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-5420258AM-PXL_20250412_100815264.jpeg) *Gamebore Velocity+* ## Hull Comp-X From my limited understanding this is a go-to budget and own branded/club cartridge, these felt really nice to shoot, a fairly low recoil cartridge and the cartridge I actually started hitting things with. These are a similar price to the Gamebore costing about £75 for a slab at the local shooting ground in a sale. They seem to have a very consistent feeling between cartridges and boxes, and I found that there were quite a few occasions where I thought I was missing a clay and they somehow managed to break. I think the Hull family of cartridges is one I would like to explore, but whilst my priority at the moment is seeing and breaking as many targets as possible, budget constraints really come into it, and there seems to be a step up from "affordable" to mid-range and premium cartridges. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-5420258AM-1000057041.jpeg) *Hull Comp-X* ## Eley Select This is another one of the "budget" cartridges, whilst visiting Fauxdegla I realised I had foolishly forgotten to bring any cartridges, and they had these in stock, so it was a good opportunity to try out another different brands entry level cartridge. This felt like a moment where a lot of practice came together and the cartridge seemed to drop in with this, so this feedback may be slightly biased due to shooting so well on the day. The cartridge felt comfortable to shoot, not a huge amount of felt recoil, and a very fast cartridge, they seem to reach out to break cartridges in a different way to what I had previously felt. On long midi clays that seemed to be thrown from miles away, they broke convincingly, and with fairly fast birds they seemed to break with hitting the edge and started to inspire more confidence, which then nicely led to more controlled, slower shooting which in turn leads to better breaks and the cycle continued. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-5420258AM-1000057420.jpeg) *Eley Select at Fauxdegla* ## Conclusion As this is still fairly early into my hunt to find what I want to use, and where I want to align myself, this is potentially a bit premature to write and post about, but I want to give a good reflection into the journey and hopefully help give a clear and open picture along the way. For me the Hull Comp-X and the Eley Select are the two cartridges I'll be exploring more, I'll also look at picking up the next "tier" of cartridges from Hull and Eley and see how things feel in different situations. I will also pick up a box of Gamebore's cartridges as I know they make excellent cartridges and I understand it's about finding the right combination, and I don't want to write anything off too early. When it comes to game shooting that's a totally different situation, I still don't know enough about what I like and what I need, but I'm looking forward to exploring. *If you have any recommendations for cartridges, brands, or certain cartridges for certain targets please reach out!* ### Why Britain’s Harvest Is Facing Its Hardest Year Yet URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-britains-harvest-is-facing-its-hardest-year-yet/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:42.000Z The harvest of 2025 is one that is likely to be remembered for all the wrong reasons... nevertheless, getting the harvest safely in has always been cause for celebration _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Dancing to the Supermarket Tune: A Zero Sum Game URL: https://www.scribehound.com/dancing-to-the-supermarket-tune-a-zero-sum-game/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T14:44:08.000Z Britain loves a bargain basket, and supermarkets have trained us to think of food as cheap. But what every discount comes with a hidden bill, and we're already paying it _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Price of Applause: Why Women’s Success Still Comes with Guilt URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-price-of-applause-why-womens-success-still-comes-with-guilt/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:07:06.000Z Stepping onto global stages has been a dream. Stepping off them, I’m reminded that success for women still comes with scrutiny, judgement and questions about family life _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Poultry Panic: DEFRA's bird flu lockdown is endangering Rare Breeds URL: https://www.scribehound.com/poultry-panic-defr-as-bird-flu-lockdown-is-endangering-rare-breeds/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:43.000Z Over-zealous officials recently decided to ban chicken shows in a bid to curb avian influenza. Critics say they're making a terrible mistake. And shooting could be next in the firing line. Here's why... _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Burning fishing huts - rural terrorism hits The River Test URL: https://www.scribehound.com/burning-fishing-huts-rural-terrorism-hits-the-river-test/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:44.000Z He's battled the water companies to keep our rivers clean. Are they hitting back by burning down fishing huts? Or are vandals responsible? Donny Donovan is Hampshire's own river warrior and he refuses to back down after a series of arson attacks. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How Farm Diversification Became a Minefield of Meddling URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-farm-diversification-became-a-minefield-of-meddling/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:06:23.000Z The joys and frustrations of holiday letting. Why do politicians never learn? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Unexpected Comfort of Countryside Sounds URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-unexpected-comfort-of-countryside-sounds/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:44.000Z I didn't realise how noisy and smelly the countryside was until I learned to switch my brain off. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How Native Ponies Are Transforming the Countryside URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-native-ponies-are-transforming-the-countryside/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:45.000Z The native breed ponies being put to work conserving the UK's uplands and wild spaces _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Inside the Wild Rituals of Black Grouse Courtship URL: https://www.scribehound.com/inside-the-wild-rituals-of-black-grouse-courtship/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:45.000Z A photographic journal of my lekking season 2025... The 2025 black grouse breeding season has been a successful one across the North Pennines, with greyhens spotted all over the moors leading broods of chicks now almost ready to fledge. The future looks bright for these iconic birds, especially with projects such as the GWCT translocation, which has already seen 20 black grouse moved from the North Pennines into Yorkshire. Once widespread across every county in the UK, black grouse have declined dramatically in recent decades — but initiatives like this give hope of restoring them to some of their traditional strongholds. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755767254519-March_-_EG_-_2025_-149.jpeg) *First sunlight hitting the black grouse* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755767267319-March_-_EG_-_2025_-76.jpeg) *Squaring off!* The males are the most obvious with their intense blue/black colouring, red wattles and white bottoms whereas the greyhens (females) are much more discreet and secretive. Greyhens only fly into the lek for short periods of time, in the beginning weeks they are simply there to check out what is on offer. Later into the lekking season they will be ready to actually breed. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755767273979-March_-_EG_-_2025_-73.jpeg) *Greyhens always cause trouble* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755767289584-April_-_EG_-_2025_-117.jpeg) *The chaos of a greyhen landing in the middle of the lek* Leks only have one or two successful breeding males! Each year the hens will pretty much all breed with the same male. It is amazing to see them fly in and instantly know which male is the chosen one for the year. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755767313975-April_-_EG_-_2025_-110.jpeg) *The flutter jump!* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755767319527-April_-_EG_-_2025_-47.jpeg) *Morning light just illuminates these birds beauty* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755767328445-April_-_EG_-_2025_-62.jpeg) *These birds really do inflict pain on each other* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755767359600-April_-_EG_-_2025_-93.jpeg) Black grouse certainly know how to fight! With sharp beaks and claws, their battles during the lekking season can leave real marks. At the start of the season, the males are at their best — beautifully preened, glossy, and full of energy. By the end, many bear the scars of combat, with chunks missing from their faces and old wounds already healed. These fierce contests are all part of the struggle to impress the females. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755767368707-April_-_EG_-_2025_-64.jpeg) Black grouse leks take place in the same spots year after year, making them one of the most reliable wildlife spectacles in the country. Why they return to these historic sites is still a mystery — the chosen places don’t appear to have any special features, yet generation after generation of birds instinctively return. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755767374040-April_-_EG_-_2025_-30.jpeg) ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755767385253-April_-_EG_-_2025_-104.jpeg) *neighbourly disputes* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755767398341-April_-_EG_-_2025_-116.jpeg) *The courtship begins!* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-1755768768964-April_-_EG_-_2025_-1.jpeg) To learn more about these incredible birds subscribe and read my other articles today! [Subscribe now](https://join.scribehound.com/?ref=share&sharer=nP7JScXMo9bXgHwDr&shareType=3z1QjLMt&channel=countryside) [Discover the beauty of black grouse in the UK](https://www.scribehound.com/countryside/shooting-talk/s/conservation/discover-the-beauty-of-black-grouse-in-the-uk?ref=share&sharer=nP7JScXMo9bXgHwDr&shareType=QizkKDME&channel=countryside) [Witness the Spectacle: Black Grouse Lekking Video & Photos](https://www.scribehound.com/countryside/shooting-talk/s/conservation/witness-the-spectacle-black-grouse-lekking-video-photos?ref=author-view-page) All images copyright to Emily Graham Media. ### Why the BBC should appoint a hunting editor URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-the-bbc-should-appoint-a-hunting-editor/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:45.000Z More people take part in shooting sports than golf, rugby or even cancer. Here is why I should get the job. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The true cost of upland conservation URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-true-cost-of-upland-conservation/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:46.000Z As grouse moor owners stare down the barrel of another season without shooting, I take a look at the economics of grouse moor ownership _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Unexpected Joy of Traffic Jams: Birdsong Bliss URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-unexpected-joy-of-traffic-jams-birdsong-bliss/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:46.000Z The curse of all who have somewhere to be and have left it just a little too late. We have all suffered in the queue, but it turns out I have found one positive. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-626202512PM-signal-159718_640.jpeg) *Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay* I am sitting in my office as I type this short article. It’s a nice office on the ground floor of my home, with a dual aspect looking out onto the garden. I was actually sitting at the desk writing about another topic, but I managed to get myself bogged down in my own rhetoric, so paused for some moments to think. Whilst thinking I found myself entertained by the birdsong coming from both sides of the garden outside. I can hear the ever-present Blackbird, Wood Pigeon, Song Thrush and a Redstart. There are a few more, but my Young Ornithologist's Badge is very old and due for renewal. I have spent many hours sitting at my desk, often completing mind-numbing paperwork, so I am prone to the occasional bit of procrastination, but I’m struggling to think of how long it has been since I could hear such clear songs and calls from the local songbird population. No, wait. I do remember how long it has been, during the lockdown caused by the government reaction to COVID-19\. The reason that I could hear the birds so clearly then was the vastly reduced volume of vehicular traffic on the roads. My home is rural and as some of my family allege: “In the middle of bloody nowhere”, but this is not true at all. I live five miles or so from a town and there is a very busy A road 600 metres away, across three fields to the south of me. But it is that very A road, which does create a huge amount of noise pollution, only really noticed by me way back in the spring of 2020\. Back then I was so astounded by my discovery of the underlying, natural, soundscape that I honestly believed for a while that I may have discovered a bird species that was unknown to man – it was a Song Thrush (let’s skip over that). ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-626202512PM-song-thrush-5335608_640.jpeg) *Image by Kev from Pixabay* Wondering what had suddenly caused this lack of background white noise, and realising that I needed to move myself before I became part of the furniture, I decided to take a stroll across the aforementioned fields and investigate. Temporary roadworks. Hmm. I am no lover of road works and these look to be of a particularly annoying sort, you know the ones where there is a line of cones stretching for a quarter of a mile of coned off road with no work visibly taking place. They are surely going to cause me some form of delay during the time that they are in place. Trudging back to the house, my nosiness gloomily satisfied I am still listening to the work of the songbirds, I can also hear the cheeping from the pheasant rearing pens; there is an unintended positive to the line of traffic sitting there waiting – the dull idle of the engines is so much less intrusive than the higher speed rumble and whine of tyres whipping along the tarmac. To those of us bordering the queues we have a small space of time in which to enjoy the sounds of Mother Nature going about her business. I suppose that it is just a shame that all of those stationary vehicles are reputedly belching out enough pollution to have Mother Nature reaching for her COVID face mask. ### What Price Your Fun? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/what-price-your-fun/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:46.000Z From motorised Safaris in the Masai Mara to a trespass on a West Sussex estate -the claim is made that people need nature, but does nature actually need us? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Can We Fix Britain’s Broken Housebuilding System? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/can-we-fix-britains-broken-housebuilding-system/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:47.000Z The new government’s desire to build 1.5 million homes in this parliament will be a key in shaping the future of the countryside. Given existing systemic issues in the housebuilding sector, are we set for complete disaster, or is there hope? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Can Artificial Intelligence Replace Boots-in-the-mud Understanding? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/can-artificial-intelligence-replace-boots-in-the-mud-understanding/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:47.000Z Governments and businesses are enthusiastically embracing Artificial Intelligence for conservation and land management... is it all for the best? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Litter Louts. The public scourge on the countryside. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/litter-louts-the-public-scourge-on-the-countryside/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:48.000Z Public access to the countryside is a contentious issue with littering often touted as a major concern. But is that really fair? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Blending utility and art: the side by side URL: https://www.scribehound.com/blending-utility-and-art-the-side-by-side/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:48.000Z ## For the love of a side by side To me there is something mystical and majestic about the side by side shotgun, a collection of beautiful lines, coming together to create something that blends utility and art. The side by side in question for me currently is an AYA No.4, a lovely ejector side by side, with subtle engraving and some bluing that inspires a confidence that I don't currently deserve ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-5220255PM-1000057041.jpeg) *The elegant lines of the No.4 a couple of cartridges and an ever filling training book* There is something beautiful to me about carefully catching a pair of smoking cartridges that are being ejected from a still smoking side by side, gently blowing the smoke out the barrel (because I saw it in a video) and carefully replacing them with fresh cartridges, making sure the names are the right way up and everything looks "just right" before closing the gun, and making a calculated decision to start the process again. Something I haven't experienced with an over and under, but something I'm sure is familiar to all shooters on some level.Don't get me wrong, these are a tool, they're designed to do a job but the elegance and the speed of them makes everything feel alive, on high fast clays they fly through the target, a gun designed for the field and for the peg.Perhaps out of my own amusement, or stubbornness I enjoy the looks as I walk down a clay ground, my spaniel at my side (occasionally pulling or distracted) and getting a side by side out of a gun slip, I think there's an expectation of novelty, but for me, this is my gun, it's the gun I could afford to buy and its one I am happy to drag through a hedge, and spend a day in a hide with. At the moment the issue with hitting things isn't the gun, it's who's holding it, and until that side is vastly improved, there is no need to change what I'm holding, it may not be the best, or the nicest or the most expensive, but it's mine. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-5220255PM-1000056379.jpeg) *Jackets should be waxed and shotguns should be side by side* ### Left to Labour Alone: How the NHS Is Failing Rural Mothers URL: https://www.scribehound.com/left-to-labour-alone-how-the-nhs-is-failing-rural-mothers/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:20:33.000Z As I near the end of my pregnancy in rural Devon, the promised choice of a home birth has slipped away. Behind my story is a wider crisis: maternity care in the countryside is collapsing and thousands of women are being left behind. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How to get rich while failing URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-to-get-rich-while-failing/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:50.000Z We can all agree that black grouse conservation is vital. We all know what to do. Why can't we do it? Why does all the money go to those who won't do what what needs to be done? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Rewilding or Ruin: Who Knows Best, Nature or Humans? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/rewilding-or-ruin-who-knows-best-nature-or-humans/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:28:37.000Z I enjoy reading Scribehound, especially those articles that are applicable to issues and matters that concern all of us, not just farmers in Britain. The most recent article by Ian Coghill on the power of Net Zero is an excellent example of an issue that is widespread and very international. I can assure you that we have the exact same nonsensical arguments going on in the United States. While Ian, quite rightly, points out the silly role played by Government, he kindly leaves out the “charitable organisations” who have little or no interest in resolving the issues but regard it as an excellent way to raise more money from an uneducated Government and even worse, in my opinion, from the unsuspecting general public. Where those Pounds/Dollars/Euros etc. end up is more mysterious and is often not all dedicated to the cause that was advertised of saving us from eternal climate doom. I try to follow the problems with the water companies, their disgusting dumping of sewage in rivers and streams and how little the Government seems to be interested. One thing I find sad about Scribehound is that by and large those who read it all agree with each other. I would think that Ian’s article could generate a very interesting and enlightening discussion with the proponents of planting trees to save us from death by CO2\. I have fairly pronounced political opinions, which I think are right in the middle, my American friends think I am a pinko liberal commie and my Dutch friends regard me as a right-wing nutcase, so I feel quite confident I am indeed in the middle, but I always try to figure out the reasoning of those I disagree with. I read right-wing publications, not with pleasure but it enlightens me on their thinking and the same with ultra-left news sources, which give me just as little pleasure. The one opposing voice I can recall on Scribehound is when the subject of Rewilding comes up, and unfortunately the only person who disagrees with everything written seems to be afflicted with the arrogance of some scientists who are always right and everyone else does not know what they are talking about. It would be a great idea for those who are becoming biologists, ecologists, etc. to have to work on a farm or be an assistant gamekeeper or walk along a country vet for a year as part of their Master’s or PhD preparation. A good example of the ongoing scientific nonsense the animals, plants, birds, etc. have to deal with is the idea of our rewilding friends about bringing back the elk. Their extinction is blamed on overhunting, although this happened somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago when Britain was populated by about 100,000 Neolithic people, 90% of whom disappeared, most likely to disease, possibly the bubonic plague, and then were replaced by the (disease -carrying ?) Beaker people who practised agriculture. That interesting development gave food for thought on another theory for elk extinction, in order to plant their maize, these newcomers deforested Britain, so there was no food for the elk. The fact that climate change, disease and such did not just affect humans but also animals, trees, plants, etc. does not enter these scientific minds or is discarded as facts that get in the way of a good theory. It would be very interesting to find out how these hunters with their spears managed to extinguish all the elk, and while they were at it also the bison, the aurochs, the lynx, the wolf, the brown bear, etc. all of whom have become prime candidates for reintroduction to make the M1 a truly wild motorway. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-71920257PM-IMG_0247.jpeg) **Thinking about rewilding* I am rather mystified why there is no movement afoot yet to reintroduce the straight-tusked elephant, woolly rhinoceros and saiga antelope, all of whom were found on the British Isles at one time in the distant past, while I find it outright discriminatory that no nature-loving organisation makes even the slightest effort to use Neanderthal DNA to recreate this species so they can be reintroduced on the Salisbury Plain and take their rightful place in the Scottish Highlands. I even read the opinion of a highly learned person that it was actually the 18th century deforestation that was the death knell of the elk, which I must admit greatly confused my limited mathematical abilities. I think it would be great to hear on Scribehound from those who disagree with me and explain why they feel that rewilding is a good idea, while the population is 68 million people, most of whom have very little knowledge of wild animals, while the land is full of roads populated by killing machines called cars and motorbikes, and where highly technical hundreds of thousands of acres of agriculture abound, the practitioners of which are not enamoured by visits from bears and bison, with large herds of woolly sheep who are very upset by wolves passing through, etc. While they are at explaining this, I would also like to find out how these “wild” animals will be so well behaved that they stay put where they are released and why a wolf will not climb over fences as they do in The Netherlands, how a bison and a bear will not trample their enclosures and will not be found hundreds of miles away, if they are not killed by a car that is. I think that this could lead to a healthy discussion. Next I would like to hear on Scribehound from those who are against hunting of any kind, be it on horseback, with a gun or rifle, a pack of beagles, or whatever, and denying that the majority of these hunters actually love nature and all that goes with it, and very actively work at improving the landscape, environment, living conditions, guard against too much predation, etc. Maybe we can add in a paragraph on coarse fishing, where the prey is dumped in a steel net and after showing off the catch it gets dumped in the bin outside. Although also a type of hunting, it seems not to arouse PETA. I can think of a few other subjects that would make such a very worthwhile discussion, but what I would like to understand most of all is why these scientists and urban animal lovers who let their cats roam outside to kill 59 million songbirds, are convinced that humans can do a better job at regulating than Mother Nature, because I happen to think she is better at it and maybe we should spend our energy on trying to figure out whether she needs any help and what and where that is. I hope these discussions will be respectful and enlightening for both sides. I have to admit that before writing this, I spent a week in Alaska, followed by a visit to Nova Scotia, both locations where there is a lot of room and plenty to eat for elk, brown bear, black bear, lynx, wolf, beaver, you name it. I did not see any Lynx, they are very good at hiding from us, but I did see bear, beaver and elk and they looked happy and healthy, as did the sea otters, whales, bald eagles, kingfishers and others that belong in those places. While in these incredible places I was reading the book LIVING WITH LYNX by Jonny Hanson, which I learned about here on Scribehound. I thought it interesting although often confusing, but it does make one reflect on things and in my case it created the urge for a good discussion, hence this piece. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-71920257PM-image.jpeg) **The beauty of Alaska* ### Tyre Trouble, Land Rover Loyalty, and Countryside Rules URL: https://www.scribehound.com/tyre-trouble-land-rover-loyalty-and-countryside-rules/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:50.000Z They come with curious rituals and are physically and metaphorically painful to drive and own. Yet they inspire a kind of emotionally loyalty rarely found with inanimate objects. Is the old Landrover the best worst car ever made? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Pretty In Pink? Not In My Parish URL: https://www.scribehound.com/pretty-in-pink-not-in-my-parish/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:51.000Z From one single plant, to a sea of pink, Himalayan balsam is spreading at speed, and (unfortunately) its rather good at what it does. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Lapwing hopes lie in the lap of the Gods URL: https://www.scribehound.com/lapwing-hopes-lie-in-the-lap-of-the-gods/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:51.000Z With species such a lapwing and curlew closer than ever to extinction, why are the growing number of voices telling us to use targeted lethal predator control still being ignored? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Paralysis URL: https://www.scribehound.com/paralysis/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T12:02:19.000Z What one burned out West Sussex hotel tells you about how Britain is run. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### It's time to shock, literally. Reading this could save a life... URL: https://www.scribehound.com/its-time-to-shock-literally-reading-this-could-save-a-life/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:51.000Z I am not apologetic that it is time to shock, you, the reader. A play on words perhaps; however, it focuses on two key elements that could save someone’s life. Some readers may recall that some time ago I wrote about the importance of defibrillators in our sport. It was a piece that I hoped would have an impact and, several months on, the results have been encouraging; it’s a strong start for sure. Last year I walked around the Game Fair carrying my defibrillator. I recall a considerable number of people both looking at me rather strangely and, more importantly, asking me what it was and what it did. Over the weekend I engaged with a number of individuals who all either know someone, or, knew of someone who had been affected by a cardiac arrest. Having met with the team at Fieldsports Britain, The Field Magazine, Guns on Pegs, BASC and many individuals, the response was very encouraging and so began the task of educating our community on the importance of defibrillators. To repeat a section from the summer article; in the UK there are over 30,000 cardiac arrests each year. The incredibly sad statistic is that fewer than 1 in 10 people survive them. The reason for this poor survival rate is that the two intervention methods stated above are not carried out – early defibrillation & CPR. The fact is that immediate initiation of CPR can double or even quadruple the survival chances, whilst defibrillation within 3-5 minutes can produce survival rates of up to 70%. There are, of course, instances where intervention is not successful; however, what we can do within our community is have measures in place that could potentially save a life. The answer is simple; we need access to defibrillators so they are never more than a few yards away. What was most encouraging during this early phase was the emotional response of so many individuals, thus empowering them to support the campaign. It remains a very harsh reality, the chances are that if you need defibrillation on a shoot, you are unlikely to receive it – simply due to the location and significant lack of them in the countryside. It's brilliant that they are on the side of Village Halls, Churches and other places but when we are several miles from these, out on the moors or in woodland, they are too far away, and the likelihood of survival diminishes rapidly by the minute. I titled this ‘it's time to shock’ and so here it is: As soon as a cardiac arrest happens, the heart muscle starts to die. You need to locate and get defib pads on with urgency. Every minute that then passes by, the heart will deteriorate at a rapid rate, around a further 10% each minute. I can’t stress enough how time is both crucial and precious. Below is a cardiac arrest timeline: please take the time to read through this and see for yourself: · Minute 1 o The person collapses. If they are unresponsive and not breathing, it is likely that they have suffered a cardiac arrest. Phone the emergency services on 999\. The operator will give you step-by-step instructions on how to perform CPR, and they should also tell you where the nearest defibrillator is located. o Begin to perform CPR · Minute 2 o Early defibrillation is critical for saving the life of someone in Sudden Cardiac Arrest, and the earlier a defibrillator is located and used, the greater the ultimate chance of survival and recovery. o Without treatment, a person in Sudden Cardiac Arrest loses 10% of their chance of survival for every minute that goes by. o Once the defibrillator pads have been placed on the chest, they begin to analyse the heart rhythm to determine whether a shock is required. The shock will then be delivered if required. The defibrillator will inform you when to continue performing CPR · Minute 3 o Without treatment by this point, the victim’s chance of survival has decreased by 30% · Minutes 4 & 5 o Using a defibrillator and effective CPR within this window boosts the victim’s chance of survival from 6% to 74%. · Minute 6 o Without treatment by this point, tissue death of the heart muscle and the brain will begin to occur, and the chance of survival will have reduced to between 40 and 60% · Minutes 7 & 8 o Without treatment by this point, the victim’s chances of survival have reduced to between 30 and 20%. · Minutes 9 & 10 o Continue to use the AED and perform CPR until the ambulance service arrives. Without proper treatment by this point, the chance of survival will have now reduced to just 10%. It's time to shock you the reader into these statistics, and it's time to get a defib and shock the casualty – as fast as you possibly can. The heart starts to die immediately, and continues to do so by 10% every minute. If you haven’t got a defib on by minute 6 the heart and now brain will both be dying at a rapid rate and by minute 10, the chance of survival is less than 10%. So I ask again as I did back in the summer, do you know where your nearest defib is to you, and more to the point, do you know where the nearest defib is to you when you are out on a shoot? Can you get a hold of it and get the pads onto the person in need within a couple of minutes? Can you play arguably the most important part in that person's potential survival? Alarmingly, the answer to this will be a majority no so guess what, its time to shock. It's time to get one. Defibs are intuitive – they tell you what to do so no prior training is needed. It’s a case of putting two pads onto a bare chest (the defib shows you where) and then it will tell you if the person needs a shock. They read the heart's status and along with this they talk you through CPR and if it's needed. I want to close this second article in what will be a series on this, talking about what defib to buy. There are many defibrillators on the market but not all are applicable to the outdoors. The most appropriate defibrillator is one that can be used on both adults and children, using the same pads, and can be used anywhere, anytime in any weather. Such a defib does exist and since we launched this campaign back at the Game Fair, we have been placing these in Gun Makers, rural shoots, country estates and shooting clubs across the country. It is getting better but you need to play your part. I ask you, the Shoot Captain, the landowner, the Game Keeper, the secretary, the peg, the beater: Have you got a defibrillator for your shoot?! Through the link below you can get access to the recommended defibrillator and by using the code **‘shoot24’** when added to basket, you can get a 50% discount. For a small amount of money, you could be a lifesaver. I truly hope you never have to use it, but the statistics, they suggest that won't be the case. Visit Wel Medical [here ](https://shop.welmedical.com/product/spr-semi-automatic-defibrillator/?gad%5Fsource=1&gad%5Fcampaignid=21524437648&gbraid=0AAAAABVUEjfhRDuFEnsJeB4hYYu1ah2-G&gclid=CjwKCAjw7fzDBhA7EiwAOqJkh8pgWpDX7zU-r89RqLzchn7G3LKpiZ79MTDyIItgt7Y%5Fp-7fx2dTxxoC-qsQAvD%5FBwE&ref=scribehound.com)to get your defib at the 50% discount rate and protect those around you. ### Broken men, milkshakes, and the night that sycamore fell URL: https://www.scribehound.com/broken-men-milkshakes-and-the-night-that-sycamore-fell/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:52.000Z The vandalism at Sycamore Gap was carried out by broken men in a broken countryside and much of what followed was complete madness _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Overton Window of the Outdoors: Politics and Policy in the Wild URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-overton-window-of-the-outdoors-politics-and-policy-in-the-wild/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:31:07.000Z Some activities in the British outdoors draw nods of approval - others, polite discomfort. The difference often has less to do with law or impact, and more to do with an unspoken code of what nature-loving is supposed to look like. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How a Tiny Beetle Is Wiping Out British Heather URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-a-tiny-beetle-is-wiping-out-british-heather/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:53.000Z A tiny insect with a big footprint. Climate change, changing land management practices and fluctuations on predatory insects are having a big affect on our uplands. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Lettuce to Longevity: Rethinking Health from the Ground Up URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-lettuce-to-longevity-rethinking-health-from-the-ground-up/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:53.000Z We’re in a health crisis—and the cure might be growing in a lettuce patch. Farmer Tom explores how farms, food, and nature could transform wellbeing, cut NHS costs, and heal the nation—if only policy had the appetite to try. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Utopia to Reality: The Harsh Truth Revealed URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-utopia-to-reality-the-harsh-truth-revealed/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:18:23.000Z Public life is dominated by wishful, utopian thinking and it has to stop. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Reflections on a Farming Century URL: https://www.scribehound.com/reflections-on-a-farming-century/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:54.000Z From the agricultural depression of the 1930s to the boom times of the post-war period, my grandfather lived through a radically changing landscape. Recently, I discovered his memoir. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The wild food harvest - blink and you've missed it URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-wild-food-harvest-blink-and-youve-missed-it/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:55.000Z There's nothing better than produce from Nature's larder. But you have to be quick and take every opportunity _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Farewell to the Ferrets - the end of a love-affair URL: https://www.scribehound.com/farewell-to-the-ferrets-the-end-of-a-love-affair/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:55.000Z We understand that rabbits are declining, but the knock-on implications for a mad-keen ferreting enthusiast spell the end of an era, just as the next generation develops an appetite for learning about nature. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Farmers to Action are undermining the interests of the countryside URL: https://www.scribehound.com/farmers-to-action-are-undermining-the-interests-of-the-countryside/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:56.000Z Disruptive, politicised conspiracy groups are trying to harness rural discontent for their own advantage. Their presence risks alienating the public from the plight of farmers. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Trump’s Turnberry Durbar and Britain’s Farming Fiasco URL: https://www.scribehound.com/trumps-turnberry-durbar-and-britains-farming-fiasco/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:56.000Z Starmer's shiftiness has been exposed, but Clarkson's bull isn't helping! _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Bells, Beer, and Britain: The Sacred Pub Connection URL: https://www.scribehound.com/bells-beer-and-britain-the-sacred-pub-connection/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:56.000Z Explore the way we balance reverence with revelry, peculiar customs and public-spiritedness in towns and villages up and down the land. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Wild No More: How We Replaced Nature with Numbers URL: https://www.scribehound.com/wild-no-more-how-we-replaced-nature-with-numbers/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:57.000Z For more than a century we've been supplementing wild populations of certain species with artificially reared stock - but we must learn from the mistakes of the past _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Country stores are dying - and it matters more than you think URL: https://www.scribehound.com/country-stores-are-dying-and-it-matters-more-than-you-think/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:57.000Z Use them, or lose them... because you'll miss them when they're gone _This post is for subscribers only._ ### School's Out Forever: A Tribute to Another Lost Rural School URL: https://www.scribehound.com/schools-out-forever-a-tribute-to-another-lost-rural-school/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:57.000Z Small schools are disappearing from Britain at an alarming rate with rural schools twice as likely to close as those in urban areas. My old primary school is the latest victim, after 147 years in our village. I went back to capture its last day. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Fly Fishing Adventures: From Chub & Barbel to Monster Roach & Grayling URL: https://www.scribehound.com/fly-fishing-adventures-from-chub-barbel-to-monster-roach-grayling/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:58.000Z For the past 30 years or so my main quarry has been game fish: trout, salmon and grayling; with a smattering of more exotic species such as bone fish and tarpon thrown in both to spice things up a bit and also to transport me and my fly rods to warmer places than the UK when winter weather bites my Cumbrian home. But most of my early fishing was done with ‘bait’ – bread, worms, maggots and so on - for so called coarse fish. It was great fun but fishing for these species with a fly also holds many attractions; as Maurice Wiggin said ‘chubbing is a comely sport, when trout fishing is hard to come by’ and for sure, and for various reasons, trout (and salmon) are much rarer and swim in far fewer of our rivers, and in lesser numbers, than they did in Wiggin’s day and chavender, being ‘crafty enough to make his capture tricky’ is a fun and exciting quarry with a fly rod. And for that matter, so are some of our other ‘non-game’ species, although until fairly recently, I had caught only a small number of them on the fly. A few years ago a population explosion of perch on a local trout lake brought a fish-a-cast to a soldier palmer whilst trout fishing – more an annoyance than a triumph! And once, nymphing in the clear waters of the river Idrijca in Slovenia, my target trout was supplanted by a muscular barbel which fought like a demon as barbel always do; perhaps pound-for-pound more sporting than salmon. But these captures were more by accident than strategic planning or judgement. But things are now changing; I have determined to broaden my fly caught species list. ## Barbel and Chub Last year, on the 16th of June, amidst a bonanza of barbel and chub on the Wye, I put aside my bait rod and, using ordinary nymph patterns plus a couple of ‘specials’ set about upstream nymphing. The chub were shoaled-up and feeding high in the water, competing fairly vigorously - almost fighting - for any loose feed that I threw in when bait fishing, and even after I’d stopped they were obviously very active; so the chances with the fly were pretty high. A largish PTN, tied say on a size 8 or 10 hook, or a simple black nymph – resembling a trout pellet – plopped gently near to the head of the shoal was usually grabbed almost as soon as it hit the surface or, brought back downstream at the pace of the current, pretty soon after. The line would tighten, the rod would heave over and a mighty, though usually short-lived, struggle would ensue. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-7920251PM-2CHUB.jpeg) *A River Wye Chub taken on the fly.* Chub are not noted for their tenacity and stamina; ‘surrender monkeys?’ no, not quite, but they are lightning quick to head bank-ward where they will for sure know all about, and dive head first into, any snags leaving one attached to tree roots, reeds and dangling brambles rather than sweet chavender. A 5 or 6 pound chub may not be regarded as a monster these days, but come on, it’s not a tiddler either! Not too long ago specimen hunters would go a long way for a 5lb chub and here I was with a shoal of these hefty things in front of me. Anyway, I netted a few but I soon found that playing the fish quickly then drawing it downstream into the slack water where I was standing, brought the characteristic gapping mouth and huge chub-lips sliding to the surface where it was easy to slip out the fly, turn the acquiescent fish and gently push it back into the current where, apparently unperturbed, it rejoined its mates. On a 6 wt rod this was great fun and I knocked out so many fish in quick succession that I soon realized that I had caught enough. All the time I was doing this I could actually see barbel out to my right. They often come in behind the chub in response to the copious loose feeding, rolling in the current where they would have been taking remnant bits of loose feed missed by the chub and washed downstream; along with nymphs and shrimp, their natural food. In these situations the barbel’s natural reticence seems to be overridden by greed. Barbel, being bottom feeders with under-slung downward pointing mouths; have to either role on their sides or lift up their heads vertically, to take any form of food in mid-water. When they do so, their white underside is exposed giving a nice and easily spotted ‘flash’. These fish were bigger than the chub by a fair bit; 7, 8, 9 even 10 pounds so I was keen to hook one. A 10 pounder on the fly would really be something. But try as I might, that day, even though I could see the odd fish turn on its side toward my artificial as I steered it past, I could not get a take. And so it remains; the last few times that I have fished this beat, although I have had good bags of both fish using bait, the conditions have not been quite right for sight-nymphing and so big barbel remain on the to-do list. Part of this new interest in non-game species is the current malaise surrounding some aspects of our sport. I am tired of bad news; tired of reading about pollution, fish predations, salmon farms, re-wilding and the introduction of beavers. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-7920251PM-BARBEL.jpeg) *A 10lb+ Barbel; still a fly fishing dream* It is so easy to buy into all the doom and gloom and really fishing and the countryside should only bring joy; it should be fun and uplifting and in the present climate it’s easy to lose sight of this. But rivers are funny things and as Tennyson said of them ‘men may come and men may go, but I go on forever’; rivers may have a way of healing themselves and whilst there is no doubt that our salmonids and our rivers need help - we must do what we can to help things and otherwise make the best of it. And whining won’t help, part of my answer is to broaden my outlook. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-7920251PM-Cactus_Roach_Montenegro.jpeg) *A 4lb+ Roach from the River Lim.* ## Montenegro Means Roach So with my appetite for other species on the fly well and truly wetted, when I heard that big roach plus more chub and also monster grayling were being caught in the rivers around Lake Plav in Montenegro my antenna twitched. I have to admit, that my geography of the Adriatic Basin and that Balkan region was sketchy; I had to resort to Google maps to find out exactly where Montenegro is (basically south of Croatia and land-locked Bosnia and Herzegovina and north of Albania). Anyway, – after a bit of research - on a Sunday morning in mid-July, we flew from our small local airport at some ridiculous hour of the morning, the two and a half hours to Croatia where, bleary-eyed, at 08.30 AM local time we dragged our weighty rod bag though the Nothing to Declare doors of Dubrovnik airport where Ivan, our guide for the next week, was waiting for us. Introductions over, next came a rather gruelling six hour drive out of Croatia, through the southern tip of Bosnia-Herzegovina and on through the mountains of Montenegro. Plav, our fishing base for the next week, has the look of a low-key tourist town which is emerging from a quieter and more traditional Montenegran past and is now striving, in a hurry, to catch up with its better known relations on the Adriatic coast. It lies at the northern tip of the eponymous lake into which the Ljuca River flows on the western side and the Lim flows out at the northern, town end. These appear to be the two main fishing rivers and they are very different. The Ljuca runs from high mountains, some of which still had snow on their summits when we visited in July, whereas the Lim runs warmer – certainly in summer, when the hot sun shining from a cloudless sky, knocks the chill out of the shallow outflow. The temperature difference makes for two quite distinct rivers. The Lim, which ran a stone’s throw from the back of our hotel, was our first port of call. The first pool I fished, I could see fish lining up against the far bank trees. The narrow shingle that made my casting platform had high scrub and weed behind it which was pretty sure to capture my largish nymph so a smartish roll cast was needed to get near the fish. My first few attempts, very slightly upstream, fell just short but as soon as I got the nymph into ‘the zone’ - the narrow band of shadow right where the trees met the water - a fish dropped back and followed it. A simple lift of the rod, a little twitch to bring the artificial out into the stream and I watched as the fish wolfed the fly, a quick strip-strike and the rod heaved over as I lifted into my first Montenegran fish which turned out to be a chub of around 3 pounds. I am told that these fish are the exact same species as our UK chub, Squalius cephalus; or Chavender as Izaac Walton or, as we have already said Maurice Wiggin, might call them. But a momentary glance at these fish shows their basic shape to be a little different; to my eye these fish have a slightly flatter body than our more portly cylindrical version. Nevertheless, their golden-bronze flanks, large perfect scales and gapping mouth and lips confirms their ‘chubness’. Anyway, another five of these fellows followed the first, the biggest just short of 2 kilos, and all within 30 minutes, if that. On any fishing day, an early capture seems to take the pressure off, even though any pressure at all in fishing day is totally self-imposed and verging on the ridiculous; but there it is, and most of us have felt it. So when you get that first fish something is proven, but I am not sure what. Anyway, my first casts into the waters of Montenegro were pretty fruitful; there I was casting into the crystal-clear water of the Lim with ‘fish under my belt’ the sun beating down from a clear blue sky and the skin on my face and arms already beginning to tingle a little when Ivan told me of some shady cherry trees a little way upstream which had a bunch of big roach underneath them. Now over the years I have caught a fair spectrum of species from biggish carp to tiny perch but, as I’ve said, for most of the past three decades my fishing has been mainly for trout, salmon and grayling. Roach have made the odd appearance – by mistake usually – but have not featured brightly on my wish list. So, given the fun I had just had with the chub, I was game (no pun intended). Ivan showed me the cherry trees and said wade way out into the shadows – no problem in this heat – and use this; at which point he introduced me to the cherry fly a small round black ‘ball’ of chenille wrapped onto a size 12ish jig hook with a small tungsten bead to give it weight. I tied it on and made a short cast into the shade of the tree and tracked it down with the rod tip allowing a dead drift. I watched and just as the ‘artificial’ began to swing out into the current I saw a shadow begin to follow and again a slight movement of the fly and I felt a gentle draw. Gentle at first, but not gentle for long as a roach of over a kilo set its flank against the push of the current and fought it out in the dappled sunlight. I’d never caught a big roach on the fly and this one, and those that followed, for I took another 6 or 7 from the same spot wading only a metre or two upstream for the whole show, all pulled like stink. Not as much as a big wild trout but since I can’t remember the last time I took half a dozen two pound wild brown trout from one pool I’ll shut up! Oh, and by the way, these fish are not the same species as we get in the UK (Rutilus rutilus) but Rutilus virgo or cactus roach, which is a native of the Danube basin. The two species are very similar but the fins of these fish are more orange whereas those that we see in the UK are of a pronounced red hue, both are very handsome fish. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-7820254PM-Nase.jpeg) *A trophy Nase from the Lim.* ## Nase. All the time we were fishing and wading, one could see fish rolling giving whitish flashes as their flanks caught the bright sun. At first I thought that these were grayling but we were told were Nase or Nases (Chondrostoma nasus). Anyone that has fished these rivers will know them, but I’d come across them only very recently as I researched for this trip, and here they were and in numbers. Rolling and flashing in the deeper water and just lying absolutely unperturbed in the shallowest of margins, and defiantly tricky to catch. The name derives directly from the German word Nase meaning nose, and the top lip of these fish does protrude giving the impression of an under slung mouth typical of bottom feeders such as barbel. In fact the literature tells us that Nase feed on algae, aquatic plants and invertebrates. Be that as it may, we saw hundreds of these boys all of the time that we were on the Lim but I only managed to hook a few – by dragging a nymph across the bottom right under their, yes, their noses! And this in the edges of the river in the shallowest of water, where when hooked they took off like scalded cats, usually throwing the hook in the process - aloof, non-participatory, nemesis Nases. ## Monster Grayling. The only fish we saw in the Ljuca were definitely grayling and they were huge; pushing 2 feet long some of them, so real specimen fish; the UK record, from the Dorset Frome is 4lb 8oz, some of these fish weren’t far off that. We were told by the locals that we should be careful when wading in the Ljuca because the water was so cold, one couldn’t leave one’s hand in for too long without suffering pain. And indeed it was cooler than the Lim, and certainly a lot cooler than the ambient air temperature. But being true Englishmen we found it positively tepid compared with what we might find on say the Wharf or the Eden in Autumn and if one used the Tay or Dee in February as the benchmark, one could brew tea with it! The Ljuca runs through open countryside before it enters Lake Plav and its rural setting I found very attractive. In many places its high banks gave grandstand views into the pools in many of which we could count big grayling. Ivan’s favoured method was euronymphing using something heavy placed pretty much under the fish’s nose. But effective as this method undoubtedly is, us dry fly men all know that it is cheating and totally lacks the charm and grace of casting a fly line. On the Lim, I fished almost exclusively with nymphs but I could not bring myself to throw weighted flies at these beauties of the Ljuca. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-7920259AM-thumbnail_IMG-20240722-WA0010.jpeg) *The Doctor with a magnificent Grayling from the Ljuca.* I may have been wrong because although these fish liked my dry deer hair sedges, the Doctor, my fishing companion, using one of Ivan’s heinous set-ups, landed a couple of really hefty fish; one was 53 or 58 centimetres, I can’t remember which, and it doesn’t matter because whoever you are, that is a massive grayling: full stop. And as I said, it didn’t count anyway! This is an extract from *The Ten Thousand Mile Walk - fishing, the countryside and an Arcadian dream* by Bob Bradley (Long Meg and Druids Publishing July 2025 E: office.matsurfltd@gmail.com). Photo credits: Ivan Randjelovic; ivanflyguide.com ### Among the Moths & Monarchs: A Walk That Changed How I See Nature URL: https://www.scribehound.com/among-the-moths-monarchs-a-walk-that-changed-how-i-see-nature/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:25:58.000Z I thought I knew my home woods well, but a morning stroll with a lepidopterist revealed new horizons. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A celebration of English cheese URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-celebration-of-english-cheese/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:17:54.000Z ‘Cheese is the secret ingredient of happiness.’ It’s a wonderful quote and even though no one is quite sure who wrote it, the sentiment is felt by millions of food lovers around the world. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Rural life at a crossroads: Who will shape its future? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/rural-life-at-a-crossroads-who-will-shape-its-future/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:14:16.000Z How can we create a thriving rural 'ecosystem' which encourages young people to stay in the countryside – or move there? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Opening Farm Gates and Finding Myself Again URL: https://www.scribehound.com/opening-farm-gates-and-finding-myself-again/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:00.000Z Kids on a farm, what could go wrong? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How to beat the lead ammo ban in Parliament URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-to-beat-the-lead-ammo-ban-in-parliament/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:00.000Z To defeat the government’s new lead ammunition ban will need luck, a fire-breathing MP and you won’t be popular with every shooter. From the mouths of a politician and a cartridge supplier, here’s what you need to know. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why The Greeks Embrace Insects. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-the-greeks-embrace-insects/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:00.000Z While on holiday in Lefkada I discovered why the Greeks are so much more tolerant than the British when it comes to creepy crawlies and biting bugs. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Out of struggle, something Unstoppable is born URL: https://www.scribehound.com/out-of-struggle-something-unstoppable-is-born/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:01.000Z Often, it’s only by stepping into someone else’s shoes that we begin to see our own path more clearly. Unstoppable is just the beginning. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Salt Path Trap URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-salt-path-trap/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:01.000Z Whatever the truth of Raynor Winn's bestseller, the story of her downfall has tainted us all. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Fly Fishing Revolution: How Could Carp Save our Sport? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/fly-fishing-revolution-how-could-carp-save-our-sport/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:01.000Z While some areas of angling are growing, fly fishing is declining. Why? Because there are simply too many barriers to entry. I’ve got a revolutionary solution that’s bound to upset everyone… but here goes! _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Fake Forest Fraud URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-fake-forest-fraud/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:02.000Z We are wasting billions on fake forests. In the process we are destroying landscapes, and the wildlife and communities they support. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Where Will the Wild Things Grow? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/where-will-the-wild-things-grow/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:02.000Z With our future wide open, I explored the idea of starting our own small farm and uncovered the quiet crisis facing the next generation of farmers. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Curlew Headstarting - a valuable conservation tool URL: https://www.scribehound.com/curlew-headstarting-a-valuable-conservation-tool/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:02.000Z As eight juvenile Eurasian Curlew arrive at Wild Ken Hill, I am reminded of the immense effort required to get these birds ready for headstarting. With the bird's fate so perilous, this effort is necessary and worthwhile. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Lonely - The Importance of Human Touch and Interaction URL: https://www.scribehound.com/lonely-the-importance-of-human-touch-and-interaction/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:27:15.000Z Loneliness and isolation from the perspective of a farm vet and new-entrant farmer. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Insect-aggedon? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/insect-aggedon/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:03.000Z Let's get beyond the headlines and look at the actual science on insect numbers _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Gone tomorrow: Are hares on their last legs? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/gone-tomorrow-are-hares-on-their-last-legs/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:03.000Z Campaigners have called for Sir Keir Starmer to ban hare shooting in February but things are not quite what they seem _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Dawn and the absence of humans makes wildlife playful and bolder URL: https://www.scribehound.com/dawn-and-the-absence-of-humans-makes-wildlife-playful-and-bolder/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:04.000Z The face of the Heath by its own complexion added half an hour to evening; it could like manner retard the dawn” – Return of the Native – Thomas Hardy . …and here the garden ‘retards the dawn’, every plant and tree rooted in the night. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Is it time to take the countryside out of politics? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/is-it-time-to-take-the-countryside-out-of-politics/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:04.000Z Calls have been increasing for the formation of a Royal Commission for the Countryside. How have we got here and what good could come from it? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Friday the 13th URL: https://www.scribehound.com/friday-the-13-th/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:04.000Z Never trust a bull, even if you are wearing your lucky pants. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Uncovering the Legacy of Welsh Naturalist Thomas Pennant URL: https://www.scribehound.com/uncovering-the-legacy-of-welsh-naturalist-thomas-pennant/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:05.000Z Unexpected encounters with neighbours whilst dog walking usually result in an exchange of local gossip, but sometimes these impromptu conversations can open up more fascinating and rewarding topics. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Which has been of greater value, the imparting or the listening? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/which-has-been-of-greater-value-the-imparting-or-the-listening/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:05.000Z Reflections from the 2025 Why Moorlands Matter events and what I have learnt from listening to over 160 guests discussing our upland landscapes. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Reshaping policy: education, education, education. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/reshaping-policy-education-education-education/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:06.000Z Kids today can explain crypto but not compost. What if every child in the UK had a direct link to a real farm—mud, spreadsheets, biodiversity and all? Could reconnecting them with food and farming reshape not just their world, but ours? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Environmentalists have a history problem URL: https://www.scribehound.com/environmentalists-have-a-history-problem/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:16:15.000Z The persistent desire to return to an earlier time is arbitrary and a practical impossibility, often sympomatic of ignorance, intolerance and an ultra-conservative political tradition. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "Oh no, they've brought their beastly dog with them!" URL: https://www.scribehound.com/oh-no-theyve-brought-their-beastly-dog-with-them/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:07.000Z We love other people's dogs. But don't bring them if they pee on the furniture, steal food, kill your pets, pick a fight and bite you _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Turning Plougshares into Swords URL: https://www.scribehound.com/turning-plougshares-into-swords/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:07.000Z National security is back on the agenda: where does farming fit in? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "When the boot is on the other foot" - a tale of trails and trespass URL: https://www.scribehound.com/when-the-boot-is-on-the-other-foot-a-tale-of-trails-and-trespass/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:08.000Z Walking across Northumberland sheds light on issues around land access... particularly when the trail becomes hard to follow. A farmer lost on somebody else's farmland finds the boot on the other foot... _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A Little Madness in the Hedgerow URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-little-madness-in-the-hedgerow/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:08:43.000Z As we head into the summer festival season our fields and forests will bear witness to all sorts of chemically-enhanced social gatherings. It turns out that this nothing new - rural folk have been exploring the fringes of reality for centuries. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Votes v Nature URL: https://www.scribehound.com/votes-v-nature/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:09.000Z In a Scribehound exclusive, I reveal how a Prime Minister put votes before nature, and ask the question - is the Starmer government truly prepared to make the 'Tough Decisions' for wildlife conservation? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Rethinking Agriculture: UK Farmers Adapt to Post-Brexit Realities URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-cap-to-cold-turkey-british-agriculture-in-transition/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:09.000Z British farmers face a crossroads: post-Brexit trade, vanishing subsidies, and shifting policy leave the industry in flux. What’s next for UK agriculture? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Firearms, Fun Sponges, and Wedding Disaster URL: https://www.scribehound.com/firearms-fun-sponges-and-wedding-disaster/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:10.000Z Liberal society champions its tolerance of minorities - unless you don't fit its definition of an acceptable minority. Should liking guns make you a social pariah? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A new chapter for hill farming — but at what cost to stockmanship? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-new-chapter-for-hill-farming-but-at-what-cost-to-stockmanship/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:10.000Z Could new technology being trialled on Scotland's hillsides transform how cattle are managed for the better or are we edging toward a future where stockmanship skills are left behind? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How a two-headed antelope makes the government look stupid URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-a-two-headed-antelope-makes-the-government-look-stupid/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:10.000Z We have a roller-coaster couple of years ahead of us with the government’s plans to ban aspects of hunting. Shorten your stirrups, sharpen your skinning knives – it’s going to be exciting. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Jeremy Clarkson: Farming Fiasco or Rural Revolution? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/jeremy-clarkson-farming-fiasco-or-rural-revolution/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:11.000Z Jeremy Clarkson might be a Marmite character – but shouldn't we be embracing his foray into farming, and the light his programme is shining onto the difficulties that farmers face? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Harvesting hope and long-term thinking URL: https://www.scribehound.com/harvesting-hope-and-long-term-thinking/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:11.000Z When you think about it, farming is a very weird business - but that's where its strength lies _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From 'cash cows' to pedigrees : It's time to level up. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-cash-cows-to-pedigrees-its-time-to-level-up/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:11.000Z After years of dabbling with cattle, its time to level up our beef herd _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The 18th century breeder who changed farming forever URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-18th-century-breeder-who-changed-farming-forever/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:12.000Z Not all heroes wear capes... but mine did, as well as being the father of modern livestock agriculture _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The countryside is not a place URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-countryside-is-not-a-place/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:12.000Z As a linguist and a writer I think a lot about words, their meanings, and how they shape the way we think _This post is for subscribers only._ ### I was radicalised by Shooting Times URL: https://www.scribehound.com/i-was-radicalised-by-shooting-times/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:12.000Z Editing the world's oldest shooting magazine gave me a real sense that privileged urban activists fail to see rural workers – it's time they took their blinkers off _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The perfect leveller URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-perfect-leveller/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:13.000Z Fishing can be so much more than just a pastime - it can provide purpose and a sense of self in a context far wider than any classroom can. A father's perspective. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Back to Work Transition: How British Farms Can Save the Economy URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-back-to-work-transition-how-british-farms-can-save-the-economy/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:13.000Z Millions of people aren’t earning, or learning, but going back to work after a long time off can be scary and daunting. Here’s why farm life provides the perfect transition – and how a farmer could be the Chancellor’s new best friend. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The A38 Elk Fiasco URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-a-38-elk-fiasco/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:13.000Z Proposals to reintroduce elk to some old gravel workings between Derby and Burton-on-Trent are not only misguided, but a potentially cruel farce. Why are the good rewilders silent? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### So we think we know how to manage our deer? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/so-we-think-we-know-how-to-manage-our-deer/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:14.000Z Red deer are iconic to both Scotland and Spain yet their management could not be more contrasting _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The true custodian – a river keeper’s story. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-true-custodian-a-river-keepers-story/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:14.000Z There's a battle being fought on our rivers by those who truly care about them - and those whose only mission seems to be to line their own pockets. In the middle of it are people like river keeper Donny Donovan, a new social media phenomenon. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Ploughing Through History: From Shakespeare to Sustainability URL: https://www.scribehound.com/ploughing-through-history-from-shakespeare-to-sustainability/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:14.000Z **“The Cut Worm Forgives The Plough”** ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-427202510AM-IMG_0387.jpeg) *picture of horse and plough* ***“He plough’d her, and she cropp’d”*** In case you needed any illustration of how fundamental the humble plough has been to shaping this country’s cultural as well as physical landscape, take it from the two heavyweights of English Literature quoted above: Shakespeare, the randy old badger, referring euphemistically to the act of ploughing as a fornicatory pastime in ‘Anthony and Cleopatra’, and William Blake in his ‘Proverbs of Hell’ where he invokes the magnanimity of the soil’s invertebrate population, when tearing through the earth and its occupants becomes necessary to the pursuit of satisfying other human appetites. More recently, Sir Elton’s plaintive song ‘Goodbye Yellow brick Road’ contains a lyric about going back to his plough, while turning his back on the highly conditional glamour and trappings of fame to pursue a more humble and fulfilling existence on the land. There are plenty of other examples where ploughing and the plough are used idiomatically in the English language; ‘to plough a lonely furrow’, ‘to plough on regardless’, and ‘to plough the sands’ are just a few that spring to mind. There’s even a constellation of stars named in honour of this vital piece of cultivating equipment. An indisputable civilisational touchstone then, the plough has come a long way from its primitive origins of the wood and bone contraptions that were first employed by ancient Mesopotamian agrarians. Though the materials used in the plough’s manufacture have benefited from a substantial upgrade since the first time a gemsbok horn was attached to a stick and used to crack the soil’s surface, leading to the modern day reversible, six bodied polished steel Kverneland, the basic design (notwithstanding some variations on the theme) which has since Saxon times consisted of the ploughshare, coulter and mouldboard, has not required much improving upon. Pre-mechanisation, the process of turning the sod made use of teams of oxen or horses and their highly skilled handlers, which gifted us with an entire lexicon of land-based measurements, determined by how much ground could be covered by man, beast and their earth-turning equipment in a given time period. Rods, chains and furlongs were what came to describe portions of cultivated ground, especially back when the commons were collectively farmed. Since then, tweaks and improvements like Harry Ferguson’s three-point linkage system, hydraulic technology, and GPS tracking have given individual farmers the ability to cover vast acreages in a day, and while these modes of precision cultivation (plus incentives for maximised production) have often caused a reduction in the wildflower-rich headlands and field edges, since machines are able to cultivate right up to the hedge line, they’ve also arguably led to the preservation of hedgerows in many arable fields, as there’s no need to remove them to make room for unwieldy machinery. Advancements in technology aside, the art of ploughing has in its own right developed as a competitive sport, with tournaments held across the northern hemisphere for both modern tractor and traditional horse-drawn machinery. Ireland in particular tends to return a disproportionate number of champions in both forms of the discipline, which is impressive for such a tiny island. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-427202510AM-IMG_0388.jpeg) *Modern tillage* I met a British former champion of horse-drawn ploughing competitions many moons ago, when I ran a pub in rural Gloucestershire. At that time I also had the loan of an almost 18 hand high shire horse called ‘Prince’ who lived in the two and a half acre pasture adjoining the premises. The ploughman, Roger, who was in his eighties then, had cycled the twelve mile round trip from nearby Newent to Staunton where my pub was, to come and meet the big lad after hearing about him on the local grapevine. Prince and Roger, both a vanishingly rare sight in our engine age, presented a moving spectacle as they connected over some soft words and gentle pats. In a different era they might have been colleagues. At any rate, Roger said his quiet hellos to Prince, then turned and matter-of-factly informed me that the big fella was a ‘rig’ and that I’d better be careful if there are any mares about. Sure enough, Prince was soon to make a short-lived career (until we reluctantly handed him back to his owner) of hopping the field boundary and trotting off down the A417 to visit some mares stabled nearby, much to the horror of myself and the assorted motorists whose brakes he thoroughly tested on those occasions. ## Toil and tillage, then and now In his superb book ‘The Worm Forgives The Plough’, whose title paraphrases that Blakean sentiment, Irish academic and author John Stewart Collis gives an elegant and at times almost poetic account of the sort of work that Roger and his contemporaries would have undertaken, in a beautiful series of essays drawn from his time in the British Land Army during the Second World War. It’s set at the point when agriculture was transitioning from the old fashioned, labour-intensive and often mixed farming practices that pre-date the Norman conquest, and into an era of increasing mechanisation which, thanks to the war effort and discoveries made in the manufacture of chemicals, was ramping up to usher in the modern era of vast monocultures and specialisms in harvesting and husbandry. In the book he (often quite fondly) recalls his own and his colleagues’ successes and failures in the relentless work of keeping food on the tables of British households, when many men had been conscripted, and the message of the day was to “Dig For Victory!” so worms were having to extend their benevolence to the spade also. The events take place on two farms in the south of England, where horses, wagons, hay-rick building and hand threshing, plus a fairly large workforce were still employed, despite an acceleration towards the types of modern technologies that would be more familiar to farmers today. A confirmed townie with no previous agricultural experience, Collis manages to overcome his limitations, while dealing with his more seasoned colleagues’ frustration at having to instruct and constantly monitor a hapless urban rube, until he gets into the swing of things. And he does! Although a lot of what he describes comprises of the kinds of hot, back-breaking and monotonous tasks that made up much of farming life back then, and that mechanisation has since taken over, while doing it he learns to appreciate the novelty of fresh air, a proper night’s sleep after a hard day’s graft, good food - any food, the camaraderie of other farm labourers, and the immense satisfaction of a job well done, especially in the construction of cottage-sized hay ricks. While there are plenty of moments of pure tedium where he wishes he were anywhere else, he does concede that the occasional company of bikini-clad Land Army girls, and the aerial dogfights that occurred twice daily over their heads as they worked helped to spice things up a bit. In his writing of this rural chapter of the wartime effort, he lovingly brings to life the dignity and fortitude of working folk in the Dorset and Sussex countryside, in a series of keenly observed, painstakingly detailed and often hilarious character studies. His reflections on the rise of the machines and the realities of farm work are written with warmth for the common labourer, and he recognises the implications of such change, but does so without sentimentality. He doesn’t take an ideological position on whether the growing use of synthetic fertiliser (referred to as “artificial”) or the diesel engine represents a net positive or negative in the work he’s employed to do, but notes the changing nature of the farming process to a backdrop of the growing need for increased production and food security, with an almost detached fascination. He also dedicates an entire and lengthy chapter to the brilliance of ants, which reads like a love letter. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-427202510AM-IMG_0389.jpeg) *John Stewart Collis’ ‘The Worm Forgives The Plough’* Since that period, and as a result of this direction of travel, Britain currently achieves a level of food self-sufficiency at somewhere around the 60% mark, across the board, down from a peak of almost 80% in the mid 80s. This has not come without some drawbacks, however. These drawbacks mean that ploughing has fallen out of favour in some quarters recently, most notably in the environmental sector. It’s often argued that ploughing the soil leads to a broad range of “ecologically disastrous” consequences such as destruction of the soil’s microbial life and mycorrhizal networks, compaction, flooding and erosion to name but a few. It also releases carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere, along with other greenhouse gases like nitrous oxide, which is no laughing matter. The charges against ploughing the soil are fair enough in some contexts, and there have been many such cases where insensitive use of the plough has been seriously problematic. But, like any tool, it has its place. There’s a nascent but growing interest in non-till (and minimum till) agriculture, which can trace a line straight back to philosophies out of the 1970s from the likes of Masanobu Fukuoka and E.F Schumacher. In their respective works ‘One Straw revolution’ and ‘Small Is Beautiful’ both men argue for a lighter touch in growing food, with a greater regard for the ecological impact of doing so. Fukuoka put his money where his mouth was in his commitment to no-till, and really ploughed his own furrow (metaphorically speaking) working to find ways to achieve success in what was then an extremely non-conventional practice, on his own farm in Japan. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-427202510AM-IMG_0390.jpeg) *Fukuoka inspecting a crop of wheat on his farm in Japan* While coming to their conclusions from quite different backgrounds and disciplines, Fukuoka and Schumacher seem to agree that less is more, from an input standpoint. In a world of diminishing resources and growing input costs they make a convincing argument. Add to that the fact that we lose tons of our topsoil each year due to, among other things, the pressures of crop cultivation, and it’s clear that we’re staring down the barrel of a coming crisis in food production, at yet another point in our human story where rapidly shifting geopolitics, as well as climate and economic factors, are going to bring questions of food security back into sharp focus, as they did in Collis’ day. Plenty of present day dirt sorcerers are experimenting with different modes of cultivation, and are employing the kinds of techniques and strategies first pioneered by the likes of Fukuoka with great success. Others find that their situation can’t easily support these methods and for them to not plough their soils invites poor drainage, compaction, unmanageable weed competition, and a too high soil pathogen burden to grow a commercially viable crop, a situation largely learned through bitter experience. Many more are taking a mixed approach with a range of tools and techniques depending on their particular contexts or willingness to take risks. Most are simply doing what they’ve always done as a tried and tested approach. For the most part, the farming we get is determined by the wider requirements of commodity food markets and the edicts of environmental schemes, such as they are, because that’s the world we live in. I think at this point it’s worth addressing the small matter of how the way we farm and grow food is being increasingly framed by and filtered through the kinds of culture war, purity spiral narratives that have captured the minds of many who presume to direct how we live and work now. Ideologically driven policy seems to dominate in some sectors, making otherwise presumably rational folk lose the run of themselves, leading to them posting embarrassing messages on social media that often just serve to highlight a level of ignorance about the very things they profess to care about. Case in point; earlier this year Natalie Bennett, former leader of the Green Party tweeted (X’d?) from her city-bound train seat a photo of a field that had been turned, harrowed and mostly likely drilled with a spring crop. Captioning this, she decried what she considered to be a degraded and desolate scene of ecological vandalism, and had to be corrected by people who, with varying degrees of tolerance for this sort of knee-jerk, ill-informed sermonising, could identify an arable field in the fens looking exactly the way it ought to at that time of year (top tip Nat; if you are heading up a political movement that advocates for the broad scale adoption of plant-based diets as part of your manifesto, probably learn to get comfortable with scenes of broad scale cultivation?). ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-427202510AM-IMG_0386.jpeg) *Embarrassing* History has pretty consistently shown that our tribal tendencies to cleave blindly to ideological positions that are prescriptive and inflexible in how they seek to guide us seldomly result in great outcomes, particularly in the arenas of farming and agriculture (\*cough\* Great Leap Forward \*cough\*). The bottom line here is that, while it would be sensible to explore other options, we should be in no hurry to throw the big sharp metal baby out with the ecologically-inclined bath water. If a worm can forgive the plough, then an elected member of parliament shouldn’t find it too difficult. Food growers, be they conventional agrarians, agro-ecologists, regenerative farmers or rewilding enthusiasts are all out there doing vital work, under enormous pressure from the multitude of variables beyond their control, and with an increasingly hostile treasury that seeks to make them underwrite all endeavours to feed us with the diminishing returns they receive from their tireless efforts to do so. Thanks to this shortsighted and seemingly spiteful impulse to hold the farming community’s feet to fires that have been largely started by the financial incompetence and mismanagement of past governments, a great many of the acres which had benefited from recent gains in biodiversity and carbon sequestration, resulting from the various publicly funded environmental land management schemes that were previously available, will most likely from here on, like Elton who tired of his city penthouse patrons, be going back to the plough. Land sparing has now become a luxury few can afford since the plug has been so unceremoniously pulled on the rewards and incentives that were ring fenced to safeguard nature, so we’d better hope the worms are still in a forgiving mood. ### From Pillaging to Protecting Aquatic Life: it's Time to Act URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-pillaging-to-protecting-aquatic-life-its-time-to-act/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:15.000Z Little has been mentioned about our oceans and our waterways, until now. Is our aquatic environment finally having its ‘regen’ moment and at long last taking centre stage? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### What next after the Spending Review? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/what-next-after-the-spending-review/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:15:11.000Z After a benign, damp squib of a Spending Review, we must turn our attention to areas of government policy being driven by populist narratives. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Davie Scott - Life of a Bird Ringer URL: https://www.scribehound.com/davie-scott-life-of-a-bird-ringer/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:16.000Z Davie Scott is a bird ringer, nest finder and holds schedule 1 licenses for some of our rarest bird species in the UK. He holds world records for finding some of the most remote nesting birds on the planet and has a true passion for nature _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Breaking Perceptions: Fitness & Fieldsports Working Together URL: https://www.scribehound.com/breaking-perceptions-fitness-fieldsports-working-together/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:16.000Z ## Fitness for Fieldsports and Fieldsports for the Fitness World As someone who has spent the last 10 years coaching athletes in a variety of sports, including coaching a 3x winner of The World's Strongest Man and multiple podium finishes at World's as well as a huge number of National and International podiums and wins in strongman and other sports, it feels inevitable that I would want to blend the worlds of fitness/strength and fieldsports. I am a huge believer that there is not much more you can do to improve the quality of life than being stronger and physically capable. Not only are there a huge amount of studies linking strength training and fitness with a longer life, the life you live will be of a better quality, with a lower risk of falls and preventable injuries. Alongside this, I am also a lover of the British Countryside and British Farming and I think there is a responsibility to link these different communities together. As I coach in the strongman world we encourage a huge protein consumption for athletes and I firmly believe there is no better time than now to support British fieldsports, game meats and British Farming directly. ## The Benefits for the Fitness World One of the most easily marketable and obvious benefits to the fitness world is the protein content of game meat and generally the lower fat content when compared to "normal" meats, venison for example has 30g of protein per 100g and 2g of fat, compared to the 26g of protein for 12g of fat for beef. Personally as a lot of my involvement is within the strongman world where there is a change coming to more athletic competitions whilst still being incredibly heavy, so there needs to be a balance between size and strength and these game meats are a natural solution to the need for huge amounts of protein to support training whilst also limiting the amount of unnecessary fat. I also used to weigh around 30 stone, and whilst losing weight found it very difficult to eat enough protein to recover from training without eating too much fat, again game presents an easy and obvious solution. ## What is keeping game off the table? From talking to a lot of people within sport and fitness on social media and in person, I think there is a public perception that needs to be changed, and that change can only come through the "new wave" of people within the countryside and on social media, there is a perception that when you think about game meats, people immediately imagine copious amounts of tweed and a hefty dose of gout, but in reality game meats are incredibly healthy and can be directly substituted for their "normal" counterparts. My clients are now ordering venison mince to use as a direct substitute for beef mince in their meal prep, I am working closely with Steve at Cheshire Wild Venison to raise awareness of game meats as easy and available alternatives, something that can be delicious and healthy but more importantly to break the perception that game meats are posh, or unattainable. It is also my view that by breaking the mysticism that is put onto game meats, we will be able to have more open and sensible discussions about the future and the traditions of game hunting. *I am working closely with Cheshire Wild Venison* [https://cheshirewildvenison.com/](https://cheshirewildvenison.com/?ref=scribehound.com) *but obviously if you are a game dealer or know someone more local then this is about a change in perception not a singlular advert* ## Fitness for Fieldsports Aside from the "obvious" benefits that being fitter and stronger is never a bad thing, it makes you live longer and improves the quality of your life as you live longer, I think there is a change coming to the fieldsports world, as more and more people are utilising social media to promote their niche within the fieldsports world, people are becoming more conscious of how they're perceived, and a lot of "influencers" are becoming fitter and healthier. Whilst this may be a great catalyst for people to make changes, the practical benefits are massive, if you're fitter, stronger and healthier you are able to perform better, you can carry more, you can operate at a lower percentage for longer. Looking at stalking and deer management for an example, if you're out in the hills all day, then need to extract an animal, being stronger and fitter cannot be a negative, in the sport of clay shooting as more and more pressure is put on targets, having a higher threshold for fatigue and being strong enough to ensure a consistent a reliable gun mount cannot be a bad thing, even something as simple as shooting pigeons, carrying a big bag of hide poles, netting, decoys, chairs, brewing tackle etc, having an improved basic level of fitness cannot be a negative. ## What can you do? In terms of promoting the benefits of fieldsports and game meat, I think the biggest thing is accessibility, breaking the perception that game is for the elite, and taking it back to what it was, an accessible, affordable, sustainable and healthy option for people looking to eat meat. Where people may not want to eat game all the time, it also means promoting local farming, direct from the source as much as possible and building a country wide network that can take control of the food supply in the country. From a social media point of view, unfortunately at times we are fighting a losing battle, as someone who is fairly new in returning to this lifestyle, I can see both sides of the fence and after a lot of conversations with people, the issue is the narrative and the justification, but a clear explanation of the reasons things are done has ended a lot of discussions in a positive way for hunting in my experience.In terms of fitness for fieldsports, the biggest obstacle I hear in my professional life is a lack of time, which is why I am currently working on an easy 2 day a week training template to allow people to make a consistent, positive change to hopefully help people enjoy the countryside for longer and keep the game coming to the table! ### Greenwashing, Larceny and Greed: The Golden Age of Commercial Foraging URL: https://www.scribehound.com/greenwashing-larceny-and-greed-the-golden-age-of-commercial-foraging/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:17.000Z Commercial foraging once promised purity, provenance and profit - but behind the wild garlic and sea kale lay a world of muddy legality, food safety headaches, and ecological grey areas. A brief and peculiar chapter in Britain’s food story. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### When the Tyranny of Virtue threatens to distort policy. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/when-the-tyranny-of-virtue-threatens-to-distort-policy/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:29:23.000Z Heated disputes between academics are not new, but when legitimate concerns are voiced within academia regarding flaws in the reviewing and presentation of science for policy making, government must seek an independent review. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Far from the madding crowd - and then a little bit farther URL: https://www.scribehound.com/far-from-the-madding-crowd-and-then-a-little-bit-farther/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:18.000Z Being alone with nature in this crowded island is easy - so long as you're prepared to walk and get up early. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Choose Compassion: Why UK Meat is the Ethical Choice URL: https://www.scribehound.com/choose-compassion-why-uk-meat-is-the-ethical-choice/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:18.000Z When it comes to the food on our plates, the story behind it matters. That’s something that created the business I’m in (online retail). For those who care about animal welfare, opting for UK meats over foreign imports is a choice that aligns with compassion, quality, and ethical standards. The UK has long been recognized as a leader in animal welfare, with rigorous regulations and farming practices that prioritise welfare in livestock. ## Choosing UK Meats Supports Superior Animal Welfare In contrast, many imported meats come from countries with less stringent standards, where cost-cutting often trumps the humane treatment of animals. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-53120257PM-D194ADC8-38F4-4947-9B1D-E468FEF8C1F2.jpeg) *My and my son in our farm butchery* But why do UK meats stand out and why does making this choice make a difference? The UK boasts some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world, shaped by decades of legislation (working with the government 🤔) and a culture that values ethical farming. Laws here ensure that animals are raised with care, from spacious living conditions to strict rules on transport and slaughter. For example, UK pig farmers use farrowing crates only briefly to protect piglets, while in many exporting countries, sows are confined in tiny pens for most of their lives, or animals fattened in stalls which are essentially cages. Poultry farmers in the UK are capped at a maximum stocking density of 38kg per square meter—equivalent to about 15 birds—allowing chickens room to move, whereas in some foreign systems, densities can soar by a third more, cramming animals into tighter spaces. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-53120257PM-bb9302ee-86ac-4483-aeed-64f52f51d7a3.jpeg) *Our free range lambs* Beef production - banned in the UK are practices like castration without anesthetic, hot branding, and dehorning without pain relief. Yet, in countries like Brazil, which supplies 3% of the UK’s imported beef, these painful procedures remain common and and routine. The UK’s organic standards go even further than this, for example insisting on free-range small poultry flocks of no more than 500 birds, ensuring animals have access to the outdoors and a more natural life. This commitment to welfare isn’t just a legal box to tick, it’s a promise to treat animals with care and respect. Contrast this with the reality of many foreign imports. A significant portion of meat sold in the UK (at least a quarter by some estimates according for Grok AI) comes from countries who care less for the animal and more about the profit. Bacon, pork, and poultry from nations with weaker regulations often originate in overcrowded sheds or cage-like systems that would be illegal here. This is a fact. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-53120257PM-IMG_7899.jpeg) *High welfare pork from my farm* In parts of the EU, for instance, higher stocking densities are permitted, while in places like Australia, lamb imports may involve mulesing—a painful procedure to remove skin from sheep’s hindquarters to prevent maggots in the wool, this is outlawed in the UK. The UK’s standards are backed by regular inspections and a robust legal framework. Choosing UK meats isn’t just about animal welfare—it’s about supporting a system that works. British farmers operate under high standards that come with higher costs, from better feed to more land per animal. When we buy cheap imports produced in sub standard conditions, we undercut farmers, risking a downward spiral where they’re forced to compete by cutting corners (which we never will) By choosing UK meats, we bolster a market that rewards ethical practices, ensuring that high welfare remains the norm, not the exception…. Oh and it tastes better too. Thought I’d throw that in there 😂 ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-53120257PM-4bdad332-e982-4da3-bf9e-0ba99dfdd699.jpeg) *My daughter and I hand rearing a baby goat* So… next time you’re at the butcher or supermarket, consider this: every pound spent on UK meat is a vote for a system that puts animal welfare first. Look for labels like Red Tractor, RSPCA Assured, or Soil Association Organic—they’re your guarantee of standards foreign imports often can’t match. Yes, imported meat might be cheaper, but the hidden cost is borne by the animals. By choosing British, you’re supporting a legacy of care, sustainability, and quality that’s worth every penny. Now, pass me that British steak 🥩… ### ‘Dog People Know’; A Journey Through Grief URL: https://www.scribehound.com/dog-people-know-a-journey-through-grief/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:19.000Z When a simple New Year’s resolution—to never pass a roadside “Fresh Eggs for Sale” sign—leads to unexpected human moments, it also teaches a grieving dog owner a deeper lesson: to pause for small kindnesses, both in life and in loss. A tribute to Gat _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Bonfire of the Banalities URL: https://www.scribehound.com/bonfire-of-the-banalities/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:19.000Z Both ‘sides’ in a debate that shouldn’t even have sides at all make crude assumptions that then become precious truths. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Discovering Joy in Downsizing: A Family Farm Legacy URL: https://www.scribehound.com/discovering-joy-in-downsizing-a-family-farm-legacy/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:20.000Z Two years have passed since we – (husband, self and two dogs) upped sticks to downsize from the 17th century farmhouse and surrounding land in which I was born, grew up and returned to in middle age in order to care for my ageing mother. ## Ups and downs of downsizing Given the inheritance tax bombshell, there are likely to be those compelled to downsize against their will - thankfully for us, with neither of our children nor those of my sister and only sibling, wishing to inherit the family farm (had this been the case we would have moved heaven and earth to enable them), it was a conscious if poignant choice - given the current state of play, perhaps just as well! It has been a huge emotional wrench and there is much I miss - the place, wherever I have been I regarded as my true ‘home’ with so many memories of family gatherings, wedding celebrations, being able to walk straight from the back door onto our own cherished farmland, the pond where, as a child, I used to net minnows and watch water voles (long since sacrificed to mink), the listed barn where we loved to host the local hunt, the ability to pop from kitchen to yard to give vegetable peelings to my horses and the anticipation of shining my torch at night onto our acre of ‘nature friendly’ i.e. somewhat overgrown and untamed garden, to see what eyes might be shining back. BUT - do I regret it? - not for a second! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-41920255PM-barns.jpeg) *Ancient barns* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-420202510AM-wild_gardden.jpeg) *Wild garden searched for eyes at night.* ## Farming memories Following the death of our father, my sister stepped in to farm our land - I remained a partner, helping out whenever I could. Following our mother’s death, I relinquished my share of the business to enable me and my husband to take full ownership of the farmhouse and paddocks, nonetheless I still loved spending time on the farm, voluntarily assisting in any way I could. Hedgerows were replaced, having reluctantly been torn out in the 1970s when the then EEC encouraged ever bigger fields to increase production. We installed new woodland on poorly drained areas and converted part of the farm to an organic system - with many backbreaking hours spent hoeing thistles. An ancient meadow was returned to its former glory, having previously been ploughed in and used for growing rather lacklustre and blackgrass ridden grain. Local volunteers helped clear a stagnant pond of debris and unblocked the feeder spring enabling it to fill with fresh water once again. Permitted access pathways were established for local walkers – who proved diligent in reporting any suspicious activities from potential poachers, hare coursers and the like. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-420202511AM-sunset_long_meadow.jpeg) *Sunset over our reclaimed meadow.* It was a wonderful, exhausting, exhilarating time, but inevitably far from immune to the stresses that farming brings. The 280 acres or so, part owned, part tenanted from relatives, could never have made a decent living without major capital investment which we simply did not possess. Additional income from outside employment, coupled with invaluable help from FWAG in obtaining every conservation and public access grant available was essential in making ends meet. The rewards however were legion - largely stemming from an intimate, deep and genuine love of the land where we grew up and a desire to make it even better – is this perhaps the strongest value of family farming? The satisfaction from successfully cutting back inputs to produce top quality oats, barley, beans and milling wheat, whilst also observing the improvements in landscape, soil structure and biodiversity was palpable. Eventually however, with my sister entering her eighties, she made the difficult decision to sell the remaining land and relinquish the tenancies. I and my husband remained in the farmhouse for a couple more years but by the 2020s, in our eighth decade ourselves, we were rattling around like the last two biscuits in a tin - it was time to go whilst still physically able to crack on with the truly mammoth task this entailed. It took us several months to empty house, barns, stables, garden sheds etc. of the accumulation of over 70 years occupation by my immediate family, plus over 120 years of extended family ownership. New homes and substantial bonfires accounted for ancient tools, old gates, drain pipes, tiles, rat traps, sheep hurdles, pheasant pens, faded ledgers, feed and fertiliser sacks etc, etc. stored in dusty corners. Barns were swept and excess furniture divided up between family members and local auctions. Finding a buyer for our house and seemingly inevitable problems with the chain attached to our intended purchase gave us precious time to undertake the task, but not without a great deal of stress. We certainly learnt to appreciate the value of a good estate agent – without his knowledge and assistance I fear I might have jumped ship screaming to South America! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-41920255PM-hunt_firbelt.jpeg) *One of the last meets whilst we were still living on the farm.* ## A new start Fortunately, the angst has proved worthwhile - our new home is modern, cosy and full of light with a spectacular view over the valley beyond our manageably sized garden. One tank of heating oil lasts almost a year - in our old home we were lucky to eke out two months. We also have the advantage of our local market town being less than three miles away – near enough for the local Indian takeaway to deliver direct to our door, yet far enough to lose ourselves in the surrounding countryside. Given we are only four miles from our old village, it is extraordinary to observe how the landscape and the soil surrounding our new village differs. I find it fascinating to note how quickly sodden ground here begins to drain and dry. Although still fertile East Anglian clay, the land is definitely lighter in texture, clearly illustrated by the excavations surrounding a local badger set appearing to be pure sand. Childhood memories of crying with the effort of lifting my feet due to the weight of the mud stuck on the bottom of my boots are firmly in the past - except when I return to our old village to lead my elderly mare, kindly stabled by an ex neighbour, across her poached and deeply welly sucking paddock. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/27f74a50-4864-48cb-b698-9edc21eb37db.jpeg) *Badger sand!* ## Family land is land that is loved ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-420202511AM-welly_mud.jpeg) *Deeply welly sucking clay on our old farm.* The landscape here is elegantly undulating, reminiscent of Eric Ravilious, whereas our old farm sits on typical Essex flatland. The gentle folds here afford stunning views on every walk - direct from our garden gate. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-416202511AM-revilous_land.jpeg) *Worthy of Eric Ravilious* Walking left we enjoy the fields of a family farm owned by an old friend, local historian, amateur archaeologist and passionate conservationist. Crops are farmed conventionally but hugely sympathetically, surrounded by wide and glorious wild flower margins and ancient mixed hedgerows, dotted with ponds and spinneys bursting with wildlife – walking left last week I tried out my new ‘Merlin’ bird song app and in the space of a few minutes recorded skylark, robin, greenfinch, song thrush, jackdaw, treecreeper, wren, pheasant, Canada goose and Egyptian goose. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/d6ea8a7c-41a3-4207-9e33-6685b1d0375e.jpeg) *Glorious wildflower margins* Walking right we cross to another family farm which operates a successful shoot. There are fewer wild flowers, but game cover crops give sustenance to teeming birdlife, hedges are beautifully maintained and tracts of magnificent mixed woodland kept intact and cared for. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-416202511AM-auberies_valley.jpeg) *Magnificent woodland for shooting* Both these farms are striking evidence of the importance of family farming – not just providing food for the nation but loving and nurturing the surroundings as we tried our best to do. We may no longer live on our own land but as I continue to ride round our old acres I take comfort and pride that the pond, meadow, woodland and hedgerows still remain as our legacy to a much-loved family farm. ### My Beef is Greener Than Your Avocados URL: https://www.scribehound.com/my-beef-is-greener-than-your-avocados/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:20.000Z The case for rehabilitating the reputation of ruminants, those much maligned agents of a regenerative revolution. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Man Who Discovered The Stone Age URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-man-who-discovered-the-stone-age/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:21.000Z John Frere is a name few will have heard of, but this largely forgotten Suffolk Squire was the first man to comprehend the true antiquity of mankind. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Moments of Awakening: Connecting with Nature on the Farm URL: https://www.scribehound.com/moments-of-awakening-connecting-with-nature-on-the-farm/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:21.000Z Searching for my own farming epiphany moment, I realised little ones are happening all the time. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Are UK curlews destined to survive only on managed grouse moors? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/are-uk-curlews-destined-to-survive-only-on-managed-grouse-moors/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:22.000Z Let me be clear from the outset: I have no commercial interest in grouse and have never been grouse shooting. This article is not about shooting. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Scaling Suilven: the long way in to Assynt's terrible peak URL: https://www.scribehound.com/scaling-suilven-the-long-way-in-to-assynts-terrible-peak/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:22.000Z I'm no hillwalker, but there's an undeniable thrill in climbing across some of Scotland's wildest and most dramatic landscapes... and there's nowhere more dramatic than Suilven. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The one constant of rural life? Being told what to do URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-one-constant-of-rural-life-being-told-what-to-do/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:22.000Z Whether governed by landlords or urban bureaucrats, the British countryside is plagued by paternalism _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Will this government oversee the extinction of swifts and wild salmon? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/will-this-government-oversee-the-extinction-of-swifts-and-wild-salmon/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:23.000Z From botched trade deals and abandoned green policies to governance by ideology instead of pragmatism... is it not time we had some grown-up politics? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Listening to the land URL: https://www.scribehound.com/listening-to-the-land/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T15:25:31.000Z Both parties would probably deny it but hippies and hunters have more in common than they might think. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Does Labour Care About Nature? Their Latest Attack Suggests "No" URL: https://www.scribehound.com/does-labour-care-about-nature-their-latest-attack-suggests-no/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:23.000Z The [Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/28/nature-friendly-farming-fund-to-be-slashed-uk-spending-review-defra?ref=scribehound.com) broke the news yesterday that the Labour government is planning to remove its nature-friendly farming fund support for British farmers — except for those who manage small farms — at the next spending review. It is the latest blow in what has been a constant torrent of bad news for both farmers and nature ever since the proverbial dam broke last year when the infamous change to [inheritance tax](https://overthefield.substack.com/p/autumn-budget-2024-the-extinction) for farmers was announced. This tax change, which threatens the viability of many family farms, hit the farming community really hard. It seemed like a direct attack, a shattering of promises, and the potential unravelling of centuries' worth of good work done on the land. Farmers were left confused, angry, and fearful of the future. Little did they know that this was just the start of a relentless barrage of attack that this Labour Government has heartlessly and thoughtlessly unleashed on farmers, farms, and nature. The barrage needs to stop before it is too late. ## What we are about to lose The funding for nature-friendly farming the government wants to slash is largely a subsidy paid to farmers in return for biodiversity-enhancing farming practices and habitat creation. The fund, with its numerous options and schemes, was designed to replace the subsidies British farmers once received through the somewhat generous but flawed EU Common Agricultural Policy. As many have pointed out, Brexit gave us in Britain the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reimagine how we can support our farmers. Though far from perfect, the nature-friendly fund/subsidy that the previous Conservative government came up with benefited farmers, benefited nature, and ultimately benefited us all. It was what our beleaguered countryside needed. Much good was done for nature under these nature-friendly schemes, and much good was in the progress of being done by farmers who longed to see nature flourish again on their lands. All this good is now under direct and imminent threat. ## The bind our farmers are in Farmers’ incomes are already pitifully low. In response to this unexpected news, even farmers who are instinctively nature-friendly are throwing their hands up in the air in desperation, lamenting that they too will be forced to intensify almost every square inch of their farm in order to make ends meet for their families. They don't have much choice, especially when future trade deals threaten to undercut their production and subject them to rampant overseas competition. This will be catastrophic for nature, traditional farming, and the long-term health of our ‘green and pleasant land’. It will mean a return — on some farms at least — to some highly destructive practices of farming — of the kind agrarians have been railing against for decades. And on many farms we can expect to see the loss or degradation of valuable farmland semi-natural habitat and declines in cherished farmland wildlife. But who can blame the farmers? Farming in this highly intensive manner is what you or I would most likely do if we were in their boots, especially if the bank manager was to start knocking on our door. Ultimately, nature doesn’t pay farmers; crops and livestock do. Whilst the bank manager might say “That’s nice” to the farmer who proudly shows them the wildflower meadow, they will still demand their monthly payment. And payment in songbirds and wildflowers will not suffice. ## Labour should be worried, but they are more concerned with AI Threatened with farmers *en masse* ploughing up wildflower strips and using more chemicals and inputs on their fields, you might think this Government would be concerned — especially considering their claims in their 2024 manifesto to “deliver for nature” and to “restore and protect our natural world.” Instead, all the actions of this government up until now suggest these were empty slogans written out of a sense of duty rather than of desire. Instead of fulfilling their manifesto pledges, the Starmer administration appears to be transfixed on economic growth and productivity gains at all costs. Even if that cost is nature. The tragedy is exemplified by Starmer and Reeves appearing to be more concerned about Britain being globally competitive with AI — making Britain a “powerhouse” for artificiality — than on conserving the real, treasured, and immensely valuable natural world that calls Britain home. Once lost, nature is hard to bring back. Sometimes, the loss is irreversible. Wildflower meadows, old hedgerows, and rare farmland birds can’t just be revived on demand once GDP and national productivity — all boosted by that coveted AI — have risen to a “desired standard”. This government is thus sacrificing what is truly and immeasurably valuable on the altar of artificiality and short-term economic gains. It is an attitude of gross foolishness — and one for which future generations will judge them with contempt. And rightly so, for failing to steward and protect beautiful habitats and the creatures they contain is sacrilegious to our national identity. ## A plea to the government So, this is my message to the Labour government if they are willing to listen (their track record of stubbornly ignoring farmers and conservationists suggests they are not). You are going down a foolish path. You are abjectly failing to steward the wildlife and the habitats which have been entrusted to you as leaders at the helm of this country. Your governance will cause a great and dirty stain on the heritage of our magnificent countryside, and you will be held responsible for the undoing of centuries of good and beautiful work between humans and nature. Ultimately, your legacy will be defined as “The destroyers of nature”, the ones who oversaw its demise and held it in derision. And you will get your just reward: the contempt of future generations. Nature cannot stand four more years of your cuts and profiteering at its expense. You must change course — for the cuckoo’s, the skylark’s, and the barn owl’s sake. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-529202511AM-bob-brewer-DohCyud44t4-unsplash.jpeg) *Does Labour care if our children don't get the chance to see this? (Image by Bob Brewer, Unsplash)* ### Winners and Losers: Impact of Trade Deals on British Farming URL: https://www.scribehound.com/winners-and-losers-impact-of-trade-deals-on-british-farming/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:24.000Z Overall, Starmer could leave us with the worst of all worlds _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Treasury to slash nature-friendly farming budget? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/treasury-to-slash-nature-friendly-farming-budget/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:24.000Z Reports suggest that the budget that enables farmers to make space for nature will be cut in the forthcoming government spending review. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Parrots of power 🦜 URL: https://www.scribehound.com/parrots-of-power/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:24.000Z From Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC, to the Holy Roman Emperor in the 13th century, to British pirates of the 18th century, one bird family has travelled through space and time as world power politics made manifest. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Bird Tales: From French Bresse to English Partridge URL: https://www.scribehound.com/bird-tales-from-french-bresse-to-english-partridge/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:25.000Z We may have gone abit hatching crazy but what else do we have to do? Will our English Partridges survive? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Saving Rare Breeds: A Race Against Time URL: https://www.scribehound.com/saving-rare-breeds-a-race-against-time/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:25.000Z Farming is a numbers game. It always has been. The number of acres, the size of the herd or flock, the weight of the crop, the yield of the harvest and, crucially, the balance in the bank at the end of the year. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Boosting Scotland's beef industry, two more cows at a time URL: https://www.scribehound.com/boosting-scotlands-beef-industry-two-more-cows-at-a-time/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:26.000Z Beef cattle numbers in Scotland have been heading in the wrong direction for years - but a bold new campaign is aiming to inject some much-needed confidence and map out a path to get those numbers back on track. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Rare-bit: why Britain's bunnies are disappearing URL: https://www.scribehound.com/rare-bit-why-britains-bunnies-are-disappearing/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:26.000Z A "Chinese Virus" is rampant, and no-one knows how to stop it _This post is for subscribers only._ ### We need a centrist green movement URL: https://www.scribehound.com/we-need-a-centrist-green-movement/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:26.000Z Politically, the left has the monopoly on environment and green policy, but is there room for a more centrist approach to nature? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Debate: How is rural Britain portrayed in the media? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/debate-how-is-rural-britain-portrayed-in-the-media/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:26.000Z Join Scribehound Countryside's team of leading rural voices to discuss the way rural issues are portrayed in the wider media. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Dressage to Cross Country - Inside Three-Day Eventing URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-dressage-to-cross-country-inside-three-day-eventing/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:27.000Z Never been to a three-day event before? Here's a handy guide to get you started _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Uncommon Ground: a raking survey of rural Britain URL: https://www.scribehound.com/uncommon-ground-a-raking-survey-of-rural-britain/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:27.000Z An extract from my new book Uncommon Ground: Rethinking our relationship with the countryside, which explores land access and the impact of humans on the countryside _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Healing Through Nature: A Farmer's Mental Health Journey URL: https://www.scribehound.com/healing-through-nature-a-farmers-mental-health-journey/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:27.000Z Life in recent months has changed dramatically and it has led me on a journey of self discovery, questioning my own mental health and giving me a very different perspective on the burden that we as farmers continue to take on. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Lines in the Land: The Madness of the Norwich to Tilbury Pylons URL: https://www.scribehound.com/lines-in-the-land-the-madness-of-the-norwich-to-tilbury-pylons/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:28.000Z There is utter madness afoot in East Anglia. The proposed pylon line that will march through the rural heartland of Britain's bread basket is both unnecessary and avoidable. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Farmers' Media Protest: Bold or Bonkers? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/farmers-media-protest-bold-or-bonkers/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:28.000Z Despite months of sustained media coverage of the protests against the Government’s changes to Inheritance Tax, some farmers think they deserve more, so plonked their tractors outside a BBC building to demand it. Bad idea and here's why... _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Land Under Wave and the Dinosaur Tooth URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-land-under-waves-and-the-dinosaur-tooth/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:29.000Z Look, I've been thinking too much about chalk. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Bag size is not the point: The Art of Decoying URL: https://www.scribehound.com/bag-size-is-not-the-point-the-art-of-decoying/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:29.000Z When you strip away the gadgets you are left only with your experience as a guide. But do you need anything more? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Astonishing Waste in Conservation Industry Funding URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-astonishing-waste-in-conservation-industry-funding/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:29.000Z The big beasts of the conservation industry hoover up much of the available funding - but is it money well spent? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The loathsome litter-louts - and what we can do about them URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-loathsome-litter-louts-and-what-we-can-do-about-them/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:30.000Z From discarded mattresses to poo bags, rubbish is everywhere. Maybe it's time we looked at a 14th-century solution to deal with the perpetrators _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why we rewilded at a Norfolk estate URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-we-rewilded-at-a-norfolk-estate/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:30.000Z Rewilding has become polarising. It doesn't need to be. It's neither a panacea for all countryside woes, nor something we can afford to dismiss out of hand. I explore what pragmatic rewilding looks like. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Engaging Pupils: The Transformative Power of Farm Visits URL: https://www.scribehound.com/engaging-pupils-the-transformative-power-of-farm-visits/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:30.000Z The opportunities for education through farms should not be overlooked, they are already a valuable source of teaching in rural schools, but every child should get the chance to run free and discover what is special about our countryside. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Escape to the Countryside: A Tale of Renewal and Growth URL: https://www.scribehound.com/escape-to-the-countryside-a-tale-of-renewal-and-growth/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:31.000Z Is it possible for the countryside and a farm to entirely transform your life? With twenty five years of retrospection to back me up, I think I can safely say: yes. If ever you find yourself with a hole deep within, a longing pulling at your insides, the knowledge that something is askew in your life but you can’t put your finger on it, think *place*. You might simply be in the wrong place for you. And if, in fact, you are in the wrong place, you might not be in the right job either. And if you change your place you might find yourself changing your entire life. At least, this is what happened to me. For over two decades I have lived and worked on a small wine farm in central France, called Le Clos de la Meslerie. I arrived here in 2002, and have rarely left since. A four-hundred-year-old pile of a house, crumbling, untouched for decades, encircled by ten acres of woodland, fields and – crucially – ‘Appellation Contrôlée Vouvray’ vineyard, also very much in need of renovation. After twenty-three years of caring for this place, nursing the land and buildings back to health, and becoming a farmer, I realise it will take twenty more, and then twenty again. And I am glad that this project is timeless. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-5120253PM-PlanMeslerie.jpeg) *The "place"* It was sometime near the turn of this century when my world collapsed around me. I was in my late thirties, sitting in a black cab on my way to Heathrow Airport, laptop open on my knees, Blackberry in one hand and mobile phone in the other. It was Thursday afternoon. The sky was an evanescent blue. I had just worked for 48 hours without sleep, and was heading home to recover before my next meeting the following morning. The cab drove into a tunnel and the window was transformed into a mirror; I stared at the man reflected but didn’t recognise him. It was only for a second or two, but it was enough to make me feel vaguely sick. My fists were in tight balls, my body rigid. I felt a floating sensation. The cabbie was asking me something, the words were barely comprehensible, *You a’right mate*? I turned to see his face in the rear-view mirror but couldn’t speak. I was far from being alright, and would remain that way for some time. There was something I was longing for, but didn’t know where it was or how I could ever get there. As I mulled over these thoughts for months, it started to become clearer that I wasn’t in the right *place* and that any sort of meaningful life for me was somehow linked to making a living from the land. But it was like flying completely blind into the sun, with a low-humming instinct. I knew things had to change, and that for me this change would be quite drastic. Gradually, the notion of trading Power-Point slides and Excel spreadsheets for something more elemental became intoxicating. And so much the better if what I did on the land also made other people feel good about themselves or touched something basic about being human. I chose to become a farmer in France. Or, more precisely, a vine-grower. I had been a wine-lover and general epicurean for years, and for a time I played with the idea of opening a wine shop or becoming a wine importer and distributor. But now, deep down, for reasons beyond me, I knew that the land was calling. Thus, I set out into the winelands of France. For almost two years I spent all of my spare time roaming vineyards in the regions I was familiar with: the Rhone, Languedoc, Bordeaux, Provence, looking for the right place in the countryside. I found Touraine, in the Loire Valley, completely by chance. The more I read about it and tasted wines from the region, the more intrigued I became and started to feel something like a familiarity. Touraine’s climate was the most temperate of all the regions, with mild winters and summers, but with distinct seasons nonetheless. It was green and lush from regular rainfall, with gently rolling hills and valleys carved by the Loire and other tributaries. It is known as the ‘Jardin de la France’ because its fine soils and gentle climate make it ideal for growing a broad basket of vegetables and fruits, including grapes, almost all year round. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-5120253PM-IMG_8249.jpeg) *In Vinea Veritas* I decided I had to see it, and when the train from Paris crossed the broad expanse of the Loire River, a sense of ease grew in me. I felt welcome. An estate agent picked me up at the station and we drove twenty minutes to the farm. We didn’t speak much along the way; I wanted to look, to really take in my surroundings: the undulating terrain, the small roads winding off towards little hillside hamlets. ‘We’re almost there,’ she said. ‘It’s just up this hill.’When we arrived, it felt like Le Clos de la Meslerie had been waiting for me. More profound than love at first sight and somehow very practical. The feeling was simply: You and I can work together. Rationally, I knew it was just stone, slate tiles, old windows with oak frames, paint peeling off everywhere, ivy growing up into the gutters and onto the roof. I knew it was just grass and trees, gravel, overgrown fields and a dilapidated vineyard. I knew all of this. But I knew something else, too. Finally, I had found it. A *place,* in the countryside, where I could become myself. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Peter Hahn is an American who worked in the management consulting industry in London and Paris, and now lives and grows wine in the Loire Valley in France. This article is a modified excerpt from his book about this journey, *Angels in the Cellar,* whichwas published in the UK by Little Toller Books on April 14th 2025. ### Let the Fell do the Talking URL: https://www.scribehound.com/let-the-fell-do-the-talking/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:31.000Z A spring visit to the gold-standard of English grouse moors triggers conversations about pragmatic conservation, why we get everything wrong - and how we can get it right. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Journey Back to the Countryside: Friendship, Dogs, and Shooting URL: https://www.scribehound.com/journey-back-to-the-countryside-friendship-dogs-and-shooting/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:31.000Z ## Growing up in the Countryside I grew up in the countryside, around Cheshire and Leicestershire. There was nothing better than leaving my primary school in the heart of rural Leicestershire, walking through fields and farms and spending time with people who lived and worked within the countryside; the reality of country living was never far away. Growing up with a single mother, money wasn't necessarily something we had a huge amount of, but there was a massive amount of community. We grew up on nettle soup, homemade bread and the occasional gift of a pheasant. Down the line I remember "the ban" as a pivotal feeling within the countryside, we went to watch the streets boiling as the horses filled the villages on their way to what was thought to be the last day out, hearing the hounds and the horns across the fields. For me "the hunt" wasn't about the chase, it was about that noise and the villages coming together, something I still love on a cold winter morning as the beaters come together in a far corner of a field, thermos in hand, planning the day's work whilst the dogs start the rituals of creating as much havoc as possible before snapping into working. Once I'd started secondary school we moved to Cheshire, which is where I met one of the most pivotal and important people in my life. At age 13, we were doing some light trespassing on a farm that had a really good wooded hillside, perfect for building bike jumps, and needed an extra pair of hands, and from that day a friendship was made that has endured some wild times, some pointless arguments, my foray into drinking and partying too much, and finally, thanks to a break up and a working cocker spaniel, after a long gap between seeing each other, 20 years later we are back doing what we did all those years ago. Rob and his family *are* the British countryside, they represent everything that is amazing about the countryside. His dad had the most spectacularly trained dogs - two rough coated lurchers - who have set a life-long standard of what a dog should be able to do. There was always a garage full of drying sticks, nets were hung up to dry and there was always some game to eat, which his mum would make for us after school. We went to separate schools but you really wouldn't know; we spent as much time as possible at the other person's school, or at neither. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-5220258AM-0ad0f52d-c636-4979-8549-83f1567dc7c9-1_all_30533.jpeg) *Bella, Rob, Missy, Me and Ci* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-5220258AM-1000052631.jpeg) *Rob with his lurcher Missy and one of his pocket ferrets* ## Returning to the Countryside I could write a book about what happened in the time between leaving school and returning to a field in Cheshire with my best mate, but I will briefly sum it up. I left Cheshire to live in Staffordshire, I fell in with a rough crowd, the moved to Birmingham for a while, and unsurprisingly, the crowd stayed fairly rough. Then back to Staffordshire and the crowd got slightly rougher, as did the nights out, and days out, and weeks out. Then I got a job in a quarry and discovered a weird thing called CrossFit. I started training and coaching, discovered a love for coaching, and quit everything to pursue this. I moved to Sheffield and ended up coaching Olympic Weightlifting. From there I started coaching strongman, and over a period of 5-6 years I became the only coach to coach someone to 3 World's Strongest Man titles, as well as multiple national and international titles at all levels of the sport. I made some poor life and business decisions, and ended up breaking up with my girlfriend of 5 years, and moving to North Wales (if you're going to be sad, be sad somewhere excellent). During this time I got a message from Rob. It had been way too long but basically "you have a Working Cocker Spaniel, we have a syndicate, lets go and hang out and let the dogs work" and just like that, we're stood in a field in Cheshire, with a few dogs and a brew. I remember standing in that field on a fairly chilly but nice day, and Rob carefully explaining gun safety and how to properly work a dog to be useful to a walked up shoot as well as to the rough shooting we would inevitably be doing. There was a moment when the first cartridge was fired and the sweet, sulphurous smoke raised and without missing a beat I heard "Oh, you're f\*cked mate", I didn't really understand what he meant but now I do. That was the start of the end, a day that I knew everything would change and a day that I knew the countryside was a totally different shape to how I viewed it whilst hiking or climbing in the quarries and mountains of the Peak District and Wales. I still adore climbing, but it's a selfish and personal pursuit for me, where as working the dog means I get to spend time with my two best mates and fill the pot whilst we're at it. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-5220258AM-1000052366.jpeg) *Me and Ci* ## Finding my space I am incredibly fortunate that thanks to being reasonably well known because of strongman, I have received a huge amount of help and support from a few people within fieldsports of all kinds. I am incredibly grateful to the people who have helped me out with information, advice and their time. The thing I personally find exciting is the ability to fill the pot whilst doing something useful, and because of this the conversations I've had with Wayne Martin (cattyshack) have been incredibly helpful, from advice about moving into the fieldsports industry, to advice about tying bands on a catapult, it absolutely hasn't been overlooked. I am also very appreciative of "The Eds" I was fortunate enough to get into a cancellation with Ed Solomons at Grimsthorpe Shooting Ground, as this has ignited something that I didn't think I really cared about, for me learning to shoot better would be purely practical however after a morning learning more about the sport of clay shooting I have realised that I want to compete in clay shooting, disappointingly for Ed, probably with a side by side. Ed Lyons has also been absolutely invaluable when it comes to learning more about how eyes work and exploring ways we could potentially blend our worlds and benefit strength athletes. I have a deep love for the countryside and the people that live and work within it, and aside from slightly selfish aspirations for a full freezer and some shiny things for shooting strange orange discs out the sky, I would like to benefit the lifestyle I love in some way. The easiest and most obvious thing to do is to talk about it, and document my journey into this world more and more, but also I want to discuss Fitness For Fieldsports, as well as discussing the benefits of wild meat for strength sports, as we encourage people to eat huge amounts of protein and it should come in a way that supports the countryside and British Farming. I'm really enjoying working with Steve at Cheshire Wild Venison and getting this amazing meat to some of my strongman clients as well as the wider world of strength training. In summary, if you've made it this far, thank you, I'm not sure what I'm going to do but it will be something ### Spring's Arrival in Iceland: Chasing the colours URL: https://www.scribehound.com/springs-arrival-in-iceland-chasing-the-colours/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:32.000Z Iceland's winter palette is pared back to tone and contrasting shadows. Simple browns, whites, and blacks leave space for the imagination to roam. The panorama holds its breath, suspended. As spring emerges, the sketches begin to colour in. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Mitigating Water Pollution: A Unique Approach for Salmon Restoration URL: https://www.scribehound.com/mitigating-water-pollution-a-unique-approach-for-salmon-restoration/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:32.000Z Dear Mr. Reed, RE: Salmon/Pollution/Water Companies/solution. I am writing to you as one of three founders of the Ure Salmon Trust (UST) in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire. We successfully persuaded the Environment Agency (EA) to permit our smolt restocking programme on the River Ure by arguing the case that our endeavours were necessary to mitigate the effect that a man-made barrier (a dam in our case) that had a significant effect on a wild fish’s ability to exist and breed. The EA were very difficult to deal with and put up many barriers in the early days of our programme but fortunately we secured a five-year contract that they signed so we ignored their constant negativity and ploughed on and successfully started to reintroduce salmon smolts in increasing numbers. The adult fish were caught in November from the same river, the eggs were stripped from the hen fish using a gentle anaesthetic and combined with sperm from the adult male. The eggs were then taken to a hatchery, were hatched and then introduced first into a holding tank whilst they grew and then transferred to a semi natural rearing pond where the fish learnt to feed for themselves and became naturally predator-aware. We maintained accurate records of the significant increase in salmon numbers not only from rod and line catches but also the smolts were all fin clipped on their adipose fin. When capturing adult broodstock in November of each year we could see how many fin clipped fish had returned to the river to breed. The last records before the EA terminated the programme showed twelve adult salmon caught in one pool, two of these fish were fin clipped which is a substantial return and proved our case that wild salmon can be restocked. As fishermen, we went into the UST wanting to help the river but always with the intention of stopping the stocking once the fish population was restored to levels that could support itself. Salmon fishing is supported by many people from all walks of life, it supports direct and indirect jobs in hospitality and other associated businesses. I do not propose to lecture you on the value of salmon fishing as an industry as I am sure you will receive many letters that do!! I have a solution that comes in two forms; firstly, I propose that you should look at imposing an annual levy on all water companies that goes towards Mitigation stocking in all rivers. Why Mitigation: it is simply because the water companies are mainly responsible for polluting the rivers as we all know. The Mitigation stocking would be funded directly by the annual levy, and it will be delivered by private consortium of local riparian landowners and fishing rights owners who will appoint a river manager, paid by the levy to restock their individual river. The benefit to Water Companies would be PR; they should be persuaded on the benefits this PR would bring. There would be a contract for each river with a timeline and the term of the contract would be a minimum of 10 years with a review based on water quality. If the water quality reaches an agreed level for a minimum period and salmon stocks have recovered to acceptable and sustainable levels, then the mitigation stocking will cease but only after the full length of the contract term. Secondly: pre 1930 a role existed known as the Commissioner for Sewers (COS). This person was appointed with the approval of Riparian owners, water companies and by Royal Appointment. The COS remit was to police all waterways and very specifically deal with pollution events and hand out fines to anyone or entity proved to have polluted a waterway be it negligence or carrying out a practise that is likely to cause a pollution event that could be avoided. The COS also appoints local water bailiffs that police and manage waterways from a local level. This COS and their water bailiffs would be self-financing as they would generate income raised from penalty notices by adding a management fee to the penalty notices in a transparent fashion. This country needs a COS as they are wholly independent, and I believe it would be necessary to only appoint one. It is also important that the COS does not report into the EA/Defra or any water regulator as it must be able to demonstrate that the role carries no conflict of interests. We must be proactive and counter the problems in our rivers; it is going to take direct action to Mitigate against water pollution. I would be delighted to discuss my ideas with you and your colleagues at your convenience and look forward to hearing from you. Yours Sincerely, C.J.C Bilborough. Cc The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak M.P. **If you are reading this letter please could you share it far and wide .** ### Killing in the name of... what? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/killing-in-the-name-of-what/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:32.000Z I grew up in the countryside. It can be a dangerous place, with predators and prey everywhere we look. What role do we play as the apex hunter on the planet? A grey squirrel that's wandered in to my garden is about to find out... _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Enchanted Way URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-enchanted-way/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:33.000Z The vital sanctuary of a familiar place _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Saving the Heart of Villages: Reinventing the Traditional Pub URL: https://www.scribehound.com/saving-the-heart-of-villages-reinventing-the-traditional-pub/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:33.000Z ## Death of the Rural Pub? As I drove through Kent on my way back to London, I passed pub after pub, boarded up, for sale, abandoned, each one feeling like a little obituary in timber and brick. In 2022, we lost 800 pubs. A thousand in 2023\. Another 1,200 in 2024\. At this rate, we’ll be reminiscing about pubs the same way we talk about phone boxes and village postmasters. The reasons are familiar: spiralling costs, brutal taxes, rising overheads, and a nation slowly sobering up. People still love the idea of the pub, but the reality? Expensive pints, childcare logistics, and the creeping guilt of a midweek pint mean many just don’t go anymore. And yet, Orwell's vision of the perfect pub still haunts the imagination. In 1946, he described The Moon Under Water, a fictional refuge of warmth, quiet conversation, and community. No music. No shouting. Just a gentle hub of daily life, where beer came in china mugs and everyone knew your name and your dog’s. It wasn’t just about drinking, it was about belonging. ## Current solution...A sticking plaster? We’ve come a long way from that. Many pubs now feel more like themed restaurants or upmarket cash extraction zones. Conveyor belts for swapping your hard-earned money for a decent burger and a £8 pint. The successful ones tend to be in picturesque spots; on the river, by the coast, or surrounded by walkers with labradors and North Face jackets. But what about the pubs at the heart of a village? The quiet ones without a sea view or an Instagram presence? Historically, beer was cheap, and often safer than water. “Small beer” was a daily drink for everyone from farmhands to children. It hydrated, comforted, and created a communal rhythm. The pub was where people drank, yes, but also where they laughed, mourned, schemed, argued, flirted, and occasionally fell in love. This cultural weight is why pubs have such deep roots in our literature and media. There’s the Leaky Cauldron in Harry Potter, the Prancing Pony in The Lord of the Rings, the Boar’s Head Tavern with Falstaff in Shakespeare. Even in Shaun of the Dead, salvation is sought at the Winchester. In Hot Fuzz, it’s the local pub that masks sinister secrets. Pubs are where characters meet their fate, or avoid it entirely.But this isn’t just nostalgia, it’s about identity. ## The Dilemna My brother’s village pub is facing this dilemma right now. The community has rallied. There was a meeting in the village hall. Everyone agreed it’s a vital asset. It boosts house prices, adds charm, makes the village “feel like a village.” But when Friday comes around, people are tired. There’s football practice, bath time, Netflix. Going out means a babysitter and at least a £100 bill. People want the pub to exist, they just don’t want to go, certainly not regularly. Pubs thrived because they were essential: places to grieve and gossip, flirt and fight, laugh and linger. They offered a third space, somewhere between work and home, without the pressure to buy matching furniture. A place that was, above all, human. ## So what now? ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-53202510AM-pexels-myphotolifeview-31182721.jpeg) Communities in cities are turning to private clubs for genuine community. While London pubs survive on footfall and tourism. Rural pubs can’t rely on either. Instead, they need to evolve and perhaps clubs are the way forward. Maybe we need pubs that are less about alcohol and more about people. A hybrid space, part café, part crèche, part farm shop, spa and part co-working space. A membership model, perhaps, where locals commit time or money in exchange for a living, breathing community hub. It’s not a silver bullet, but I'd love to hear other suggestions. Ultimately if we want to preserve the pub, not just as a building, but as an idea, we need to ask not how we save it, but how we evolve it. Because the pub isn’t dead. It’s just waiting for its next chapter ### On Community, Memory, and the Quiet Shape of the Land URL: https://www.scribehound.com/on-community-memory-and-the-quiet-shape-of-the-land/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:33.000Z Following recent village events, I’ve found myself lately pining for a time I never knew. Not out of nostalgia exactly, but out of a gnawing sense that something once ordinary has quietly slipped from our grasp... _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Back From The Brink: The Triumph of Operation Turtle Dove URL: https://www.scribehound.com/back-from-the-brink-the-triumph-of-operation-turtle-dove/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:34.000Z Fed up to the back teeth with news of doom and gloom? The story of Operation Turtle Dove is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Slipping the surly bonds of earth: free flight with the birds URL: https://www.scribehound.com/slipping-the-surly-bonds-of-earth-free-flight-with-the-birds/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:34.000Z As if flying as free as a bird with a hang glider wasn't enough, sharing the air with birds of prey, the undisputed masters of flight, is a bonus when you venture into their domain of thermals, clouds, and mountain ridges. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Farming Well is a Civic Duty - and a British Tradition URL: https://www.scribehound.com/farming-well-is-a-civic-duty-and-a-british-tradition/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:35.000Z With all the present pressures against the industry, why do farmers bother? I argue it's because we are part of the proud heritage of British agriculture that is distinctly progressive - both scientifically and politically _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Gigrin Farm: A Wildlife Haven or Imbalanced Tourism Attraction? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/gigrin-farm-a-wildlife-haven-or-imbalanced-tourism-attraction/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:35.000Z Gigrin Farm draws crowds with its daily feeding of up to 600 red kites, but is this wildlife spectacle helping conservation or harming it? This article explores the ethical dilemma of artificial feeding and its impact on raptor behaviour and balance _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Labour's industrial strategy: hard hats good, flat caps bad? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/labours-industrial-strategy-hard-hats-good-flat-caps-bad/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:35.000Z Sir Keir is right: steel is a national security issue. But so is food. Why does his government treat them so differently? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Home-reared Pork: a love-letter to pigs and pig-keeping URL: https://www.scribehound.com/home-reared-pork-a-love-letter-to-pigs-and-pig-keeping/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:35.000Z It's hard to justify keeping a few backyard pigs on financial grounds, but spending time around these strangely satisfying animals offers repayment of a different and richer kind. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Animal rights’ sex problem URL: https://www.scribehound.com/animal-rights-sex-problem/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:36.000Z A member of the Goldsmith family once told me that, in their opinion, the reason Zac and Ben got into animal rights was because it got them laid. Why does the wildlife business attract the oversexed and even the criminally perverted? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Debating Veganism: An Epic Showdown at Cambridge Union URL: https://www.scribehound.com/debating-veganism-an-epic-showdown-at-cambridge-union/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:36.000Z A Scribehounder's experiences at the crucible of food wokery _This post is for subscribers only._ ### When did meat become 'protein'? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/when-did-meat-become-protein/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:37.000Z Protein: growing disassociation from the wild and cultivated landscapes beyond our kitchen window. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Rural resilience rises after outback floods devastate Australia URL: https://www.scribehound.com/rural-resilience-rises-after-outback-floods-devastate-australia/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:37.000Z Devastating floods have hit the heart of outback Queensland, submerging an area twice the size of the UK—stretching across half a million square kilometres. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Chlorinated Chicken and the Threat to British Food Security URL: https://www.scribehound.com/chlorinated-chicken-and-the-threat-to-british-food-security/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:37.000Z It's scary to think we are in a world where quite possibly we will be able to buy in supermarkets produce that is grown and doused in chemicals but here we are , will Rachel Reeves buckle under the pressure? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Follow your nose URL: https://www.scribehound.com/follow-your-nose/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:38.000Z The link between scent, memory and emotion is incredibly powerful - paying more attention to what our noses are telling us makes our time in the countryside richer _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How rural quango-crats are "working" from a sun-lounger URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-rural-quango-crats-are-working-from-a-sun-lounger/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:38.000Z Meet the people in charge of Britain's countryside who get to do their day-job from overseas... _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Line of Beauty URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-line-of-beauty/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:38.000Z The beauty of our surroundings must not be sacrificed on the altar of technology. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Rian Corcoran: Rising Star in the Pointing World URL: https://www.scribehound.com/rian-corcoran-rising-star-in-the-pointing-world/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:39.000Z Son of former rider and trainer Liam Corcoran, Rian was frustrated recently at Great Trethew when racing was abandoned – he rode in the first and had mounts in the six races that didn’t take place. *Jake Exelby* spoke to him about his career so far and aspirations in the saddle. *Where are you from and where do you live now?* I’m from South Devon, near Kingsbridge and Slapton. Now I split my time between David Pipe, for whom I work three days a week and Dean Summersby, where I spend two days. *Talk me through your career in racing so far* My family are involved in racing, so I’ve always been around horses, although I only started taking an interest aged 12\. Dad got me a racing pony, Willow The Wisp, and I had my first winner on my first ride, at Great Trethew just before lockdown. I did another season with him, then we were approached by Richard Prince, who has quite a few ponies and leases them out to give young jockeys a chance. I probably rode four or five horses for him and had quite a few winners – Richard was the main person who helped me along. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-126202411AM-Great_Trethew,_scene_of_Rian's_first_pony_winner_(Tim_Holt).jpeg) *Great Trethew, scene of Rian's first pony winner (Tim Holt)* *How did you get into point-to-pointing?* I’d been going to David’s in the school holidays and at weekends for a while, and last season he said he had a horse he thought would suit me – Itacare *(pictured above at Wadebridge - photo by Tim Holt)*. He’s been a dream, and we’ve won three times together. He’s a little grey horse who’s quiet at home and a real schoolmaster. I worked for Will Biddick last season and also had a winner, Skilful Lord, for Danielle Kenealy. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-126202411AM-Rian_winning_on_Skilful_Lord_at_Flete_Park_(Tim_Holt).jpeg) *Rian winning on Skilful Lord at Flete Park (Tim Holt)* I then went to Dean’s, and he said that Darren Edwards was retiring, and would I like to ride for him – obviously I wouldn’t turn that down! I had my first winner for him on Lakota Warrior at Upcott Cross, which took me to five, so I stopped for the season to remain a novice this year. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-126202411AM-Rian_and_Lakota_Warrior_in_full_flight_(Tim_Holt).jpeg) *Rian and Lakota Warrior in full flight (Tim Holt)* *How does riding over fences compare to pony racing?* Everything happens more slowly over fences, and you have more time to get where you want to be, whereas you have to be sharper on the flat. (I put it – admittedly as a non-rider – to Rian that pony racing seems to be about going hell for leather!) No, you have to ride each pony in a different way. Besides, pony racing on professional tracks is a lot more tactical – it’s more fun and less serious at point-to-points. *What are your ambitions in racing?* The aim is to be champion novice this year and Dean’s got some nice horses to run in novice riders races. I think Tom Hutsby’s my main competitor – like me, he stopped on five in May and he’s already one ahead of me this season! ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-126202411AM-Tom_Hutsby_-_main_competitor.jpeg) *Tom Hutsby - main competitor* Dad rode as a professional and it would be good to turn conditional for David if this season goes well – we were half-thinking about doing it last year but decided to give it a couple of seasons pointing first. I’d love to be champion jockey – who wouldn’t? *Which other jockeys do you admire?* I love naturally talented, stylish jockeys like Timmy Murphy and Paul Carberry. Obviously Will Biddick in pointing. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-126202411AM-Will_Biddick_(near_side)_-_admired_(Graham_Fisher).jpeg) *Will Biddick (near side) - admired (Graham Fisher)* *Which has been your favourite horse?* I don’t really have favourite courses or tracks. I’m happy to ride whatever, wherever! *What did you think about the decision to abandon Great Trethew after racing had started?* Dad and I walked the course, and it felt good to soft, soft in the dip, with the back straight being better. However, walking and riding it are two different things. It wasn’t ideal for young bumper horses who were stumbling – it was bottomless coming down the hill. Abandoning was definitely the right decision. Senior jockey Darren Andrews summed it up to a tee on Facebook. *Which horse are you most looking forward to riding this season?* Horses like Dorrells Pierji, Hell Red, Jet Smart and Lakota Warrior for Dean. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-126202411AM-Jet_Smart_-_looking_forward_to_riding_(Tim_Holt).jpeg) *Jet Smart - looking forward to riding (Tim Holt)* *What do you enjoy most about pointing?* It’s a great way to get experience and get the hang of the job, learning your style and tactics over fences. There’s less pressure and it’s a properly laid-back atmosphere. *What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?* I’d make it cheaper and more affordable as there are a lot of things to pay for. It’s not so bad for the jockeys – I’m thinking more of trainers and owners. *What are your non-horsey hobbies?* I’m always with horses, so don’t have time for anything else. We have 25-30 horses at home – Dad has a few pointers, a few ponies and a livery yard so I’m always helping him. *Tell me something I wouldn’t know from asking these questions* I’ve been going to see (former professional rider and jockey coach) Rodi Greene for five years and speak to him quite a lot. I also speak to Timmy Murphy if I need any advice when I’m riding a horse. He’s good mates with Dad – they used to ride together, and his sons Finn and Lucas are both pony racing. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-126202411AM-Rian_after_winning_on_Lakota_Warrior_(Tim_Holt).jpeg) *Rian after winning on Lakota Warrior (Tim Holt)* ### The Rise of the Temperate Rainforest URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-rise-of-the-temperate-rainforest/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:39.000Z Only five years ago no one knew Britain had any Temperate Rainforest. Now it is all the rage. This is the story. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### World Curlew Day - Extinction by changing the subject URL: https://www.scribehound.com/world-curlew-day-extinction-by-changing-the-subject/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:39.000Z On World Curlew Day, it makes sense to examine the causes of population decline in wading birds, but the uncomfortable truth is often sidestepped. Despite overwhelming evidence pointing to predator pressure, meaningful action remains stalled. Why are we still avoiding the real issue? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Can Starmer hold the line on hormone beef? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/can-starmer-hold-the-line-on-hormone-beef/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:40.000Z In 2025, your biggest mistake is thinking anything is unthinkable. I reckon more American beef is on the way to Britain. And newly hormone-free ranchers like my Trump-voting friend Larry are just waiting to serve you the good stuff. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Tasmanian Tigers to Bakewell Blues: Bringing Back Extinct Species URL: https://www.scribehound.com/from-tasmanian-tigers-to-bakewell-blues-bringing-back-extinct-species/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:40.000Z The dodo was a curious creature. A bird that couldn’t fly with dowdy dull grey-brown feathers and a large ugly beak. It’s got a reputation for being fat, gullible and clumsy although sympathetic scientists argue that it’s simply had a bad press... _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Fortesque and the Russian Bear URL: https://www.scribehound.com/fortesque-and-the-russian-bear/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:40.000Z The journals of Victorian sportsman, reluctant hero and seducer Sir Charles Fortesque were recently unearthed. His diary reveals some of the lowlights of the era. In this extract he finds himself recruited to foil a dastardly plot at a shooting party _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How do you make a racehorse? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/how-do-you-make-a-racehorse/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:41.000Z From choosing a stallion to helping a foal to take its first steps; breeding a racehorse isn't simple, but it does come with its own rewards _This post is for subscribers only._ ### In Search of the Nightingale's Vanishing Symphony URL: https://www.scribehound.com/in-search-of-the-nightingales-vanishing-symphony/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:41.000Z Each April I eagerly await the song of the nightingale from the hedge by my window... but this year I'm still waiting _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Champion Jockey James King Reflects on Past Success and Future Goals URL: https://www.scribehound.com/champion-jockey-james-king-reflects-on-past-success-and-future-goals/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:42.000Z From Rodborough, near Stroud in Gloucestershire, and son of the former racing post journalist Andrew, James *(pictured above with female champion Izzie Hill - photo by Marilyn Sweet)* rode his first winner aged 17 – on Presentandcorrect for Tim Sage at Lockinge on Easter Monday 2013 – and was champion amateur under rules four years later, when his victories included the Aintree Foxhunters on Dineur. He now works part-time for Stratford-upon-Avon trainer Olly Murphy, riding out for him five or six days a week alongside his point-to-point commitments, and lives at nearby Gaydon with partner Sophie and their two-year-old son Charlie. Jake Exelby spoke to him before the new campaign to see if he expects to win a fourth title between the flags. **Who have been your favourite horses of all time? Why?** In recent years, it would be Rose Iland and Spencer Moon, who effectively won me the championship in 2022\. I won six races on Spencer Moon when he was 14 and 15 and he was so consistent – you knew he’d always run well. **Who was your favourite horse (last season)? Why?** Grace A Vous Enki, obviously! He went on quite a journey – I thought he’d win a couple, but not be leading horse. He also ticked off the last race on my point-to-point bucket list, the Coronation Cup. I believe I’m the only jockey to have won all four Classics. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/169f61f5-37c7-4394-b926-7d7f833e9914.jpeg) *James (far side) dead-heating for the Coronation Cup on Grace A Vous Enki (Tim Holt)* **How did you come by the mount on him?** I’m friendly with Stan Sheppard (trainer Nickie Sheppard’s son) and play cricket with him. I just rang up for the ride and the rest is history… **Looking back to the start of the season, what were your expectations?** I had every intention of being champion again, but didn’t expect it to happen – I just hoped it would go as well as it could. But I soon had the bit between my teeth and everything clicked into place. **When did you think that you had a chance of winning the title and were there any moments – after taking the lead – when you thought you wouldn’t win?** Every time Will (Biddick, who finished second to James) and I locked horns, we both seemed to ride a couple of winners and it was nip and tuck for a while but I kept holding my lead, even though Will was chipping away at it – he’s a fierce competitor who never backs down. I thought it might be possible in January or February, as I traditionally have a strong end to the season, and I’d never had such a good start as I did last year – in the previous season, I wasn’t converting seconds and thirds into winners and think I had more placings than any other jockey. **Who were the other key trainers you rode for in your title bid and how will they be supporting you next season?** Max Comley’s partner Elen Wylie should have about a dozen pointers, Julie Wadland has a handful of nice horses and Luke Price has a lot of exciting ones. He didn’t train as many winners last season – he put quite a few away for this year – but still had a really good strike rate. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/75b186b5-25cc-4898-a785-d0a5b509412e.jpeg) *James with Luke Price, one of his main supporters (Alun Sedgmore)* **Which horse are you most looking forward to riding next season?** Julie’s Glenmount (owned by PPA Chief Executive Paul Miller and entered on Sunday) is an exciting horse who may shape into a Hunter Chaser. The Intermediate Final at Cheltenham may be a target if he keeps progressing. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/c9e8e7d9-6078-4eae-96de-f8b8d9287ac4.jpeg) *James winning on exciting prospect Glenmount (Will Milburn)* For Luke, Lavorante and Mister Bezi, who could be the best of his. He won a Cotley Maiden as he liked, five seconds faster than the Mens Open (won by the useful Macklin), then had a confidence boosting win at Peper Harow after a fall at Howick, which came too quickly after his first win. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/10f52dcf-c502-4e8c-a74e-8e516f180c1e.jpeg) *James and Mr Bezi winning at Cotley (Tim Holt)* **Which horse (not one of your current mounts) would you most like to ride next season?** Ihandaya – trained, like Grace A Vous Enki, by Nickie Sheppard. A beautiful, strong, uncomplicated, old-fashioned chaser who looks very good. The world seems to be his oyster at the moment and who knows where he'll end up? ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/60cb147a-2f83-4d3b-b15a-ab1776450e81.jpeg) *Ihandaya, the horse James would most like to ride (Tim Holt)* **Tell me about the threats you think Will and other jockeys will pose to your title next season** Everyone starts the season with a blank! Will is consistent year in, year out, Jack Andrews had a stop-start season and should be a threat and Ed Vaughan had a great first year. He was so young (just 16) at the start but matured and grew throughout the campaign. He’s made it more difficult for me to win races in Wales (!) and he could be a champion in years to come. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/a503ea27-1559-472a-a51f-da4420824d6e.jpeg) *Ed Vaughan - top prospect (Carl Evans)* **What are your ambitions in pointing?** To keep on riding well and riding winners, which gives me a great buzz. It would be great if I could get near Will’s career total (which is 599 at the time of writing), as I’ve had getting on for 200 winners in the last four years, but it’s unrealistic to think about that yet, so I’ll just keep my head down and keep going. I want Charlie to look back and be proud of me, although I can’t see myself keeping going long enough for him to ride against me! **Have you ever thought about turning professional?** There was a time when I thought about it, but it’s better to be a big fish in a small pond and to be able to ride some of the best horses. **What, other than injury, would make you retire?** When I don’t feel I’m riding at my best, I’ll stop. I need to keep doing my best for the owners and trainers I ride for. **What will you miss most about it? And least?** I’ll miss the buzz of riding, the winners and going racing. I won’t miss the disappointment of getting beaten! **What are your favourite courses?** Lydstep was a favourite. It’s a jockey’s course, with sharp bends and the best horse didn’t always win there. I’ve had a lot of success at Chaddesley Corbett. The racing there is quality but you still have to ride the bends! It’s also local to me. **Which trainers (that you don’t ride for) do you admire and why?** Gina and Tom Ellis not only have volume and scale, but they achieve great results week in, week out. Their horses already look great and run well and the results speak for themselves. I know I ride Grace A Vous Enki, but I must mention Nickie Sheppard. She’s got fewer than ten horses, but mixes it with the bigger yards and is very good at placing her horses. **What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?** I’d limit Conditions races to one per card – they dilute the racing as the conditions aren’t strict enough, so the same horse can be entered in more than one race, which detracts from the Mens and Ladies Opens. **What do you love most about pointing?** The friendly atmosphere. It’s a great day out with family and friends. **What would you be doing if you weren't a jockey?** I’d still be in racing. Probably not training, but buying and selling horses, which is something I’m starting to do. I’m not really a jockey – I just ride at the weekends! ### The Cluck Stops Here: A Tale of Eggs and Anglers URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-cluck-stops-here-a-tale-of-eggs-and-anglers/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:42.000Z There are plans to build an egg production facility on the banks of the hallowed River Kennet. But locals, anglers and environmental groups are fighting plans which its feared could decimate a famous chalkstream. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Nature Writes and Nature Wrongs URL: https://www.scribehound.com/nature-writes-and-nature-wrongs/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:43.000Z There is talk about a revolution coming in nature writing. With my book about to be published, I explore what the future holds for literature and the natural world. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Navigating the demise of SFI - Lessons and reflections URL: https://www.scribehound.com/navigating-the-demise-of-sfi-lessons-and-reflections/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:43.000Z What went wrong and how do we move on from the latest shock in agriculture. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The De-extinction of the Dire Wolf: Biodiversity Miracle or Expensive Folly? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-de-extinction-of-the-dire-wolf-biodiversity-miracle-or-expensive-folly/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:44.000Z Scientists say that they have brought the Dire Wolf back from extinction... but have they really, and if they have, should they have done? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Peatland Policy: Fanning the Flames of Wildfires URL: https://www.scribehound.com/peatland-policy-fanning-the-flames-of-wildfires/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:44.000Z Misguided opposition to rotational prescribed burning and bad policy are devastating swathes of the uplands _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Urgent Call to Action: Prevent Extinction of Atlantic Salmon URL: https://www.scribehound.com/urgent-call-to-action-prevent-extinction-of-atlantic-salmon/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:45.000Z Atlantic Salmon are on the brink, and saving them will take bold leadership. Does our government have the desire to make the necessary changes? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### What are your sights, sounds and smells of Spring? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/what-are-your-sights-sounds-and-smells-of-spring/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:45.000Z Discover what spring means to me before you create your own visualisation—find something in the countryside, an intimate discovery, that connects you to the pulse of the land. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Navigating the Political Landscape: Fieldsports in Transition URL: https://www.scribehound.com/navigating-the-political-landscape-fieldsports-in-transition/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:46.000Z Have we seen the best of it? In a brief overview of the political reality for fieldsports in the next four years, I argue not. For fieldsports enthusiasts not all needs to be doom and gloom, provided we take action now. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Stalker In The Woods URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-stalker-in-the-woods/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:46.000Z I had agreed to meet Paul on a layby near Abergavenny at 3am. His old Nissan pickup truck was already there, idling and belching diesel smoke out into the cold night sky. He was standing next to it, rifle slung over his shoulder, hunched silhouette framed by the dim orange headlights. He pulled deeply on the first of many brown, filterless cigarettes that day and waved. ‘Morning, Jack,’ he growled. ‘Want one?’, motioning to the leather pouch in which he keeps his treats. I declined. ‘Suit yourself.’ Paul is a licensed deer stalker, employed to patrol a few forests and estates in Monmouthshire to keep the deer populations under control. He has piercing blue eyes, forearms covered in old sailor’s tattoos, and a thick, lilting Welsh accent. He had agreed to take me with him today. I had been introduced to Paul by a foraging guide I know called Chloe. A Duracell bunny in human form, she runs foraging tours in South Wales and is the region’s most knowledgeable and enthusiastic proponent of wild food. I texted her saying I wanted to go on a deer stalk, and I could practically hear her squeal back through the screen: ‘Well you have to meet Paul!’ I did meet Paul, a few days later in the village pub where Chloe told me he could be found most nights – “Every night,” Paul would later correct me with a wink. “He might take some persuading,” Chloe warned. “But he’s a sweetheart deep down.” I found Paul in the corner of the Pandy Inn. He was wearing a deerstalker hat and a green shirt tucked into green trousers tucked into brown muddy boots. Elsa, his dog, was curled up languidly at his feet. He had a tankard of cider in one hand and was staring glassily into the middle distance. He didn’t take much persuading at all. Paul’s only concern was that we might not find one. He wouldn’t want to take me out only to disappoint me. I had come during roe buck season – one of the trickier times of year for stalking. Roe are small, fleet-footed and scarce. “I’d be lucky to catch one myself, let alone with you following behind me,” he confessed, after a couple more ciders. “But we’ll try. Meet me the day after tomorrow, 3 o’clock in the morning.” He scribbled a road name on a scrap of till receipt. “And wear green.” . “You might as well leave your car here and get in with me.” I bundled into the back of Paul’s truck and we began the long drive into the heart of the Black Mountains. The heater was oppressively hot, blowing soporific engine breath into the cab. I’d barely slept the night before – through a combination of nerves, a 2am alarm and the unmarked barrel of scrumpy cider we’d drunk by the tankard the night before. On the back seat – well, the centre armrest and eventually my lap - was Elsa, Paul’s labrador cross and hunting companion. Her hot breath tickled my ear as Paul scratched her under the chin. ‘I couldn’t do it without her,’ Paul explained. ‘She’s my eyes and my ears.’ The single-lane track wound through man-high hedgerows as we weaved deeper into the Welsh wilderness. Gnarled, ancient trees hung ominously overhead. The moonlight cast their shadows like long, skeletal fingers. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-32820258PM-Screenshot_2025-03-28_at_20.03.56.jpeg) “Sometimes people stop me in the woods, you know, and ask me how I can do what I do for a living.” Paul said unprompted. “I answer them as calmly as I can, and try to explain why the animals need culling. Most don’t want to hear it, most just want to have a shout and a moan, but very occasionally I can get through to someone.” ‘Plus,’ he says, breaking into a throaty laugh, ‘I’ve got a rifle on me. If I lose my temper they can just call the police and I’ll have my licence taken away.’ We arrived at Haye Wood just after 4am. Deer are most active at dawn and, it being June, dawn came brutally early. I had taken Paul’s instructions to blend into the natural environment a little too literally. As I unpacked my box-fresh Crocodile Dundee hat, tactical gloves and camo snood, he arched an eyebrow. I’d managed to dress as a countryside full-kit wanker. He then handed me some more undeserved kit to complete the look: a thermal scope, a set of binoculars and a horn-handled walking stick. “Stick close to me and don’t make any sudden movements. If I stop, stop. If Elsa stops, definitely stop. And if I get the gun out, hold your breath.” Paul slung the rifle over his shoulder and proceeded slowly, slowly down the winding forest path. We were flanked on either side by great majestic pines. He rhythmically placed one steel-toed boot in front of another, scanning the knotted canopies in the distance with his thermal scope. Elsa followed at his heels, nose held aloft like a snooty Victorian butler, scanning the breeze for a scent. I did my best to match Paul’s every movement. If he stopped, I stopped. If he got out his binoculars, I got out my binoculars. It was a bit like a small child copying his dad without any real idea of what he’s doing. Once, I thought I’d located the white heat of something in the lens but… no. A sheep. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-32820258PM-Screenshot_2025-03-28_at_13.40.24.jpeg) “Look,” he whispered, gesturing to a patch of leafless saplings. “The bucks thrash them to death with their antlers.” There are over two million deer in the UK today, the highest number in a thousand years. Because of the rate at which they breed, to keep that number stable at two million, 750,000 need to be culled a year. Only half that target is being met. Ergo, numbers are on a vertiginous rise. Why is this a problem? Well, deer are a surprisingly destructive pest. They strip land of their vegetation, root up young saplings planted to repopulate the forests, and decimate the hedgerows and habitats of smaller mammals and birds (an illustrative point: the population of nightingales has declined by something absurd like 95% in the last decade.) There is a harmony to the woodland, and an unchecked deer population threatens that delicate balance. “The problem is,” says Paul “there are no natural predators left.” There was a time when deer would have been preyed upon by wolves, lynx, even bears. But humans have since hunted them to extinction. The only thing that kills a deer today is old age, illness, a road accident or culling. Limited food supply does not restrict reproduction; it only creates an emaciated, zombie-like herd of hungry and emboldened deer forced to venture ever closer to human contact, eventually becoming a hazard on winding country lanes. This is often the point at which the general public becomes aware of the overpopulation. The morning wound on. The dawn chorus screamed at a hum as the sun slowly rose above the trees. Its light refracted through the treetops and cast a glittering mosaic on the forest floor. It was as if the forest was waking up with us. There is an untranslatable German word, Waldeinsamkeit, for the feeling of divine solitude in the woods. There is something grounding, something elemental about being enrobed by the forest, and I wondered to myself what a life spent in this kind of quiet contemplation must do for the soul. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-32820258PM-Screenshot_2025-03-28_at_13.40.41.jpeg) Paul spotted his first deer at about five am. A gloved arm shot out to the side, motioning me to stop. He unfolded his hunting sticks and rested his rifle atop them. ‘Do you see it?’ he whispered. ‘No,’ I answered truthfully. ‘Right…. there,’ he said, guiding my eyes. ‘But it’s a doe. She’s not in season. We can’t take her today.’ This is a useful illustration of an important point: stalkers don’t go out into the woods intent on blasting every deer they see in the crosshairs. There are strict rules on which sex and species can be taken when, and even stricter quotas on the overall number that can be taken. Every kill is registered with the relevant local authority and general information on the herd’s movement, health and habits are fed into this database. It’s an oxymoronic fact that those employed to kill the deer are often the people who love them the most. It takes a special kind of dedication to spend every day of your life tracking an animal, and naturally you form an intimate bond with it. ‘It’s a bit of a climb now, I’m afraid,’ he said, motioning to a near-vertical ascent through the dark trees. ‘But we’ll have a better chance higher up.’ Elsa ran excitedly ahead, wagging her tail in anticipation of her favourite hunting spot. We had been stalking now for two hours. It wasn’t the physically taxing, video-game like stalk that I’d seen on the moors of Scotland - days-long, crawling on your belly to get a great antlered rutting stag into view. It was more tracking than stalking, a special combination of patience and expertise. Paul saw things in the woods that only his eyes could pick out - a small quiver in the canopy or a flash of fur in the distance. Elsa smelt the phantasmic scent of their recent presence in the air. Together they formed an effective 1-2 punch, and it was fascinating to see them in action. At one point, I watched him communicate to her with nothing but his breath: short, sharp inhalations that she seemed to instinctively understand and alter her course. As we rounded the corner, the most spectacular view rolled out in front of us. As far as the eye could see were treetops, stretching way out to the horizon before breaking into sheep-dotted pasture. In the far, far distance were snow-capped granite peaks. We were high up, a squirrel eye’s view of the trees. Paul stopped, savouring the view. ‘It never gets old, this does,’ he said to no one in particular, scratching Elsa behind the ear. ‘It’s absolutely beautiful.’ He turned to me. ‘If we’ve got any chance of finding one, it’ll be up here.’ I knew the drill by now. I fell into line behind Paul, matching him footstep for footstep. There was tension in the air. Paul had done his best to dampen my expectations, but I could tell he really wanted to deliver: his reticence had melted away over the morning and I sensed something like pride that this young lad from London was showing such a genuine interest in his livelihood. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-32820258PM-Screenshot_2025-03-28_at_13.34.25.jpeg) And then it happened. Elsa sat still, dead still, alert and hunched forward like someone mugging for a fight. Her tail wagged, she started panting and a crackle of electricity shot through the air. Paul silently unfolded his sticks, slipped the rifle off his shoulder and looked down the barrel. ‘Do you see it?” he whispered to me, not checking to see if I was looking. “No,” I said again. “It’s there, in a ditch. I can’t get a clean shot on it.” He paused. “You wait here and I’ll walk down and come from a different angle.” He had clearly decided that I was too much of a noisy risk and ordered me to stay back. Paul crept along the path, walking slowly like a condemned man to the gallows. I could see now where he meant. Deep in the valley below us was a small roe buck, munching happily away on his breakfast. Paul once again unfolded his sticks and took aim. I could feel my heartbeat in my throat. It felt like the whole valley was holding its breath whilst Paul steadied himself for the shot. Thirty seconds passed, a minute, then… bang! A shot echoed around the valley. Birds emptied from their treetop perches. Paul stood still, eyes down the barrel of the rifle. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-32820258PM-Screenshot_2025-03-28_at_13.35.33.jpeg) He exhaled deeply and his face relaxed. He pulled out a cigarette. As I slowly approached him, he turned and raised a finger to his lips. He lit the cigarette and smoked it in silence, circular breathing the smoke out of his nostrils like a dragon. “It’s a little ritual of mine,” he said after finishing. “If you approach the deer too soon after taking the shot, it will panic. But by the time I have finished this, the poor bugger will have bled out without ever realising what happened.” “Should I shake your hand?” I asked, tentatively. “Abso-bloody-lutely!” he roared, crushing my fingers in a vice-like grip. “I really didn’t think we’d find one today.” “Off you go then girl,” he barked to Elsa, who had been sitting next to us like a coiled spring. She shot off down into the valley in search of the deer. “Without her, we’d be here all day.” ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/24d2ae2c-47bd-4720-a0b3-eb6dc490d4c0.jpeg) I followed Paul down to the kill site and found Elsa sitting there licking the blood from the wound, like a cow might do her newborn calf. It was tender, almost; protective, proud. Paul took a knee and started massaging the blood out of the still-warm buck. His eyes were bright, wide, starry, as if he had been frozen in amber by a sudden volcanic eruption. There was a blood trail over the grass, his tongue lolled out of his mouth, and one clean perfect bullet wound went straight through his heart. It was graphic. There was no getting around that. This was an animal that had been alive not minutes before and would still be had he not been shot by Paul. It looked beautiful, noble, cute. I asked Paul how this compared to supermarket meat and he sighed, hoisting a knee up onto a nearby rock. “It doesn’t, honestly. I live by an abattoir and the sounds that come out of there…” He shook his head. “Those animals know what’s coming; they don’t know when, but they know. They are highly intelligent, emotional beings. They can smell the death. This poor bugger didn’t know what was coming.” “And look,” he said, prising open its mouth to reveal teeth stuffed with grass and berries, “look what he’s been eating. A totally wild diet. And roe are notoriously picky eaters. They pick only the best of the best – and therefore so do we.’ “There are some people who will never want to eat meat and that’s fine. But those who will happily buy a piece of pork – a piece of flavourless pork at that – but have a problem with this. Well – I have no time for that.” I think the aversion to venison speaks to a wider malaise in British society. We have lost any and all connection to where our food comes from, and shirk away from wanting to know about the gory aspects of husbandry and butchery. It is easy to dissociate beef, chicken or pork from the animal it came from. The mental, as well as the physical, work has been done for us far up the supply chain. I, like Paul, reserve the most scorn for meat-eaters who will happily eat a watery, skinless chicken breast but turn their noses up at the idea of eating venison: “I can’t, it’s so cute, it was shot and killed!’ Well, what do you think happened to that chicken before it arrived skinned, butchered and wrapped for your convenience at a Co-Op hundreds of miles from where it was reared? It probably lived its entire short, rapidly-fattening life indoors, being fed artificial food ankle-deep in its own shit. It was then loaded onto a lorry and spent a few days sensing its impending doom, listening to the shrieks and wails of its kin being slaughtered by an apathetic employee, blithely dispatching thousands of animals every day. We’re familiar with the phrase ‘you are what you eat,’ but you are what you eat eats; that adrenaline and shitty feed is going into your body, too. “Right, Jack, are you feeling strong?” Paul said, poking me in the ribs. “We’ve got to get him” – points at deer – “up there” - points at the road, up a near vertical grassy climb. Between us, we dragged the deer back to where the car was parked, pausing to peel off sweaty layer after sweaty layer of clothing. Paul hoisted the animal up by the hind legs on a sort of rusty, mobile gallows that he had attached to the back of his truck. I hadn’t noticed it in the pitch black this morning; I laughed now thinking what motorists driving behind Paul must think it is. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-32820258PM-Screenshot_2025-03-28_at_20.09.42.jpeg) First, he cut open the animal’s chest cavity and spilled its organs out onto the side of the road. He examined them for any signs of disease; the dark red liver, the pale green stomach, great helix-twist of intestine. “He’s in perfect health,” Paul remarked. “Well, other than the obvious.” This was the part of the day I had been looking forward to least. But I felt it was important to experience and witness. I had long proselytized the virtues of eating venison but had never seen one killed and butchered. And even I, Mr F\*\*ing Venison, found it a tough watch. As Paul hacked off its head, I found myself thinking how normal this would have been for most of human history. Eating meat was hard work. Brutal, long, physical work. And anyone who got to enjoy eating meat would be totally cognisant of the steps taken in order to put it on their plate. We have become lazy nowadays and prefer someone else, some place faraway, to do it for us. We have no conception of anatomy; we don’t ever stop to think that beef = cow. They exist in two different parts of our imagination. I can understand why people feel safer in this cognitive gap, but an important part of our connection to food has been lost. This disconnect has led to our increasingly unconscious way of eating in the 21st-century. An industrialised and processed food system is wreaking havoc on our bodies and creaking healthcare system; diet-related illnesses are on the rise. A lot of what we eat can’t even be called food - it is, to borrow the words of Michael Pollan, “industrially-produced edible substance”. It is criminal that we don’t eat more of the wild, healthy, nutritious meat that Paul is butchering in front of me. Venison is carbon neutral; no farmland is devoted to its production (to be bloodlessly scientific, it extracts calories from non-arable land like forests and valleys); and the meat is a delicious byproduct of a culling that must take place anyway. (There is an interesting side-argument that venison is essentially vegan-proof: the animals need to be killed, what crueller waste than not to eat it.) Yet we Brits mostly don’t eat it. Half gets exported to Europe - particularly the gamey, offaly meat of rutting stag season - and the other half is sold locally or in expensive butchers in nearby cities. Venison is unfairly tarnished with the posho brush – Schoeffel-wearing Land Rover-driving bloodsport enthusiasts chowing down on Bambi. But its reputation as food of a certain class exists only because they are the ones with easy access to it. It needn’t be expensive. The public demand isn’t there and the infrastructure isn’t there. Why? Why would we rather eat shitty, sometimes-contaminated meat, sold at increasingly inflated supermarket prices, grown in conditions far more brutal and inhumane than I have witnessed today? The answer, I believe, is that it evaporates that state of no-knowledge most of us exist in when it comes to our food. This is something we should look long and hard at. We are missing out on one of the best things this country produces. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/51b2b4d4-a2fb-4d4b-ba14-d1c03e7b9198.jpeg) As Paul loaded the carcass into the back of his truck, I asked him what he would say to someone who said he couldn’t love deer if he spends his life killing them. “That’s rubbish. I… I love deer. I could sit and watch deer all day long. I wish I could have a deer farm, but I can’t. I love deer but they need controlling. Somebody’s got to do it. Why not somebody that loves them rather than somebody that doesn’t?” ### Carbon bubbles, wolves, and fairy tales. URL: https://www.scribehound.com/carbon-bubbles-wolves-and-fairy-tales/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:47.000Z Getting all gooey eyed about carbon stored in the biomass of trees growing on upland organic soils whilst ignoring what's going on below ground could be more than an embarrassing blind-spot for rewilding companies. Will their carbon bubble burst? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Tree That Smells of Sex and Death URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-tree-that-smells-of-sex-and-death/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:47.000Z One of our most common (and overlooked) trees - hawthorn embodies an ancient mix of sex, death and a warning to all foolish enough to disturb her. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The truth behind Rachel Reeves' 'Bats and Newts' speech URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-truth-behind-rachel-reeves-bats-and-newts-speech/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:48.000Z How nature will pay the price for growth _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Discover the Beauty of Black Grouse in the UK URL: https://www.scribehound.com/discover-the-beauty-of-black-grouse-in-the-uk/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:48.000Z It is lekking season! Anyone interested in upland wildlife will know that this time of year the black grouse are lekking, but what has lead to this bird being the fastest declining species in the UK? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Cattle-Killers: recovering a sense of medieval seasonality URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-cattle-killers-recovering-a-sense-of-medieval-seasonality/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:48.000Z Beef is one of the most readily available meats in the UK, and its abundance has made it a controversial bone of contention - but we should remember that all food is seasonal, and our ancestors knew when and how to cut their steaks... _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Use your village - or lose it URL: https://www.scribehound.com/use-your-village-or-lose-it/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:49.000Z If you don't support your local services, don't be surprised when they close _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Unveiling the Patriotic Duty of Tree Planting Today URL: https://www.scribehound.com/unveiling-the-patriotic-duty-of-tree-planting-today/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:49.000Z **A patriotic duty to plant trees, but how should we plan it?** Human intervention in land over centuries and the effect on nature is something that may have pricked our consciences as the accusation of its destruction has been levelled at us. Scientists, politicians and others are searching for ways to repair our planet by biodiversity, decarbonising, restoring natural habitats and at the same time feeding ourselves. Growing trees for carbon capture and nature restoration are well publicised as “essential " and we are encouraged to plant. **The Great storm of 1703** Following a huge storm in 1703, described by the author Daniel Defoe in 1704, John Evelyn, the diarist and botanist, was commissioned to write a report on the state of England’s forests. He concluded there were not enough trees to build ships. He went on to state that to plant trees was a “patriotic duty.” He, of course, meant planting oak, beech and pine amongst other useful ship building timber. Some people might argue that the need for tree planting today is our “patriotic duty” once more. **A comment on wilding and biodiversity** I was interested to read that two research associates have done some work on the history of biodiversity. They say, “Many people today advocate enhancing biodiversity by minimising human influence on landscapes. Often this takes the form of “rewilding” which aims to let nature lead. Minimal human modified landscapes, but not all, have fewer different types of plants. Human disturbance often enhances biodiversity.” These are the words of Jonathon D Gordon and Brennan Fagan of the University of York in an article in the *Conversation*( July 2024) They go on to say, “The first farmers often made landscapes more biodiverse. Our research could have lessons for rewilding today.” Though perhaps surprising, their research reveals that in “many places, biodiversity thrives because of, not despite, thousands of years of human interaction with the Earth’s ecosystems.” As an example, not recorded in the article, early settlers in the USA would clear a patch of woodland burning trees they did not need for tools or building. The ash beds were worked and used to grow crops, thus creating a biodiversity through alternative vegetation within the forest. **A Lesson from experts writing in the 1980s and today** The Government, Woodland Trust and others tell us of the virtues of planting large numbers of trees for amenity and commercial purposes to reduce carbon. The Woodland Trust have “an ambition to create quality native woods, plant native trees for the benefit of nature, climate and people now and for the future,” their website says. The Woodland Trust recommends a density of 1600 trees per hectare. The slow growing trees (oak and beech) in blocks of twenty-five at no more than 2m spacing and other native breeds at 3m spacing (alder aspen crab apple field maple goat willow lime). They recommend shrubs on the outside along paths or glades but, some of the recent planting I have seen are new woodlands alongside existing woodlands with no gaps, rides or glades. Some too are just blocks of woodland ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-314202511AM-225E4A20-E45F-450B-BD27-1B9FC0269DFC_1_105_c.jpeg) *A new planting attached to a wood closely planted with no rides glades or gaps* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-314202511AM-4D254A67-3E8B-444E-9340-3FF5F1DD32C8_1_105_c.jpeg) *Oak trees planted in clumps of about twenty-five at a metre apart. The next clump is five to ten metres away. Bracken is infesting the site and birch is growing wild in parts of it. Does this design help wildlife?* The planting design I have described contrasts with designs recommended over several decades by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust. Perhaps, our researchers, Jonathon D Gordon and Brennan Fagans’ comments on “how the first farmers made landscapes more biodiverse” has a relevance to wildlife conservation today. Farmers or foresters allowing space in their tree planting schemes is the relevance I am suggesting. The Game Conservancy and Wildlife Trust (GWCT) have done extensive research into habitat and planting amenity woodlands for many years. For example, Charles Cole who worked for the Trust edited a conservation textbook *The Complete Book of Game Conservancy* in 1984 where he talks about tree planting in large and small areas to entice gamebirds and wildlife. He advises, and I summarise, low level hedges on the outside, a gap of about seven metres or more for a tractor to pass and allow grass and wildflowers to grow and then a few rows of conifers with a gap behind. The centre is the important element with hardwoods widely spaced and an extensive wide central ride. Nigel Gray’s Book *Woodland Management for Pheasants and Wildlife* written in 1986 gives a similar message. Again, I summarise, a warm outside hedge. He recommends a Chinese honeysuckle (*lonicera nitida*) then a 7-metre vegetation gap for grasses and wildflowers, three rows of conifers with some rowan, bird cherries, crab apple for food, a hardwood interior and most important a wide ride of twenty metres with grass. The aim of the design is to provide shelter, some warmth, food and an element of protection from aerial predators. Most important, they both say the interior trees should be planted wide apart to allow undergrowth. In *Woodlands for Pheasants and* *Wildlife*, a GWCT green guide written by Alex Keeble and Joe Dimbleby in 2022, a forty-five-metre-wide instant spinney is described. In the centre a single row of forest trees is planted with cover crops on either side. Then, going out on either side is another line of forest trees, with another cover crop then, medium height trees and food bearing trees with a tall hedge. a perimeter ride and outside hedge. Ultimately the trees will need to be thinned or clear felled and, for that reason, the type of trees should be chosen for practical use, such as building. **"Nature treats well who treat her well." John Ruskin** These concepts are still advocated today, by government agencies and other forestry experts. Some experts are particularly keen on woodland edges as they are important for species such as bats, insects and other creatures. The bigger the area of the edge next to the wood the better. Planting as a patriotic duty should be done not by planting in large blocks which will become overgrown dark and bleak, but with more thought to what serves conservation and the environment best. ### British Big Cats: Scientists Discover Sabre-tooth in UK Countryside URL: https://www.scribehound.com/british-big-cats-scientists-discover-sabre-tooth-in-uk-countryside/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:49.000Z Astonishing discovery confirms existence of remnant population of native big cats which have clung on since the last ice age _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why banning hunting is like banning snogging URL: https://www.scribehound.com/why-banning-hunting-is-like-banning-snogging/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:50.000Z A new book argues that people can’t be taught not to do what’s hardwired into them. Hunting Ethics: A Personal Journey is Nick Fox’s life’s work on the subject. Charlie interviews Nick. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A countryman's journey: From hunting to family safari adventures URL: https://www.scribehound.com/a-countrymans-journey-from-hunting-to-family-safari-adventures/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:51.000Z As age creeps up on you, you suddenly find yourself pondering some of life's bigger questions. And although life as we know it may have changed irrevocably in so many ways, there is some reassurance in knowing that certain things never change. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Finding Balance on the Farm: A Farmer's Wife's Evolution URL: https://www.scribehound.com/finding-balance-on-the-farm-a-farmers-wifes-evolution/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:51.000Z Finding my feet while losing touch at the farm _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Food Security: could I make a self-sufficient 'farmonara'? URL: https://www.scribehound.com/food-security-could-i-make-a-self-sufficient-farmonara/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:51.000Z Our food system is increasingly insecure, so I've been thinking about self-sufficiency: just how realistic is it? Could I create a classic carbonara using only ingredients I can grow, rear, or make myself? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Springtime for the Shepherd URL: https://www.scribehound.com/springtime-for-the-shepherd/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:52.000Z The how, when, where, why and what the hell of lambing. An attempt to explain this uniquely peculiar time of year. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Debunking the Myth: Wolves, Trees, and Carbon Sequestration URL: https://www.scribehound.com/debunking-the-myth-wolves-trees-and-carbon-sequestration/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:53.000Z A recent study suggested that reintroducing wolves could help sequester 100 millions tonnes of CO2... can that really be true? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Time For The Dark Arts URL: https://www.scribehound.com/time-for-the-dark-arts/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:53.000Z In the wake of the Labour government's attacks on family farms we have protested, lobbied and blockaded, yet to no avail. Is it now time to adopt a new strategy to win our battle with the Starmer regime? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Paradise Lost URL: https://www.scribehound.com/paradise-lost/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:53.000Z The irony is that Scottish foxes have lost too _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Cotswold Lion: Wool, Wealth, and the Wonders of Spring URL: https://www.scribehound.com/the-cotswold-lion-wool-wealth-and-the-wonders-of-spring/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:54.000Z ‘In like a lion and out like a lamb.’ That ancient piece of weather lore about March seems to ring true every year... _This post is for subscribers only._ ### It's not about the fish - it's about the fishing URL: https://www.scribehound.com/its-not-about-the-fish-its-about-the-fishing/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:54.000Z *Title image: The author fishing in The Borders with guiding from Charlie Brownlow in 2013* A new season is beginning now where I live and fish in Denmark. It is still cold, so my long-awaited flyfishing in my local river has not really started yet. One day I was out, but I was freezing and the feeling of joy with rod and line disappeared. So warmer days will see me by the riverbank from the early hours and for long days. Every new season also brings thoughts and contemplations on *why* \- why do I still look forward to casting the fly in the river again. Why is it, that I for one is a passionate fly fisher. How can I mobilize the joy of expectation and the sleepless nights before a day by the river? I must confess here, that I am one of these guys with many years of experience and access to the water and (now) time on my hand. I am also one of the guys who rarely (never) catch a fish. I am considering myself rather good with the rod and the technique. I am not an expert, but I know how to handle rod and line. I can read the river, and I can put my fly wherever I want. I have hundreds of perfect flies in my boxes. I am determined and concentrated - all the elements in mind and attitude that characterize the true flyfisher. But I do not catch any fish. That said I take a fish or two from time to time. But they will be (too) small. Fish the size to show off or to take home for a dinner party seems to swim past my flies in the water. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-314202510AM-T_Ellerbaek_3.jpeg) *The beautiful small trout is the main catch of the author* But I keep going and I keep fishing as I have done in more than 60 years. I am actually very content and very happy with my fishing. I am also proud that I master the technique and that I for most of my life has used barbless hooks so my fish can be released in a "human" way. It is interesting, that I am not alone and not the only one without big fish in the bag. We are a kind of silent majority in the flyfishing circles, I think. We all know that most of the flyfishers we meet on a day by the river are of a mature age and many have many years behind them by the rivers. They are not bragging about big fish to fill the freezer. In honesty many of them admit that it might be years since they bagged a decent trout. I must say that my river (Karup Å in the middle of Jutland) is a very productive river with some of the best sea trout and brown trout fishing in Denmark. The big fish are there - we are just a bunch of guys who do not catch them... Many writers and fishermen have tried to explain the joys of fishing and especially flyfishing. Mostly it is grand stories about big fish lost and taken and always after the most dramatic fight. It seems today that size really matters, when fishing is the subject in articles or books. They are looking for and living the dramatic fishing story. I am not in the group who thinks that *the fight* is the highlight of the day and fishing. I am more into the description of *playing* the fish. Hooking the fish and carefully bringing it to the net and then carefully releasing it again with no harm done. The day by the river or the big water seems to be something that just is for these fishermen/women. They are part of a setup and often part of a video shoot to demonstrate man's superiority over the elements and the big fish. For me and my like-minded, it is exactly *the day*, the weather and the fishing that is important - not the big fish or the lust to share with everyone. For me the day is perfect when I have the good Lord patting me on my shoulder, the Sun in my back - and no wind... These are the days when everything fills your mind and your body. These are the days when the troubles of the world disappear from your mind. Days when everything is about the rod, the cast, the fly and where to place it in the water. Days when time stands still and only hunger or thirst can justify a break or a bite. Days when lying on your back in the grass by the river transforms into a zen-like state of mind. Only a splash from a jumping trout can bring you to your feet again... ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-314202510AM-T_Ellerbaek_2.jpeg) *Taking a rest by the river - which fly will be the next to try?* People I know never ask "Did you catch anything today...?" They know the answer and maybe they are kind or maybe they feel pity for the old man with the fly rod. I understand because for most people and the ordinary fisherman the catch and the size of the fish or the size of the bag is important. There is something eccentric about a fisherman/woman that gives a damn about the catch. It's like a hunter going out with gun and dog with no interest in shooting game. (I know a couple of these I must say). There is often a considerable amount of money to be paid for the right to fish the river. I am lucky to be part of a local association with miles of fishing in Jutland for a very reasonable membership fee. I consider it cheap for the right to be close to the rivers and exercise my fly-casting. In that perspective my shooting days were very different. The hunters among you will be familiar with the exorbitant cost per bird on a day out shooting, even when you may be lucky to bring home a handful or two. It is in my head the whole day loaded with impressions big and small things to remember. That exactly gives the day great value in my book. "Why do you continue fishing?" you could ask. This is a natural question. I hope I have provided at least some kind of explanation here. And I am sure many flyfishers will nod and agree in understanding my thoughts and my way of doing things - in spite of the contradiction of it all. After all, it is down to one simple sentence: "It's not about the fish - it's about the fishing!" *Tight Lines!* ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-314202510AM-T_Ellerbaek_1.jpeg) *Beautiful flies ready for the day. Where to start?* ### Steve Reed's Land Use Framework Consultation URL: https://www.scribehound.com/steve-reeds-land-use-framework-consultation/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:54.000Z The Government's Consultation on future land use is fatally flawed as the assumptions it uses it are, in the main, false. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Broken Promises: The Sudden Demise of Sustainable Farming Incentive URL: https://www.scribehound.com/broken-promises-the-sudden-demise-of-sustainable-farming-incentive/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:55.000Z The Sustainable Farming Incentive wasn’t perfect. But it was a lifeline for farmers, pointing the way towards a more _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Creating Memories: 35 Years of Hosting School Visits URL: https://www.scribehound.com/creating-memories-35-years-of-hosting-school-visits/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T11:26:55.000Z Thirty-five years of hosting schools on our farm. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-31420257AM-_F7W0380.jpeg) Reading Abby Allen's article, 'From Farm to Table' has prompted us to respond with our experience of hosting school visits. It all started when our boys were at the local primary school and we took ewes and lambs up to the school yard for the children to see. We then suggested to the headteacher that a visit to the farm would be an interesting experience for the pupils. She jumped at the opportunity. Our farm is close to the school and so the children were able to walk down through the fields, thereby saving the cost of transport. We are also fortunate that our farm is picture-postcard pretty, and as a traditional mixed farm, has a variety of enterprises and we enjoy sharing what we do. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-31420257AM-_F7W0479.jpeg) Later, we had schools from further afield, and all visits, whether by the local school, or by those 'from off' started with a walk through the fields. This allowed the children to let off steam after their bus journeys and gave the teachers a chance to talk with us as we made our way to the main farmyard. Every visit allowed the children to get close to a cow; we had an obliging 'pet' cow, even when she was out grazing, and in addition to explaining where milk came from, complete with a sample taken in situ with a handy cup, there was the no-holds-barred story of how burgers originate. The highlight of visiting the cows was getting the whole group of children to sit down in the grass and keep very still and quiet, and without fail, the cows, being the curious creatures they are, came over to investigate. For a child who had only seen cows in picture books or on television, to have a cow come and sniff at their hat was a thrill and one they would certainly remember. Another part of the day the children always loved was having their packed-lunches sitting on bales in a shed or on the yard in good weather and asking questions about the tractors and machinery which were to be seen around the place. Small boys love being allowed to climb into a tractor cab. Though every child could not experience everything, some particular occasions come to mind, seeing a calf being born and a hen laying an egg in my hand (certainly unplanned!) and cuddling lambs or watching our sheepdog do her stuff. One particular favourite moment was asking the group how large they thought a mole was? Responses tended to be 'about as big as a dog or sheep', then I would produce one from my pocket (frozen!) and pretend it was resting (like the Norwegian Blue Parrot). The children (and the teachers!) were always amazed at how small a mole is and how soft its velvet jacket. Other visits we hosted were for older children who were 'educationally challenged' ('naughty' to you & me) who were brought to the farm from Cardiff. There were never more than six of them with two teachers and an assistant. Each one of these visits started with a ramble, actually, bit of an understatement, more of a yomp encompassing steep gradients and dense undergrowth. It was shocking how unfit they were but they did it. With fewer pupils we were able to do a greater variety of activities; cutting down a tree with an axe or a two-man cross-cut saw, cook sausages on an open fire, shooting (under BASC supervision), sheep-shearing, picking apples, juicing them and drinking the fresh juice. On one occasion, each child made a wooden bread-board and pyrographied a name on it. Most of them put 'To Mum' or 'Dad', but one girl dedicated hers to the headmaster...there must have been a story behind that. There must be some pitfalls? Yes, the weather can make a big difference and criticism from fellow farmers about health and safety. We had gone through all the correct risk assessment protocols and had all the paperwork, bio-security procedures and insurance in place, of course. Our ability to have schools visit us and other interested groups such, as U3A and home-education families, was greatly helped by the Countryside Alliance Foundation through Rachel Evans, the Director of CA Wales, The Soil Association and Learning on the Farm with the late Nick Rebbeck. We never had, or expected, any funding. The big dilemma we see, is finding suitable farms for such visits. As farms become bigger and more specialised, the room for educational visits becomes limited. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-31420257AM-_F7W0470.jpeg) One of the key factors in the success of school visits is one's own enthusiasm and putting across an interesting story rather than just listing basic facts. As well as hosting groups from schools, we have also had parties of home-educated children. Interestingly, this latter group has often been the most articulate and asked the most questions. Something that often shocked us was how ill-informed some of the teachers were about food production. The number of years over which we hosted visits was emphasised by one boy telling us that his dad had visited us when he was at the local school! If nothing else, we have created memories for several hundred children. If we had our time again would we do it again, yes, most certainly. ![Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/gop-images/full/images-31420257AM-_F7W0519.jpeg) _Includes the latest 500 public posts. Use `/sitemap.xml` for the complete archive of public content._