The job title of civil servant should indicate some form of service to a population but events over the last few years suggest a change to the role’s meaning. The…
Lindsay Waddell
What will happen if we no longer manage our moors?
The largest landholding company in Britain, United Utilities, with 56,000 hectares, folded under pressure and announced that grouse moor management will cease on its nine leased moors when those leases…
How gundog breeding has evolved over the years
Our four-legged friends have been with us a long time, and it’s a pretty good guess that they have been used to help us acquire food for longer than we…
Gamekeepers who flout the law are playing into the hands of politicians
With monotonous regularity I read or hear of yet another misdemeanour by a member of the gamekeeping fraternity, which — when there is at least one murder per week in…
The history and evolution of gamebird diseases
When I took the first steps in my gamekeeping career way back in the 1960s, there is no doubt it was a much simpler life. No internet, no social media,…
The vital role played by the gamekeeper’s partner
It’s fair to say that the fairer sex, if I dare use that term these days, have often had a hard life in rural Britain — from domestic service to…
The changing role of rabbits in Britain’s ecosystem
The humble rabbit has been a part of the gamekeeper’s lot since the beginning. There are records of bones of rabbits left behind by the Romans, but it was not…
When tipping equalled two weeks’ wages
It’s one of those things that, due to the nature of life, little has been written about. I’m talking about tipping, that age-old practice of showing your gratitude for a…
How professional gamekeeping has evolved over the decades
There are very few people who are employed in the countryside, or anywhere else for that matter, who are doing what they did a century or more ago — at…
How predator control is being affected by political correctness
I am watching the Frozen Planet II series at the moment and the quality of filmwork is outstanding. The one thing which I do find puzzling, though, is that it…
The history of the countryside diet and the decline of self-sufficiency
Some time ago, I was watching my favourite gardener, Monty Don. He was doing a tour of some European gardens and one thing which struck me from one of his…
Why every shooter needs a pheasant crowner
The very simple designs are often the best ones. I went to meet Dougie Bell, who invented the pheasant crowner, and John Relph of T. W. Relph and Sons Ltd,…
A day on the moor for walked-up grouse
It was a fine, fresh morning when Simon Philips and his sons, Ben and Ollie, met their friends in the village for a walked-up grouse day. Although it was pleasant…
Why access to land remains a complicated issue
The ownership of land has been a contentious issue from the dawn of man. History tells us we have fought over it as individuals, families, clans, tribes and countries for…
Remembering land management lessons from the past
Not long ago, people used to deride the suggestion that once controlled burning of moorland was stopped, there would be dangerous amounts of fuel. Now the chickens have come home…
History of gamekeeping – how have our quarry species changed?
We are pretty good at frowning on others regarding their sporting practices and culinary habits, but what exactly were we doing on this island of ours not that long ago?…
100 years of keepering – workwear through history
I wonder what the replies would be if I asked a room full of the younger end of the gamekeeping profession — or indeed anyone in the countryside these days…
Wading birds under increasing pressure from predators
I have always had an affinity with the wading birds that kept me company during the summer when I was working on the moor. I now oversee one of two…
Hard times for gamekeepers: how things have changed in 100 years
I had a very dear aunt who made it to — and past — her century of birthdays. Her recollections often made me think about the changes she had seen…
Game: when eating it was regarded as an expensive luxury
If you have little or no knowledge of shooting beyond the past 20 years or so, you may think game has always been plentiful and relatively cheap. Not so. One…