Red Grouse at Hadrian's Wall

Larry in shooting butt with shotgun and grouse
Butt #5 was pretty good! On top of the moors, it can be cool and windy in mid-September, often with a bit of rain. That’s one of my pair of Purdey 28-gauge side by sides.

You’re immersed in history when visiting this part of England. The Romans were here two thousand years ago, the invading Normans put up castles a thousand years later—after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. We were at Hadrian’s Wall; about the farthest north the Romans were able to conquer when they moved into the British Isles in the first century. They built the eighty mile long, twelve feet high, Hadrian’s Wall, from coast to coast—to keep their neighbors out.

Sign for Birdoswald Fort at Hadrian’s Wall
Just a sign, but this is the location of the Birdoswald Fort at Hadrian’s Wall. The Romans built the wall and this fort in the second century and abandoned it during the 4th and 5th centuries.

Son Russell and I were there to shoot red grouse at moors named Muggleswick and East Allenheads. The United Kingdom is the only place in the world that red grouse live and we believe that the northern part of England is the very best place to go for them.

Naworth Castle
We stayed three days in this beautiful old Castle, driving out to the grouse moors for shooting, each day. Naworth Castle dates back to the 12th or 13th century.

We had flown into London and relaxed for a couple of days, visiting with the folks at Purdey and Boss—and walking in Hyde Park. Then we rented a car and drove north to a place called Naworth Castle, just south of the border with Scotland. This is a real castle, made of stone with very high ceilings and a dining room 100 feet in length.

Russell with Grouse
Russell, standing by a hand-laid stone butt, with his grouse from the last drive.

Red grouse are typically driven to the shooters by a line of “beaters” with dogs. The birds fly about eyeball high and divide left or right—or both, just as they arrive at the shooting butts (blinds). The flocks arrive in small groups of 10-20 birds. They fly low and fast and are the fastest of game birds—70 miles per hour. Add a tail wind of 15-20 miles per hour and you have a serious “fast ball of feathers,” for a shooter more used to a 50-mph clay pigeon.

Larry Climbing a Fence
This is sheep country, so there are going to be fences. Question is, how do you conveniently cross them. Pretty clever answer; never saw it before.

It seems that each year I must re-learn just how fast these grouse fly. Always swing from the hips is great advice, but my hips don’t seem to understand 85 miles per hour. Finding myself behind the bird, just before the shot, my arms take over to finish the swing, pulling my face off the stock and of course messing up the lead. Then, of course there is foot position; as the flock comes in, I am positioned for a shot out front, but invariably the shot is left or right and my feet are pointed in the wrong direction. Foot position is also very important—as I re-learn! Well, there’s always “next year”!

Larry Climbing a Fence 2
It’s nothing like quail hunting in Missouri. Simply grab the post extension, step up, step over and step down.
Larry in a rock grouse butt, with scenic backdrop
Most of the butts were made of stone. This picture provides a good example of the rolling hills of a grouse moor. The sticks help keep you from shooting your fellow shooters, on the left and right.