Countryside Alliance - love the countryside

Dan Cook, 18, Gamekeeper

Dan Cook is something of a rarity in the shooting world and is proof that any one can make a future in the shooting sector if they’re interested. Although Dan grew up in rural Berkshire he wasn’t introduced to country pursuits immediately through his family. Instead, he spent his childhood summers with his family camping and walking in the countryside, as well as playing football and rugby for school teams. His introduction to shooting came as a teenager when a friend took him beating at a local shoot. After a few of visits he was hooked and saw a career for himself in the shooting sector as a gamekeeper.

While many of Dan’s peers at school did work experience in urban based jobs, he did his at the shoot where he was beating and learnt the ropes as a gamekeeper. The experience sealed his decision and he went on to Sparsholt College in Hampshire to complete a national diploma in game and wildlife management. Here he complimented his practical experience with sound theoretical knowledge of many different aspects of the job, “The course wasn’t as hands on as I imagined but I learnt so much about the biology and ecology of different species. I particularly enjoyed learning the intricacies of deer management and I now go deer stalking regularly.” Dan went on to complete a work placement through the college at the Combend Estate in Gloucestershire and made quite an impression. He was recruited for his current position at Brimpsfield Park Estate by recommendation from his old boss.

Brimpsfield Park is a busy shoot, operating around three days a week during the season and drawing clients from across the UK as well as Europe and the USA to enjoy pheasant and partridge shooting on the 2,000 acre property. Managing this shoot is not a job for the faint hearted. Dan and his assistant in cooperation with the head gamekeeper, works tirelessly throughout the year planting cover crops, coppicing woodland, maintaining game pens, rearing game birds and controlling vermin to ensure the shoot suits game birds and increases the general biodiversity of the estate. “We have a specific five year management plan for the woodland and as a result of us coppicing and letting more light reach the woodland floor we have increased the variety of wildflowers now growing.” The work load intensifies during June and July when the birds begin to arrive. “It’s tough going because during the summer the birds arrive in large batches and we usually get around five batches. We’re up early in the morning and back late at night making sure they’re all healthy and stay in the pens until they’re fit enough to fend for themselves.” But it’s a team effort and when Dan patrols the estate’s boundary pushing the game birds back towards the estate, a practice know as ‘dogging in’, his dogs cover up to 120km a day – they certainly earn their crust.

During the shooting season the estate is a source of employment for many local people and Dan believes the shoot acts as a bit of a lynchpin for the community. “On each shoot day we employ about 50 people - beaters, pickers up and kitchen staff. Most of them come from the local area but some travel from Wales to be part of the shoot.” The local pub is also a major beneficiary of the shoot’s activity. “The Green Dragon pub is a real social hub and they accommodate about 130 of our clients through the season as well as hosting our beaters day lunch. At £100 a room, without all meals and drink, they’re making good money during the typically quiet tourist season.” While Dan is positive about his future in the countryside he laments the housing situation which is making it harder for local people to live near their work and is driving young people to buy homes in urban areas. But with the season well under way he’s looking forward to seeing the fruition of his hard work in halcyon shoot days.

Gavin Chambers, 31, Gamekeeper.

For many people, embarking on a career change can seem like a daunting task but Gavin Chambers was only to happy to swap his spanners for tweeds. Having grown up on the edge of the Fens in Cambridgeshire, he was introduced to shooting as a teenager when his uncle took him beating at a nearby shoot. Gavin was hooked and spent most of his weekends helping out at the shoot, but his interest in shooting began to wane and he admits that as a 16-year-old he was more interested in other distractions.

After leaving school Gavin worked in the scaffolding trade and while it filled his demands for outdoor work, he missed the connection to nature he used to enjoy on the shoot – so he decided to reignite his passion for shooting. “I called the gamekeeper at the Burghley estate near Cambridge where I used to go beating and asked if I could help out and learn the skills needed to be a gamekeeper – he agreed” said Gavin, who spent five years preparing for a career change. “In addition to my full-time scaffolding job, I spent every spare minute I could at the shoot building up the practical experience needed to be a successful gamekeeper.” He then moved to Bedfordshire for his first formal full-time gamekeeping job, before taking up his current position at the Castle Hill shooting estate, at Filleigh on the edge of Exmoor, where he has worked for five years.

Castle Hill is a large pheasant shoot, operating four days a week during the season, where Gavin works as one of four gamekeepers that manage the 9,000 acre property. The gamekeeping profession requires a special type of person because the job can be strenuous and often involves working unsociable hours – but Gavin believes these are out-weighed by the benefits. “As one of the gamekeepers here I get to be my own boss. I have an area which I’m responsible for and I rely on my own self motivation to get the results expected of me – it’s great not having someone look over your shoulder all the time.” And when it comes to results gamekeepers certainly deliver them when it comes to increasing biodiversity. “Over the years we have planted Miscanthus to improve the flushing of game birds off the top of the hills and coppiced woods to let in light which encourages flower growth. All this work has increased the insect life of the area which in turn has allowed numbers of song birds to flourish – it’s very satisfying getting such tangible results.” But like most gamekeepers the most rewarding part of the job is when shoot days go well. “I do hold my breath on the first day because you hope the consistent annual effort pays you back. I definitely exhale a sigh of relief.”

Clearly the keepers are getting it right because the syndicate and their guests come back year-on-year. “The terrain here presents some challenging shooting which always attracts people wanting to test themselves. Many of our guests and loaders stay in local accommodation and eat in the area, and with one pound of every three brought in through tourism coming from shooting it’s of real value to the local economy.” Gavin is positive about his future in the countryside but he does have concerns. “It worries me how few young people enter land based careers. We’re trying to address this at the shoot, where we host a young persons shooting day to show them what it’s all about and encourage them to consider rural careers – but we can’t do anything about the housing problem. House prices are out of reach for young people and it’s driving them into urban areas, the government needs to offer more financial support to help rural families live near their work.” However, for now Gavin looks forward to frosty mornings on the shooting line and watching the silhouettes of thrilling pheasants against blue winter sky.

Geoff Norman, 28, Shooting manager

Geoff Norman has arguably one of the most varied jobs in Gloucestershire, from feeding gamebirds to helping ladies choose their favourite country outfit – it’s all in a day’s work for him. Having grown up in a farming family, Geoff was exposed to rural life and countryside custodianship from an early age through his father. At age eight he was helping out as a beater on his local shoot and by age 11 his father had given both him and his brother 1000 pheasants to look after for his shoot. These experiences inspired him to take his interest in shooting to the next level and pursue a career as a gamekeeper and all round shooting specialist.

Geoff went on to complete a national certificate in gamekeeping and diploma in game and fishery management at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire. It wasn’t just his theoretical knowledge that was put to the test; he also cut his teeth at a nearby shoot when he took up a part-time gamekeeper’s job. After leaving college Geoff embarked on a career change and took a position with Rentokill, but it didn’t meet his expectations and he pined to be amongst the shooting action. However, it wasn’t long after Geoff left Rentokill that opportunity knocked at his door in the form of a headkeeper position at his old college, Hartpury. “It was a brilliant challenge. I was teaching students wildlife and habitat management as well as all the business and practical skills they need to run successful shoots. In addition, I also ran a commercial shoot operated by the college – which gave the students an opportunity to get hands-on experience.” But a fresh challenge presented itself and Geoff now works for Bredon Hill Shooting Supplies near Tewkesbury.

Bredon Hill Shooting Supplies is a gun shop, country outfitter and shooting business all in one. The business employs seven full-time staff and operates a local commercial game shoot offering regular days throughout the season, a small game farm and organises shooting opportunities for clients at locations across the UK - which is one of the reasons why Geoff’s job is so varied. He does the work of about three men; in addition to his other responsibilities at Bredon Hill Geoff is also the gamekeeper for the business’s 3,000 acre game shoot. “Depending on the time of year, I could be up at five in the morning feeding pheasants, hosting a shoot day, organising a bespoke hunting trip for a client or trading at show grounds across the country.” While many people would find such work stressful, Geoff thrives on the variety. “I get to spend time in beautiful places when I’m doing the gamekeeping work, as well as meeting great people when we’re retailing at gamefairs across the country. I couldn’t work a job where I walked into an office and knew week in-week out what I’d be doing – this job keeps me on my toes.”

Bredon Hill Shooting Supplies keeps other people busy too. During the summer the company hires 60 part-time staff from across the country to work in sales at country shows and game fairs, as well as many local beaters, loaders and pickers-up during the shooting season. But Geoff, like many of the local people he works with, faces similar problems when it comes to working in the countryside, “I’m moving in to Kemerton, the nearest village to my work and I can only just afford to rent. It’s frightening how many young workers in rural areas rely on their parents’ goodwill to house them – they couldn’t afford to live in the countryside otherwise. Something has to be done about this situation otherwise rural villages are going to turn into ghost towns.” However for Geoff the feeling of achievement in creating great shoot days for so many people make it worth fighting for and he looks forward to putting smiles on many more people’s faces this season.

Jeremy Mason-Elliot, 23, Stalker and Underkeeper.

Thankfully game meat is experiencing a renaissance being driven, in part, by its increasing popularity among celebrity chefs. For many people their only contact with game remains at the point of purchase, so meet Jeremy, whose career involves getting the deer from the field to your plate. Jeremy grew up in rural Wiltshire and was introduced to country pursuits through a friend at school who took him beating at the local shoot on the Hamptworth estate – he was hooked on day one. He then began to assist the estate gamekeeper with his work and by the age of 16 he had stalked his first fallow deer. While he considered working in the family’s building firm, his experiences volunteering on the estate sealed his decision to pursue a land-based career.

After school he moved down to Hampshire and completed a national diploma in game and wildlife management at Sparsholt College. But his love affair with the Hamptworth estate ran deep and after finishing his course he returned to the estate to create a job for himself running a commercial deer stalking operation. “I’d been managing the deer herd on the estate voluntarily for years, but I felt the estate had the numbers of deer that could sustain a stalking business. I pitched my idea to the boss and he let me run with it, I’ve now been employed as the estate’s head stalker for three years.”

The Hamptworth estate is located on the northern edge of the New Forest and comprises of 3,000 acres of deciduous and ever-green woodland and mixed arable farmland. In addition to managing the fallow deer population, Jeremy also works as an underkeeper on the estate’s large game shoot, where he works in association with the headkeeper to deliver 80 days of game shooting throughout the season. During the deer open season Jeremy’s primary focus is to give clients a unique experience and maintain a good herd structure. “It’s very rewarding when a client thanks you for good day. As a stalker I want to maintain population levels that are sustainable, so that we don’t get over-population which can lead to outbreaks of disease.” All the venison that is culled on the property is processed by the estate butchers and sold in the farm shop, which was awarded the New Forest Marque in recognition of the standards it had achieved. Jeremy believes this is very important, “The Marque is a marketing scheme which gives consumers confidence that the products they buy are sustainable and that their money goes to local producers who work in our rural community.”

Jeremy believes stalking is growing in popularity and along with the game shoot acts as a significant source of local revenue. “My clients come from all over the UK and abroad, and at £80 a stalk it’s a relatively inexpensive way to enjoy some wonderful countryside. We shoot around 350 fallow deer per year and with increasing numbers of invasive species such as muntjac there will be more opportunity for people to get involved.” With around 1,000 clients visiting the estate per year, many local businesses get a slice of the action too. “We employ around 26 beaters and pickers-up on shoot days, in addition to building contractors for estate maintenance. Many of the local B&Bs also accommodate our guests which keeps them going through the winter.” While Jeremy feels secure in his immediate future he is worried about his long term position in the countryside. “I try not to think about house prices because it scares me; there is no way I could afford to work here if I didn’t get a house with the job. Young people in rural areas need more financial support schemes to get them on the property ladder.” But with the fallow buck season underway, Jeremy looks forward to watching the deer ghost through the woods and putting smiles on the faces of his clients through memorable stalking experiences.  

Stacey Gibson, 18, Receptionist and shooting ground assistant

Stacey is new to shooting but is on a steep learning curve having recently taken up a position of employment at Newnham Park Shooting Ground in Devon. Stacey admits that it’s a real change from her previous job in car sales but that it’s been a great opportunity to develop an interest in a sport she’s never really thought about before - shooting.

Originally from Manchester, Stacey moved to Plymouth when she was ten. The move was prompted because her parents wanted to live in an area they had always had a special connection with, having spent their honeymoon in Plymouth. Although it meant leaving some of the extended family behind, Stacey believes the move to the village of Moorhaven has benefited her in the long run when she compares her life prospects to that of her peers in Manchester. “I like life in rural areas because it doesn’t have a timescale attached to it and isn’t as stressful. Also, I don’t have the same sort of social pressures that young people in cities do.”   

Having no previous connection to shooting didn’t mean Stacey couldn’t get involved, although she admits it’s a complicated story of how she got the job. “I started my A-levels but I enjoyed working in car sales more than being a bookworm, so I completed an apprenticeship in business administration instead.” She then heard about the job at Newnham Park Shooting through the local grapevine and although wasn’t specifically looking for a new job she jumped at the chance to take on a new challenge.

Newnham Park Shooting Ground is located between the city of Plymouth and the foothills of the Dartmoor National Park in Devon and is set in heart of a 1550 acre oak wooded estate. No two days here are the same and this - apart from getting the chance to fire a shotgun for the first time – really appealed to Stacey. The ground runs many events and competitions throughout the year which keep Stacey on her toes and which she believes is great for the local area. For example, in August the ground hosts a two-day event that draws 190 people from across the UK who either camp on the ground or stay in local accommodation. “With great initiatives like National Shooting Week and all our other competitions, people travel from all over and end up spending money in the area – which is great for rural tourism,” said Stacey.

Stacey is livewire of energy and enthusiasm and adores working in a rural area but she does have a few concerns about the sustainability of her future. Her biggest concern is not being able to afford to live in the area when she moves out of home. “House prices are just silly and there is no way I could get a deposit together unless I came into some serious money.” Another major concern was the rising price of petrol and the lack of good public transport in rural areas. “If I took public transport it would take me two hours to get to work. I couldn’t commute like this everyday and this poor level of services means you are totally car dependent.” But Stacey is determined to stay and the shooting sector offers the opportunity to develop new skills and continue to contribute within her local community.