The King King Hunting Diaries

March 2nd.  The Quorn at Six Hills.  Wind S.W. but no rain.  Found in Thrussington Gorse ran well for 15 minutes, to ground near Thrussington village.  Found again in Walton Thorns.  Ran badly tho’ by Thrussington Gorse & wolds a lost below Ragdale.  Shoby Scholes & Aylesford’s Covert blank.  Found again in Grimston Park & got somehow to Old Dalby Wood, where there was a brace.  Went away down the hill left Old Dalby on the right, pointed for the Curate, turned to the left over the road, checked by the ----- & hunted back slowly nearly to Six Hills & finally gave it up in Shoby Scholes.

Rode   Sultana
            Sanctity

March 6th.  The Quorn at Gt. Dalby.  Found a brace in Gartree Hill, ran the dog fox pretty well up to the Punchbowl, then to Burrow Hill Wood, where some hounds got ahead, into Gartree Hill again but the fox had gone thro’.  Found again, in Burdett’s covert, got only to Gartree Hill & lost.  Found again in Thorpe Trussells.  Ran very fairly leaving Twyford ½ a mile on the left round the village, up to the viaduct nearly to John O’Gaunt, turned back at the farm house, slowly on by Loseby Park, & lost near Twyford, the fox apparently coming home again.  A gale from the W. very dry.

Rode   Scholar
            Siren

March 7th.  The Belvoir at Goadby. Rain in the night.  Found at Melton Spinney and eventually got away at the bottom, over the brook, up to the Scalford road, thro’ the Ashes, Old Hills, thence pretty straight to Welby Holt leaving the tramway on the left, checked, & hunted on to the left for Asfordby, under T. B’s monument, pointed for Melton by Sysonby church to ground in a stick heap half way between Sysonby & Asfordby.  Bolted & killed in 3 fields.  Grimston Gorse, Saxilby Spinney, the other spinnies near Wartnaby Pits blank, do. Holwell Mouth & I left them going to Clawson Thorns.

Rode   Sultana
            Sanctity

March 9th. The Quorn at Wymeswold.  12 noon.  Snow everywhere:  melted by midday.  Found in Willoughby Gorse, ran 1 ½ mile or so up wind & lost.  Found again in the Curate.  Had to leave him there.  Ella’s Gorse blank.  Found again in Walton Thorns had to leave him there!!!.  Found again in Cradock’s Coppice.  Ran thro’ Thrussington Wolds & Gorse back to Walton Thorns, & left them there.  N. wind fearful cold & no scent to ----- a fox at all.

Rode   Scholar
            Sutley

March 11th.  The Belvoir at Croxton Park.  14 degrees of frost.  Cottesmore stopped by snow day previous.  Found in Newman’s Gorse ran fairly but not fast by Waltham Pasture, Freeby Wood and village on the left, Brentingby ------ on the right, to Stapleford Park, thro’ the Cottage Plantation to Wymondham Rough, probably changed there, left Wymondham first on the left (here De Winton killed his chest. Horse near a double oxer) and so on to Coston Covert to ground.  Sproxton Thorns, Stonesby Oaks & Gorse blank.  Fearfully cold.

Rode   Siren
            Sultana

March 13th.  The Quorn at Loseby.  12 degrees of frost:  riding being dangerous.  Baggrave covert blank.  Found in Barkby Holt, ran in a serpentine direction nearly to Barkby village, past one of the Barkby Thorpe spinnies, by Humberstone Spinnies, by Humberstone village & killed on the outskirts of Leicester.  Found again in Scraptoft Gorse, ran smartly by Humberstone & lost where we had killed the other.  Found again in Barkby Thorpe Spinney.  Left them running for the --------Humberstone again.

Rode   Scholar
            Sutley
            didn’t mount her.

March 14th.  The Belvoir at the Castle.  P------ed about the woods till 4 pm with few foxes & less scent.

Rode   Sultana

March 16th.  The Quorn at Kettleby.  Found a brace in Welby Holt.  Fox was headed & hounds pressed on in every direction.  Went for Saxilby, turned to the right & lost by Kettleby.  Holwell Mouth, Little Belvoir spinnies & Grimston Gorse blank.  Found in Dalby Wood, a vixen, left her in Grimston Gorse.  Found again in Thrussington Wolds, came away Ragdale to the left for Hoby bore to the left nearly to Shoby Scholes, still to the left to Ragdale Hall, where the fox ran in view before them, thro’ the Wolds & Gorse over the slope to the bottom where we change foxes, & came back to Hoby again then after another ring & lost not farm from Thrussington.  1 ½ hours.  If straight it would have been a fine thing.

Rode   Siren
            Sutley

March 17th.  The Cottesmore at Knossington.  Found an outlier, ran into Owston Little Wood & lost there.  Big wood blank.  Found another outlyer or traveller, ran this thro’ Big Wood from the Somerby side on to Launde Park Wood, 2 miles from there one nearly to (Hope) Lodge, & I left them in Launde Wood for the 4^th time.  Rain & N.E. wind.

Rode   Scholar

March 18th.  The Belvoir at Croxton Park.  Boisterous N.E, wind drying up all yesterday’s rain. Found in Brentingby Spinney, ran some ½ dozen fields twisting and turning, lost.  Burbridge’s covert, Freeby Wood, Walthm Pasture, the other Brentingby Spinney & Melton Spinney, & Goadby Gorse blank.  Left them there.

Rode   Sultana

March 20th.  The Quorn at Twyford.  Found in John O’Gaunt.  Away at a fair pace by Tilton Station to Whadboro’ X roads, then to the right, thro’ Tugby Bushes & Loddington Reddish, by Loddington, nearly to V---‘s Gorse, about here we changed foxes in the open, then back by Loddington nearly to Launde Park Wood where the fox was in view, then the old round again by V---‘s Gorse, to ground in the Keythorpe Hall plantation grounds.  Found again in the Coplow ran pretty well a bit of a ring towards Ingarsby & back by ---aby, thence for the Coplow again.  Left them at a check by the railway.  High N. wind:  heavy hard storms.

Rode   Scholar
            Siren

March 21st.  The Belvoir at Hose Grange.  Cutting N. wind, rode to covert in teeth of a blizzard.  Found in Hose Thorns, ran very fast by Clawson, leaving Clawson Thorns, first on the left thro’ Holwell Mouth, along the hill side, turned to the left short of Dalby Wood, thro’ Saxilby Spinney & lost by Saxilby Grange.  Found again in Sherbrooke’s covert.  Thro’ ---ce mistake fox got a long start.  Muddled after him between Nether & Upper Broughton, nearly up to the Curate & lost.  Left them going to Kay Wood almost a certain blank!

Rode   Sutley

March 23rd.  The Quorn at Widmerpool -----.  Found in the Parson, ran well over Hickling Standard nearly to Sherbrooke’s covert, left it on the left, Clawson village on the left, do. Clawson Thorns, Holwell on the left, over the tramway, fox just before there, crossed the Melton road by Adcock’s Lodge, Welby Holt & Kent’s Thorns on the left, fox still close in front, Wartnaby on the left, Holwell Mouth on the right down into the Vale again where the fox was virtually lost tho’ Firr got on with an --------ing line to Sherbrooke’s Covert, wh. was naturally empty. The beaten fox crawled back for Clawson Thorns.  Left them going to Owthorpe Borders.

Rode   Scholar
            Sultana

March 25th.  The Belvoir at Croxton Park.  Found in Sproxton Thorns ran rather against a blustering souwester nearly to Coston then back to the right pretty straight to ground under the road just outside Waltham.  Stonesby Gorse & Newman’s Gorse blank.  Waltham Pasture, Freeby Wood & Brentingby Spinnies.  Found a fox in a hedgerow 2 fields from the Melton road, ------ him 2 fields ---- towards Melton Spinney, to ground in a stick heap where there was a littler of young cubs.  Found another, probably the vixen, further down the same hedge ran a bit of a ring by Brentingby Spinnies, & on for Freeby Wood eventually losing.

Rode   Sanctity
            Siren

March 26th.  The Quorn at Thorpe Satchville.  Met in the village not alas! At the Hall.  Blowing a whole gale with blizzards.  Found in Adam’s Gorse, came away with a bad scent over the old steeple chase course up the hill and towards Somerby then down again by Burdett’s Covert and Gartree Hill not tr---ing them , Burton Hall on the right by the rifle butts, lost by Lady Grant’s house in a thunderstorm.  Found again in Thorpe Trussells.  Meandered between it & Ashby Pasture with occasional little rings in the open& I think ran to ground at last in Thorpe Trussells.  Left them there.

Rode   Sanctity
            Sutley

March 31st.  The Queen’s at Chalfront St. Peters.  Uncarted on the St. Giles ride, went away up wind with the worst scent I ever saw with staghounds, arable land clouds of dust.  Pointed at first for Rickmansworth, bore to the right leaving Denham on the left.  Turned away from the Walmsplash and thro’ Duke’s Wood or part of it, where I received a fox.  Round by Denham again & left Uxbridge on the left.  Crossed the G.W. Railway where a hound (Councillor) was much hurt by a train.  On over an unmanageable country to Colne Brook & took in the town 2hrs 20 minutes.  Slow hunting, rather spoiled by a hound called Warrior, an awful skirter & mute!  Wind N.W. to W. & tamed to S.E.  Deer never pressed; never tried to make a point:  merely lounged around.

Rode   Sultana
            Siren