The King King Hunting Diaries

Jany 2nd.  The Queen’s at Holtspur Heath.  Uncarted down wind, so the stag waited for us in a wood, & then dodged about like a rabbit.   After some 30 minutes went on with the master, one whip & 7 couple by Penn House, near wh. we tried in vain to take him in a sheep fold.  C---- came up with more hounds, but 6 couple short, & getting up to the deer they coursed him some three miles, & took safely in the open some 2 miles north of Wycombe.  Wind S.W., a badly managed day.

Rode  Strategy

Jany 5th.  The Queen’s at Winkfield White Hart.  Uncarted on, I believe, Mr Auckland’s farm, & ran straight to Windsor Forest just south of the Crispin.  Got up to the deer & stopped hounds, then back to Winkfield Place & thence to the Squirrel & took safely.  Wind. N.S., ground very deep.

Rode  Capt. Cattell’s grey mare

Jany 6th.  Mr Garth at Wentworth.  The usual thing, but not quite so many foxes on foot as I have seen there.   After a certain amount of hunting, & a good deal more of going to halloas, I left them.  They were going with a fox Egham Wood way.

Rode  Strategy

Jany 9th.  The Queen’s at Farnham Royal.  Uncarted on the common, the deer being shamefully mobbed & the Master apparently approving.  Ran thro’ the Beeches, out by the Yew Tree by Hedgerly, thro’ Bulstrode Park, & took at Chalfont St Peters.  Wind N.W.

Rode  ?  What --- think.

Jany 15th.  Mr Garth at Hey Wood.  Frost suddenly turned to rain.  Neither Master nor huntsman out.  All the Heywood coverts blank, do. Mount Skippets, & the Foliejon & Winkfield spinnies.  Found in Tallyho Gorse.  Good scent in & out.  Away fast a right handed curve thro’ Claridge’s Gorse & the opposite spinnies, & ran well for Warfield Church, then to the right.  Here the acting huntsman took them bang off their noses, & made a crazy cast up wind & left his fox for ½ a mile behind him.  A run spoiled.  Left them drawing Claridge again having run thro’ it ½ an hour before!

Strategy

Jany 20th.  The Queen’s at New Lodge.  Uncarted by Mount Skippet, & ran with one check to Heywood, & on to Maidenhead Thicket, only Mr Shackell, the 1^st whip, & another, rally with them.  40 minutes.  Stopped the hounds but the deer did no more good, going by Hall Place, & Marlow Temple, & crossing the river when I & most others left.  Wind W.

Strategy

Jany 23rd.  The Queen’s at Beaconsfield.  Uncarted in Wilton Park.  Deer much mobbed but got his head to the wind in a covert, & also a good start.  Hunted slowly, leaving Bulstrode Park well on the left, to the Hedgerly coverts & thence with the Yew Tree on the right, thro’ Burnham Beech, & left, Drossmore on the right, finally getting to Taplow Court where I left the deer being in the river.  Wind S!W.

Strategy  A lot of folks jumped --- hurdles.

Jany 30th.  The Queen’s at Chalfont St Giles.  Uncarted a very long way beyond this rather distant meet.  Deer mobbed as usual, tho’ by a very small crowd which cd. have been easily controlled.  So he turned back & hound ran fairly well to St Giles, then turned rather up wind, turned left handed again by the Vache, & I don’t know where, but bearing left handed by the new railway stations.  The next place I knew was Amersham, thence without touching  a road, whg. Indeed was never done all day, to Gt. Missenden where we safely took our stag.  1 hour 45 min.  Wind N.E.  Why don’t they ever let a deer make his pt.?  

Rode the ---, lost both hindshoes, came home perfectly well 23 miles without them!