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Shooting in Northumberland |
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Northumberland, and just over the Scottish borders provide excellent venues for shooting and are easily accessible to guests staying here at the Lindisfarne Inn. The Venues for shooting in Northumberland are beautiful, offering breathtaking views in stunning surroundings making for a memorable occasion for all. The game was first discovered over 200 years ago and remains popular to this day.
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Rough shooting in Northumberland usually consists of a mixture of driven and walked up shooting and some shooting days involve a little duck flighting. Rough Shooting is the most popular of all with a mixture of rabbit, snipe, grouse, duck, wood pigeon, pheasants and partridges to shoot at.
Shooting in Northumberland and Scotland in particular can see some driven days of up to 500 birds but more often there will be days consisting of up to 150 birds which is still more than adequate for an action-packed shooting session.
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Bywell Shooting ground at Felton is just a short drive away from the Lindisfarne Inn and is an excellent venue for shooting in Northumberland. This well established venue is widely regarded as one of the leading clay pigeon shooting grounds in the UK. Other excellent shooting days out include the Fowberry Moor shooting clays in Wooler, set in a beautiful and private woodland environment. The Steve Smith Shooting Ground in Dinnington is associated with Clay Pigeon Shooting Association and is classed as one of only two ‘Premier’ shooting grounds in Northumberland. Guests of all levels of experience are welcome.
Lindisfarne or Holy Island, as it historically known, boasts more punt-shooting than anywhere else in the United Kingdom. This skilled and less common type of wildfowling has fewer followers than land shooting, although its adherents are likely to find it a far more engaging and satisfying sport. Wildfowling on land does have it’s own set of skills, but punt-gunning truly puts the art of stalking to the test. The large smooth bore punt-gun will generally not yield a successful shot unless the hunter is within sixty yards of his quarry. No mean feat when you have to approach on the waters in plain view.
The stalk requires great patience and technique, as well as having a limited window of opportunity. Since the Wildlife Act prohibits the use of motorized boats for the purposes of hunting wildfowl, the small punt can only go out in calm waters and when the tide is right. Generally a good punt-hunter will only take a single shot in a day. Unlike land shooting, the punt-gun is designed to take more than one bird at a time, so the idea is wait for the perfect shot.
This tradition dates back to two centuries ago and the same specifically designed boats and equipment are still in use. Holy Island’s plentiful bird life, makes it an ideal tidal island off which to enjoy a day’s hunting. Most of the bird population is protected, but certain species have seasons in which they are legal quarry. The code of the punt-hunter forbids a shot without the quarry being first identified.
If you plan to visit Northumberland on a Shooting Holiday we suggest our newly refurbished in as the perfect place to stay. Our property offers comfortable accommodation, good food and a convenient location in North East Northumberland.
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