Arley Estate WORCESTERSHIRE

The more shoot captains, headkeepers and estate managers I speak to, the more I am convinced running game shoots must be like raising children. For some in the aforementioned group, having one is more than enough, while for others having two or three is fine but they are happy to take on responsibility for more.

Oliver Davies, the 44-year-old headkeeper and shoot captain at Arley, Davenport House, Sodington and Winwoods, appears to take his responsibilities in his stride. The son of a farmer, Oliver officially arrived in shoot management at the turn of the millennium when he took over at Winwoods, which like Arley sits on the Shropshire/ Worcestershire border between Bewdley and Bridgnorth. Like many of those tasked with helping him look after the aforementioned shoots, Oliver was entirely self-taught, fitting his gamekeeping hobby either side of a three-year agricultural engineer apprenticeship at college, learning things here and there through others in the sport.

Arley Estate, the