Down the garden path

February, as is tradition, sees me heading south with a team of rifles to help out Paul Childerley with his cull on fallow, muntjac and Chinese water deer (CWD). I enjoy this week every year, as I team up with a group of guys who have made this trip with me for years. They are all trained and know the set-up, so it’s a fairly relaxing week. We do the first half of the week on an estate in Hertfordshire, which is a big pheasant shoot where deer culling becomes a priority for a short period after the pheasants have finished, before heading back to Paul’s. The only thing I don’t enjoy is travelling south. It seems that every time I cross the border and get past Shap Summit it gets busier, with the M1 South just a nightmare with mile after mile of roadworks and 50mph speed restrictions.