Mud, sweat and fears

After the frustrations and disappointments of last season, I was looking forward to 1 October. The reports from the grouse moors earlier in the year had not been great and although some shoots managed a few days, the overall picture wasn’t good. The wet spring didn’t help; the inclement weather made it hard for the grouse to produce a sustainable number of chicks and even though the local economies could have done with the boost in revenue it just wasn’t to be.

The wet weather also caused problems for shoots trying to get