A perfect county for our sporting Queen
A ribbon of life runs north outside Fakenham in Norfolk on its way to the sea. Either side of the River Stiffkey, well-drained land rises and falls, giving the lie to Noel Coward’s casual quip: “very flat, Norfolk”.
There are trout to be had in the clear chalkstreams and I grew up shooting in the river catchment, where I’m still very lucky to shoot today. At this time of year I’m often out protecting my oldest farming friend’s peas, in sight of the drive where I shot my first pheasant.
To the west, there’s a string of household names — the Sandringham, Houghton and Holkham Estates — that hosted great shooting parties in the Victorian and Edwardian eras and which today are at the forefront of efforts to preserve wild grey partridges. There aren’t many other counties I know of where in good years an estate is able to host driven wild
