After a very wet week, we were very lucky to be hunting at the new meet of Corhampton Lane Farm. Unfortunately it was only possible to find enough ground to have two hunts on and we are very grateful to Dick Hall for his hospitality. The Master was panicking the night before, as he had no quarry. Texting his daughter and asking if her fiance would run, he was lucky to find she was in a pub, and that her friend Claire Lindsay was down from Leeds and "up for it." Apparently the next morning, the sober realisation of what she had volunteered to do sunk home. But it was too late now, there was no turning back. The Master had posted a guard at the train station! At the meet, the Master did his usual routine about the hounds not eating whole Quarries, just a leg or an arm, but she was completely un-phased by his remarks. From the looks of her, she is probably used to being chased by slavering animals; but they probably usually have only two legs and want to do more than lick her once they have caught her!

There was a great turnout of children at the meet and they were soon galloping away from the meet, to cross the Beacon Hill Lane by Warner's Cottage. The strong breeze on the single Quarry's line was pushing hounds some 50 yards off the true line, but hounds were hunting well as they went by Winters Down and Downleaze Copse. Here, the Master saw well ahead of the hounds, a man walking his dog across the line. Would hounds be distracted by this fresher line? As the hounds reached this point, Sulty 02 was in front and never even blinked at the fresh line. Indeed the whole pack just roared on to catch their Quarry by Sailor's Lane. A very fast straight hunt, which this year's entry found difficult to be up with the head of the pack.

The second hunt started up by Beaconhill Beeches and the strong breeze made it difficult for hounds to settle to the line. However, they did settle and ran well downhill by the Punch Bowl, to cross Beacon Hill Lane, on to ground that should have been foiled by the Field on the first hunt. But once again the hounds never faltered and were running hard until they came to the bare cultivated ground by Littleton Copse. This ground slowed them a little, but they nonetheless caught their Quarry unaided, by Corhampton Lane. A short but fast day with all the children finishing in style and our novice Quarry, Claire, having excelled herself.

Photographs by Sam Whaley (Click to enlarge)