The ultimate winter warmer

An exhilarating day following the Ross Harriers across picture-perfect Herefordshire countryside proves an ideal way to banish the January blues

- Written by William Cursham

HUNTING can be a wonderful tonic. January had been a long, long month of darkness and damp. The landscape was a drab palette of browns and beige, overhung by an ever-present grey sky. As Januarys sometimes do, it felt never-ending.

What a refreshing contrast it was, then, as I drove through the Herefordshire countryside, heading westwards from Ross-on-Wye to the village of St Weonards. The sky was a deep, cloudless blue and the air was crisp. As I turned off the main road down into the pretty valley of Treago, I could feel my spirits soar.

These high spirits turned into a broad smile when I met up with the reason for my visit: the Ross Harriers.

Out piled 14½ couple of studbook harriers from a trailer and immediately started milling around us, exuding enthusiasm. I have spent most of my hunting life watching foxhounds but, after a visit to the High Peak Harriers last Season, I am a convert to these wonderful little hounds, who look like they are permanently stuck in fast-forward mode.

The Ross Harriers are currently hunted by amateur huntsman Alice Griffin, who matches her hounds for a good-humoured love of the chase. Miriam Walkuski decided she would step down at the end of the 2022-23 Season, and she asked if I wanted to take over the reins. It was a case of now or never.” Treago has a special place in Griffin's heart: “This was the first place I hunted hounds, in 2023, when Miriam's horse was off games and she asked me if I could have a go.”

Rare breed