A rubbish refusal

Tessa Waugh’s last meet before lockdown is full of drama before the real action even begins, with a Volvo in a ditch and an urgent call for “strong men” from a flustered hunt secretary

- Tessa Waugh

SETTING off for hunting on the last day before lockdown 2.0, I was feeling on top of the world. It was possibly even the last day of the season but I wasn’t letting dreary details dampen the mood. I had my horse in the trailer, a bag of Minstrels to hand and a day’s hunting in store. Life, at that exact moment, was pretty close to perfect.

The meet (or rather “unbox, get on and go”) that day was in the Beaumont Valley, a wild and wonderful place on the Scottish side which, apart from the depressing influx of gamebirds that have arrived in recent years, has remained unchanged for aeons.