Update on the Grouse Season so Far

Writing this at the beginning of September, we are now able to look at the actual happenings on Moors up and down the country in terms of their shoot days, compared to what we were anticipating before the season started.

I am pleased to say that overall, what we forecast has actually occurred. I am not sure whether that is luck or good judgement by the Keepers!

Working from the south of Grouse land to the north, the Peak District is better than it has been for the last couple of years, with reasonable shootable surpluses where there was a good stock, but on Moors which had a very low stock, inevitably they have done little. With the exception of a couple of Moors in the Trough of Bowland, that part of Lancashire, to include Moors immediately further east and in parts of West Yorkshire, are poor to very poor still. Nidderdale is not great but there is some shooting, to include on Bolton Abbey, but overall, this part of the Pennines has not picked up anything like the same as further north. In part that was because of low stock numbers in the spring and some inclement weather at the wrong time in this high rainfall area.

The North Pennines overall is good and in places very, very good. The latter is where there really was a good stock of Grouse in the spring and they have bred well. The very dry late spring/summer weather does not seem to have adversely affected them at all (even though we thought they would be a little knocked back). However, it is very patchy with a lot of Grouse in parts of Swaledale and Wensleydale, as well as Hexhamshire, but then close by (and in some instances, on absolutely adjoining ground), there are far, far fewer Grouse and the season on those Moors will be quite short. The Cheviots are poor and the North York Moors are poor to very poor, still suffering from the residue of a horrendous Heather Beetle attack. Elsewhere, the heather has shown a significant improvement after the recent rain (this is where the heather was stressed by the drought rather than suffering from actual Heather Beetle damage), which is very good news for the food quality and quantity going into the winter. Next year will in large part be dependent on that.

The south of Scotland is incredibly variable, with a lot of Grouse in very few places but whilst the Lammermuirs have some, overall, it is not many, so the season will not be long there either. Perthshire is as we hoped for, better, but once you get into the Highlands, it is almost universally poor and in places very, very poor. We have seen significant improvement in chick survival rates on really well keepered Moors up there, but on others, there appears to be little sign of improvement from the very low days of 2024 and 2025. Certainly, on some of these Moors, chick survival has been really badly affected by both lack of water, but also a combination of increased Louping Ill and also increased predation.

Overall therefore the 2026 season is much better than the last three or so seasons have been, with in some places, a lovely lot of Grouse but in others, nothing to get excited about.

Days are very likely to be released as Moors assess their stocks over the coming weeks, sometimes at short notice. To be on the list for any opportunities this season, contact Ollie Severn on +44 (0) 7540 899059 or oliver@williampowellsporting.co.uk