Tally-ho

I can’t think of a more intriguing locomotive type than the Hunt Class. They were all withdrawn by July 1961, a year after I started train spotting. No. 62712 Morayshire, the sole survivor of the 76 strong, ex-LNER D49 Shire and Hunt Class 4-4-0s, is consequently the only one I have seen. Built between 1929 and 1935, the earlier locomotives were named after English and Scottish counties and the later ones after fox hunts.

As for the hunts, themselves, the Grove [represented by D49 No. 62767] and the Rufford [No. 62771] amalgamated in 1952 to become the Grove and Rufford. We came face to face with their current contingent on Saturday, during what might otherwise have been a quiet walk in the country. What happened next seemed quite bizarre.

After an enjoyable picnic in a tranquil setting next to the River Greet, we were heading back along the Southwell trail. Soon after we had left Maythorne, I heard the sound of a hunting horn followed by the unmistakeable yelping of a pack of hounds. Figures on horseback appeared above the hedgerows to the north, coming to a halt a couple of fields away. Then the action really began. An off-road farmer’s vehicle sped by twice, along the field margin closest to the trail. I guessed that it was laying scent for the dogs, but who knows?

Then, two brown hares shot from left to right across the same field. One turned around and tried to make his escape in the direction he had just come from. The horns sounded again and the field was suddenly full of dogs. They bounded straight towards us as we stood, mesmerised, if not transfixed, where an ungated field meets the track. Huntsmen and women followed on horseback, all kitted out - some in red jackets, others in black.

The horses trotted past us. The riders were very polite. “Hello, I bet you didn’t expect to see us here today,” offered a very well-spoken lady. The horses turned sharp left onto the trail and as others joined them, they galloped off in the Southwell direction, presumably trying to catch up with the leaders. It struck me that that would not be a welcome sight for any parent with toddlers, or pushing a baby-buggy, who happened to be coming towards them on what is quite a narrow pathway.

In the next field to the south, one of the hares re-appeared, closely pursued by two of the dogs. It ran towards the hedge that forms the boundary with the trail. They were gaining on it, but it seemed to have just made it into the bushes.

So, how do hares rate, in all of this? I thought. Are they just collateral damage if the supposedly protected foxes don’t show up? And if there is a real fox is in the wrong place at the wrong time, how do the dogs know that it is no longer fair game? I’m very confused.

We were still discussing the events we had just witnessed, when a group of young people dressed in black approached us from another field. Some had map cases swinging from their necks, others carried coils of rope and most wore balaclavas. It was initially quite scary. “We’re Nottingham Hunt Sab’s,” they told us, removing their masks and suddenly looking a whole lot less threatening. We told them about the hare, but added that we were unable to say conclusively if it had been killed.

“They went that-a-way,” I offered, as helpfully as I could. 

While we were still anchored to the spot, a young couple appeared, obviously having avoided the near stampede that had disappeared in their direction a few minutes earlier. “Did you see what happened to that hare?” I asked. No, but they had heard it, they said. They were sure that the dogs had got it. They were both visibly upset. Within a couple of minutes, we passed them again as they returned to their car. “We are going to the pub,” the young man added.

I dare say that different pubs were probably where all four groups ended up later in the afternoon – the hunt, the sab’s, the couple and certainly ourselves, but - to my knowledge - the hare was the only one that did not make it home.

A quiet walk in the country? Perhaps I’ll have a day out on the trains or at a railwayana auction. Generally, nothing gets unnecessarily killed.

Fox embellishment, as fitted to the nameplates of the ex-LNER Hunt Class. This example was sold at the July 2015 GW Railwayana Auction at Pershore and is included here with thanks to Simon Turner.