Caerhays Castle
Shoot · Cornwall · 214 followers
214 followers
Caerhays Castle Shoot is one of the better known shoots in the West Country. The 4,500 acre estate is centred in two deep Cornish valleys which run down to the sea on the south Cornish coast between Mevagissey and St Mawes. The scenery, topography and location of the shoot is unique.
The estate hosts over 80 days’ partridge and pheasant shooting each season starting in early September. Unlike many shoots which buy in six to eight week old poults, all the pheasants at Caerhays are hatched, reared and released by our team of three fulltime keepers. Jimmy Andrews, the head keeper, has worked at Caerhays for 20 years.
All days’ shooting at Caerhays are hosted in person by the owners, Charles and Lizzie Williams. The estate has around 40 separate drives which range in size, scale and duration enabling the shoot to lay on 200 and 300 plus bird days five or six days a week later in the season in December and January. The family retains 10-12 days in the season for their own shooting.
Caerhays hosts teams of guns from several countries, from city businesses, roving syndicates and groups of friends who enjoy hospitable shooting. We seldom need to advertise or use agents as ‘word of mouth’ is normally more than adequate to fill the few remaining days not already filled by year on year repeat bookings.
This year we have approached GunsOnPegs specifically to identify some new younger teams of guns to experience what Caerhays has to offer with a view to them returning in future years. The days offered here are smaller days. It is encouraging to see the growing numbers of ladies now shooting.
One of the key attractions of shooting at Caerhays is that the estate has its own shooting lodge or private hotel which has eight en suite double bedrooms located in Caerhays Village. The accommodation is five star and managed by Luke Tyler with Nicky Jones as chef. Avoiding a long drive before and/or after a day’s shooting has considerable appeal.
While Caerhays indeed has ‘high’ birds we do not believe that 32’’ barrels and 34g cartridges should be the norm. A ‘proper’ shooting day does not need Exocet missiles and unnecessarily wounded birds! In our view a day’s shooting is about hospitality and fun as much as the sport itself and we aim to provide both.
Caerhays is a strong supporter of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust and has made major contributions to the GWCT grey partridge reintroduction project near Padstow as well as the Cornwall Red Squirrel Project.
Minders and loaders are available (with prior warning) for new and inexperienced guns and transport to individual drives is available for those who need it.
Some groups prefer a team of only six guns. The shoot is however pegged for up to 10 guns and the norm would be for teams of eight or nine guns.
Unless specifically requested we do not normally have a draw for pegs at the start of the day. Instead we prefer and genuinely believe it to be fairer overall to place guns individually at each drive in accordance with how the day develops.
Hospitality
The Tatler recently awarded Caerhays a prize for the best shooting lunch/hospitality. This may or may not be an accolade for which one would actually strive for but it is perhaps an indication that Caerhays is about more than just the shooting itself.
Unlike many commercial shoots with, on occasion, a somewhat impersonal shoot manager the days are hosted and run by the owners themselves.
Descriptions of days shooting at Caerhays Estate have recently been published in The Field and in the Shooting Gazette as well as a publication of the Great Shoots book. One article in The Field last April focused on lady guns with Serena Williams on the front cover.
Topography
The Caerhays Shoot is laid out along two steep ‘v’ shaped wooded valleys running down to the sea at Porthluney and Portholland beaches. Around 30 separate root crops above the wooded valleys provide holding and flushing ground to ensure that both pheasants and partridges have targets and objectives to fly to on the other side of the valleys. Extensive use is made of miscanthus around the perimeter of many root crops to create warmer and concealed environments at the flushing points. The home farm is farmed in hand with spring lambing ewes and pedigree Saler cattle under a Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship Agreement. Low input, low stocking rates and traditional management of parkland and coastal environments has great benefits for the management of the shoot.
About the hosts
Charles Williams has run the shoot at Caerhays since it started offering let days at Caerhays over 35 years ago. Lizzie Williams spent much of her life hunting with the Cheshire and the local Four Burrow hunts. She now manages a team of Labradors on shoot days.
At least one day’s shooting a year is auctioned to raise funds for the work of the Countryside Alliance or the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Travel information
Caerhays is about 20 min from St Austell train station and 40 min from Newquay Airport. We can arrange transport for both the train station and the airport.
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