- By kind permission of The Viscount Downe Meeting point at YO21 2NB (The Walled Garden)
- What3words grub.hammocks.canine
- Tickets £30 each to include refreshments
Please join us at this superb location to hear about the on-going conservation commitment and moorland management from Head Keeper, Peter Snaith and GWCT advisors, Matt Goodall and Jennie Stafford.
The Danby Estate
The Danby Estate forms part of The Dawnay Estates and comprises approximately 14,400 acres of which there is around 2,000 acres of tenanted farmland over 12 holdings, 10,500 acres of heather moorland with the remainder includes woodland, common garths and village greens.
Danby Lodge, a former shooting lodge is let to the North York Moors National Park and forms the National Park’s base on the moors and provides a centre for tourism, education and a base for National Park staff in the area. Danby Castle, which was constructed in 1300 by William Latimer, is now a successful wedding venue and has recently undergone a significant extension into former agricultural
buildings.
The owners do not shoot and therefore the Moor is managed as a commercial shoot with approximately 20 days sold per season.
There are 4 keeper’s houses across the Estate, all of which are equipped with buildings and kennelling and the former walled garden at Danby Lodge is now the meeting point for guns on shoot days and will be the starting point for our shoot walk.
The Moor is designated as SAC & SPA and the majority is SSSI and is managed through burning, cutting and grazing and in recent history significant efforts have been made to control bracken and ticks. The Countryside Stewardship Scheme and its predecaessor scheme have been in place since 2009 and is a collaborative scheme between the Estate and graziers and is considered a great success having contributed significantly to bracken and tick management.
There is a small scale pheasant and partridge shoot which runs alongside the low ground areas of the estate shooting approximately 12 days per season