And so it begins!

Forest of Bowland Moorland Group

With the days shortening, the weather getting colder and the trees gradually changing colour it’s starting to feel very autumnal in Bowland.

This week, the first week in October, marks the start of the pheasant shooting season which runs through the winter until February 1st. Shoots large and small will be operating during the season with people enjoying their days from all walks of life.

Beating and picking up on driven shoots are popular pastimes in themselves with people travelling from nearby towns and cities to participate. The increased visitor numbers to Bowland help the local pubs, private caterer’s, hotels and cafés through the tough winter months as the number of tourists decreases.

Supplementary feeding put out for pheasants also helps feed the songbird populations through the winter which thrive on and around pheasant shoots due to woodland creation and maintenance and also the planting of game cover crops.

Pheasant is a wonderfully tasty, free range meat. Easy to cook it can be simply roasted, casseroled or transformed into a number of amazing dishes. Please see below the photos for our favourites! ( Recipes courtesy of Harriet MacArthur from Main Course Catering )