From August
Grouse
Around 7,500 acres of heather moorland, butted for teams of up to ten guns, with stone-built lunch huts out on the hill. In the best seasons the moor has shot thousands of brace, with a record of 4,000 brace in 2017.
West Allen Valley · North Pennines
Whitfield Estate
A sporting heritage
Our home
The estate around us
The Elks Head sits at the heart of the Whitfield Estate, around 15,000 acres of moorland, woodland and farmland in the West Allen Valley of south-west Northumberland.
The valley lies within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and its steep wooded sides and dramatic scenery have earned it the nickname "Little Switzerland". Today the estate brings together farming, forestry, conservation and property alongside some of the most celebrated game shooting in the country. And when the shooting parties come in from the hill, it's our door they come through.
15,000acres of sporting estate
7,500acres of grouse moor
1,000+acres of woodland
850+years of recorded history
Through the centuries
A royal hunting ground
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Norman times
Hunting land for Scottish kings
Whitfield belonged to the Saxon Earls of Northumbria. When Maud, an earl's daughter, married King David I of Scotland, the land came with her as part of her dowry and became a hunting ground for the Scottish crown.
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1167
Robert de Whitfield
King William the Lion granted half of Whitfield to Robert, a loyal steward of his mother, Countess Ada. Robert took the name of his new lands. The other half went to Hexham Abbey, which leased it to Robert's family for the next five centuries.
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1655
The estate reunited
Oliver Cromwell passed the Abbey's share to Sir Matthew Whitfield, bringing the whole estate under one family.
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1750
The Ord family arrive
William Ord, a Newcastle coal pioneer who went on to sink England's first deep-shaft coal mine, bought Whitfield as a sporting estate. He rebuilt much of the valley, including many of the farmhouses you can still see today.
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Early 1800s
Whitfield Hall becomes home
His grandson, also William and a long-serving MP for Newcastle, made Whitfield Hall the family's home. The fine Georgian house is thought to be modelled on a Palladian villa near Vicenza, and was remodelled in the mid-1800s.
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1855 to today
The Blackett-Ord family
When Anne Hamilton, heir to the estate, married the Reverend John Blackett in 1855, the family took the name Blackett-Ord by royal decree. Generations later, the Blackett-Ords still live at Whitfield Hall and care for the estate.
Game shooting heritage
Sport at Whitfield
Whitfield has long been regarded as close to the ideal English sporting estate: memorable birds, beautiful unspoilt country and good company, valued above sheer numbers.
From 1 September
Partridge
Birds driven over gullies on the edge of the moor, often on bright September days or blustery autumn afternoons. Drives such as Lord's Rigg and Ouston Fell have built a fine reputation, and partridge teams usually lunch with us here at The Elks Head.
Autumn & winter
Pheasant
The estate straddles a deep, narrow valley running into the Allen gorge, with over a thousand acres of hanging woods. Famous drives such as Kingswood Rock and Monk Bank are known for truly testing, high birds, with Economy, Classic and Extreme days on offer.
Since 1989
A shoot built on return visits
Whitfield first let shooting days in 1989 and has relied on word of mouth ever since, with most teams coming back year after year. Long-serving Head Keeper Stuart Maughan is renowned for showing a steady stream of challenging birds.
Stay with us
A base for your team
With ten bedrooms just minutes from the drives, The Elks Head makes an easy base for a shooting party. Book a few rooms or take the whole inn for your team. Arrive the night before, wake to breakfast, and come back to a warm room, a log fire and a drink at the bar after the last drive.
Shoot day dining
Lunches & dinners for the guns
Many shoot days break for a proper sit-down lunch with us, and we know how to look after hungry guns coming in off the hill. From hearty homemade food at lunchtime to a relaxed dinner for the whole team at the end of the day, tell us your plans and we'll make it a meal to remember.
The estate's pub
Shoot days at The Elks Head
The Elks Head has long been part of shooting life at Whitfield. On many shoot days the guns come in from the field to a proper lunch with us, and during the season we're proud to welcome gun teams from around the world.
Coming for a day's shooting? Make a trip of it. With ten bedrooms, a log fire, homemade food and a warm welcome at the end of the day, we're the natural base for your team.
Shooting enquiries
Shooting days are arranged directly with the Whitfield Estate. Visit whitfieldestate.co.uk (opens in a new tab) or contact the Estate Office on 01434 345273.
Estate history and sporting information courtesy of the Whitfield Estate.