From wild swimming to grouse shooting, Britain is in hock to hobbyists
Beware the hobby lobby
Hobbies shape a nation. For proof, drive to Bransdale, a grouse-shooting estate on the North York Moors. Providing a home for red grouse, a fast plump bird that is hard to shoot, requires a landscape as artificial as any garden. Controlled burning creates a mix of young and old heather, giving the bird something to eat and somewhere to live respectively; potential predators such as stoats are removed by skilled full-time gamekeepers. It is beautiful, barren and familiar.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Beware the hobby lobby”
Britain August 12th 2023
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