By Lawrence Gray, winner of the GWCT Norfolk MacNab Raffle
After being told that I had won the competition for two to complete the Norfolk MacNab, my fishing/shooting pal Tim French and I headed the 180 miles north east from Andover in Hampshire to Narford Hall near Kings Lynn. We had booked into the onsite Red Lodge B&B Hotel ready for the following day’s experience.
A couple of hours after our arrival at Narford Hall, gamekeeper Nick Forster collected us to go out and zero the estate rifles that we were to use the following day. Next morning we set off before dawn to our high seats ready for the upcoming day. I must say that sitting in a high seat and watching the forest come alive all around you is very exhilarating. My seat was at a junction of a long left-to-right ride with another ride opposite my position.
Nick asked us to only shoot female muntjac. I was lucky enough to have one cross my ride that I was able to shoot and she dropped on the spot. Tim's seat was on the edge of the forest facing a field of sugar beet, from which he was able to shoot two muntjac. A successful first part of the MacNab!
After breakfast back at Red Lodge, Nick collected us to drop us off at the stream that runs through the estate. We were wading after wild brown trout - "wild" being the operative word! We had to get close and personal with assorted overhanging bushes/trees and the odd fallen tree - making for a truly wild wading experience - and as we were in the thick of things, the weather began to warm up with the threat of a thunderstorm.
Small browns were the order of the day and great sport. We had made our way back to our pickup point and found a good size fish in a tight area downstream of the bridge. Casting to a very wily fish in a tight spot gave us an interesting challenge, and obviously a good number of flies are still in the over-hanging trees. Good fun - and needless to say the fish won that encounter. The second part of the MacNab completed!
Nick picked us up just as the storm broke, and we returned to Red Lodge to have a late Sunday roast lunch cooked by Pete, who rents the Lodge, for which we were also joined by Pete's wife Marie along with Nick and his wife. Tim and I enjoyed a great lunch and great company while rain bounced off of the windows.
Due to the storm we were late going out for the duck flight – with leaden skies and low light we were not sure if the MacNab could be completed. Nick had cut a couple of gaps in the well-grown vegetation in readiness for our visit. As we were on our way into the pond, a good number of duck took flight in the opposite direction (par for the course) but Nick assured us that they would return within the hour, and indeed a few did!
I missed a chance when a pair flew a wide circuit over the trees to my right. I called to Tim that two duck were about to fly right over him, and readied to take a shot at the two duck if they evaded his gun. I was wrong-footed when the ducks turned far sharper than I had expected and flew about 20ft over my head with my gun pointing well over to the left so was not able to take a shot at that pair. Both Tim and I had the opportunity to bag a pair before the light disappeared. MacNab completed - despite the storm!
I must give a huge thank you to our host Carlo Fountaine of Narford Hall for offering such a great opportunity for Tim and I to shoot and fish in such wonderful surroundings. None of the above would have been possible without the hard work and attention to detail by Nick Forster. We were so glad that we chose to book rooms at Red Lodge in the grounds of the estate, as this made the day flow. Thanks also to Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust who run the Norfolk MacNab raffle.
What more can I say other than it was a great time spent with great people.
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