The Quantock Hills Autumn Walk From Holford, Part 6,'The Hunt Has Arrived' by Sheila, November 18th
Channel: semw52
Date: 22/11/2019

As I make my way off the main tracks and onto a small cantoc I start to descend into a magnificent combe near Holford--absolute beauty all around me---magnificent scenery in this glorious Autumn landscape-------the land Us Somerset folk and people and visitors from all over the UK and the World love--yes we love it very much and in my case since a small child---some of the ancient trees here know us well as we pass by---observe our footsteps and our spirits dead and alive---for many over millennia have walked here, laughed here, enjoyed the music of the streams, the heather and gorse---a magical place, a special place where us and the animals roam in peace and a place of poets for  creation and inspiration like Samuel Coleridge and William Wordsworth---------animals  have been  hunted here also  as was the custom also for millennia --hunted for food, to control numbers at times and sadly hunted for sport. Hunting today is  really not really acceptable as part of a cultural shift and deer  numbers have fallen massively over the centuries. Entrenched practices in the countryside have formed such a part of communities but laws have responded to check  ancient behaviours and norms for protection reasons. Killing animals in certain ways like hunting and chasing them to exhaustion and kettling them for a kill  is now seen by the majority as barbaric  but sadly it continues with technology and quadbikes added components  in pursuit of a vulnerable creature, an Earthling-----------the whole scene of a hunt is almost evil in some ways and not a kind way at all to carrying out this cull process----anyway many  have written on this subject on both sides-------------I have also been on a hunt as a young 16 year old, sat on a horse for 8 hours, held on tight and so relieved when the fox escaped--so relieved----------that was along time ago---early in life I made a decision to love  animals and cannot condone cruelty in the manner  of the hunt--even the word itself to me is a swear word-------so folks as I entered this quiet combe I became aware of the sounds of hooves, panting hounds and the gathering on the hills of many riders , jeeps  and quads  watching, waiting and participating in the chase, the hunt, the kill---Earlier in the sunshine I observed gentle, graceful deer and their young, their does, hinds and stags and ponies at peace in the Autumn sun--harming no one but at home in this wonderful environment----a large doe with her  ears pricked and twitching and on alert lifts her head-------she is becoming aware of what is coming ---the stags in the bracken with their magnificent antlers  also become aware that its time to run, to scatter--fear has come---later in the walk I see these terrified  Earthlings  huddled deep--trying not to move an eyelid----they stare at me with petrified eyes---I whisper to them and move gently away xxx