If I thought last week was a run around, I was in for a shock this week! The meet is on the top of the South Downs, about 2 miles from Dorking, and they have the choice of going 2 ways, one is North - some steep bits but not too bad, the other is South - this is pretty flat for about a mile, but then you get to the front of the downs which is a 500ft drop into a muddy vale. Anyone who thinks Surrey is flat should have a run up and down these slopes for an afternoon!
After having what appeared to be an unlicensed cash collection in a Surrey County Council car park, the hunt crossed the fast Ranmore Common road with the unquestioning assistance of the police, and started to draw through Great Copse. Here the hounds went into cry almost immediately, and the hunt excitedly encouraged them on, not realising (or caring) that they were actually on the scent of a roe deer which ran past us in a panicked state. It also passed the old terrierman, Rod West who seemed quite content to watch the hounds 'riot'. These are strange people, as several years ago the hunt got into hot water after killing a deer on the nearby A25 and nearly causing a pile up to boot. You would think they'd try to keep a low profile, but not this lot.
They lost the scent for a short while and it was here that we were able to call the hounds over for a while, but before long, the hunt were away West along the top of the downs and I lagged behind for a bit as they were moving fast. When I caught up to where a group of old hunt supporters were leaning on a gate, I could see they were looking down into the distance, and my heart sank as I saw the hunt about a mile away over the Dorking - Guildford railway line. It only took a couple of minutes for me to get to the bottom of the Downs, and if I'd fallen, it would have taken less as it was so steep!
When I got there, they were on a good scent, and hunted round and round the Pine woods. There did however, seem to be more than one horn being blown and it was a relief to find that some West London sabs had made the journey South and were succeeding in causing chaos with the hunt. At one point we were stood next to the Whipper-in as 2 foxes broke in different directions, he holloa'd to indicate they had broken cover, but the huntsman didn't come round, assuming it would be us - some effortless sabbing for a change.
The hunt persisted for another 10 minutes before moving East through Abinger Roughs and then back up onto the Downs. This might have been a ploy to lose us (and it worked for a while) because by the time I got up there, I could hear the hunt back down at the bottom in the same woods they'd been in earlier. This meant another trek down the slope - this time it took about 10 minutes before I could blow a horn again! The light was starting to draw in by now, so the hunt moved back up the bridleway into Oaken Grove where there are always foxes to be found. Fortunately for the foxes, the West London lot had got there first and for the last half hour of daylight, there was a good horn blowing competition between the exasperated huntsman and a couple of old timer sabs to get control of the pack. They managed about half the pack each, and it was a lesson to the huntsman that he should pack up when he gets the chance and has most of his hounds with him!
The hunt didn't kill again this week, and had some pretty frustrating times seeing foxes running, but the hounds nowhere near them, due in no small part to our actions.