The North Durham, ' 391 



always recognise a welcome. The Woodlands is the 

 title of the extensive and well-timbered domain pur- 

 chased a few 3^ears ago by Mr. Van Haunsbergen, who 

 does not fail to pay fall regard to the interests of the 

 chase on his new property. None of these woods are 

 dense enough to make foxes hang long before hounds ; 

 and a scent in covert^ or out^ is seldom wanting. Over 

 the stone walls from field to field hounds will skim 

 Tapidly — topping the walls in a line, and generally 

 making their way very much faster than horses can 

 follow. A horse that can climb a hill, do a good day^s 

 work, and be quick and clever under difficulties, is a 

 much more satisfactorj^ and suitable mount with the 

 North Durham than a long-striding raking thorough- 

 ibred. He must have strength ; and the less leg he has 

 with it the better. From the Woodlands foxes are 

 very likely to run up what is generally termed " Lord 

 Bute^s country '^ in the extreme west. Some hundreds 

 •of acres of plantation have been laid out here in 

 recent years ; and foxes will travel to them from any 

 ■ distance, even from the Durham neighbourhood. The 

 same style of wild grass- and-woodland prevails over 

 the district of Langley and Burnhope (the former 

 being Lord Durham^s property) ; and Greencroft Park 

 is a favourite meet for the same kind of country. 

 Saggerston is one of the largest woodlands — more 

 difficult than most of the others to get away from, but 

 noted for its strong travelling foxes. A run of last 

 season (1882-83) gives a sample of the powers of these 

 western foxes. Finding one of them at Raquetside, 

 near Cornsay, they ran him by Iveston into the Braes 

 •of Derwent country — killing him close to Pontop, after 



