THE HISTORY OF THE BEL VOIR HUNT 



street sloping upwards to a fine church. The principal covert 

 here bears the name of a hunting family, and Heathcote's 

 Gorse, Folkingham, is a name which calls up many happy 

 memories in the minds of Belvoir sportsmen. There are 

 some beautiful stretches of grass near these coverts. Mr. 

 Bradley, who kindly acted as my guide over this part of the 

 country, tells me that it carries a good scent. It is strongly 

 fenced, and a horse, to cross it, must be stout and know his 

 business. Sapperton Wood and Newton Wood are among 

 the larger coverts, and in them foxes are bred which have 

 always had a reputation for stoutness. Some of the longest 

 runs in the history of the hunt have taken place from these 

 woods. 



All the country north, south and east of Grantham is out 

 of the range of the Meltonian, but the visitor to Grantham 

 will have all the best near at hand. 



Five miles north of Folkingham is Aswarby Hall, the home 

 of Sir George Whichcote, a not unworthy successor of that 

 Sir Thomas who was one of the best sportsmen, and, unless 

 Ferneley was a very inaccurate draughtsman, the best 

 mounted man in the hunt. 



There is a good deal of grass, and all the country is strongly 

 fenced. There is a fair-sized field, but no crowd ; and, take 

 it as a whole, there is no pleasanter country to hunt over, 

 and with as good or a better chance of a run than elsewhere. 



Farther north we come to the boundary between Blankney 

 and the Belvoir, and to the Leadenham coverts, where the 

 Reeve family watch over the foxes and find them for both 

 hunts. There the enclosures are smaller and are often bounded 

 by stone walls, and here, as elsewhere, the soil carries a scent. 

 Into the fenland hounds seldom run, though they have done 

 so on a few occasions, some of which have already been 

 alluded to. 



The Stubton district was, as we have already seen, famous 

 in the year 1825 for the stiffness of its fences. To ride to 

 hounds from there to Wellingore, should the fox take that 

 line, would test the nerve of any man and the powers of even 

 the best of horses. It is not difficult to see from the above 



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