THE BRAES OF DERWENT COUNTRY. 117 



tlie dog's iiaxae? " was asked by a man sitanding in tth© road. 

 " Tangible," replied the huntsman. " There's no dog of 

 that name here. All the dogs in this village ia called Bobs, 

 exoepti one, and he' a Buller. ' ' 



There ia still one small portion of the Braea of Derwenfc 

 oountry to be described, and this is generally known &a the 

 Prudhoe country. This district is in the Tyue Valley, between 

 Ryton and Stockafield, and except for one big covert, called 

 the Guards Wood, ia very open. We&t of the Blaydou Bum 

 Goverta is Martina Wood, a ten-acre plantation, with four or 

 five acres of gorge outside. It often holds a fox, as does the 

 Quakers Wood, a little over a, mile to the north of Martins 

 Wood, and where the lying is chiefly blackberry bushes. North 

 of these, and nearer the Tyne is Crawcrook Whin, an occa- 

 sional find, and on the low ground beyond, Bradley Dene, 

 a wooded ravine which winds round Bradley Hall, and where 

 a litter is usually bred. The western part, of this coverti is 

 locally known as Stanley Bum, and it is at times a bad covert 

 to get away from, for the bank is too steep to allow of any 

 crosiaing, and thus either those on one side or those on the 

 other are favoured, and one portion of the field must ride to 

 one of the ends of the Dene in order to get. round. And after 

 m.any years of seeing it drawn I have no' strong opinion as to 

 whether it is best to be on the east, or the west side, for foxes 

 break either way, though as a rule they do not leave the Deno 

 until they have reached one of the ends. The high road from 

 Newoaatle-on-Tyne to Hexham orossos Stanley Bum half a 

 mile west of Bradley Hall, and separates the propeirty from 

 the Prudhoe Hall estate on which are three famous covert.a — 

 French's Close, the Guards Wood, and Hyons Wood. The two 

 first named are joined by a stirip of woodland, and thei Guards 

 Wood is a, beautiful covert, secluded in a fold of the hills, 

 remote from population, and as a rule very well foxed. There 

 a.re good rides, too, and an occupation farm road all along the 

 wiestem side, while the count.ry to the south, and west is wild 

 and open. At times foxes from the Guards go over to Milkwell 

 Bum in the Derwent Valley, and I have seen hounds cross the 

 ridge of the hill between these two coverts — which are three 

 or four miles apart — five times in one day. At times also they 

 go east, to the Blaydon Bum district., and they also go to 



