whilst there are a good many books descriptive of foxhunting in the shires and the provinces, there are few works entirely devoted to sport in the rough fell country of the lake district.
it is, therefore, with the idea of filling this gap in hunting literature that i venture to pen the following chapters. foxhunting on the fells differs in so many ways from sport in the riding countries that perhaps this book may serve to interest the man from the shires, even if it does not tempt him to visit the fells and see something of the sport for himself.
for the man of slender purse the fells will prove a happy hunting ground indeed. there is little cause to worry about ways and means in a country where subscriptions vary from 2s. 6d. to £5. all you want to enable you to follow hounds is a stout heart, a stick, and a “piece” in your pocket, and if luck favours you, as it assuredly will if you go out often enough, you will find yourself[xii] becoming more and more wedded to this wild country, which, in sunshine or storm, has so many attractions for those who are not afraid to tackle it in all its varying moods.
r. clapham.
troutbeck,
windermere,
april, 1920.