Start Grousing Now!

Britain's grouse-hunting season is in full swing until mid October. The British sporting company Roxtons offers bespoke driving and walking shoots in Scotland and northern England, charging $218 per brace of birds (roxtons.com). In Yorkshire, the Black Swan Hotel is an ideal base for a shooting weekend. With divine rooms, a gourmet restaurant and an Elemis spa, it's a fine place to relax after a day spent tracking red grouse or the lesser-known ptarmigan (blackswan-helmsley.co.uk; rooms start at $180).

But nothing beats Scotland. At the Roxburghe, an agricultural and sporting estate, the head gamekeeper will take guests out for a spot of shooting, with lunch provided in a rustic cabin. The estate also houses the largest inhabited castle in Scotland, a golf course and a luxury hotel (roxburghe.net; rooms start at $340). The Atholl Estates Lodges offer a robust stock of birds across the moors, which are best walked with guides; guests can bring their own dogs if they are gun-trained (athollestates lodges.co.uk; from $2,540 a week). Happy hunting.

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