Ripley Castle Shoot

The Ripley Castle Shoot(Introduction by Frank Boddy of Ripley Sporting)

The Ripley Castle Shoot, Nr Harrogate in North Yorkshire, is a traditional driven game shoot where true sporting values still exist.

Over 28 years ago three good friends and myself took the Nidd shoot, soon adding Ripley Castle, Hob Green and Cayton Estates now covering an area of approximately 5,500 acres and running together as one Shoot. We also now have the Mountgarret Shoot next to Ripley which is run as a stand alone Shoot.

The land is best described as rolling countryside and parkland with woodlands established many years ago positioned to produce good sporting birds. These are complimented by over 400 acres of game cover which has improved the sporting quality of our birds over the years.

There are over 40 main drives with a larger number of smaller drives which can be very testing.

We release approximately 50% partridge and 50% pheasants. All reared from eggs or day old chicks on our rearing field. We also farm 350 acres of arable land which produces all the wheat we require with a surplus for sale to other farmers.

There is a beautiful lake in the Park at Ripley Castle which produces some very testing duck and geese. We have one dedicated duck drive which is not your normal duck drive. It is only shot if all the guns on the day wish to shoot duck. Once you have tried it you will want to shoot it again.

We principally cater for single guns and small parties with Exclusive Days for full teams.

Our days are sold by the gun per day and we normally exceed the bag with no overage charged.

We offer a variety of days with bags from 200 to 400 birds plus a few 150 bird boundary days. Our average bag through the season is 240 birds.

We normally start the day with breakfast in the dining room of Ripley Castle. We plan to shoot 3 drives in the morning with drinks breaks and pork pies mid morning. At around 12.30 p.m. we take a tasty lunch in our Shoot Cabin, with a further 2 drives in the afternoon. The day ends around 4.00 p.m. with afternoon tea. There are no meals provided on Boundary Days.

We recommend a 4 x 4 vehicle although well maintained estate roads connect most drives. We also have a courtesy Land Rover station Wagon available each day with a driver. If you require this, some prior notice would be appreciated.

The days are run at a leisurely pace with walking to each drive kept to a minimum.

You are most welcome to invite a non shooting guest just to enjoy the day and there is always plenty of time between drives to work your dog.

Although I plan ongoing changes each season it is most important that we maintain past traditions, as you will experience when you visit.

I look forward to your joining the Ripley Castle Shoot for a driven game shooting adventure.