Fred Eames bows out at the Cotley after 14 seasons of hunting hounds *H&H Plus*

Hunt staff

Fred Eames’s retirement as master and huntsman of his family pack, the Cotley Harriers, means it’s the end of an era for these hounds, as Will Chanter discovers

FOR many, the wilds of Devon are to be avoided for hunting. It is seemingly a place where, historically, the local populace pursued different game animals nearly the whole year round and, even more worryingly for some, apparently don’t count the number of jumps encountered.

However, for locals and converts there is no finer place to hunt and perhaps, even more so, no greater hunting community to hunt among.

While the West Country is full of “unters”, they are a factional bunch. Perhaps those who purvey the closest to unadulterated West Country charm and old-fashioned courtesy are those who hunt with the West Country harrier packs. Among those, the Cotley Harriers, with their unblemished pedigree of both hounds and huntsman, stand prominent.

This exclusive column is also available to read in this Thursday’s H&H magazine (15 April, 2021)

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