The opportunity to attend a well run shoot in such beautiful surroundings is much sought-after and, in addition to a number of local Guns, corporate guests visit from across the UK.
The Shoot was not developed solely for corporate entertainment, but has evolved in common with the other aspects of the Messrs Jenkinson business to work in harmony with the environment, recognising the responsibility to manage that environment for future generations.
The rearing of game birds for shooting represents an important and valuable source of income for many farms, and extensive naturalised areas are maintained for their needs. These areas also provide food and cover for a large population of wild birds and mammals.
The French Partridge and English Black Neck Pheasant raised for shooting are comparable to poultry bred for the table, yet in stark contrast, once they've been released from their breeding pens, these Game Birds live a fully wild existence on land specially improved to meet their needs - the true 'free range' bird for the table.
Messrs Jenkinson are responsible for bringing on their own birds from bought-in poults. Released in summer, the young birds mature, aided by the provision of the planted feed crops, feeders and watering points. By autumn, when the season starts, the Pheasants and Partridge have dispersed throughout the Estate's woodland and areas of specially provided cover.
This pheasant is native to Asia, but has become a naturalised British resident. Several hundred years of breeding has produced many different types, but the English Black Neck is a favourite with the Messrs Jenkinson guns, having great holding characteristics, being a superb flyer and providing ample meat for the table.
Numbers, nationally, have declined over the years and Messrs Jenkinson have embarked on a programme to re-establish this native game bird by managing the land in a way that encourages its return to the area, for example by leaving over wintered stubbles as a feeding ground.
The French or Red-Legged Partridge is another species that has been specifically introduced for the purposes of hunting. The stocky little bird is much more robust and breeds more freely than its Grey English cousin. Partridge usually present themselves as single birds or groups of two or three, making them an excellent shooting bird.
Whilst the shoot has a number of regular guns, Jenkinson's prestigious Corporate Shoots provide a great opportunity to meet and network away from the office; allowing serious business to be conducted in a relaxing, friendly atmosphere.
A day's shooting provides a great chance to meet with friends, to swap sporting stories and relax with a glass of Champagne and a bite to eat at the purpose-built Shooting Lodge between drives.
The Messrs Jenkinson holdings offer an broad range of carefully maintained habitats, ranging from woodland and natural scrub to planted cover crops and open fields, they make for an exciting and varied day's action.
The shoot works closely with a large roster of regular beaters, who know the land well and play a key role in ensuring a constant stream of action for the guns in attendance.
The Shoot Management Team L-R: Allan Jenkinson, Thomas Dent, John Norris and Nick Scholefield.