Bog Myrtle & Peat

Of all the monumental moments recorded in the annals of Working for Grouse, the arrival of Stonehouse Godwit surely ranks amongst the most significant.

Small, wide-eyed and profoundly disoriented, the little beast hardly cuts a significant figure, penned as he is in the back of our woodshed. There is more than enough space for him in his new abode, but I get an odd thrill to imagine how he will expand over the next few years to achieve his full potential.

Godwit comes from a fine line of superb cattle. Riggit galloways occupy a small corner of a tiny niche; even galloway breeders consider them to be quite obscure. But while the animals struggle to command a meaningful market value, a vast amount of work has gone into making them solid performers – they have all the characteristics which made galloways famous across the world fifty years ago, but they’re more than just a historical gimmick – modern traits are there too, and the breed is moving with the times. Godwit’s father Hatherland Finlay won major awards at the Dumfries Show in 2016, and his success has blazed a trail for the breed. I could not have found a better animal to take on as my bull, and his pedigree rings with “famous” names from many of the most significant breeders and herds in Britain.

My main concern is that I should do him justice. I feel like a seventeen year old learner driver being handed the keys to a Formula One car. Much will depend on how I handle the youngster in the next few months and bring him into adulthood, and this is a daunting challenge. In all the chatter, excitement and enthusiasm this young bull has generated since his arrival, a friend joked about the start of a new “dynasty”. He was mocking me; of course it’s a ridiculously overblown and arrogant word, but it captures something of the buzz and excitement I’m feeling with my plans for the future. If I get this first step right, I could really be on to something!