Photo by David Burrell More in the Gallery

Welcome to the Cottesmore Hunt’s website. Within our site you will find the history of the Hunt and its supporters club, an account of the breeding and bloodlines of our famous hounds, a description of our country (the area we cover) with an interactive map highlighting points of interest, a who’s who of officials and staff, details of the different subscription packages, calendars for our future hunting Meets and social events, a list of what we currently have on sale in our memorabilia shop and details of how to get in touch with us. There are also details of (or links to) our other related activities such as point-to-point racing, Pony Club and the Hedge-cutting Society. We also — as you will have seen — carry advertisements. Please give your business to our advertisers: help them to help us.

We welcome visitors on horse, foot, car or bicycle. In spite of the ban on hunting with dogs, we are able to participate in a lot of what hunting had to offer before the government ban in February 2005. But until the Hunting Act is repealed or amended, we are engaged solely in hunting within the law. Whilst this enables us to use our hounds out in the country, it does not allow us to repay our farmers’ generosity by providing them with a full fox-control service.

From 1666 until 2005, the Cottesmore (say ‘Cotsmore’*) had hunted foxes with hounds in and around the ancient English county of Rutland. In spite of the construction of Cottesmore airfield in 1935, the completion of Rutland Water reservoir in 1978 which removed 3100 acres (1255 hectares) of hunting country, widespread national hunt saboteur activity in the late 1980s and the 2004 Hunting Act, the Cottesmore continues to flourish as a club. Its country converges with that of its neighbours the Quorn and the Belvoir (Duke of Rutland’s) in the Leicestershire market town of Melton Mowbray which in its heyday was a magnet for foxhunters worldwide and now has the UK's only foxhunting museum.

* - from Cott's Moor

350 years and still going strong. For’ard on!