Offering bespoke shooting party experiences in North Yorkshire
The Blue Lion is surrounded by some of the best sporting estates in North Yorkshire, making it the perfect location for shoot parties.
We understand that all shooting parties are different and a dedicated member of staff will work with you before your event and ensure everything is taken care of during your stay.
Pull up a seat in our cosy coaching inn and sample proper Yorkshire ales from Theakston Brewery and Black Sheep Brewery in the nearby Masham before tucking into exceptional food in our restaurant, private dining room or bar.
Bespoke shooting party menus are available as well as our a la carte menu, and menus can be sent to you before your stay, so we can take pre-orders ready for your evening with us. Rest assured that our team will take care of everything for you.
Stay the night in one of our 15 country-style bedrooms with all the modern comforts, and before you head off for the day enjoy a hearty Yorkshire breakfast.
We understand that if the shoot is the next day, then you will wish to leave bright and early, and therefore we can have bacon sandwiches ready to take away with you.
We can also accommodate a hot buffet on the morning of your shoot, for larger groups. Our team will work with you on all pre-orders and special requirements to ensure your event runs smoothly.
Specialising in country sports bookings, our management team will be on hand to use our vast experience of hosting to make sure your event runs without a hitch. With famous estates such as Coverhead, the Bolton Estate, Ellington Estate and Swinton Estate all within easy reach, retreat to The Blue Lion after your day’s activities for an evening of fantastic dining, real cask ales and an extensive wine list, with the option to relax in one of our 15 bedrooms after.
At The Blue Lion, we work with Guns on Pegs – the UK’s leading marketplace for game shooting. It is now the go-to website for game shooting enthusiasts to fill their sporting calendar, and by doing so, plan the best days of their lives. We also feature in Guns on Pegs Good Shoot Hotel Guide.
Coverhead is located high up at the head of Coverdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It has been within the same family ownership since 1983 and the current management focus is to continue to develop a first-class sporting estate and mutually supportive agricultural enterprise, which together deliver a major environmental benefit. The Grouse range is open to experienced and novice shots alike with or without instruction.
The Bolton Estate, in Wensleydale, offers world-class shooting, particularly for grouse and pheasant. The 5,000 acres of heather moorland are managed primarily as grouse moors, which has preserved this stunning and iconic landscape as well as the huge diversity of wildlife that can only flourish on well-kept moorland. The undulating terrain of the Yorkshire Dales provides the perfect features required for presenting high pheasants. The most renowned beat is Bolton Ghyll.
The Ellington Estate is principally a private shoot rather than commercial. There are 24 main drives in total (including three signature drives). There is a good diversification of game as well as wild duck, teal, goose and snipe drives. The estate puts down a similar amount of both partridges and pheasants and tends to have a good show of both on all the drives. The estate can cater for both experienced shots and lesser skilled shots and the birds tend to spread well over the whole line (rather than funnelling) giving all guns some good shooting.
Swinton Estate offers some of the most extensive and varied shooting in the UK due to its natural landscape and topography which provides an exceptional habitat for various species of gamebirds. The Estate offers a beautiful mixture of heather moorland and deep valleys that produce some of the best grouse, partridge, pheasant and duck shooting in the country. The main grouse, pheasant and partridge days are most suitable for those in a party of nine, with driven birds being provided. The main days are the grandest in terms of profile, the number of birds and the standard of shooting required.
