Grouse season 2026: signs point to a far better Twelfth

The 2026 grouse season is shaping up to be the best for three years, with the Countryside Alliance saying all the signs point to a much improved season ahead of the Twelfth on 12 August. Its director of shooting, Adrian Blackmore, wrote on 6 August that whole upland communities, not just moor owners and Guns, are eager for the recovery to hold.

Why were the last two grouse seasons so poor?

A cold, wet April and May in 2024 saw nests fail across the moors, and although grouse will lay a second brood if the first is lost, many of those failed too as the bad weather ran into June and July. The chicks that did hatch found few of the insects they needed, and vast areas of moorland were left without a shootable surplus, forcing numerous estates to cancel most or all of their days.

Last year was always going to be about rebuilding stocks, and a good breeding season was undone by widespread outbreaks of heather beetle, which thrived in the hot, dry conditions and stripped great swathes of moorland of food and shelter. Moors already facing a lean season lost beats that could be shot, and more days were cancelled.

Who shares in a good grouse season?

The alliance’s point is that grouse shooting is not just about individuals. On a shoot day it is not unusual to find 50 or so beaters, flankers, loaders and pickers-up with their dogs out on a moor, and because neighbouring moors fix their dates to avoid clashes, casual staff can be out up to six days a week at the height of the season. Two lean years have been sorely felt by those households and by the upland businesses that rely on shoot income, which also funds year-round moorland management whether or not a shot is fired.

Why can grouse not be reared and released?

Red grouse are wholly wild and cannot be bred and released from captivity, which is why their management matters so much. Populations fluctuate enormously from year to year and moor to moor with weather, habitat, predation and disease, so there can never be certainty far in advance that shooting will take place. Mr Blackmore wrote that the Twelfth is “the culmination of all the work that has been undertaken by gamekeepers throughout the year, in all conditions, to help preserve and improve this unique and internationally important habitat”.

What happens next?

The season opens on Wednesday 12 August and the first results will show quickly whether the signs are borne out. “All the signs are for a much improved season this year,” Mr Blackmore wrote, and given its importance to the uplands, where shooting can be the major economic driver, he hopes it proves true for all involved. His article can be read in full on the Countryside Alliance website.