Friday 27th and Sunday 29th June were our eagerly anticipated annual Clay Pigeon Shoot days, sponsored by Story Homes and Northumberland Estates.

Guests and loyal supporters gathered at the beautiful Hulne Priory in Alnwick, with prizes on offer and trophies for the winning shooting teams.

See highlights of Friday’s Corporate shoot and hear from our supporters in the official video here.

Corporate clays took to the windy skies

Friday was warm but breezy, though this didn’t put any of the participants off, as a competitive field took to the traps.

Guests began with tea, coffee and delicious bacon stotties to prepare for the day ahead. After the 41 teams had been around the traps, it was time to be seated and enjoy a delicious three-course meal (and cheese boards), accompanied by flowing drinks and good company.

The sun appeared and shone for the rest of the day, allowing guests to enjoy sitting outside in the lush surroundings of our President, the Duke of Northumberland’s estate.

The traditional game of heads and tails kicked off the post-meal activities – a magnum of champagne was the reward for our winner, who came out on top with seven consecutive correct guesses!

The auction, led by the brilliant Tim Michie, was a big success, with fantastic, generously donated prizes generating bids from all corners of the marquee. Winners took home prizes such as a JS Barbour private box at Newcastle Racecourse, shooting days, Newcastle United hospitality tickets, signed football shirts – to name a few.

Raffle tickets were drawn for prizes including a beer hamper, high street vouchers, and another magnum of champagne.

This year, we also created a special Golden Ticket competition to win a signed and framed Dan Burn Carabao Cup shirt. In the style of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, chocolate bars were sold, with one lucky winner finding a golden ticket to claim the prize. We were amazed to sell all 100 bars to our very generous guests, generating funds for our Big Summer campaign.

To finish, the winning team was announced – congratulations to Widdrington Game, who came out on top with a brilliant score of 364/375.

Final placings on the day were:

1st – Widdrington Game – 364 points
2nd – DR Hydraulics & Engineering – 356 points
3rd – Lindisfarne Homes – 346 points

Excellent shooting!


Sunday shooting to honour a great man

Sunday 29th was the very special John Shallcross Memorial Shoot, with 27 teams competing.

We remembered our friend, who raised over £1 million during his 40 years’ involvement with NE Youth as a supporter, volunteer and trustee. John loved our Sunday shoot, so it was only fitting that we named it in his honour following his passing in 2020.

A magnificent sunny morning greeted our teams as they arrived for breakfast and registered for the day’s shooting in the wonderful enclosed grounds overlooked by Hulne Priory and Brizlee Tower.

Five challenging traps were tackled by every team, with some particularly good scores on Trap One as battle commenced for the John Shallcross OBE Memorial Trophy.

Once the teams had finished, a delicious buffet was served in the shade of the marquee, a gentle breeze keeping everyone cool. After being well fed, we once again played heads and tails – an incredible eight consecutive tails crowned our winner, who took home a magnum of champagne.

The weather was so perfect, the marquee emptied out into the grounds as guests enjoyed the sunshine, refreshments, and conversation.

Later, Drew Patrick expertly ran a great auction, with intense competition for prizes including sports hospitality, signed memorabilia, shooting days and more – creating excitement and raising much-needed funds for our programmes.

The raffle prizes were then drawn, and we announced the winning team of the day – Swinburne Armed – who were delighted to come forward and lift the trophy.

Final placings were:

1st – Swinburne Armed – 365 points
2nd= – R Thornton & Co. – 361 points
2nd= – Lilburn Keepers – 361 points

Impressive scores from the winners, missing only 10 targets across five traps.


Thank You

Across the weekend, we hosted a grand total of 412 guests, with an amazing 68 teams competing at the traps. Incredible support once again! It’s a true testament to everyone involved that we see so many teams and guests returning to our shoot weekend year after year.

A huge thank you to our kind and generous sponsors and supporters, who helped make the weekend such a success – we couldn’t have done it without you.

Sponsors:

  • Story Homes

  • Northumberland Estates

Supported by:

  • The Inn Collection Group

  • Bradley Hall

  • GFW

  • Ward Hadaway

  • Bywell Shooting Ground

  • R. Thornton & Co. Ltd.

  • Lindisfarne Homes

Our headline sponsors, Story Homes and Northumberland Estates, provided essential financial support to help make the weekend happen and have been enthusiastic partners throughout.

Our terrific shoot committee’s dedication and energy in creating, organising and delivering the weekend’s events are invaluable. We are once more indebted to Nick Dawe, Mick Thompson, Sean Donkin, Nick Heads, Gary Turner, Chris Taylor, John Cooper and Bywell Shooting Ground for their efforts!

Extra thanks also to Northumberland Estates for the use of the grounds, and The Inn Collection Group for providing and serving the refreshments across the weekend.

Thanks also to the coaches, trappers and scorers for their hard work, Nick Hubb (Hubbway) for the generators, and Adam Pringle for the posh toilets!

We are also very grateful to:

  • Nick Heads (R Thornton & Co. Ltd.) for the skips

  • Bywell Shooting Ground for the set-up

  • Susan, Fiona & team (Friday’s catering)

  • Virginia Steer & team (Sunday’s buffet)

  • Bradley Hall (directional signage)

  •     Auctioneers: Tim Michie (Friday) andDrew Patrick (Sunday)

And last, but not least, thank you to everyone who came together with support, equipment and expertise – our volunteers, donors and our guests at the shoot – sincere thanks.

Every penny raised goes to supporting NE Youth in making a positive difference in the lives of young people around the North East.

The 2026 shoot will take place on 26th and 28th June – so mark the dates in your calendar!