John Queen spent his childhood during its halcyon days as son of the headkeeper at Scone Palace, the venue for the GWCT Scottish Game Fair.

Now head gamekeeper at the Linhope estate in Northumberland, John recalls Scone as a special place where you could pursue every species in the game book and has great memories of a carefree time in the safe environment of the countryside.

John revealed: “Estate life to me is like a big warm comfortable safe blanket wrapped around you on a cold January day, an experience I believe every child should have the opportunity to experience it for at least the next millennium.

“Only recently I feel we have turned the corner and I believe the future of fieldsports is in a good place but we must never again become complacent. We must self-regulate through the British Game Alliance. And we must all collect and record data to a scientific level to fend off fake news with facts!!

“In the words of my father: ‘Put into the countryside more than you take and your conscience can be clear.’

He grew up alongside the Scottish Game Fair and added: “The GWCT Scottish Game Fair has always been the ultimate event to bring likeminded folk together but more importantly it has also been at the forefront of making the countryside and country sports available and approachable to anyone looking for an easy informative introduction, to anyone who would like to participate from all walks of life.”