UKH

Has anyone been in the Martindale area recently and seen/heard if the stag rut has started? Thinking of heading there this weekend, but not sure if it’s too early for the rut. 

I was up there today on the ridge from the Nab to Rest Dodd. Lots of rutting and roaring in both valleys, particularly at the head of Bannerdale near Buck Crag (not a coincidence?)

It was cold, sunny and clear with many females very excited and moving around a lot so I could see lots of activity.

Brilliant stuff! Get there if you can.

I'm sure you will, but it's always worth encouraging people to give the deer loads of room - as tempting as it can be to approach to see better, there have been issues with the rut effectively failing in places like the New Forest. As Martindale becomes more and more popular for viewing (and hearing) the deer,  I've seen some pretty stupid behaviour from people.

Enjoy it though. And beg, borrow or steal the best binos you can.

FFS stay away and leave nature alone to do its thing.

DC

Yeah! They are big, scary deckers when in heat. We camped on a Munro a few years ago just off the A82 in late October. The bellowing of the stags was impressive and added to the ambience with the whisky. They got a bit close for comfort to be honest. They are big scary, deckers that could disembowel you in an instant.