Meeting a pure-bred wolf is no easy thing in England. You’re almost stepping over them in Scandinavia and northern Europe but here in the UK they’re as rare as – well, wolves. Certainly since the 14th century when King Edward I put a bounty on their heads to stop them stealing his sheep, killing his deer, and scaring the bejesus out of his serfs.
And as much as I love all animals, even I have to admit that reintroducing 80-lb apex predators to a 21st-century country that can't cope with 17-lb foxes might raise a few issues. No matter that wolf attacks around the world are extremely rare and that the animals are far more frightened of us than we are of them. Truth is, the England of today has a lack of unoccupied forests, a shortage of unadopted ungulates, and a surplus of out-of-control cockapoos. I think I may even have spotted a Little Red Riding Hood the other week staring nonchalantly at her mobile phone instead of rather nervously over her shoulder.
So, anyone keen to meet a wolf in England – and I was because I wanted to put a particularly heroic one in my children’s books – has to make a bit of an effort to track them down. A discreet email first. A transfer of funds next. Then the purchase of walking boots, most likely never to be worn again. And finally, a leisurely drive to a top-secret location in the middle of nowhere. The sort of ‘middle of nowhere’ where the air smells of pine forests, the ground is a breathy carpet of ferns, and the local geese always have right of way.
The Wolf Watch sanctuary in deepest Shropshire was established in 1993. Three decades later, more than thirty displaced wolves have taken refuge on this 100-acre site on the Welsh borders. Most have ended up in this remote sylvan valley because of zoo closures, unplanned breeding, and dominance fights in wildlife parks, happily living out their lives in vast enclosures as close to their natural habitat as it’s possible to get. Give or take the odd paying visitor gawping at them in wonder, of course.
Yes, my Sunday afternoon at Wolf Watch was as memorable as it was inspirational. Founder Tony Haighway’s brief introduction was followed by a guided trek through his vertiginous valley domain, a particularly photogenic herd of red deer occupying 16 acres of the estate, and a panoramic 2-bedroom lodge catering for anyone wishing to overnight in this mini-paradise. I like to imagine everyone howling at the moon after dark, the visiting badgers, foxes and polecats joining in with all the paying and permanent residents.
Of course, during my daytime visit, the wolves kept their distance the whole time, only venturing closer when one of our party was lobbing chicken pieces at them. But one magnificent animal, wary yet pragmatic, accepted a snack right out of my hand, and nowadays, a new arrival by the name of Bosch appears to be particularly well-socialised. Yes, if only England's serfs had known the truth, hey? That your typical medieval wolf is a far less dangerous beast than your typical medieval monarch.
To visit The Wolf Watch Sanctuary, join their Adopt-A-Wolf Membership programme and purchase a pass for a pre-arranged visit. See www.wolfwatch.uk for further details.
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