The Glorious Twelfth: Grouse Season and Royal Country Sports

Every year on the twelfth of August, a very British season begins. The “Glorious Twelfth” marks the opening of the red-grouse shooting season, and with it the start of the great country-sports calendar that carries the landed and the royal through late summer and autumn. It is one of the oldest rhythms of British rural life, and one the royal family has kept faithfully for generations.

The date matters most in the Highlands, where the royals spend their summer. With the family in residence at Balmoral through August and September, the Glorious Twelfth falls right in the heart of the royal Highland holiday, when the moors turn purple with heather and the countryside is at its most beautiful. Whatever one’s view of the sport itself, the season is woven deep into the fabric of country Britain.

Here is what the Glorious Twelfth is, its royal connections, and the timeless country wardrobe that comes with the season.

What is the Glorious Twelfth?

The Glorious Twelfth is the traditional name for 12 August, the first day of the red-grouse shooting season in Great Britain, which runs until 10 December. Red grouse are wild birds unique to the British Isles, living on the heather moorland of Scotland and the north of England, and the date has marked the start of the rural sporting year since the 19th century.

Beyond the sport, the Twelfth is really the opening of a whole season of country life: house parties, long walks on the moor, and the slow turn from summer into autumn. For the estates of the Highlands and the Pennines, it is one of the busiest and most storied dates in the calendar.

The royal country-sports tradition

The royal family’s love of the Scottish countryside is long and genuine. Balmoral, bought by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1852, has been the family’s private Highland home ever since, and the late-summer weeks there (walking, riding, picnicking and following country pursuits) were among Queen Elizabeth II’s greatest pleasures. Our guide to Balmoral Castle tells the story of the estate the royals love best.

It is a tradition of the countryside as much as of sport: of tweed and dogs and long days outdoors, of a family at ease in the landscape they have cherished for nearly two centuries. The Glorious Twelfth, falling mid-holiday, is simply the most famous date in that Highland summer.

Dressing for the moor: tweed and wax

If the country-sports season has a uniform, it is one of tweed, wax and wool: practical, weatherproof and unchanged for decades. A Barbour wax jacket is the countryside constant, worn by the royals for generations, while a Musto field coat brings genuine technical pedigree for a wet day on the hill.

Layered beneath, a Schöffel fleece or gilet is the county set’s true uniform, and a pair of Hunter wellingtons or Toggi country boots keeps the moor at bay. Our full guide to the British countryside wardrobe covers the look head to toe, the same wardrobe that dresses a Highland August.

The wider British country season

The Twelfth is only the beginning. The country calendar rolls on through the Highland games (the King is patron of the Braemar Gathering each September) and the great agricultural shows, into autumn’s harvest and the turning of the leaves. It is a season built around the outdoors, community and the land, and it gives the late-British-summer its particular, tweedy character.

For anyone who loves the countryside, it is the loveliest time of year to embrace it: to pull on a wax jacket, walk a hill, and feel the first cool edge of autumn in the air.

How to embrace the season

You need not shoot to enjoy the season. Embracing the Glorious Twelfth spirit is really about getting outdoors in good kit: a proper wax jacket, sturdy boots, a flask of something warm, and a long walk somewhere wild. Add a country show or a Highland games if one is near, and a good pub lunch to finish.

The heart of it is the British countryside at its late-summer best: heather in bloom, dogs at heel, and the quiet pleasure of a day spent outside. That, more than anything, is what the royals treasure about their Highland August.

Why the season endures

The Glorious Twelfth endures because it marks something deeper than a sporting date: the turn of the British year, and a way of country life that has barely changed in generations. It is tweed and heather and long light evenings, the countryside at its most romantic, and a tradition the royal family has kept faithfully at Balmoral for nearly two centuries.

That is its enduring appeal. Browse more of our Royal Places & Events stories for the seasons and traditions that shape the royal year.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Glorious Twelfth?

The Glorious Twelfth is 12 August, the traditional start of the red-grouse shooting season in Great Britain, which runs until 10 December. It marks the opening of the British country-sports calendar and has done since the 19th century.

Why is it called the Glorious Twelfth?

The name refers to the date, 12 August, and the enthusiasm with which the opening of the grouse season has long been greeted in country and sporting circles. It is one of the most storied dates in the British rural year.

Do the royals take part in country sports?

The royal family has a long tradition of country pursuits, particularly during their summers at Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands, where they walk, ride and follow country sports. Balmoral has been the family’s private Highland home since 1852.

What do you wear for a day in the country?

The classic country wardrobe is built on tweed, wax and wool: a waxed jacket such as a Barbour, a fleece or gilet, sturdy wellingtons or country boots, and a flat cap. It is practical, weatherproof and designed to last for years.

When does grouse season start and end?

The red-grouse season begins on 12 August (the Glorious Twelfth) and runs until 10 December in Great Britain. It marks the start of a wider country-sports season that continues through the autumn.

The Glorious Twelfth and the country-sports season are described as British rural traditions; dates are correct as of 2026.