> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theredhairedstokie.co.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Rut on Cannock Chase: Our Annual Autumn Pilgrimage - URL: https://www.theredhairedstokie.co.uk/the-rut-on-cannock-chase-our-annual-autumn-pilgrimage/ - Published: 2026-10-23T18:04:55.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T18:04:55.000Z - Author: Jenna Goodwin Every autumn, without fail, we set an alarm for an hour nobody should be awake, pull on our boots, pack the camera kit and head up to Cannock Chase for the rut. And every year, as we stand there with cold hands and camera poised, I’m reminded that one of the best wildlife spectacles in the country is right here on our doorstep in Staffordshire. This year did not disappoint. ### Watch the video ### What is the rut? The rut is the deer mating season. For most of the year fallow bucks live quiet lives, mooching about the woods and largely ignoring each other. Then autumn arrives and the hormones kick in. Bucks start groaning, a deep, rattling belch that echoes through the trees at dawn and really has to be heard to be believed. They mark out their patch, strut about to show off to the does and, when two evenly matched rivals meet, lower their heads and lock their broad, flattened antlers in a proper shoving match. The fallow rut usually runs from late September into early November, and the busiest weeks are generally around mid to late October. Early mornings and late afternoons are your best chance of catching the action. ### A herd with a thousand years of history Deer have been part of Cannock Chase for a very long time. The Chase was once a royal hunting forest, and deer have been managed there for at least 1,000 years. Over the centuries the land was divided into deer parks, mainly for keeping and hunting fallow deer, and today’s herds may well be descended from those medieval animals. Fallow deer were first brought to Britain by the Romans and later reintroduced around the time of the Norman Conquest. They’re now considered naturalised, and they are by far the most numerous deer on the Chase. A thermal drone census in April 2024 counted 1,243 deer, about 1,010 of them fallow, with red deer and muntjac making up the rest. That figure is treated as an absolute minimum, so the real number is likely higher. Not bad for the smallest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in mainland England, now known as the Cannock Chase National Landscape. ### How to watch the rut safely If this has tempted you out onto the Chase, please remember that these are wild animals, and in the rut they are running on pure adrenaline and hormones. A few simple rules keep everyone safe, the deer included. - **Keep your distance.** The advice is to stay at least 100 metres away from deer during the rut. A long lens or a pair of binoculars is your friend. - **Keep dogs on a lead** and firmly under control. - **Never feed the deer.** It can make them dependent on people and, in some cases, aggressive. - **Stick to the paths** and never get between rival bucks. You will lose that argument. - **Drive carefully** on the roads across and around the Chase, especially at dawn and dusk, when deer are most likely to cross. Do that and you’ll be rewarded with something truly special. ### Take a bit of Stoke home with you If you enjoy my photography, my 2027 Stoke-on-Trent calendar is now on sale. It has twelve of my photographs of the Potteries, from bottle ovens to the D Road lit up after dark, each with a short slice of local history. It’s £15 including UK delivery, and calendars go out at the beginning of December, in plenty of time for Christmas. [Cannock Chase Deer Rut 2026 - Fallow Deer Rutting Season in StaffordshireBekijk je favoriete video's, luister naar de muziek die je leuk vindt, upload originele content en deel alles met vrienden, familie en anderen op YouTube.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/ed/55edfeb9-3891-44ac-87d8-42a494829392/content/images/icon/favicon_144x144-d1d39c77-1b2d-41b9-b587-bb0f17769f9b.png)YouTubeThe Red Haired Stokie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/ed/55edfeb9-3891-44ac-87d8-42a494829392/content/images/thumbnail/hqdefault-e11b785c-ecb7-4f23-9ffa-0c419176745b.jpg)](https://youtu.be/0epy4JBKMFs?ref=theredhairedstokie.co.uk) Have you been to see the rut on Cannock Chase? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube so you don’t miss next year’s trip. ## Sign up for The Red Haired Stokie Unravelling the secrets of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire's past Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.