WATCH: Big crowds gather in Meon Valley village for Boxing Day hunt

HUNDREDS of Meon Valley residents shrugged off the Christmas hangover to cheer on the Hursley Hambledon Hunt.

A larger than usual crowd gathered at The Bucks Head in Meonstoke for the traditional Boxing Day Meet.

Georgina Bastian, a Master of The Hursley Hambledon Hunt, spoke to the crowd after taking the traditional Stirrup Cup in the car park.

Huntsman Andrew Jopson and Whipper-in Kieran Hawkes then led the hunt up Bucks Head Hill and onto Rectory Lane before heading into the open Hampshire countryside towards the slopes of Old Winchester Hill.

The event passed peacefully, thank you to Malcolm Wells for the terrific photographs.