You know when you've stumbled across a David Kemp sculpture, because it has an air of ancient mystery combined with a sense of fun, and the 'Deer Hunter' was no different. Standing in a glade by the river west of Satterthwaite, this skeletal sculpture blended in stealthily with the surrounding trees, and one could be forgiven for missing it, despite it only being a few feet away, and strikingly tall.

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It was a role reversal of sorts, as Kemp explained to Peter Davies and Tony Knipe for their book 'A Sense Of Place':

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"I returned to Grizedale in 1982, for a shorter term. I was staying at the caravan next to John Cubby's house. It was the rutting season for the deer, their mating calls filled the forest and their presence, usually inconspicuous, was very obvious. John Cubby is responsible for the deer and he told me a lot about his job which involves the seasonal culling.

I was taken by the image of the hunter stalking his prey, the mutual transmutation that would occur. The Deer Hunter is the effigy of the prey becoming the hunter or the hunter becoming the prey. It stands hidden amongst deciduous trees. His body is perfectly camouflaged. In a frozen stance, he waits..."

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The 'Deer Hunter' disappeared sometime around the turn of the century, making way for Jo Coupe's 'Hot House', which occupied the same spot a few years later. John Cubby, meanwhile, went on to become one of Grizedale's longest-serving foresters. He had a favourite spot which after his death was renamed in his honour; a small tarn down at the bottom of the park. In 2017 it was the subject of an exhibition by photographer Joseph Wright.