New fishing lake opened at Leckford

Partnership Chairman Charlie Mayfield fishes at the new lake
Connections/Waitrose Chronicle

Longstock Park Lake

A new fishing lake on the Leckford Estate was opened by Partnership Chairman Charlie Mayfield and Leckford Chairman Sir Don Curry at the end of April.

Longstock Park Lake is situated adjacent to the Longstock Water Gardens and will offer local people and Partners another location in which to fly-fish.

Site of Special Scientific Interest

The valley bottom where the lake is situated is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, so the development of the land has been a long process with the Leckford teams working closely with Natural England and the Environment Agency. “We negotiated with the two groups to find the best solution to suit all the requirements and needs,” says Head Riverkeeper Rob Goldsworthy. “Working with them enabled us to ensure you can fish all round the lake, but we also compromised to keep the reed bed in the centre as they requested.”

New clubhouse

The lake comes with a new clubhouse, which is bigger and more functional than the clubhouse at Bossington Lake. “We learnt a lot of lessons from our other clubhouse. It was simply too small
to function for all the needs of our members,” says Rob. “The new building offers a separate kitchen area and storage for tackle, and can comfortably host groups if it is raining.”
Fishing at Leckford has been steady for many years, but recently there has been a lot of interest in the hobby. At the last beginners’ day a record number of people turned out to learn how to fly-fish. “This kind of location is ideal for people to learn how to fly-fish,” says Senior Riverkeeper Neil Lucas. “Once you have learnt to fly-fish, you can take it to any level you like.”

Above: Partnership Chairman Charlie Mayfield fishes at the new lake

Connections, June 2012

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