Nov 2013

New Lake Facilities on Floating Island for 2014!, 1st Nov

The plans have been drawn, the timber delivered and the hammers and saws poised to begin work on the Floating Island Cabin in readiness of the 2014 Season. The bespoke hexagonal timber Cabin will float on the tranquil waters of our coarse and stock lake - Lake William, and is set adjacent to our specimen lake - Lake Lauren. The Cabin is to house the new on-site facilities - toilet, kitchenette/diner with seating that can convert to a sleeping area for two anglers (or four really close buddies, lol!)

Constructed in natural materials and accessed via a wooden pontoon bridge from Lagoon Walk, the Cabin will look right at home tucked-in amongst the Reeds of Stump Lagoon. The platform will be a generous 6 meters across, giving plenty of internal space for all the facilities and a comfortable decked walkway overlooking the lake and surrounding countryside.

We have been very busy working on the general maintenance of Lake William recently, clearing banks and walkways etc. in preparation of this project, and have rebuilt and enlarged the Island providing a great feature to fish to. A beautifully established lake, Lake William can be fished in seclusion to its sister lake, Lake Lauren. 

The new Floating Cabin will come as part of the 2014 package, included with the two lakes and the Farmhouse. This will enable us to cater for larger parties which could include up to 6 people who would prefer not to sleep in a bivvy. 

We are very excited about this ambitious new project and will be posting regular up-dates throughout the build. Watch this space! :)

Sep 2013

Lake William Island is Completed!, 24th Sep

Continuing the hard work from last weekend, the island is now complete!

The finished island measures around 25 feet by 9 feet and stands in about 3 feet of water, it has 2 bays on the front edge and each of these has a gully dug down to 4 feet deep in front of them. 

The fish seem to approve, I hadn't even finished piling clay and reeds up on it and curious Carp were cruising around to inspect my work, I can tell this is going to be an absolute fish haven!!!

Sep 2013

Winter Season Chores Begin, 16th Sep

With the kids all back at school, the summer season comes to a close. There is a crispness to the morning air and the nights are already beginning to draw in. It’s definitely time to start on the end of season chores.

The Lakes are always at their lowest levels at this time of year, dropping around 14” over the summer, so first on the list (the very long list!) of things to do is the reinstallation of ‘Goose Island’ on Lake William. The original island was constructed of banked earth and reeds against a wall of supporting struts, but over time the mounded earth has mostly eroded away along with the planting.

Having tried a couple of times to re-mound the island, we’ve gone for a different strategy this time using a mix of old tractor and car tyres as a foundation to hold everything together. With around 35 tyres in total, we are more than hopeful that this new tack will be successful.

Already over half way there, with about two thirds the marked area stacked and planted with reeds, iris’s and even a tree; the water levels have already begun to rise - almost an inch and a half over the weekend. We’re looking to get the rest done by next weekend. Let’s hope it doesn’t rain too much in between!