Wednesday 23 June 2010

Fishing Holidays in the UK - Cottages and Lodges By Steve Baldry

I have recently been thinking about where to go on holiday this year. Not wanting to travel abroad, as I have traveled a few times on business lately, I focused on the UK. The problem as usual in the UK is the weather, so not much point in getting a hotel or B & B near a beach in case it rains all week or fortnight. Being a keen angler who does not care what the weather is like, I started to search online for fishing holidays in England. I needed to find a place where I could take the missus and nipper where I could do a bit of fishing and keep them entertained. Taking the Bivvy and kitchen sink was obviously not an option with the wife and 2 year old son, so a more stable base was required. I stumbled across some lovely looking Lodges & Cottages on the Hoseasons site, some of which have fishing lakes on site, or are on or near the river bank.

Most people, including myself, associate Hoseasons with Boating Holidays on places like the Norfolk Broads or on the River Thames, which I should point out also make fantastic fishing holidays as well. I was pleasantly surprised to find they also have a large range of static holidays in the UK, Channel Islands and some in France. Hoseasons also have a selection of holiday parks on the website which are mainly Caravan types sites - which also have some interesting looking holidays with fishing thrown in.

You can search the Hoseasons website in several ways. Firstly you can do a quick search by country and region - England, Scotland, Wales, Channel Islands then by region North, South, East etc. Secondly you can search by types (Parks, Lodges, Cottages, Boats). Unfortunately you cannot search for holidays with fishing. To find the fishing facilities you need to go to the location and click on the Accommodation Info tab to see if fishing is an Accommodation Feature. To see all the sites that have fishing on-site click here. Some of the other locations claim to have fishing nearby, which in some cases is several miles away (which to me defeats the object of a relaxing fishing holiday). Some of the locations indicate fishing with a %2B sign, which evidently is an extra charge for fishing, which in most cases is no more than £5 per day.

One venue that caught my eye was Woodlakes in Stowbridge, Norfolk which hosts 4 wooden lodges for up to 6 people per lodge. It is situated on 66 acres of beautiful and peaceful countryside around 5 fishing lakes. One of the lakes is a 12 acre Championship lake, which I assume is for match fishing. The lakes are evidently stocked with Carp (up to 40lbs in weight), Roach, Tench, Bream, Rudd, Perch, Pike and Eels (the eels are probably not stocked, as they generally find there own way into lakes). The lodges are named: Cedar Lodge, Cedar Deluxe Lodge, Spruce Lodge and Willow Lodge. They all have TV, Kitchen, Fridge, Microwave, Bath/Shower, Bed Linen, Central Heating facilities.

What I like the look of is the lodges are very close to the lakes, so you can fish virtually from your lodge landing stage. The prices for the lodges range from £272 to £747 depending on the time of year and which lodge you require. As well as fishing Woodlakes is an excellent base for exploring the quaint market towns of King's Lynn, Downham Market, Swaffham and Wisbech. For those of you that like me, need to entertain the family then the famous golden beaches and harbours of the North Norfolk coast, a host of pretty villages, bird sanctuaries and nature reserves are also close at hand.

The Lodges and Cottages on the Hoseasons site also offer great 3 and 4 day deals. If you can go from Monday to Thursday for example you will find the prices reduced quite a bit. Also they do late deals, so if you can wait until the last minute you may get a bargain.

If you are looking for a coarse fishing holiday in the uk where you can go with friends or family and relax, fish and explore in wonderful surroundings, then take a look at the fishing lodges, fishing cottages, caravans and parks that hoseasons have to offer.

At the time of writing this I am in the process of booking a holiday in May at Cedar Lodge for a 4 night break which totals to about £270. I will let you know how I get on.

For more advice, tips and articles on how to fish, where to fish and what fishing tackle you need see the 'How to Fish' website/blog:

http://www.how-to-fish.co.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Baldry

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