It is a sad but true fact of life that if you were awoken from a ‘Sleeping Beauty’ type of sleep and found yourself in a shopping mall outside Boots, HMV or Spec Savers you would have great difficulty in establishing which town or city you were in. This is due to the demands of modern living which, by necessity has led to the uniformity of our social needs including shopping, transport etc. An example of this is not far from home….when we saw the Gateshead Eye over the Tyne for the first time we marvelled at it’s modern design, however, visit Glasgow and what do we see, it’s got a double! This has led to the sameness of most of our surroundings in the modern world which encompasses housing and indeed leisure as well as many other areas. In the world of leisure we are used to identically built sports and leisure centres and indeed all of our modern football stadia are built on similar if not identical lines.

This now leads us to modern day angling (The sport of fishing using rod and line). There is no disputing the fact that commercial fisheries offer fishing which a few years ago would have been beyond our belief.

Gone are the days when the loo was behind the nearest tree, when parking was a safety risk for both vehicle and driver and an offering of cooked food was a faraway dream! Only in far distant dreams can we recall struggling to catch handful of silverfish with the odd tench and carp thrown in. Nowadays the pleasure and match angler can eat in a restaurant, park near to his peg in secure surroundings and enjoy washroom facilities previously unheard of.

In most cases the angler can bag up with 100lb of fish commonplace on the bigger fisheries and certainly mixed bags well into double figures on the majority of fisheries. He can target specimen fish of species that previously were only found in the wild and can do all of this at a reasonable cost.

So, you may ask, what is the drawback? I refer you back to the first paragraph relating to uniformity and sameness and try to qualify my thoughts. Have you noticed that the similarities relating to the town centres etc also extend to many of our fisheries? Whilst every facility is first class and provides excellent sport there is a general impersonal air prevailing over most of these complexes as the business of running and maintaining them as a profitable business overshadows the reason behind them………To be at one with nature in a natural environment and be totally absorbed into the greater feeling of the English countryside.

To this end I now refer you to the object of this initial editorial on this site and try to portray my feelings relating to it. I do not intend to try to portray Aldin grange as an anglers Mecca, instead I will attempt to portray to you the general feeling and ambience with which I connected upon my first visit and every visit since

Aldin Grange lakes lie in a secluded backwater west of Durham near to an historic mining area called Bearpark

Approaching north from Neville’s Cross along the 167 you take the turning left to Bearpark at the traffic lights just before the footbridge. From the north turn right with care at the same turning. You will then be on a downward run to the bridge over the river and then upwards where you will see some converted farm buildings on the left, slow down and turn left through the gate just before the bus stop. Proceed through the gate and continue up past the first buildings up to the car park.

As you park and leave your car you will begin to experience the unique qualities of Aldin Grange, you will probably be greeted in the first place by Gin, this brindle coloured farm collie is very affectionate and whilst she is unobtrusive she welcomes being fussed over and as long as work doesn’t interfere will gladly spend time with you.

However, her place will soon be taken by Tess, this traditional black and white collie will con you before you realise it. She will proffer a stone to you by throwing it to you and the minute you fall for the bait and throw the stone for her to retrieve you are hooked!!!!! She will now follow you for the day and if you ignore her will nudge you with her nose or will physically kick you till you succumb. You may be saved from this if Geordie Hogg is fishing as she will stick with him all day and the two of them will fight like man and wife to the amusement of all. If you are fortunate you will encounter Moss the elderly states woman of the canines, whilst she is now at an advanced age she still likes to keep an all seeing eye on all matters canine. If you think you have encountered all of the farms dogs but you are in for a rude awakening, if Mick the manager is in residence you will meet the deadly duo of Sash and Sophie the Staffordshire terriers. Believe it or not the small dark one, Sophie is the mother and the pup is Sash. For sheer exuberance and enthusiasm you cannot beat this pair, whilst Mick likes to think he is in total control of them the sheer strength of their greeting makes for a wonderful welcome to many of the anglers.

Think you have seen the lot?  No way,  Whilst grabbing a sandwich or similar let a few crumbs drop to the ground, you will then see what free range chickens really are all about especially if Gin is about, for her favourite pastime is to stalk the chickens even if it does mean risking incurring Brian, the farmers wrath. If you are eating your food in the lodge in the summer you will marvel at the swallows rearing their young in the rafters above you where a small window has to be permanently left open for their access and egress. Then, occasionally, you may witness the ‘Great Escape’ whereby the myriad of piglets put their escape plan into action and you are witness to a flood of piglets running in various directions.

As well as the close contact with these animals you are always aware of the sounds and smells of the working farm and you can truly forget the trappings of city life as you take in the general ambience of Aldin Grange and the historic surroundings of the general Bearpark colliery area.

 

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