At the end of April, when the weather was still struggling to throw off winter temperatures and climb towards what we sometimes laughingly call summer, I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days at Brompton Lakes in the Yorkshire Dales. Brompton Lakes had been dubbed as ‘Luxury Angling Holidays in the Yorkshire Dales, a development of luxury self-catering holiday lodges built on the shores of two former fishing lakes in the Yorkshire Dales. With exclusive lake and river fishing opportunities, the lodges offer angling enthusiasts a high standard of stylish yet comfortable accommodation.’
I’ve been to so-called ‘luxury’ fishing sites before and the ‘luxury’ was that the static caravan was little bigger than a two-man bivvy and had a toilet with a door. So I wasn’t going to hold my breath that Brompton Lakes would live up to the hype; although if the photographs were anything at all to go by, it did look like something special. The lodges looked large enough to hold a line dance (if you’re into that kind of thing) and were built on the banks of two lakes that at least looked like pleasant places to fish. Which was the most important part of the visit really as I was there to offer some advice on the fishing. I decided to take my old mate Eric Barnes with me, for Brompton Lakes looked like it would be a friendly place for a 71 year old with Parkinson’s Disease. Eric still fishes at least two days every week but is finding it increasingly difficult and if it wasn’t for the easy convenience of most commercial fisheries he wouldn’t be able to fish at all. After 12 years as a professional footballer and a lifetime of never having suffered a serious illness (and he’s the only person I know who has never, ever, had a headache) it’s sad to see him struggle with the most mundane task. So the visit was arranged and we set off with high hopes of a nice break and some decent fishing. We began to relax as soon as we drove into the area where Brompton Lakes is located, which is two miles from the historic market town of Richmond on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is a lovely part of the country. And then when we drove into the 26 acres of privately owned land where the ten self-catering lodges are located it was like a little paradise. The river Swale borders one side (Brompton’s residents have exclusive access to fishing that part of the river) with the lodges along one side of the lake. Although the lodges are set on two lakes, at the time of our visit the construction work was still ongoing on one of the lakes but by now the whole complex should be up and running.
 |
 |
 |
The Lodges
Now the lodges, well, they’re like nothing I’ve ever seen before in this country. At least not set on the side of a coarse fishing lake. For a start, they’re large – very large. There are two sizes, the smallest ones at 114m2 and the larger ones at 125m2. Both sizes are built to the same luxurious standard and sleep 6 people. The whole complex, including the lodges, have an eco-friendly theme. Everything is top class, from the spacious lounge/kitchen/dining area to the three double bedrooms. Our lodge, one of the ‘smaller’ ones going by the name of ‘Finley’ had a master bathroom and an en-suite shower connected to the master bedroom. The cooking facilities are second to none with an electric hob and oven, a microwave, a toaster and more utensils than you can shake a stick at. Also in the kitchen area is a fridge-freezer and a dishwasher, and stowed away in the utility room is a washing machine, iron and ironing board, hair dryer and more.
The entertainment is a 32″ wide screen LCD TV with Freeview, DVD player and surround sound. The hot water system and under floor heating is operated from a console that wouldn’t look out of place in the Starship Enterprise, but if that isn’t enough for the winter visitors there’s a state-of-the-art swivel log burning stove with firelighters, kindling and logs provided for the duration of your stay. Internet access will be available soon. All sundry items like bedding, towels, soaps, washing powders, kitchen towel, toilet rolls, matches and spare bulbs are all included, as is the electricity you use providing it’s an average usage and not OTT.
The front area of the lounge/dining room is almost all glass and looks out onto the lake, the big sliding doors opening to the balcony that overlooks the lake. Round to one side is a storage box for tackle, bait, wellies and other stuff you don’t want in the lodge, with another storage box that holds a very nice BBQ.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Interestingly the lakes themselves provide the main source for the lodge’s heating as part of an innovative geo-thermal heating system. This is one of the first systems to use geo-thermal heat pumps to provide both hot water and under floor heating on any UK holiday development. A nominal amount of electricity is required to operate the pump and this is sourced from a green supplier.
The Fishing
In two days we could only scrape the surface (so to speak) of the fishing, and we had no prior knowledge of what to expect. As far as we knew Brompton Lakes used to be a commercial fishery where matches were fished on a regular basis; the lakes hadn’t been fished though for about 18 months. So we had to take a variety of tackle and bait, and it was probably as well it was the closed season on the river or that would have complicated matters, for there is some good fly fishing as well as coarse fishing to be enjoyed on the river.
 |
 |
The lakes are three acres and 1.8 acres and well stocked with carp, bream, roach and tench. Some of the carp weigh over 20lb and there is a generous stock of small and medium sized fish. Specially constructed fishing platforms situated in front of the lodges provide anglers with a comfortable position from which to fish and there are other platforms along the bank where no lodges have been built, so there is plenty of swim choice should the fish not be cooperating in the vicinity of your own lodge.
To make it more difficult the weather had recently taken a turn for the worse, with the temperature nose diving by several degrees. It took us over half a day to find the fish. But when we did it was excellent fishing with small tench of a pound or so and bream to around 3lb on sweetcorn fished close in on the waggler. And then we took several carp to 12lb or so on floating crust. We saw much bigger carp but didn’t have time to get to grips with them.
 |
 |
Great for a family, especially one with a fisherman!
It was a very enjoyable two days and night’s break, so much so I’m hoping to go back for a longer stay with a few family members. Apart from wanting to enjoy some more of the fishing, including the river, I want to enjoy living in one of the lodges for a longer period, and to spend a day or so seeing some of the local tourist attractions. The tariffs for the lodges are pretty reasonable considering the quality. And did I mention it, you’re met with a very nice welcome hamper of goodies that includes a bottle of wine, bread, butter, margarine, cheese, preserve, breakfast cereal, tea, coffee, milk, and sugar to make sure you start your holiday on the right foot.
They seem to have thought of everything, far more than I’ve mentioned here, providing a very comprehensive and comfortable self-catering holiday package that anyone of any age will be sure to enjoy. It’s ideal for families, and especially for anglers. In fact, it provides an ideal location for everyone; and for those wanting to combine angling with other activities (or are holidaying with family members with alternative interests!) there is plenty to do – from walking, cycling and horse riding to visiting castles, historic houses, gardens and other places of interest.
For more details of the complex and the many attractions in the area, and to check the tariffs, go to the Brompton Lakes’ website.
You can get a good idea about what the whole set-up looks like in the following video clip.
