My husband has been going trout fishing for a few years and
quite enjoys discovering new places where to practise this passion. So he got
very excited when, through some Italian friends (yes, the Italian network is
always very powerful!), he met an English couple who, not only enjoy fishing, but
also belong to a fishing club. There you go! We were, to my great joy, invited to
a salmon fishing weekend in Devon. He had never done salmon fishing so of
course he was thrilled.
We left on a Friday at midday and after a nearly 4 -hour drive
we arrived in the stunning county of Devon. The river where he was supposed to
fish is the river Tamar and it’s truly beautiful. Unfortunately, it had been
raining heavily during the previous days resulting in the river being very high
making the fishing particularly challenging, even for the most experienced
fisherman. We did see a few salmon jumping in the water but nobody caught any
fish.
It was very nice to meet such keen fishermen and fisherwomen
and to experience a quintessential British weekend! In fact, a part from
learning to wade and properly cast, the highlight of the weekend was the social
part of it. All of these people come together once a year for the last weekend
of the fishing season but since they have known each other for years, the
atmosphere is extremely friendly and relaxed.
The base of the club is the
Endsleigh Hotel, once a country house of the Duke of Bedford, and now a
stunning hotel that feels more like somebody’s home. Big fireplaces were
warming up the various sitting rooms exquisitely decorated by Olga Polizzi, the
younger sister of Sir Rocco Forte. The Endsleigh fishing club was celebrating its 50th
anniversary so we enjoyed a couple of special dinners including a black tie
one. The food was very good (which counts double if it comes from an Italian!)
and the company even better. I was lucky to meet many extraordinary people and
for the first time in my life even a 007!
by Alessandra Gnudi
Visit the FOCUS website www.focus-info.org
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