Salford Trout Lakes
A private fly fishery ten minutes from the cottage — two spring-fed lakes, five species of trout, and the kind of quiet that makes a morning feel long in the best possible way.
A private fly fishery ten minutes from the cottage — two spring-fed lakes, five species of trout, and the kind of quiet that makes a morning feel long in the best possible way.
Rectory Farm has been a working fly fishery for around fifty years — family-owned, quietly run, and largely undiscovered by anyone who hasn't already found it. The two spring-fed lakes cover eight acres in north Cotswold countryside a few minutes outside Chipping Norton, stocked with Brown, Rainbow, Sparctic, Blue and Tiger Trout. The natural fly and insect life here is good enough that the fishing is genuinely challenging, which is either the point or the warning depending on your experience.
It is fly fishing only — single barbless hooks, maximum size 10. Day visitors pay £40 for catch-and-release with the option to take up to three fish home. Rods and equipment can be hired if you haven't brought your own, and tuition is available by appointment if you've never cast before or want to improve. The season runs from 1 March to 1 November, which covers most of the cottage's letting season nicely. Book ahead; spaces are limited by the nature of the place.
You'll need a valid Environment Agency rod licence before you fish — available online and straightforward to sort the day before. Register at the fishery before starting and hand in your catch return when you leave; it's a condition of fishing here and part of what keeps the place well-managed. Juniors under 14 fish at concessionary rates. The address is Rectory Farm, Salford, OX7 5YY — a ten-minute drive from Well Cottage.
All of this on the doorstep, and your own thatched cottage to come home to. Sleeps seven, less than a mile from Soho Farmhouse.