We took over the lakes here on 2nd May 2023 and have loved every minute of our two years here. We always have a list of things that need to be done as well as things that we want to do so there is never a dull moment and as well as enjoying our little piece of French paradise we keep ourselves busy, even when we are closed.
Every booking that we take goes towards the changes that we make. We never moved here to make a fortune, but the income from the lakes supports us and allows us to invest further in the property. It’s simple, every time we receive a new booking, we allocate funds to jobs on our list. Obviously some things just take time and effort and sometimes we have to change our plans because the unforeseen happens and other jobs take priority but for as long as we are able we will continue to make our lakes a great venue for our visiting anglers.
Here is a summary of what we have done here in the last 12 months:
Kingfisher
- A trench along the main bank has been dug and cleared and filled with stone and this is now draining through several pipes rather than over the ground.
- Trees overhanging the water have been pruned or removed to reduce snags
- Fallen trees have been removed
- New aerator put in place
- New larger picnic bench for the social area
- The collapsed gabion on the far bank has been removed and replaced with a chestnut palisade and the bank built back up
- Around the lake is kept strimmed and tidy, with wider paths in places to reduce the brambles
- Woodchips have been put down in places where the paths tend to get wetter
- 33 carp over 10lb added to lake from old stock pond
- A bench has been made for the stalking spot out of the oak tree that fell in April 2023
- Metal table and chairs have been painted and refreshed
- Steps up to the chalet have been replaced
- The swimming pool has a new filter
- The BBQ has been replaced
- Deck has been stained
- Some pillows and double duvet replaced
Lac Lucie
- Trees overhanging the water have been pruned or removed to reduce snags
- Fallen trees have been removed
- Around the lake is kept strimmed and tidy, with wider paths in places to reduce the brambles
- Woodchips have been put down in places where the paths tend to get wetter
- A bench has been made for a nice resting spot on the left hand bank out of the oak tree that fell on Kingfisher in April 2023
- 15 new carp over 20lb have been added to the lake
- Main gate repainted
- Metal table and chairs have been painted and refreshed
- Further step added to bottom of the bank steps
- The swimming pool has a new filter
- New gravel seating area created by swimming pool
- The BBQ has been replaced
- New step up to the chalet has been added with paved area at bottom of step where it tends to get muddy
- The panels in the doors which were rotten have been replaced
- The lock has been replaced on the main door
- Flooring in bathroom and hallway has been replaced as well as the rotten bits of joists and floorboards
- Curtains have been made to replace the blinds
- Some pillows and double duvet replaced
Other
- We have mown a footpath around the meadow rather than the whole of it to allow more wildlife and in preparation for our beekeeping
- There is now a cleared walk through our woodland ending in a bridge across the stream with a bamboo handrail
- The old stock pond has been tidied, netted and handed back to the owners,
- Decking area in garden for hot tub and sun deck built
- 17 carp under 10lb have been added to our new stock pond
- We have done a refresh of the website refreshed and reviewed all our documents
- We have started using WhatsApp for Business
- Increased our Facebook followers to 2.6k (up 1.6k in the last 12 months!) and our Instagram followers to 1.9k
- We are now sending out a monthly newsletter to all those who have had visited us as well as any new subscribers from our website
- Garden gate has been painted
- Gazebo outside the house has been replaced and we have built a new decking area and replaced the table and chairs outside the house
- Weather station installed
- We now provide landing nets on each swim as well as cradles and weigh slings
- New Gold tackle package bought
We will keep focused on making our lakes better and better and will always welcome any suggestions from our guests!