The
dream of opening Clearwater Lakes, a lakeside retreat in Brittany
France, which has finally turned into reality for Kevin, Carol
and family started almost 2 years ago. Along side them every
step of the way was a film crew from Channel 4 filming for a
documentary called "No Going Back", which was screened
on 23rd January 2002. The programme charted their progress as
they strived to start their French Carp Fishing Resort, with
excellent footage of the lakes, the first delivery of carp fish,
shower block facilities and shop area.
Alex
MacKay. Catch of the week - 37lbs (personal best)
Kevin
was running his own building company and Carol was working as
an Admin Manager in a health club. Both were fed up with the daily
9 to 5 routines of life, or in Kevin's case working 6 or 7 days
a week, when a client asked Kevin to view a property in France
during June 2001. Kevin was so impressed with what he saw that
he persuaded Carol to return to France with him two weeks later
to view some properties. It was during this visit that they spotted
the 28-acre site, an old water mill, stone flint cottage, other
out buildings and two lakes (10 acres and 3 acres). They instantly
fell in love with what they saw and made the decision there and
then, that this was the place they wanted to live. So immediately
on their return to the UK their home in Banstead, Surrey was put
on the property market and the journey began for them. Six months
later after investing every penny they had, Kevin returned to
Brittany to sign the final contracts and to take possession of
the keys that would unlock the door to their future.
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to enlarge
Ahead
of them laid the mammoth task of not only turning the lakes into
a business but also adjusting to a different environment, culture
and making a home in a foreign country. The property had been
empty for about 15 years when they moved in and so you can imagine
the work that had to be undertaken and the lakes were so overgrown
you could not walk around them, without having your legs torn
to shreds. So inevitably, Kevin spent the following weeks in the
pouring rain clearing the pathway around the lakes. The next major
task that had to be performed was to empty the biggest lake of
its current fish stock. The water levels were completely lowered
revealing the lake's silty bottom and depths of five foot through
to nine foot; the area is free from weeds and gently covered with
lily pads. Untold perch, pike, rud and roach where netted and
the surplus stock removed, also two monster catfish, the first
weighing 85lbs and the big one, a whopping 101lbs. To the delight
of Kevin, no cray fish or poison chats were found, but some large
carp were netted and released back to the lake, the largest weighing
in at a healthy 38lbs.
Their
daughters Holly aged 10 and Rosy aged 6 were enrolled to study
at a French speaking school and immediately made friends with
the locals and began to pick up the language. Over the next couple
of weeks the house was turned into their home and they all began
to settle in and adapt to their new lifestyle, which for the children
meant no English television and no local burger joints and for
Kevin and Carol struggling to come to terms with the French language.
It
is a well-known fact that France is one of the most bureaucratic
countries in the world and hand-in-hand with this comes mountains
of paper work for everything and anything. This soon became evident
to both Kevin and Carol as they started dealing with French officials
to try to launch their business venture. According to Carol, "trying
to set the steps in motion was a nightmare, it was like being
on the world's worst roller coaster ride, which went on for months,
with so many ups and downs we did not know if we were coming or
going for most of the time."
Their
plan was to open the business for the start of the fishing season
in 2001, but with the odds stacked against them and terrible winter
weather conditions, it was impossible for this goal to be reached.
So with a new opening date in place, March 2002 Kevin continued
to work on preparing and stocking the lakes, converting a barn
into a facilities block, which includes showers, toilets and a
shop area. In addition to this work Kevin has found time to introduce
livestock and they have started to grow their own fruit and vegetables,
as they plan to be partially self-sufficient. According to Kevin,
"these should be on the menu this year", when they will
be offering breakfast, snacks and evening meals. A Bar-B-Que and
patio area are also in the pipeline and work on this project has
commenced.
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to enlarge
In
October Channel 4 captured on film a group of avid Carpers who came
to try out the 10 acre lake and to sample the facilities on offer.
They were all extremely impressed with what they found, Bob Sash
and Dean Harris said that, "they had fished in France many
a time and that they thought that not only were the lakes spectacular
but the shower block was the best they had ever seen". Both
were also keen on the fact that only 8 anglers were permitted to
fish out of a total of 10 swims, which are set in dense woodland.
James Newman matched his personal best and pulled out a beautiful
28lb mirror carp, this was not a bad feat as the lakes had only
been stocked with their first delivery of top quality carp two days
before the lads' arrival and the carp had previously been un-fished.
Since October another delivery of French carp has arrived, adding
over fifty late 30s through 40s to the stock sheets and with more
deliveries on the way things can only get bigger and better.
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to enlarge
Since
their arrival the carp have been fed on pellet and boilies, which
are both available on site from the shop. The fresh boilies are
imported from the UK, where they are hand rolled by Chiltern Bait
Rolling (Euphoria Range) especially for Clearwater Lakes. The Salmon
and Squid boilies are prepared in 16mm and 20mm and sold in 1 or
5 kilo bags along with a few Pop Ups. Also available is a Business
End Tackle Board, which contains all the necessary components for
you to create your own rigs. Rules and regulations have been enforced
to ensure the safety and well being of all guests and stock, present
and future.
The
smaller lake, which is stocked with a mixture of Brown and Rainbow
Trout, has been set aside for fly fishing. A maximum of two anglers
are allowed per boat (supplied) and two boats being permitted at
any one time. A strict No Kill policy is in place for all Brown
Trout caught, however this does not apply for Rainbows. Day tickets
and weekly tickets are available and all Fly Fishing Anglers will
require a permit, these can be purchased on site.
Kevin
and Carol feel that they certainly made the right decision moving
to France, although they have had some real obstacles to overcome
and there have been times when it felt that they were going to lose
everything, they have never had any regrets about leaving the UK.
The time they have spent in France has enriched their lives, broadened
their horizons and brought them closer together as a family. Kevin
says that, "moving to France is one of the best things we have
ever done, I just wish that we had taken the plunge earlier".
Now
nearly two years down the line and after countless meetings with
many officials, the lakes are fully stocked and they are ready to
open for business on 23rd March. The first bookings have been taken
and the family are looking forward to welcoming their first guests
to Clearwater Lakes and they hope that everyone who visits has a
great time and mostly importantly a "great catch".
Further
Information For
a week's fishing the price is £220 per angler, this includes
all permits. For further details, log on to www.clearwaterlakes.com
or for a brochure telephone 020 8669 5310. Alternatively contact
Kevin and Carol directly in France 02 97 39 42 66.
Web Site
