‘Back to Walker… In December 1971, his article, ‘If I Won the Pools’ appeared in the Angling Times and described how, had he been so lucky as to win a six figure Pools sum (the Lotto of its day), he would seek out and purchase a large disused gravel pit.’
I have had one of Walker’s articles rattling around my head for a couple of years now but it was a visit to a fishery, let’s call it Chapeldoor, that surfaced all this. Selling on some fly rods, and at his suggestion, I’d arranged to meet Martin in the car-park on a Saturday afternoon. I knew nothing of the fishery whereabouts beforehand but on the map it was a perfect spot, having absolute equidistance from our respective homes.
Thirty minutes behind the wheel, and knowing the fishery was close, I was delighted to see a smartly presented signpost directing me to the lakes and away from the narrowing lane. A short upward slope, through a gated entrance and the car park appeared, laser-level in a modern-looking slate grey shingle surrounded by newly planted, raised beds.
Nice and early for a change, waiting for Martin, an electric buggy appeared from a neatly laid track, with the Chapeldoor logo, same as I had seen at the entrance, sign-written on its sides. It was bigger than a golf trolley and I calculated carrying capacity as quite able to cope with two anglers and enough gear for a six month expedition to the Ganges. On this occasion these two chaps, dressed head to toe in camouflage, had just been collected from their swim (I could now make out a lake below me through the exotic and carefully arranged flora) and were being returned (in an ecologically friendly manner) to their car, having taken full advantage of the buggy’s considerable proportions.
At first l assumed they must have mobility problems but evidently not (they leapt out athletically next to their 4×4), so clearly the ‘first class’ swim transportation was there for the convenience of the contemporary carp angler and all their trappings.
Martin soon arrived and was delighted with his haul which included a lightweight Hardy six weight, the heritage of which could also, interestingly enough, be traced back to Walker, but more of that later. Curiosity grabbed us (and I had a ‘pass’ for the afternoon) so we took ourselves up the track, away from the car-park, to a modern looking building that overlooked the estate (again painted a matching slate-grey…).
To our wonderment, inside was a fully stocked shop with rows of tackle and bait from all the current manufacturers. The rods were lined up in perfect symmetry and the walls behind were adorned with pictures of serious-looking faces holding carp of a truly monstrous size. To give some sense of scale, you could have played tennis on the shop floor, had you cleared the bivvies and ‘carp barrows’. As well as tackle and tickets to fish, food and drinks could be ordered from the menu and the shiny little truck would deliver it direct (and still hot) to your peg 24/7. You wouldn’t have to move an inch.
Back to Walker… In December 1971, his article, ‘If I Won the Pools’ appeared in the Angling Times and described how, had he been so lucky as to win a six figure Pools sum (the Lotto of its day), he would seek out and purchase a large disused gravel pit. The banks would be reshaped and each swim would have a concrete slab laid for a wooden chalet. Inside there would be heating and cooking facilities, bunks and tables, and all the necessary accompaniments.
Each swim would have its own punt, the lake well-stocked with specimen fish and swims available for rent by the week or weekend. Walker finished by saying he didn’t have the money for such a thing, “but it’s a pleasant thought to dream up such a scheme”. He described perfectly the set up of Chapeldoor.
Martin and I took the shingle path to the lake. There in front of us was, just as Walker described, a little wooden chalet with hard standing beside it for the angler’s equipment, and a moored boat just large enough for one person. Exterior electric plug-in points were available and we’d already established from the shop assistant (who had told us proudly) that there was, “Wi-Fi in every swim”.
This spot in front of us was currently unoccupied but a bit further along there were some anglers with rods and buzzers pointing out from areas of plastic decking surrounded by balustrade. As we watched, a mini electric boat headed out into the lake to drop the ‘angler’s’ terminal tackle by an island (a short underhand cast, I thought) accompanied by some bait (also to be dropped over the side). Walker would have liked that I felt, very ingenious, and probably would have wondered why he hadn’t thought of it himself!
I was quite taken by what happened next. When the remote control boat returned, our intrepid angler didn’t even need to bend down! He had a special little pole, a bit like a telescopic walking stick, but purpose-made and again finished in the same shade of slate-grey as the electric truck (corporate colours?). It had a natty hook to latch on to the boat and lift it out. I guess, if you’re getting dropped at your peg by truck, you don’t need to worry too much about the additional weight that such conveniences add to your load. It was obvious from the laughs and noise coming from their direction that these guys were having a perfectly wonderful time. They didn’t seem too concerned about spooking the fish but notwithstanding, they’d apparently, “just landed a twenty-three…”
Walker truly was a visionary. As I surveyed their set-up with specialist carbon carp rods, roller-bailed reels, Arlesey bombs and electronic bite alarms, I concluded that so much of it could be traced back to Walker and his ideas. It was even Walker who had started the trend for night fishing and long stay carp angling, with a little ‘social’ to boot. Who can’t recall the photo of FJT poking his head into the bell tent, pitched at Redmire, with guitar in hand?
For my part, I was perfectly happy with what I saw at Chapeldoor; a harmless expression of angling, for some at least, in these modern times. I chuckled that it was just a Rizla paper away from the Golf Club really (and served the same purpose). Most importantly, and just like golf, it kept these too-noisy ‘anglers’ well away from my secret spots!
This 2023 version was a mirror-scape of Walker’s vision and it is funny (and ironic) to think how Walker is so revered by the ‘Traditional Anglers’ these days, whereas the reality is he was the absolute opposite, a modernist. Walker may well have worn his parka on the river bank, and not owned the Vespa, but for certain…Dick Walker was a Mod.
Writing & Images – Tengisgol Summer 2023
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