26th October 2025
My first 2025/2026 Grayling Fishing outing was from an invitation to a day out with area 10 by Paul Shorrock. Fishing the Warwick Hall Estate ( 260 acres) with the River Eden flowing through it near Carlisle.
Warwick Hall is an up market B&B built in 1774. It was a Catholic house and was attended to by Benedictine Priests who served and lived in the Hall. In 1936 the hall was rebuilt having been destroyed by fire, using red sand stone blocks with many Neo-Georgian features. The current owners purchased it in 1998 from the previous owner who had lived in it all her life for 102 years, so the history and furniture date well back and in some areas time has stood still. As you arrive and enter you are greeted by a white Labrador who barks and then somebody arrives. Marble pillars are everywhere with a sweeping curved staircase to the landing with a huge glass domed ceiling, walls are covered with every sporting book from the year dot, a truly wonderful house and only 9 guest rooms, all public rooms are very elegant and beautifully decorated.
It’s a new fishing venue for me as I have never fished the Eden before. The Hall has 2 miles of river banks for Salmon, Trout, and Grayling through the seasons. The River Eden starts in the Cumbrian hills at Black Moss Fell and flows north, finally reaching its end at the Solway Firth covering 90 miles.
Mentioning the Solway reminds me of a story, from my friend Geoff Mortimer who fishes around the Lakes and around Penrith during the seasons and while fishing on an isolated Beck he caught a unidentified small 6 to 8inch fish, he was in fact fishing the Upper Lowther having obtained the local permission and he wandered off up a small beck not far from Wet-Sleddale reservoir. If you trace the river it’s a tributary of the Earmont river which ends up in the Eden on route to the Solent. After many discussions in our monthly fly-tying group morning, we all came to the conclusion it was a small sea trout, which makes you wonder how it got there, as from its size it would be between 2/3 years old and the journey it undertook.
Sunday morning we woke to a very heavy frost, ideal for Grayling fishing on the river, with a strong westerly wind.
A full English breakfast had been arranged for us all on a long dining table for 9.00. What a way to start the day!
The main beat is called Top Park Beat (East) and it has a selection of about 9 separate beats and fishing locations. In the middle is Corby Island which has other fishing positions, channels, and inlets around it, almost like a very small delta. Access is good all round and plenty of walk ways and ladders to the water including huts to shelter or rest. You can fish both sides of the river, except in certain areas in the middle. I was drawn to fish the west side of the river, which is a short car trip of half a mile as this is on the opposite side of the river to the hall, park in the field on hard core, a short walk and your fishing, good access on all these banks and wadding is ok but the slab rocks can catch you so always take a stick, although I took my 4w 10ft rod and light gear, I choose to fish my 10ft 7w, it’s what you are most comfortable with especially on a new stretch of water. I fished size 14 Jig hook Grayling flies, my own creation based on a Copper Tom, and Hotspot Nymph with a short red tail, and then changed to team of 3 spiders Black magic, Waterhen Bola, & Partridge and Orange and fished them down the river. I know, very unorthodox style which resulted in an out of season trout being caught and 2 Graylings. The day consisted of 12 fisherman split between the beats, 7 brown trout and 15 grayling were caught, 9 of which were trotting. The map shows the beats and routes.
The rain has now increased and time to go back to the log fire, coffee and discuss the rights and wrong of the day. One thing for sure, it was a great day and a big thanks to Paul for organising it. With such a splendid location, anybody staying with partners, there are plenty of walks with a walled garden, bee hives and wonderful trees all around the grounds and outside seating areas or a good book on the patio, where you can watch us in the river while sipping a G&T.
Wild life scene were Wild Duck, Green Woodpecker, Heron and a range of garden birds and Pheasants.
For those of you that are traveling North to Scotland I recommend this B&B as a great break, and 246miles from Cheltenham and 5 miles off the M6, J43.
26 October 2025
Andrew Ayres
(Grayling Society, Ludlow Fly dressers, Worcester FD, Gloucester & Cheltenham FD member)
Worcester Fly Dressers 