The UK’s Top Fishing Spots

Although we’ve always had an inkling about how popular fishing is in this country (mainly thanks to being able to see how quickly our fishing cottages tend to book up) we were nevertheless surprised to read that in their most recent report, the Environment Agency reported selling over 1.4 million rod licenses. This figure makes fishing one of the most popular pastimes in the UK and made us think about whether there was anything that we could do to help out all of the anglers out there. That’s why we’ve had a look and have found three of the best fishing spots around the UK that everyone can enjoy!

Coarse fishing at Blenheim Palace

via. Flickr

Not content with just being one of England’s most majestic country houses and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire is also one of the UK’s premier fishing destinations. That’s right, tucked away amongst the 2,000 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds is a man-made lake that has become a haven for anglers across the country. During the warmer parts of the season, people flock to the palace to take advantage of the first class coarse fishing on offer and there is no let up when winter strikes as the excellent predator fishing comes to the fore!

Salmon fishing on the River Tweed

via. Flickr

If you’re looking for a spot of salmon fishing then there is only one place for you. That’s right, all you need to do is pack up your gear and head up to the Scottish Borders where you’ll find one of the world’s premier salmon fishing rivers; the Tweed. The waters of the Tweed are chocked full of wild Atlantic Salmon just waiting to be caught, in  fact during the 2013 season almost 15,000 of the fish were caught on this stretch of river, so surely there has to be one with your name on it! But even if you don’t manage to get your hands on a Tweed salmon there are plentiful stocks of both Brown and Sea Trout to test yourself against.

Sea fishing at Whitby

via. Flickr

It’s probably better known for Dracula, the Abbey and summer walks along Robin Hood’s Bay, but Whitby is also one of the premier sea fishing sites in the UK! When you think about this it all starts to make sense, after all the town has such strong maritime connections (think Captain Cook) that there must be something about it. Well believe it or not, the heaviest cod caught with rod and line was landed in Whitby back in the early nineties (58 lbs and 7 oz. in case you’re wondering) and with the plethora of charter boats that are available you may well have a chance to tackle one of these monsters. Or if you don’t want to hit the high seas there are plenty of decent spots at nearby beaches or even on Whitby pier.

I think it’s safe to say that one thing that we can take out of this is that the UK is fantastic for angling. An abundance of fish filled rivers, lakes, lochs and seas means that no matter where you find yourself you’re never too far from a fishing haven- so why don’t you take advantage of this and treat yourself to one of our fishing cottages?