A beautiful spot for contemplation

With the majestic river Thames flowing past Hampton Court Palace on the bank opposite, Albany Reach is a beautiful spot preserved from developers and kept for public use (long ago, the Residents' Association campaigned for its purchase by the local council). It's a serene spot of greenery among gracious willows, balm to the soul in this troubled world, and the only bit of river front where villagers can walk.

If you go there on a summer weekend, you'll see several anglers there. Albany Reach has been a noted haunt of large Thames barbel and bream since the days of Izaak Walton. The quiet pursuit of angling is another long tradition, in the style of Walton or fifty years ago, of Bernard Venables: a way for anglers to immerse themselves in concentration and contemplation while cultivating the skills of the angle. These days it is a popular pastime with some three or four million participants in Britain..

But with the systematic application of technology, skills have given way to equipment. Batteries of rods in rests lie before the angler; electronic bite alarms do the work of the senses; ground tackle is often rigged so that a fish hooks itself; rods, reels and lines are powerful and light. Size of prey has become the sole goal of many anglers. The Thames these days has great carp along this stretch, and latterly a giant catfish was caught at Thames Ditton. They feed primarily at night, when the boat traffic has died away, and come to scoff the heavy ground-bait that anglers throw in to attract fish to their pitch.

Waiting for a big one

fires destroy the riverside turf 2 August 2008

On the bank, anglers settle in for the night under canvas, although camping itself is forbidden under local bye-laws. Many anglers doing this seem responsible; but alas, many others are not. They light fires near their bivouacs, scarring the grass for several seasons. They leave piles of steaming faeces in the bushes, and sometimes on the grass, together with toilet paper or kitchen roll. The waste-bins along this charming walk are filled to overflowing, flies buzz around plastic bags left alongside them, and beer cans are thrown into the bushes along the bankside. At a Residents' Association Open Meeting in late September 2007 resident Brian Rawles, an angler himself, raised these problems, noting that anglers could number over a couple of dozen on weekend nights in summer and suggesting some measures to be taken by Elmbridge Borough Council and the police to alleviate the problem. The text of his presentation is here.

a Big One campers' crap despoils bank and bushes; kitchen roll used to wipe bottom 2 August 2008

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Councillors took this up with officials: a year further on, small signage has been added (some now covered in graffiti). There is no extra bin capacity for rubbish and no toilet facility. Patrols by both council officials and police have approached anglers on occasion. Police report:

"Patrols of Albany Reach are continuing. All fishermen spoken to thus far seem to be very knowledgable of the legislation, and indeed all persons the author has come across have been in possession of valid licenses and the correct type of accompanying equipment. River Officer PC Jim Halstead has advised that fishermen are 'camping' and thereby in breach of by-laws if using a tent with a 'sewn-in ground sheet'. If their tent or 'Bivvy' does not have this, but has a separate ground sheet, then this is considered acceptable, and the fishermen are not therefore 'camping'."

It seems extraordinary to anyone brought up in the days when large tents at scout camps never had integral groundsheets, that a tent with a separate groundsheet is not a tent, but in these days when spades are rarely called spades it's not altogether unexpected. A long-time fisherman went to see for himself on Saturday 2 August. He reports:

"A delightful, still summer eveming. Along the reach I saw evidence of two recent fires, and at the far end a pile of crap with stained kitchen roll left on the turf; there was more under the nearby willow at the water's edge. To be fair, there were also a lot of turds left by dogs - many residents walk their dogs along there - and a patch where wildfowl had left a great deal of ordure too. By eight pm there were already two tents erected, their occupants concentrating peacefully on their fishing; they seemed thoroughly decent. A few more anglers without tents were enjoying a sunset where the tranquility was polluted only by the sound of Latin music coming from a narrowboat moored by the Palace, and riotous whoops from two large booze-cruises up from Kingston. By the time I left, two more groups of anglers had parked their vans at the end of Aragon Avenue and were humping their kit towards the Mole end of the Reach."

It is a pity that some irresponsible anglers spoil things for all, and that the authorities are toothless or too feeble to prevent abuse. We'll write to some coarse-fishing publications and see if we can get them to campaign among their readership for more responsible behaviour. But realistically, tented angling will continue along Albany Reach so there should perhaps be some emphasis on Elmbridge providing a heritage-quality large wheeliebin for rubbish and a heritage-quality loo. What do you think the chances of that are?!