Stratford Upon Avon Angling Association
Manor Farm
Stratford Angling Associations iconic river Avon water.
Manor Farm can be found at the end of Luddington Road just outside Stratford, a very picturesque stretch of the river Avon consisting of 4 meadows stretching to approximately 1.5 miles offering a wide variety of Avon fishing, there are only a few platforms to fish from, however there are lots of swims to choose from with good access direct on the bank.
The meadows contain cattle at certain times of the year and its a long stretch of water so a powered trolley would be welcome to help transport the gear.
Used for the 1981 world angling championships which saw Englands Dave Thomas win the individual world title on a swollen river on the last day of the weekend the venue is under fished and can provide great sport for those making the effort to fish it.
Manor Farm - Meadow 1
At the start of meadow 1 is the gulley, a famous stretch of water the first few pegs of which are fast and fairly shallow with a gravel bottom and plenty of white water in the run off from the weir, the very end peg has the entrance to the lock on its left, this is a prolific area early season and keepnets are discouraged.
Please note Luddington Weir itself is under the control of the Upper Avon Navigation Trust and is policed by their bailiffs, you need a UANT Licence to fish the weir.
After the gulley the water flows into a series of bends and a long straight which finishes at 'the old lock' which as the name suggests is the sight of a historic circular lock, the river deepens here and also provides a still bay over on the far bank which can produce good bream and chub in the right conditions.
Meadow 2
The old lock is the last swim before the pumphouse where the draw for matches happens and once you are past the pumphouse your into the second meadow which is around 200 metres pretty straight and uniform in depth and pace, comfortable fishing and good sport.
At the end of the 2nd meadow there is a cattle drink just before some fencing that provides access to an stream on the far bank that can provide some good fishing, immediately downstream on the far bank there is a caravan / camping site (Weston Farm) which allows fishing to its caravan club members and can be busy in the summer.
Directions & Parking
From Stratford take the Luddington road past the racecourse keep on driving in a straight line for a mile or so until you come to a sharp right hand bend, the entrance to manor farm is the 5 bar gate on this bend,(CV37 9SJ) there is no parking or unloading at the gate itself so keep driving up the hill and park on the grass carpark just past the last house, its around 100 yards from the bend in the road, walk back down the hill to the entrance gate, go down the track and the manor farm stretch is to your right.
If you are fishing anywhere other than the beginning of the first meadow to minimise the walk you can park in the Sandfields Farm car park by driving down the Sandfields farm entrance which is just past the grass car park by the roadside, driving into the farm you will come to a gate with a keypad on it, enter the code from your membership book, once through the gate bear left and at the end of the road turn left and then right into the car park.
Park up here and walk down the car park and turn right you will come to another gate, you can walk to the side of the gate with your gear / trolley.
Turn to the left at the caravans and you will see a wooden gate and access to the meadows.
Non Fishy Facts
John Hathaway decendant of Anne Hathaway (Shakespeares wife) was the tenant Farmer at Manor Farm for around 70 years in the 18th century.
The river Avon was the first, in England, to be canalised, in about 1641. This enabled water transport of agricultural produce from Stratford to Bristol and imported goods to reach the Midlands.
Manor Farm in Luddington was the site of a very rare circular lock. This had two functions. The first was to enable shallow draft vessels, travelling up the river to Stratford, to turn through 90º to negotiate the weir. The second was to enable deep draft vessels to tranship goods to lighter vessels, which could navigate the shallow waters upstream. Then the larger vessel could be turned through 180º to return towards Bristol. The site of this lock can still be seen today. The navigation fell into disuse about 1857, because of competition by the railways, and was only made fully navigable again, after the Second World War, when the Upper Avon Navigation was formed.
There are no shops or pubs in Luddington, your nearest pub would be the Four Alls in Welford on Avon a mile up the road , a nice pub recently refitted it's a bit pricey but has a superb riverside setting.
Meadow 3
At the start of meadow 3 there is a straight for a hundred yards which is pretty consistent along its length and there is a caravan / camping site on the opposite bank (Weston on Avon) which usually has 1 or 2 people fishing during the summer months ...
After the straight the river narrows, speeds up and bends to the right (known as Weston bend) , its slightly shallower for the next 50 yards or so but once your round the bend the river widens and gets a bit deeper giving you a few more options to fish over the far side.
Meadow 4
The fourth meadow offers some stunning scenery and a more consistent feel to it with a little more depth, its a fair trek so it doesn't get fished a lot but you may be well rewarded if you make it down there for a fish, certainly if you entered a match on manor farm you would prefer to be drawn down in the 4th meadow than the 2nd or 3rd.
Dave Thomas won the 1981 world championships down in meadow 4, this is the spot 45 years on !