Access to angling is open to all once again
Disabled anglers in Somerset can get back out on the water thanks to fundraising. Athwenna Irons reports
DISABLED anglers in Somerset can cast their lines once more – thanks to a new wheelchairaccessible fishing boat and Covid-19 restrictions easing.
The purpose-built ‘Coulam 16 Wheelyboat’ arrived at Wimbleball Lake in the Exmoor National Park last March, but due to the national lockdowns its use throughout 2020 was somewhat disrupted.
The Wheelyboat Trust, Angling Trust and Wimbleball Fly Fishery have now announced that the vessel, which features a hydraulic platform built into the floor for step-free rollon and roll-off wheelchair access, is back on the water and ready for use.
This will enable anglers to enjoy the clear waters of Wimbleball Lake and fish independently for rainbow and wild brown trout, courtesy of the renowned Rainbow Valley Trout Farm, near Bampton.
Andy Beadsley, director of the Wheelyboat Trust, explained: “As a disabled angler myself, I know firsthand the enjoyment that comes from casting a line and whiling away a few hours on the water doing something you love, and how much this has been missed over the last year.
“We’re delighted that another Wheelyboat is calling Wimbleball Lake home and hope that many more disabled anglers, and hopefully those new to the sport too, will come and experience for themselves the joy of angling independently.”
In 2019, the Wheelyboat Trust and Angling Trust charities joined forces and invited fisheries and angling clubs throughout the UK to apply for a total of seven part-funded Coulam 16 Wheelyboats, giving disabled anglers access to fishing sites across the UK. The Wheelyboat anchored at Wimbleball Lake joins others already in use at Farmoor Reservoir in Oxfordshire, on the famous Loch Leven in Scotland, and by the Scotland-based Cobbinshaw Angling Association.
Mark Underhill, proprietor of Wimbleball Fly Fishery, added: “With our new Wheelyboat, disabled anglers will be able to fish across the 374-acre Wimbleball Lake, exploring the many bays and inlets, all stocked with some of the best trout in the country. The new Coulam 16 will join the existing Mark II Wheelyboat, which was launched in 2005, as well as eight other Coulam-built boats already on the lake.
“It’s fantastic that our growing fleet of Wheelyboats will be able to accommodate more disabled anglers, allowing more people to indulge in their passion for fishing. Given the challenges of last year, we are looking forward to welcoming familiar faces back to Wimbleball more than ever, and wish to invite those who are new to the sport to come and have a go too!”
The Wheelyboat Trust (see below for website address) currently supplies four models of Wheelyboat that provide disabled people with independent access to a wide range of activities on inland and inshore waters including angling, nature watching, pleasure-boating and power-boating. All Wheelyboats are hand-built and fitted out to order by Jim Coulam, of Lincolnshire boatbuilders Coulam Ltd, having been designed by naval architect Andrew Wolstenholme.
www.wheelyboats.org
‘I know first-hand the enjoyment that comes from casting a line and whiling away a few hours on the water’