Highams Park London

[Ian.R.McDonald]

My first ever fishing day. Good ever hungry perch pulling the oversize float along. My Dad dropped us off, saw my interest and went secretly up to Bearmans Leytonstone and bought a " proper" if tiny treated cotton keepnet. I remember the overhanging trees with early stock of North Londons green parakeets fluttering around.
Fishing and Sailing have been a large part of my life. Highams Park Sailing club raced some lovely wood sailing dinghies- British Moth and the smaller Fly . Boats and floats came very close but I dont remember any animosity.
I kept my bank account in Highams Park when I moved north. In the days when we talked about banks rather than tapping bits of plastic on machines, it was fun when people asked " Highams? where?"

[Catfish.017]

Ah those little orange keep nets with galvanised steel rings. Even after almost sixty years I have a clear memory of mine full of treasure; a leash of gilded four ounce Rudd sparkling in the sunshine of a mid Sixties Summer Saturday!

[Ian.R.McDonald]

I hadnt realised the lake was made in " capability brown style" by another landscaper diverting the river Ching. I understand the sailing club closed in the 70s.
I prefer to keep images in my memory rather than seeing current photos

I remember my kid sister struggling to cast more than a rod length and catching a pound plus perch which looked like a whale to us in the 60s

[Stathamender]

Higham's Park, including the lake, was designed by Brown's greatest successor Humphry Repton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphry_Repton. The Park is still controlled by the City of London and fishing is permitted. Accounts vary of whether or not it's any good. Described as 'shallow and weedy' so probably silted. The usual comment of 'Carp up to 20 lb'. If I had a £ for every time I've read that ........

[Ian.R.McDonald]

Is the sailing still going on? I remember lovely little wooden single handers, a shrunken version of the British Moth.

I dont think " Capability" ever picked up a shovel when he was running things