Tuesday 27 December 2011

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all of our Forda friends old and new, a very Merry Christmas.


The Bude traditional Christmas Day swim went ahead as planned (and the weather was much kinder this year than last!)

You can see for yourselves how it went here


We will be posting again within the next few weeks with details and hopefully some nice pictures of our new arrivals - fish!


In the meantime, enjoy the New Year celebrations and we look forward to seeing you at Forda very soon!

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Tight Lines!

The ponds here at Forda have been fishing really well throughout the season, and fishing lessons have been very popular. This picture was taken last week and shows coach (Colin) and pupil (Abbie) with a lovely 12lb carp.
We hear that Abbie has since challenged her dad to a fishing competition - and from the progress that she made during her holiday at Forda, we think that she'll win!

Thursday 25 August 2011

Tweet Tweet!

At Forda we have decided to embrace technology and as from today will be using Twitter (alongside Facebook, Blogger and of course our website) to keep all of our friends, old and new, up-to-date with news and special offers. You can follow us on Twitter from here!

Wednesday 6 July 2011

Filling Up Nicely!



As you can see from our latest photographs, the new pond is filling up nicely and the grass has taken wonderfully (we've even had to mow it a few times!) Won't be long now until we begin introducing some new fish.














Saturday 4 June 2011

It's All Green!

Our hard work over the winter is finally showing results. The new path at middle pond is looking beautiful (all of the mud has gone!), and access is so much easier now.




The new pond is coming along a treat too, and the new grass is growing nicely (despite the lack of rain!) Now we just need it to fill up before we stock it this winter.













'Excellent' Water Quality for Our Local Beaches




We are pleased to report that the Marine Conservation Society annual study has again announced that our local beach Sandymouth and all three Bude beaches (Crooklets, Summerleaze and Widemouth Bay) have again all achieved their distinction of 'excellent' water quality for 2011.

Friday 3 June 2011

Our First Ducklings of the Year!





Our first brood of ducklings arrived shortly after the goslings, and thanks to Mrs. Duck's best efforts, four of them made it through the dangerous early days, and are now thriving!


Their antics are quite comical to watch, and they are already brave enough to approach humans for food - all under the watchful eye of Mum!

Wednesday 4 May 2011

Our New Arrivals!

A few weeks ago, we found that two Canada geese had taken quite a fancy to Forda, and decided that the island on bottom pond was the ideal place to set up home. We've patiently watched whilst Mother Goose sat on her nest, and finally been rewarded with a pair of beautiful goslings - a first for Forda!
The proud parents have led their offspring around the whole site, and are clearly taking their roles very seriously!
Just waiting for the ducklings now......


Friday 25 March 2011

Glorious Spring!

20° C on March 25th!




With no rain or wind for weeks and glorious spring sunshine, the daffodils are looking wonderful this year.


Record Low Tide

With the moon so close, last weekend was set for record low tides. Many set off for the beach on Sunday to see what was there..... The mythical submerged forest did not materialise but it was a goldmine for mussel pickers!



This picture shows the huge expanse of sand at local Duckpool beach.


Friday 18 March 2011

And the work goes on....

Not ones for resting on our laurels (!) we took the opportunity to make full use of the diggers whilst they were here. Our plan to widen the path around middle pond came to fruition.....







As did our new drainage ditch and wider path at top pond....

Thankfully, the glorious Cornish sunshine ensured that the ground didn't stay muddy for long!


Wednesday 9 March 2011

Tale of the Lonesome Willow

As the fine, dry weather and sunshine continued, we decided that the time was ideal to plant and seed the island of our new pond, before the water got too deep!





Jim and Colin spent a few days toiling in the spring sunshine digging, raking, planting seeds and bulbs, and of course the weeping willow.




Now its down to Mother Nature to do her bit, before we start to think about the fun part - FISH!

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Almost Done!

Just a few finishing touches, and we're almost done! The diggers have almost finished here, but our hard work will continue! Whilst we will need to allow the new pond to settle for a while before we can actually fill it, there is plenty of sowing and planting to be done in the meantime!


Wednesday 16 February 2011

Rallying the Troops!




So the digging continued in earnest despite the freezing weather (don't be fooled by the blue sky - it was cold!) but Gillian was on hand with jugs full of steaming hot soup to keep the wheels moving!


It was worth all of the effort in the end, and we could finally see how our new pond was going to look........









Friday 11 February 2011

Fishing Hut on the Move


Sometimes, there are crucial decisions to be made, and luckily for us Gillian was on hand to make them! In this case, the tackle shed was in the way of our new pond and had to be moved!


Regular fishers here at Forda will be relieved to hear that the shed survived the move intact, and lives to store another day!



Tuesday 8 February 2011

The Big Dig


Diggers arrived at the end of January, and watched over by Jim and Colin (like anxious fathers to be!) the new lake finally started to take shape.






Countless tons of earth were expertly moved around, transforming Forda's landscape!























Further pictures and updates to follow very soon!

Friday 4 February 2011

A New Addition


Preparations for our new pond went ahead as planned in January, and many chilly days were spent clearing the scrub land, chopping down trees and lighting huge bonfires (which not only got rid of the waste, but went a fair way to ensuring that we didn't freeze!)

Eventually, we managed to transform the area from this........





to this.........!!!!!!!










The next step was for the diggers to arrive - more on this to follow very soon!

Tuesday 25 January 2011

Let it Snow!


First of all we would like to wish all of our Forda friends, old and new, a very happy and prosperous New Year!






And talking of New Year (and Christmas too) the festive season here at Forda was the coldest in over a hundred years, and blanketed in snow!

It certainly looked pretty, but we did have a few concerns about whether or not our guests would manage to get in (and out again!)


Thanks to a friendly neighbour who cleared a pathway through the snow with his digger, crisis was averted!


Even the frozen lakes didn't deter our fishing guests, and we're pleased to report that one guest had a very productive session on Christmas Day.