Semi-successful reccie ... sorta

Since we moved to Long Stratton I've been trying to find Taswood Lakes because I was told by one of the school mommies that this was a cool place to go and do some fishing, take a picnic and have a relaxing time in a natural environment with the kids.


Well today, Faye, Ewan and I set out to find it.   First place we came across, that looked kinda interesting was :

Burrfield Park

This is a tiny little 'park' off the roadside in the sleepiest part of Tasburgh, if you blink you miss it.  The little place is looked after by local volunteers and is like a very large garden.    They have tried to pack a lot in.
 

 Faye lifted up the corrugated iron sheet ... but nope, no nasties.

 Weird wooden bird statue in the garden/park, overlooking the little pond, which was covered in slime.

 Some of the lovely houses in this area.

And then a bit later,   ta-da there it was, the entrance to Taswood Lakes! 
 

We drove in at 5mph - there are signs every five paces.   I left the kids in the car whilst I went to find out if we could all go for a walk around (don't worry, I could see the car from the reception window and there was only us there).   So this is how the conversation went:

Lady at reception:   Hiya
Me.    Hiya.   I've been trying to find this place for years!   I just wanted to know can we go for a quick walk around?
Lady at reception:  Yes, of course you can.
Me.:  Oh great.  So we can walk around, the kids and I, for a look see?
Lady at reception:  Oh you can walk around and view the fishing ponds to see if you'd like to come back and fish here but you can't take the kids, I'm sorry.
Me:  Oh that's a pity.   What does it cost to fish here?
Lady at reception:  [Gets map and writes on it, explaining how much it costs to fish at each lake, depending on whether you are doing 'COURSE' fishing or 'CARP' fishing .... jesus wept]
Me:  Oh good, my daughter wants to fish here, so I'll take this information (I had taken a brochure and the lady gave me the map she'd been writing on).     Can we fish with children then?  If we come as a family all together?
Lady at reception:  Oh yes. that's fine.
Me:  Oh good, that will be so nice.  Can we get the fishing permit here from you?
Lady at reception:  No, we don't sell the permits but you can get them online, it's easy (doesn't show me the link for that though)
Me:   No problem, I'm sure my daughter will be able to sort that out.     So we can come back and fish for the day with the kids and have picnic etc.
Lady at reception:  Yes, but we haven't got facilities for children under 16.

At that point, I said cheers and went back to the car.
FFS!   It's a natural place, with 12 fishing ponds/lakes all hidden behind trees and a lot of vegetation.  See the website here but you can't go there fishing with your kiddies, unless they're over 16. 
Oh well, Hayzel, if you want some peace and quiet, this is the place I suppose!
I'll come with you, should be great fun.  You can also 'overnight' at some of the ponds.

UK Health and Safety at work.