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Those who are regulars to this website
will know in October we announced the sad news that
Alex Behrendt farther of modern British Stillwater’s
had sadly passed away we told briefly the story of Two
Lakes and many of you contacted me asking if you could
fish this Stillwater. I announced that it was our belief
it was no longer a fly fishing water and its location
seemed to be lost.
Well we couldn’t really leave it there
so I sat down and read Alex Behrendt book Fishery Management
of Angling Waters. Thinking well it will have the address
of Two Lakes in it but no, it would not be that easy.
He did describe the stream that fed two lakes eventually
joined the test just above Romsey and its location was
between the Test and Itchen. It was mentioned that the
London to Bournemouth road ran pass the property remember
this was 1970’s before the M3 so it was the A3090, but
sadly not a lot more could be found. Google gave me
3 Articles one of them my own that had appeared on hundreds
of sites around the world at the time of Alex’s death
but Googles search on Two Lakes basically was a waste
of time. I remembered story’s told of two lakes by Bill
Sibbons, I remembered Jack Hargraves Out of Town that
was filmed several times at Two Lakes but none gave
me an address. The ordinance survey was fun as mentioned
before Two Lakes originally had Two Lakes but as time
went on this number grew to seven lakes but as the fishery
was famous as Two Lakes the name never changed. Foreign
readers in particular will not be aware that this part
of Hampshire is a mass of streams and lakes so their
were in fact many possible locations.
Eventually I was lucky to find a reference
to Two Lakes in H.F. Wallis Stillwater Trout Fisheries
published in 1976
Two Lakes
Crampmoor, Nr Romsey, Hants.
Off A31 Winchester to Romsey road 2m E,NE of Romsey.
Permits £178.20
This was sadly the best directions I
could find so when a few days latter I found myself
in a car with a friend heading towards Stockbridge a
small diversion was too irresistible. We headed from
Romsey towards Winchester after a while we considered
we must be near and pulled over onto a small side road
so we could look on the map.
Imagine our surprise when as we looked
at the Gates we had parked by on a very muddy lane,
someone had just pulled back some very old ivy to show
the Words Two Lakes. We both looked at each other in
total surprise. We had both considered our chances to
be very slim of finding anything and here we were parked
outside, we gingerly got out and peered down the long
drive but all we could see was a new house and swimming
pool an Alsatian at this point started barking. I remembered
that Alex had kept two Alsatians to deter Poachers but
had trained them not to attack fisherman I considered
looking for a fishing rod so not to be attacked by this
guard dog, I then realised this dog was unlikely to
belonged too Alex. So sadly we decided as the Alsatian
showed us his teeth once more to retreat.
The small lane continued so we followed
it hoping to get a glimpse of a lake but sadly all we
could see were new houses and high walls. We drove down
the lane for a short distance until we got to a small
lane that doubled back and followed our original lane
back in the direction of Romsey. We decided to follow
it for a while but quickly noticed a small stream crossing
under the road. We pulled over it was a very small stream
just a trickle and Alexs words echoed in my head. In
his book he noted that people never believed that such
a small stream fed two lakes everyone would ask if there
were springs on the site and never believe him when
he said no. The small stream crossed under the road
and trickled through a gap in two large banks with trees
that curtained the site. To most this would not have
been of interest but reminded me of so many still waters
I know peering through the Trees I saw a small lake
terribly overgrown but a lake. Yes it is sad to report
that Two Lakes trout fishery is no more but at least
one lake still exists. The Chinese say a person, does
not die until they are forgotten we can say if that
is the case Two Lakes will live forever and now you
have read this article Two Lakes lives on in your memory
and is not forgotten.
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