Lliswerry Pond's family fishing days become major success

Angling Watch UK's most prized asset, Lliswerry Pond, has recently become home to a series of family fishing days over the summer holidays, with dozens of families and schoolchildren pouring in to spend some quality time together. 

The pond, which recently earned the Green Flag Community Award for the second year in a row, is managed by Leanne Tutton, Ben Edmunds, and the Angling Watch UK team. 

The team recently decided to put on regular family fishing days during the summer, after getting positive responses from schools and community groups alike for the effect that fishing and being outdoors is having on many children, particularly those who may find school that bit more challenging. 

Mr Edmunds explained: "We'd seen such a good response from schools with children with special needs who struggle to concentrate or stuff like that, who had come down and spent a few hours learning to fish with our team, and just being at one with nature, so we decided to bring that into the summer holidays.

"The sessions have been really popular - we've had people keep returning after spending two hours here, just to reconnect as a family and find some peace, which is great."

Lliswerry Pond has become a popular site for families to learn to fish this summer (Image: NQ) Each of the sessions have been open to anyone of any age and ability, with fully trained coaches and security bailiffs on hand to support and guide people where necessary, with all of the equipment provided for a cost of just £5 per family. 

For Mr Edmunds and his team, the response has been amazing, and they are particularly proud of many of the returning children who they have seen progress over the weeks, including some who have even won awards after having taken up fishing with the team this summer. 

He said: "It's such a source of pride for us as coaches to see some of the people we've taught really come out of their shell and develop as not only fishers, but also people.

"We see a lot of families come here for some quiet time with children who struggle with school, and it's lovely to know we're helping with that."

Eight-year-old Broady Lews and his mum Victoria have been coming to the fishing days regularly over the summer, with Broady now 'loving' it (Image: NQ) One such person is eight-year-old Broady Lewis, who was attending the final session of the summer with his mum Victoria. 

According to Broady the sessions are "great" and he says he loves learning to catch the fish. 

For mum Victoria, the sessions have provided an opportunity for Broady to relax and find something that suits him, and he has said he "loves" them.

She said: "It's been really lovely to find something like this that he's able to have a great focus on, as he really struggles with that at school, and he clearly loves it. 

"We came for the first time a few weeks ago, and within minutes of getting home, he was asking when we could come back." 

Another keen regular to the pond is Tristan Hyatt, 11, who has recently come in third in a local children's competition, after only taking up fishing a few weeks ago. 

Tristan Hyatt, 11, (right) with his mum Helen and older brother James, has recently come third in a competition, despite only taking up fishing earlier in the summer (Image: NQ) Tristan's mum, Helen, who was attending along with her eldest son, 14-year-old James, said the sessions have been "brilliant" for both of her children. 

She explained: "We'd never been to the pond before, and then I saw it on Facebook one day and thought it might be good to try it out. 

"Tristan took to it like a duck to water, and as a parent, it's amazing to see how much he loves being out in nature like this. 

"We're now regular members, and the boys will be looking to come back even with school restarting." 

Coach Andrew James Bruce, known fondly as 'Doc', says it's been a delight to see so many find this "little green gem" in the middle of an estate. 

Coach Andrew James Bruce, known as 'Doc' has been delighted to see the quick progress made by so many who attended the events over the summer (Image: NQ) He said: "It makes me so proud to see so many people here - I'm regularly teaching people now, who start by saying they can't do or don't want to touch the maggots, then by session two, they're grabbing them and making some really great catches.

"We know this place hasn't always had the  best reputation, so we're trying to change that and build a much better atmosphere, and the success of these events is a key example of that." 

If you would like to find out more about events going on at Lliswerry Pond or become a member, you can visit the website here.