The Hayloft sits about a mile from the centre of Bredwardine, a Herefordshire village set right beside the River Wye, a stretch whose name carries real weight in British angling circles.

The Wye was once considered one of the finest salmon rivers in Britain, and at its peak rod catches exceeded 7,000 fish a year. The beats around Bredwardine and neighbouring Moccas drew anglers from across the country and beyond, all chasing the famous Wye spring salmon — fish that regularly ran to 30lb, with the British rod-caught record of 59lb 8oz landed just upstream at Winforton in 1923.

When salmon numbers fell sharply from the mid-1980s onwards, attention on this part of the Wye turned to barbel. By the mid-1990s, the middle Wye around Bredwardine had become the river's first real barbel hotspot, and word travelled fast through the angling press. It's still regarded as one of the premier barbel fisheries in the country, with double-figure fish caught every season.

The variety here is part of the draw. Chub shoal in good numbers and bags of 50lb-plus have been recorded. Dace are abundant, pike hold through the winter, and brown trout add a game option. Grayling — "the lady of the stream" — provide some of the finest winter fly fishing in England and Wales. Few stretches of British river offer this much, this consistently, in surroundings this beautiful.