Fishing Properties
Area Guide
While away a lazy sunny afternoon on your own private lake tucked away in the French countryside waiting for that elusive carp or pike to take the bait before retiring to your secluded lakeside cottage to watch a golden sunset whilst enjoying a chilled local beer; enjoy the thrill and challenge of salmon fishing in your own exclusive stretch of chalk stream in the South of England or revel in the wild splendour of the Scottish Highlands and fish for salmon or trout on the your own stretch of the famous River Spey or Tweed before relaxing on the terrace of your magnificent Georgian house where lush green lawns sweep down to sparkling silver blue water set against a backdrop of green and purple hills. Mostly located in remote and country locations with accommodation ranging from simple cottages to stately country house, there are fishing properties in England, Scotland and throughout Europe – particularly in France– all presenting an ideal investment opportunity for investors wanting something that little bit different.
Fishing is one of those activities that never goes out of fashion, appealing to all ages and all types of people. Whether you are looking to buy a fishing property for you and your family to live the dream of owning your very own stretch of river or lake or buying a fishing property with an established fishing business to enter the lucrative fishing holiday market, fishing properties come in all shapes and sizes and depending on your budget and taste will enable you to indulge your passion for this very popular sport.
In England the most prized fishing properties are those located in the South on the magnificent chalk streams of the River Itchen or Test where a healthy demand from investors and fishing enthusiasts continues to drive up prices for those fishing properties at the top end of the market; expect to pay at least £1million for a spacious property with land and fishing rights with Georgian or Queen Anne period properties easily reaching over £3 million.
North of the border in Scotland, the demand for gold standard fishing properties is also equally high; an eight-bedroom Georgian house with a three-quarters-of-a-mile beat on the River Spey or River Tweed would command a premium price of at around £1 – 2m as would a similar-sized house on the River Dee in Aberdeenshire and this is often met because of the oil money coming out of Aberdeen itself. Large estates with fishing rights and extensive land are also available with prices starting at around £5-6m and often going as high as £10-12m. Prices are somewhat lower for fishing properties on the more obscure and less accessible rivers in the Highlands where there are opportunities to buy fishing properties and rent them out as holiday homes to take advantage of the increasing and very lucrative market for fishing holidays.
Demand for fishing properties in France is very healthy driven by anglers looking to indulge their passion for carp fishing in France. France is a land of lakes and carp lakes can be found all over the country particularly in Limousin - known as the ‘Lakeland of France’ – which is a rich hunting ground for fishing properties, the Loire Valley and in the popular areas of the South such as Aquitaine and Languedoc-Roussillon.
In Limousin and the Loire Valley, fishing properties range from simple lakeside wooden cabins which are often very basic with no mainline electricity, gas or water, to small cottages with basic accommodation using water pumped from the lake and a generator for electricity to the top end of the market which offers spacious and comfortable country houses with wooden floors and beams. Prices reflect the wide range of fishing properties available, starting at around €30,000 for the smaller and simpler properties and increasing to around €700 - €1m for the larger country houses.
Aquitaine also has a healthy supply of fishing properties with the most prized providing fishing rights on the banks of the Dordogne and Garonne rivers. Prices for a stone farmhouse or village house start at around €120,000 and can increase to over €1m for large chateaux and manor houses set in their own private grounds. If building and renovating is more your style then there are also opportunities to buy plots of land complete with lakes and planning permission to built your own dream fishing property.
Fishing properties in the South in areas such as Languedoc-Roussillon and the Côte d’Azur are more expensive. Country houses and villas with mature gardens and access to their own stretch of river or carp stocked lakes begin at around €200,000 and at the top end of the market there are special fishing properties such as former abbeys and water mills which have been beautifully renovated to provide luxurious accommodation and landscaped grounds.
Fishing properties can be found in some of the most remote and beautiful parts of England, Scotland and France. Whether a simple stone cottage on the shores of a tranquil carp lake or a Georgian country manor house with a salmon and trout river rushing through its lush green grounds, fishing properties are becoming increasingly popular as an investment both as a residence and also as holiday rental accommodation, providing fishing enthusiasts with a golden opportunity to indulge their passion for this every popular sport.