Who are Wally’s Waterways?

We are Wally, Jan and Beth Holder and we’re passionate about carp fishing in France..

 

We bought L’Etang Baudy in 2005 and have been working hard ever since to turn an almost derelict brewery into a home, the 11 acre fishing lake into a going concern and the rest of the 25 acre site into a haven for local wildlife.

 

It has been a mammoth undertaking and the full conversion of the buildings will keep

us busy for a few more years.

 

Wally, a gentle giant, has had a varied career both in the armed forces and Civvy

Street. He is an experienced angler having tried most aspects of the sport since

boyhood, catching his first carp in 1964, giving him his great love of carp fishing.

He was water bailiff for the EA and local fishing clubs for many years and once

worked on a fish farm rearing carp and koi.

 

Wally was a canal Ranger on the Basingstoke canal in Hampshire during its restoration period and has also been a Gamekeeper. He is a qualified builder, which is handy for the renovation of the old brewery buildings.

 

 

 

 

Wally

Jan is your hostess, if she can look after Wally she can look after anyone!

 

Jan was a senior theatre staff nurse at a large NHS hospital and also nursed in Saudi Arabia for over 2 years. She is a keen fisherwoman when she gets the chance and has been a bailiff for local fishing clubs. Both Jan and Wally are experienced scuba divers and when time permits they enjoy car rallying as either participants or spectators. Jan is also quite handy at DIY and acts as Wally’s labourer on the building works.

 

 

 

Jan

Beth is our 16 year old daughter.

 

Beth aka “The Boss” is settling into life in France. She attends a French school and is slowly coming to grips with the language. She is getting quite good at translating for us and will be pleased to help you out. Beth is learning to fish but still has an aversion to handling her catch. She enjoys most things to do with water although her rowing skills leave a lot to be desired.

 

We all share our home with the usual menagerie of domestic pets, both English and French .

 

 

Beth