Mud, Madness & “Why Don’t We…” – A Lake Update

If you’ve driven past or visited the lake recently and thought, “Blimey… that looks muddy” — you’d be absolutely right. Very right. Painfully right.

We’re currently in the middle of some ongoing site maintenance to tackle an issue we’ve known about for a long time: flooding. Every year, without fail, one particular area floods and renders four pegs completely unusable. Not ideal for anglers, not great for the fish, and frankly, not great for our sanity either.

We’ve also always known that the lake itself needed to be dug deeper — both for fish welfare and to stop the water level dropping so dramatically during the summer months.

And then… Suzie had one of her famous “Why don’t we…” moments.

Killing Two Birds with One Very Muddy Stone

The land in that area was, to put it politely, completely f**ked.

So the idea was simple (in theory):

• Dig the lake deeper
• Use the spoil to raise the sodden ground
• Improve drainage
• Fix flooding
• Improve fish welfare

Kill two birds with one stone. What could possibly go wrong?

Day One: Mud (and Nearly a Divorce)

Andy broke ground on the Saturday.
Mud. Instant Mud. Lots of mud.

Suzie (me) was on hand to check every single bucket-load for swan mussels, because apparently I like living dangerously.
Mud.

With each new pile, the digger bucket seemed to swing just a little closer to me.
Mud.

Tensions were high. Mud was flying. Divorce papers were mentally drafted.

Eventually, after what felt like days (but was actually hours), the land was flattened, and the lake was noticeably deeper. We stood back, admired our work, and then Andy said the words that should probably never be said on a building site:

“Shall we take some more out?”

Mud.

Day Two: Enter the Master of Mud

The call was made to Ash, our resident master digger. And if you’ve ever seen Ash around, you’ll know he loves three things in life:

1. Diggers
2. Sculpting land
3. Mud

So naturally, the decision was made to go bigger and deeper.

Oh — and while we were at it, we decided to transplant some trees from the woodland. They were being suffocated by larger trees and also happened to be in the way of a very special, very secret future project.

What had seemed like a muddy mess on Saturday now escalated into…a full-blown mud apocalypse

I sank.
More than once.

Three boots nearly became permanent lake features.
One tree seemed absolutely determined to drag me into the mud with it.
At one point, the only thing saving me was a slimy, slippy digger bucket — not something I ever expected to be grateful for.

By the end of day two, though, the transformation was huge:

• The lake was much deeper
• The land was flattened (again)
• And we could finally see the light at the end of the mud tunnel

Day Three: Landscaping (and Knee-Deep Regret)

Day three brought the start of landscaping. Lovely tall grasses were carefully taken from around the site and replanted along the edges of the new bankside to help stabilise it and encourage wildlife.

Andy, however, slightly underestimated just how soft and wet the ground would still be.

This resulted in:

• Multiple knee-deep sinkings
• Only nearly falling into the lake twice
• And a lot of laughing… once the panic had passed

What Happens Next?

Work to improve the ground will continue over the coming weeks, and new pegs will be installed very soon. Once complete, this area will:

• Drain far more efficiently
• Be usable year-round
• Improve fish welfare
• Create a much better experience for anglers

Yes, it’s been muddy.
Yes, it’s been chaotic.
And yes… we’ve actually enjoyed it (mostly).

All of this work is about making Lincoln Lane Lakes better for the long term — for the fish, for the anglers, and for the future of the site.

We’ll keep you updated as things progress (hopefully with less mud next time), and we can’t wait to welcome you back to enjoy the improvements in the months and years ahead.

Tight lines,
Suzie & Andy 🎣🌿