Disabled Angling

This section is about some disabled angling facilities available around the country but centering more on the south coast area.  Disablity and the chance to keep fishing is of particular interest to the webmaster of this site as he has been left partially disabled due to suffering a stroke some years ago and more recently suffering a heart attack followed by heart surgery.

There aren't many places that you can find information about disabled angling on the internet. There are lots of forums on the internet about fishing in general but there doesn't appear to be many websites dedicated to disabled angling.  It is a pity because there must be 1000's and 1000's of anglers left disabled through suffering a physical injury or some type of health problem.

Fishing is a true passion that is rarely lost once it gets into your blood. There are plenty of anglers who return to fishing even after a 20 or 30 year gap. Many of us get wrapped up in work and families that we rarely have time to indulge in our favourite pastime. Not until our families have grown up and flown the nest and work is not so demanding do we return to it. That was certainly true of me; I never fished for nearly 20 years due to the constraints of time put on me by work and family commitments. Now I can fish mostly when I want, that is with the permission of the good wife of course.

Piers and jetties are obviously the marks to look for but also car parks and promenades these are normally the easiest to access. 

I also fish Deal Pier in Kent which has easy access and has a cafe and disabled toilets on the end.  The cafe was renovated only a couple of years ago. As far as disabled angling goes, this is a great place to visit.   It also has shelters on either side of the pier so whatever the weather you can normally keep dry and warm and out of any strong side winds.   Deal Angling Club 1919 and Deal & Walmer fishing clubs each have a club hut on the lower deck of the pier.  Deal & Walmer club hut is on the right as you look down the stem of the pier from the prom and the 1919 club hut is on the left hand side.  A great place to shelter or set up and make yourself a cuppa tea if you want.

A very good place that I have only just found out about is a place called Samphire Hoe, situated between Deal and Dover directly under the white cliffs, it is purpose built from the 'spoil' dug out for the Channel Tunnel.  It is landscaped, with a parking area and is accessible for wheelchair users.  The recommended route follows the front path, from the front path signposted 'west shore via the Hoe'.  With over a mile of sea wall there is always plenty of room for sea angling.  Day and season tickets are available from the tea kiosk next to the car park. I have just had a trip there to fish a 'forum meet' and can say it is really a great place to fish, easy access and plenty of room, a little snaggy but not as bad as a lot say.

Hastings has a car park right up to the shingle beach at the east end with a chip shop, toilets all very close by.  Just a few steps over the shingle to be able to cast and catch a few fish (hopefully)!
A couple of other places to fish from are St Marys Bay, Pirate Springs or Littlestone Water Tower.  These are marks between Dymchurch and Dungeness where you can park directly behind the low sea wall.  You can actually sit on the wall if you fancied.

The Prince of Wales pier at Dover is a place to visit as it has very easy access. You can fish out of the back of your car after having driven up the pier as long as you have a blue badge!
The pier opens around 8am and closes around 7pm to 8pm on an evening but the security come along and tell you when they are going to shut so no problems there.  There is also a cafe there to get something to eat if you wanted, can't get much easier than that now, can it?

If you are reading this then you obviously have internet access so the best thing to do is to reasearch any venue before setting out to see if it is suitable for you.

A very good website dedicted to disabled angling is Reels On Wheels.  They are mainly a fresh water fishing site with the occasional sea fishing trip arranged but they run competitions and meets throughout the year and have a 2 day 'festival' in June of this year.  Well worth checking out.
They are a Charitable Organisation that was set up to provide funds for various reasons and supports the 'buddy system' concept.  One of their ultimate aims would be to have their own purpose built lake/lakes which would see all swims with platforms suitable for wheelchairs with a small cafe/tackle shop/toilets, family workshop for the carers, wives and kids, a junior club to encourage the younger generation to take up the sport and combine that with them assisting less able/disabled anglers.
Although they are mainly a fresh water website as already stated and this website is about sea fishing we are glad to be able to show our support to Nick and his team for the sterling work they do in getting disabled anglers back into fishing and also for promoting and introducing angling as a sport to those who have maybe never tried it - YET!

Another great organisation is Solent Dolphin, with a Board of Directors and a Management Committee.  It all came to fruition in 1987 due to members of the New Forest Rotary Club for the purpose of taking people with disabilities out to sea on day trips. Because of the forward thinking of those early members the first boat was launched in 1989.
They now run FREE trips for the disabled aboard the Catamaran 'Alison MacGregor' from the 1st of May until the 30th of September out of their home port which is Hythe Marina in Hampshire. 

The British Disabled Angling Association has plenty of information on it's own website about facilities, clubs, meets, competitions and much more available to disabled anglers.  They have a Newsletter you can sign up for to keep you informed about future events and the likes.
They also have Junior and Adult coaching events. A website well worth taking a look at.

I do visit the area I was born in from time to time throughout the year and there are quite a few areas for the disabled angler to take advantage of.
Around the Whitby area in North Yorkshire, Saltburn pier, Whitby pier and Sandsend car park immediately spring to mind.  Both piers have easy access, Saltburn pier really needs to be fished over high water, the same as Sandsend car park.  At Saltburn there are disabled toilet facilities practically opposite the pier and in the summer months you can get food and drinks also at the entrance to the pier.  There is a 'chippie' which I am told has very good fish and chips at the end of the carpark as you go towards the pier.  The pier has a couple of 'bays' up the length of the pier on each side which have long bench type seats if you need them.
Car park to entrance of the pier is about 100 yards.

You can fish out of the back of your car at Sandsend but mind if it is fairly rough then the sea has a nasty habit of sending the odd wave over the wall just to give you a hose down!   I do believe there are toilet facilities and a cafe within the car park itself or there used to be.  Normally between October to about March there is no parking charge but just check any signs to make sure - some car parks do have disabled parking bays BUT you still have to pay.  Whitby pier can be fished at most stages of the tide as you can fish into the river side of the pier for a variety of flat fish and eels, plus maybe the odd surprise pollack.

At Redcar you can fish opposite the 'Royal Hotel', on the slipway over high water for the likes of Bass and flatties in the warmer months and then the occasional Flounder and Cod, maybe an odd Whiting as well in the winter months.  Parking is available on the promenade about 5 metres from your fishing position!  A fisherman's cafe, which all the boat owners used to use in times gone by, there' aren't too many of them left anymore, just a few short yards up the road in the Marske direction.  Plus there is a tackle shop just round the corner on the high street, (Redcar Angling) a well stocked and friendly shop run by John and Denise who also supply a variety of fresh and frozen bait.