Afteruse & Angling

It is often said that quarrying only borrows land while extraction continues. Once the mineral is depleted the land is restored to a high standard, with a continuing responsibility to manage the land for farming, leisure or nature conservation purposes.

In the early 1990s Smiths recognised this responsibility in respect of their restored mineral operations in the Windrush valley, West Oxfordshire. Realising the existing lakes, already restored after past extraction, would be joined by others as operations continued in the valley, there was a need to actively manage these beautiful areas of water by developing an afteruse.

Angling was seen as an ideal vehicle for the purpose. Being the biggest participant sport in the UK, huge numbers of anglers would be able to enjoy increased access to the countryside. Revenue from angling would not only be used to maintain the lakes, but also develop their environmental credentials, reflecting the view that every angler is a countryman at heart. Accordingly Linear Fisheries (Oxford) Ltd was founded in 1993 as a joint venture between Smiths and Len Gurd, a professional angler with a long standing reputation in angling circles, to develop coarse fishing, predominately for carp, on the lakes.

Today, Linear is the most renowned carp fishery in the UK, with a hard earned, high quality reputation.