Orvis

Orvis is a fly fishing retailer with its UK base in Andover and a shop on Stockbridge High Street, a few minutes from the Test. It also lets three chalk stream beats by the day: Kimbridge 'Ginger Beer' and Timsbury T5 on the Test, and Abbots Worthy on the Itchen. You can take a single rod or book the whole beat.

Kimbridge is about a third of a mile with shallows to fish over and a pool at the top, and takes four rods a day. Individual rods start at £195 in the trout season, or £640 for the beat. Timsbury T5 is just under half a mile of main river plus 370 yards of carrier, which is catch and release. It has a good mayfly and heavy sedge hatches later in the summer, and no wading. Rods from £135, or £476 for the beat. Abbots Worthy is the hardest of the three, a third of a mile on the Itchen that stays clear all year, which makes both the casting and the stalking harder. Rods from £120, or £265 for exclusive use with up to three. Grayling days are cheaper, £79 at Kimbridge and £55 at Abbots Worthy. A guide can be added to an exclusive booking.

The teaching side runs alongside it. The introductory Learn to Fly Fish session in the shop is free, stillwater and improver days are £135 and £150, there are river schools on the Test, and one to one tuition with an Orvis guide starts at £475. Bespoke and corporate days are arranged on the same beats, or on the coast for saltwater, with tackle and rod licences supplied if you need them. Syndicate rods are offered by enquiry.