River Wylye

A chalk stream tributary of the Hampshire Avon, the River Wylye rises at White Sheet Bottom near the Deverills in south-west Wiltshire and runs for around 27 miles — north through the Deverill villages towards Warminster, then south-east through Wylye and Steeple Langford, before meeting the River Nadder on the northern edge of Wilton. The Wylye flows through chalk and over green sand, and its largely agricultural valley keeps it intimate and largely undisturbed. The river has wonderful twists and turns, deep pools leading into swift gravel runs, and with each step the character changes.

The Wylye is known for the quality of its fly hatches and the prolific natural spawning of wild brown trout, as well as its grayling stocks. Stocking is virtually non-existent along most of the river, which allows wild trout and grayling to thrive. Early season brings hatches of large dark olives, grannom and small olives, while the mayfly hatch runs steadily from mid-May to mid-June, sheltered banks helping it continue even in unsettled weather. Dry fly and upstream nymph are the standard methods; beats that permit wading allow anglers to cast carefully to rising fish while bankside vegetation grows up to support fly life and a healthy ecosystem. The trout season runs from 1 April to 15 October, with grayling fishing available from then until 14 March.

The Wylye Chalk Stream Project — the first landscape-scale collaboration of its kind on a Wiltshire chalk stream — is led by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust in partnership with the Wylye Valley Farmers group and Wessex Rivers Trust, with funding secured through the Government's Landscape Recovery scheme. The Wylye Fly Fishing Club holds twelve beats near Salisbury on the Wylye and Nadder, ranging from small and intimate to more open water. The Wilton Fly Fishing Club holds just over seven miles of the Wylye. For day-ticket access, the Langford Lakes beat at Steeple Langford is exclusive to Aardvark McLeod and runs through the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust's Langford Lakes Nature Reserve, where strong populations of wild brown trout and grayling are supported by careful habitat management.