Klar for London!

Foredraget jeg skal holde om "Lakselordene i Lågendalen" i Flyfishers' Club i London, er like rundt hjørnet. 23. februar skal jeg fortelle om den britiske æraen i Numedalslågen, og jeg må innrømme at jeg sjelden er så spent på forsamlingen og reaksjonene, som denne gangen. Moro!

Flyfishers Club winter talk, February 23rd

In just two weeks, I'm off to London to visit the Flyfishers' Club, where I'll give a talk about the Victorian anglers who once fished the Numedalslågen. I'm looking very much forward to it, and hope both fellow
members and their guests will enjoy the evening, as much as I'm sure I will do.

Utstilling i Kjærrafossen

I sommer henger det en liten "Lakselordene i Lågendalen"-utstilling i Kjærrafossen i Lardal. Dessuten kan du se og kjøpe noen av pappas fantastiske natur- og huldrefotografier! Stikk innom, da vel :-)

www.kjaerra.no

Are you fishing the Numedalslågen this summer? If so, why don't you pay Kjærrafossen a visit... There you can see a small exhibition related to my book about the British pioneer anglers. You can also admire - and buy - some of my father's brilliant photographs.

"Lakselordene" i England

Arbeidet med "Lakselordene i Lågendalen" har igjen fått oppmerksomhet i Storbritannia. Denne gangen på hjemmesiden til George Macintyre, som jeg ble kjent med da vi begge var aktive i journalistisk fagforeningsarbeid. Besøk siden hans:

www.fishingforanglers.com

My coming book about the Victorian anglers in the Numedalslågen, traditionally one of Norway's best salmon rivers, has once again received attention in the UK! This time, my friend and fly fisherman George Macintyre has published an article on his website. Check it out!

The forgotten salmon pioneers

For almost a hundred years, British anglers dominated the Numedalslågen – traditionally one of Norway’s best salmon rivers. But for some incomprehensible reason, this important, exciting and historic era is hardly documented.

I grew up by the Lågen, and ten years ago I decided to write a book about the angling pioneers. All I had when I began researching, were a few names and conveyances, an old photograph, some dubious tales and the sad ruins of what locally is known as the “Salmon Castle” (above).

If I knew, then, how extremely difficult and time consuming the project would be, I would probably never have started.

Like mountain climbing, hunting and other sports, angling was introduced to Norway by British aristocrats in the 19th Century. Well off adventurers, officers and other upper class gentlemen were impressed and enthusiastic with the wild, beautiful and unspoilt country. For a salmon fisherman, Norway was a dream come true.


Hundreds of travel books were published, filled with superlatives, lovely sketches and photographs. These accounts tempted even more tourists to go, and by the 1880s, Norway experienced what can only be described as the early days of mass tourism. The tourism led to several major changes in poor, rural Norway.

To mention a few of them, Thomas Bennett, an Englishman who had moved to Christiania (now Oslo), started the country’s first travel agency, the roads were greatly improved, the steam ship companies made a lot of money, and big, luxurious hotels were built in the most beautiful surroundings you can imagine.

But this story begins half a century earlier, when only a very, very few British anglers had discovered Norway and her possibilities.

Take, for example, Sir Hyde Parker, 8th Bart. What a huge contrast it must have been, leaving the grand, comfortable Melford Hall in Sudbury, coming to Norway. Hopefully, the salmon runs made the long, tiring journey worthwhile.

The former MP bought a small property on the Lågen, and he was probably the first British angler to fish the river on a regular basis. A newspaper article from August 16th 1838 reveals that Sir Hyde Parker’s cutter recently had put off, after a long stay in Larvik, the small town at the river’s mouth.

It’s interesting to read how the Victorians regarded the Lågen. It was mentioned in “Jones’s Guide To Norway” (1848), but more importantly, was described in detail in “The Field” in 1853. The article has no byline, but was most likely written by Sir Charles Taylor. He was not much impressed with the “Lauven”, as he called it:

"The Lauven is a very considerable stream, as broad usually for the last dozen miles of its course as the Thames at Richmond, but far deeper and stronger. Salmon here run large – from 20 to 30 pounds being a very common weight, and far larger fish by no means unusual. It has the name of being the first of the salmon rivers in the south. Although this is not quite my opinion, I will not say that its reputation is altogether usurped. The worst of it is, in my mind, that it is not generally (for Norway, s’entend) a rapid river. Salmon, as every fisherman knows, don’t rise in deep, unbroken water, flowing calmly over gravel or sand, and such is the nature of a good part of the Lauven".

In my book, which I hope to publish in a couple of years, I start one of the chapters like this:

"The flames are merciless. Black smoke pours out of the burning villa, and there is nothing the local fire brigade can do. Soon, the only monument after the Victorian anglers is gone".

The villa that burnt down in 1993 is usually referred to as the “Salmon Castle”. But there was nothing royal about the building, which Frank Keene Hawkins erected on the banks of the Lågen in the 1860s. On the contrary, even though the villa was conspicuous and stylish, it was fairly small.

The location, however, was perfect. Just a three minute walk down to the river, and from the veranda, the naval officer and his friends had a magnificent view over the different falls and pools.

It was quite common for British anglers who came to Norway in the 19th Century, to build fishing lodges. The reason was usually the desire to live close to the river, or the variable level of the local food and accommodation.

Sir Horace Rumbold (above), a diplomat and, at the time, ambassador to Sweden, wrote this after a Lågen fishing trip in 1884:

"Our quarters at the farm-house at which we put up were about as rough as they well could be. Gaardbruger (farmer) Hannevold and his belongings being thoroughly untidy and slovenly in their habits and household arrangements, which struck me all the more, coming as I did from neat, cleanly Sweden. The food they gave us, too, was coarse and unappetising. Fortunately, we had brought with us an ample supply of tinned things, which, with the fish of our own catching, broiled fresh from the river, and the great wash-hand bowlfuls of fragrant wood strawberries and the delicious cream set before us, made a menu fit for a king".


Locating relatives of the Victorian anglers has obviously been very important. And, with one exception only, people I have been contacting have been very helpful. Some have even offered me accommodation and salmon fishing… I am most grateful.

A very pleasant memory is my 2004 visit to Boars Hill, outside Oxford. There, I spent a day in the company of 84 year old Sir Ludovic Kennedy (above), who I’m sure needs no further introduction.

His grandfather, Edward Briggs Kennedy, was a keen sportsman, and he fished the Numedalslågen on at least two occasions. When he passed away, he left behind a giant scrap book, which now is in the possession of the BBC personality.

I believe I spent four, maybe five exciting hours going trough it, taking notes and photographs of material relevant for my project. The only concern was not spilling white wine, which I was kindly offered several glasses of, in the scrap book.

The first British anglers who came to Norway, no doubt provoked merriment and created a stir. Even though a few locals did fish with a rod and line, the farmers regarded the strangers as funny characters. Why use a stick and string, when nets, fishpots and other traditional traps were easier and more productive?

As the number of tourists increased, however, so did the number of locals that adopted the British way of salmon fishing. And, in 1918, the last British landowner in the Lågen valley, Frederick Richard Thomas Trench Gascoigne, sold the family’s properties and fishing rights to a Norwegian business man.

Why the Leeds officer chose to do so, I don’t know. But rumours of a water power plant being planned may very well have scared him away. Also, four years of brutal war may have reduced or ruined the pleasure of going to Norway. Money was certainly not the problem.

No matter what the explanation was, the British dominance was definitely over.

Do you have information or photos related to these angling pioneers? Please contact me on post@harangenmedia.com

Sjelden dokumentasjon

I ti år har jeg samlet bilder og informasjon til boka om "Lakselordene i Lågendalen". Gamle fangstjournaler og -rapporter har vist seg å være svært vanskelig å finne. Derfor er det ekstra moro når dokumenter som dette plutselig dukker opp!

Forøvrig er jeg nå i ferd med å avslutte research-fasen. Jeg gleder meg til å begynne sorteringen av materialet, og deretter skriveprosessen. Men for all del: Dersom noen skulle ha opplysninger om denne æraen i Numedalslågen, setter jeg stor pris på å høre fra dere!

Artikkel på engelsk: Lakselordene i Lågendalen

Min siste artikkel i Flyfishers' Journal, medlemsbladet til Flyfishers' Club i London, handler om "Lakselordene i Lågendalen" og bokprosjektet mitt. Spent på om det fører til ny informasjon om aristokratene som kom hit på 1800-tallet (og tidlig i det 20. århundret).

My latest article for the Flyfishers' Journal: Read about the Victorian anglers who dominated the River Lågen for almost a hundred years. I'm currently writing a book about these pioneers, and, hopefully, the members of the Flyfishers' Club can provide additional information.

Lakselordene i Lågendalen

I nesten 100 år preget britiske aristokrater laksefisket i Numedalslågen. Velstående offiserer, diplomater og representanter for Victoria-tidens adel kom til Vestfold for å bryne seg på elvas konge. Noen fisket en dag eller tre, for aldri å returnere. Andre kjøpte opp eiendom og fiskerettigheter, og kom tilbake år etter år.

Mens denne spennende epoken er godt dokumentert i andre, store og små laksevassdrag i Norge, er den britiske æraen i Numedalslågen lite kjent. For nesten ti år siden begynte jeg derfor å nøste i de få trådene som fantes, i praksis noen opplysninger i lokale bygdebøker, et gammelt fotografi og enkelte vandrehistorier. Det var, skulle det vise seg, et arbeid jeg ikke ante rekkevidden av.

Nå er jeg omsider i ferd med å avslutte det spennende, men ekstremt tidkrevende research-arbeidet. Det er nesten litt vemodig, samtidig som det skal bli godt å komme i gang med sorteringen og skrivingen. Klok av skade er jeg forsiktig med å antyde tidspunkt for utgivelse, men klarer jeg det i 2011 skal jeg være fornøyd.

Bildet viser Fredric Richard Thomas Trench-Gascoigne fra Leeds. Familien eide fiskerettigheter og eiendom i Numedalslågen i to generasjoner. Dette fotografiet, som dukket opp på den nå ikke-eksisterende familiens tidligere gods, ble tatt i 1880-årene.

Dersom noen skulle ha relevant informasjon, setter jeg stor pris på å høre fra dere. Jeg kommer naturligvis til å oppdatere bloggen etterhvert som arbeidet skrider fram.

"Lakselordene" i Jakt og Fiske

I siste utgave av "Jakt og Fiske" (12/2009) har jeg skrevet en artikkel om "Lakselordene i Lågendalen", samt bokprosjektet med samme tittel. Jeg legger snart ut informasjon om det spennende arbeidet på bloggen, også.


My latest article, on print in "Jakt og Fiske", a Norwegian hunting- and fishing magazine. I'm telling the fascinating story of the British angling pioneers in the River Lågen. Soon, you'll find an English version on this blog. In the meantime, check out "Hooked on salmon?" (below).