Many flyfishers dream of casting into the gently swaying weed of a crystal-clear chalkstream in the early summer months.

But how many of us have the opportunity to do so on a French chalkstream, alive with beautiful wild brown trout?

Such was the opportunity that arose for avid fisherman Charles Hamer, and this idyll turned into paradise when he was later given the chance to actually buy his beloved beat.

Here is his delightful tale of falling in love with a stretch of the Andelle, of then owning it, of seeking the co-operation of his delightful and sometimes eccentric French neighbours, and of gradually improving the fishing there and restoring a rambling fishing home on the banks. It is the stuff of dreams and he knew it.