Meadowcliffe is a small, approx 1 acre pool situated in a quiet part of the forest near the Northern United Colliery site. It is reached by a small track. You pass the traffic lights on the main Monmouth road travelling towards Five Acres and approx 3/4 mile later on the left hand side their is a sign to Coleford Brick & Tile works, take this turning (you can also access Steam Mills) drive past the old Northern United colliery buildings and access is via the gate on the right hand side, due to problems with some people camping here the gate is locked so contact the club or Wye Tackle for information on access. (Directions here FODAC).

On Tuesday 13th March 2007 Club members spent a day at the Severn Trent’s Wigpool water treatment works, the purpose was to rescue fish that had become trapped in the tank where water is pumped into from the River Wyeat Lydbrook. This tank is cleaned by the company every few years.The fish rescued ranged from Gudgeon to Roach and Barbel. The fish were sorted by size the largest placed in Lightmoor the rest here in Meadowcliffe. Pictures of the operation can be seen here Places & People click on the up arrow for thumb nails and quick link or scroll through.

The club, August 2007, received an e mail from a member who fished here and said he had caught around 35 crucians to 12 ozs as well as Chub, Roach, Rudd and the odd Tench. Where else can you obtain such value for the price of a club card?

I fished the pool on Sunday 6th July 2008 even though the weather was more like Autumn I had a brilliant days fishing. I met John Beddis the clubs junior match secretary in the torrential rain and the beauty of this water is that you can get out of the car and walk 5 yards to fish which is what I did. John fished the whip and was into small roach and my favourite fish Gudgeon straight away. As this was a pure pleasure session I fished an inside line as well a long line around 12 metres, my adice is don’t bother you don’t need to! John was the first to catch a Crucian Carp that looked like a newly minted sovereign, it positively glowed in the light and my appetite was whetted. writing this I am listening to Keith Arthur on talksport discussing Crucian Carp and the “pure strain” of the species which is much discussed these days due to the likelihood of cross breeding in the wild with Common Carp. If you want to catch a “bar of Gold” get to Meadowcliffe, I caught 19 of these wonderful fish as well as several Tench all on the expander pellet in the margins I also caught a large number of Roach (but no Gudgeon) on the maggot. I took several photos of the crucians check out the gallery.      

This spot is ideal for Family’s with young children. The pool is not deep but it can be a bit chilly as the pool is shaded by trees. As always, be safe, keep an eye on your children they do have a fascination with water and tragedy can always strike in the shallowest of water.

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