River guide
River Wensum in Norfolk
6 checked stretches so far — day tickets, club waters and guest tickets, each checked against the club's own pages.
The lowdown
The Wensum through Norfolk is a clear, spring-fed, alkaline river with abundant aquatic plants and insects. Around this upper section it has a natural, wilderness-like character, with willows, alders, reeds and marshy edges giving the place a proper rural feel.
The surrounding Wensum is designated an SSSI and Special Area of Conservation. Wildlife can be excellent, with possible sightings of marsh harriers, barn owls, kingfishers, water voles and otters alongside the trout, dace and roach fishing.
Close season reminder
Coarse fishing on English rivers is closed from 15 March to 15 June inclusive. That's the law for coarse fish on rivers — it's not a club rule, and game-fishing seasons work differently.
GOV.UK — Freshwater rod fishing rules: when and where you can fishStretches
6 of 6 checked stretches. No rankings — we don't know which is "best" on your day, and neither does anyone else.
Fakenham Angling Club River Wensum Club Stretch
River Wensum · Day ticket
A cracking 2.5 km club stretch on the upper River Wensum, with the Fakenham Angling Club water on the right, south bank. It’s clear, spring-fed and properly wild-looking above the A1065, with wild brown trout, dace and roach to keep things interesting.
Checked 8 Oct 2026
Taverham Mill River Wensum Stretch
River Wensum · Season permit or accommodation guests
Taverham Mill gives you roughly three-quarters of a mile of River Wensum, with two weir pools and a proper mix of deep water, gravel runs, lilies, reeds and snags. It’s run by Anglian Water Parks, with cracking chub fishing and plenty to keep all abilities busy.
Checked 8 Oct 2026
Bintry Mill Trout Fishery — Yarrow Farm, County School and Goff’s beats
River Wensum · Day ticket or members
A cracking, quiet stretch of the River Wensum run by Bintry Mill Trout Fishery. Day tickets cover Yarrow Farm, County School and, from the 2026 season, Goff’s — with wild trout, proper chalk-stream water and some cracking deeper fish.
Checked 8 Oct 2026
Sparham Hall
River Wensum · Members or guest ticket
Sparham Hall is a quiet, roughly 1.5-mile WACA stretch of the River Wensum at Lyng/Sparham. It’s slower, deeper water aimed squarely at specimen hunters, with some properly chunky fish in the mix.
Checked 8 Oct 2026
Castle Farm River Wensum Stretch, Swanton Morley
River Wensum · Members only or guest tickets
Castle Farm is a proper two-mile DDAC stretch on the River Wensum at Swanton Morley. It’s club water rather than a commercial day-ticket puddle, with chub, roach, dace, perch and pike in the wider DDAC river sections.
Checked 8 Oct 2026
Sayers Meadow Fishery, River Wensum at Lyng
River Wensum · Members or accompanied guests
Sayers Meadow is a cracking, habitat-restored stretch of the River Wensum at Lyng, run by Wensum Anglers Conservation Association. There’s over a mile of river, two well-known mill pools and a proper mix of chub, roach, dace, perch, pike and more.
Checked 8 Oct 2026
Pins mark the access postcode each club gives, not the bank itself. Exact boundary map: see rights holder.
Access & tickets
Adult day ticket
Fakenham Angling Club
Day ticket, must be purchased before fishing.
£10 (as listed 08/10/2026)
Covers: Fakenham Angling Club River Wensum Club Stretch
Junior day ticket
Fakenham Angling Club
For anglers up to 18; must be purchased before fishing.
£5 (as listed 08/10/2026)
Covers: Fakenham Angling Club River Wensum Club Stretch
Evening ticket
Fakenham Angling Club
Fishing from 4pm.
£5 (as listed 08/10/2026)
Covers: Fakenham Angling Club River Wensum Club Stretch
Adult River Wensum season permit 2026/27
Anglian Water Parks
Current adult season permit. One angler may fish with two rods.
£105 (as listed 08/10/2026)
Covers: Taverham Mill River Wensum Stretch
Senior River Wensum season permit
Anglian Water Parks
Official Anglian Water pages show different current prices: £77 on the fishing-information page and £75 on the permit-booking page.
£77 / £75 (as listed 08/10/2026)
Covers: Taverham Mill River Wensum Stretch
Junior River Wensum season permit
Anglian Water Parks
Season permit. One angler may fish with two rods.
£50 (as listed 08/10/2026)
Covers: Taverham Mill River Wensum Stretch
Yarrow Farm or County School day ticket
Bintry Mill Trout Fishery
One angler, dawn to dusk. Available May 1 to October 29 inclusive. One stock fish may be retained.
£45 per angler per day (as listed 08/10/2026)
Covers: Bintry Mill Trout Fishery — Yarrow Farm, County School and Goff’s beats
Goff’s day ticket
Bintry Mill Trout Fishery
Available from the 2026 season, planned for April 3 to October 29. All trout and coarse fish must be returned.
£25 per angler per day (as listed 08/10/2026)
Covers: Bintry Mill Trout Fishery — Yarrow Farm, County School and Goff’s beats
Bintry Mill Trout Fishery members’ club
Bintry Mill Trout Fishery
Independent members’ club run by an elected committee. Membership is limited to 60 people.
Covers: Bintry Mill Trout Fishery — Yarrow Farm, County School and Goff’s beats
WACA season permit
Wensum Anglers Conservation Association
Required for members fishing the stretch. WACA waiting lists are currently closed.
Covers: Sparham Hall
Guest ticket
Wensum Anglers Conservation Association
Must be obtained in advance. Guest must be accompanied by a fishery member; one guest per member per day, with a maximum of four guest tickets per member/fishery per season.
£10 each (as listed 08/10/2026)
Covers: Sparham Hall
Environment Agency rod licence
Wensum Anglers Conservation Association
Also required to fish the stretch.
Covers: Sparham Hall
DDAC season permit
Dereham & District Angling Club
Club season permit for DDAC waters. No general day tickets are available.
Covers: Castle Farm River Wensum Stretch, Swanton Morley
Guest day ticket
Dereham & District Angling Club
Available only through a DDAC member; dawn to dusk, obtained in advance, displayed in the vehicle, and the guest must fish with the responsible member. Members may pre-book up to two per season.
£10 each (as listed 08/10/2026)
Covers: Castle Farm River Wensum Stretch, Swanton Morley
Wensum-ACA season permit
Wensum Anglers Conservation Association
Required for the fishery. The association’s waiting lists are currently closed.
Covers: Sayers Meadow Fishery, River Wensum at Lyng
Guest ticket
Wensum Anglers Conservation Association
Must be obtained in advance; guests must be accompanied by a fishery member. Maximum four per member per fishery per season, with one guest per member per day.
£10 (as listed 08/10/2026)
Covers: Sayers Meadow Fishery, River Wensum at Lyng
Environment Agency rod licence
Wensum Anglers Conservation Association
A valid licence is also required.
Covers: Sayers Meadow Fishery, River Wensum at Lyng
Species
We only tag a stretch with a fish when the club names it. Some clubs name fish across all their water rather than stretch by stretch — those are flagged on the card.
| Stretch | Carp | Tench | Bream | Roach | Pike | Perch | Barbel | Catfish | Trout | Rudd | Chub | Crucian carp | Eel | Zander |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fakenham Angling Club River Wensum Club Stretch | ● | ● | ● | |||||||||||
| Taverham Mill River Wensum Stretch | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||||||
| Bintry Mill Trout Fishery — Yarrow Farm, County School and Goff’s beats | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||||||
| Sparham Hall | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||||||
| Castle Farm River Wensum Stretch, Swanton Morley | ●* | ●* | ●* | ●* | ●* | ●* | ●* | ●* | ●* | ●* | ●* | |||
| Sayers Meadow Fishery, River Wensum at Lyng | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● |
● named by the club for this stretch · ●* named across the club's waters · blank = not named (not "absent").
Rules — who runs what
Buy tickets before fishing from Fakenham Garden Centre, Mill Road, Hempton, Fakenham, NR21 7LH, or from Myhills Pet Supplies in Dereham.
Club pageAnglian Water Parks
Fishing is by River Wensum season permit or for anglers staying in the site's accommodation. No current public day permits are available at Taverham Mill; the older guest day rates should not be treated as current availability.
Day tickets must be booked and paid for online in advance. Yarrow Farm and County School cost £45 per angler per day; Goff’s costs £25 per angler per day from the 2026 season.
Club pageWensum Anglers Conservation Association
You need a valid WACA season permit or a guest ticket, plus an Environment Agency rod licence. Guest tickets cost £10 each, must be obtained in advance, and the guest must fish with a WACA member; WACA waiting lists are currently closed.
Club pageDereham & District Angling Club
DDAC operates on a season-permit basis and does not offer general day tickets. Guests can fish only through DDAC members: tickets cost £10, must be obtained in advance, and members may pre-book up to two per season.
Club pageFished the river recently?
Pick the stretch you fished and add a 20-second update there — one stretch at a time keeps it useful.
Each stretch page lists its own key rules. You'll need an Environment Agency rod licence on all of them.
River levels
Measured readings straight from the Environment Agency. These are the nearest gauges we've matched — not readings from the stretches themselves.
Measured — Environment Agency
Fakenham gauge
Nearest EA gauge we've matched — it isn't on this stretch, so levels on your peg will differ.
Loading latest reading…
We don't publish an "ideal level" — nobody can promise one. Flood water is dangerous: if it's up and coloured, stay well back from the edge. Open River Ready
Measured — Environment Agency
Costessey Mill gauge
Nearest EA gauge we've matched — it isn't on this stretch, so levels on your peg will differ.
Loading latest reading…
We don't publish an "ideal level" — nobody can promise one. Flood water is dangerous: if it's up and coloured, stay well back from the edge. Open River Ready
Measured — Environment Agency
Swanton Morley gauge
Nearest EA gauge we've matched — it isn't on this stretch, so levels on your peg will differ.
Loading latest reading…
We don't publish an "ideal level" — nobody can promise one. Flood water is dangerous: if it's up and coloured, stay well back from the edge. Open River Ready
Tips & reports
Our take (editorial, not club advice): on any decent-sized river, a lead that holds bottom without dragging is half the battle — go up in weight before you go up in bait. A bit of extra colour after rain often brings barbel and bream closer in, but a fast-rising, debris-filled river is dangerous; if in doubt, don't. Weather tools built for still lakes don't translate neatly to rivers, so we haven't bolted a lake-style weather score on here.
No angler reports on these stretches yet — we'll only show real ones once our moderated river reports are live.
Where this comes from · checked 8 Oct 2026
- GOV.UK — Freshwater rod fishing rules: when and where you can fish
- Fakenham Angling Club — river wensum (fakenhamanglingclub.com)
- Anglian Water Parks — fishing (anglianwaterparks.co.uk)
- Bintry Mill Trout Fishery — home (bintrymill.com)
- Wensum Anglers Conservation Association — home (wensum-aca.org)
- Dereham & District Angling Club — home (derehamdistrictanglingclub.com)
Rules, prices and ticket availability change — the rights holder's own page always wins.