Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Winter arrives at Kelsey Gardens


The scene at North Lake as dusk fell this afternoon with the temperature at -6 degrees. Both lakes were completely frozen over without a duck in sight. Even the moorhens had taken to the trees.

Ian and Chris would like to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and invite you all to partake of mulled wine and Christmas fare on Boxing Day. Chris will be having a well earned break on Christmas Day as Ian has volunteered to cook lunch for her.

There are more photos on the photo blog.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Tonight's evening event postponed.

Tonight's evening dive and model boat sailing has been postponed due to the weather conditions. Hopefully it will now take place next Wednesday the 8th December.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Hull Model Boat Club Report

Saturday 6th November dawned bright and cold and members of HMBC turned out to sail on South Lake. Alas poor Bill - his boat sank and with it his sailing for the day.
Sunday morning saw the salvage team arrive in an attempt to resue Bill's tug. They called in the heavy gear as the helicopter hovered overhead to help with the rescue if needed. The tug was brought to the surface with its hatch covers loose but still in place. By lunch time the tug was ready for the dry dock. Salvage fees were still under discussion as one of the fenders was missing.
There will be another night event in conjuction with Hull Diving Club on December 1st.
As usual there will be hot and cold refreshments available.
Everyone welcome.

Report by Linda of the HMBC.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Halloween night

Following the last of Hull Model Boat Club's Peapod races late in the afternoon came the appearance of home made rafts with a Halloween theme. As darkness fell boats and rafts took to the water. The boats towed the rafts around the lake and the scene was spectacular with pumpkin lanterns and bright lighting systems, from Christmas spot lights to chemical light sticks illuminating the night.
Chris served mulled wine and hot drinks while club members cooked their own food on the BBQ.
The evening was a great success.

Some photos of the evening from George. 
Report by Linda of the Hull Model Boat Club.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Hull Model Boat Club Report

This a report of a recent event at Kelsey Gardens supplied by Linda, the club secretary.

Members of the HMBC braved the late October weather to sail their model boats at Kelsey Gardens south lake.
There was an excellent turn out with a wide variety of model boats from tugs and barges to cabin cruisers and sailing boats. There were nine boats on the water for most of the afternoon.
Jackie kept the club members fed and watered from the catering van.

A big thank you to all who turned out on the day making it enjoyable and a great success.
Thanks also to Ian and Chris our hosts who make all this possible at Kelsey Gardens.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Halloween Special - Tonight

Hull Model Boat Club are holding a special night sailing for Halloween tonight at Kelsey Gardens from 6pm.

Come along for a night of fun and don't forget to bring your pumpkin - and a torch.


Barbeque and other refreshments available all evening as usual served up by Chris, the witch in residence, pictured above.


Sunday, October 17, 2010

Hull Model Boat Club 2010 Champion

Congratulations to Alan Spicer, seen here receiving the Hull Model Boat Club Championship Cup from Ian at Kelsey Gardens.  Runner up was Geoff Cundill with Lewis Thomas coming in third.


Monday, October 4, 2010

Diving by torchlight - Wednesday 6th October

Hull Sub Aqua Club are holding an evening dive using lights on Wednesday 6th October.  This should be quite an interesting event as you will able to see them moving around in the darkness.

Hull Model Boat Club are also coming again having had a similar successful evening last month.  I suspect there may be a bit of friendly rivalry between the two clubs.

Everything gets underway about 6pm and will last until about 10.30pm. As always hot and cold refreshments will be available all evening.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Hull Model Boat Club Night Event

Hull Model Boat Club and Kelsey Gardens first evening sail got off to a good start with a children's raft competition. Alan Spicer, chairman of HMBC had a difficult choice when judging the rafts as they were all fantastic with a lot of thought and effort going in to each one.
Prizes were given to the first three with all the children who entered receivingsweets.

As darkness fell a flotilla of model bopats took to the water with the most weird and wonderful lighting systems ever seen that would have had other mariners scratching their heads.
The catering team worked hard all evening keeping everyone fed from the excellent barbeque.

People came from as far away as Goole to sail their boats and a good time was had by all. Thanks to everyone for all their hard work in making it a success.

Linda.  Secretary of Hull MBC.

Click on the photos for a bigger version.








Photos by Chris Cox

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Hull Model Boat Club Night Event

Click on the notice to bring up a bigger version.

Don't forget to bring a torch

Monday, September 6, 2010

Hull Model Boat Club race report

On the 28th August the Hull Model Boat Club was back at Kelsey Gardens pond to compete for the Pea Pod Challenge Cup (normally held at East Park in Hull). The wind was really strong by the time of the 1st race which started at 11:00am; Alan's Pea Pod sustained some damage from the wind so he dropped out of the racing. All the skipper's did well considering the weather condition's, Geoff took all three 1st place's and Lewis not far behind with a couple of 2nd's the rest were happy to get there yacht's back in one piece plus a bit of water.


Next Pea Pod race is on the 11th Sept 11:00 start approx.

See next item below for news of our night event on September 18th.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Model Boat Night Sailing Event

Hull Model Boat Club are holding their first ever night sailing event at Kelsey Gardens on the 18th September starting at 7pm.  The boats will be lit up.
Hot and Cold food and drinks will be available all evening at the lakeside.
Other clubs have also been invited to take part so why not give it a try - come and join us.  Spectators are also welcome.


Sunday, August 29, 2010

Hull Sub Aqua Club Barbeque Night


HULL SUB AQUA CLUB






Hull Sub Aqua Club are holding a barbeque night at Kelsey Gardens on Wednesday 1st September from 6pm onwards. 
All are welcome and if you fancy a dive bring your kit, at the moment we have only just managed to sink one boat but there is an underwater tent which is interesting

I if you intend to dive let me know we need to put you on the diving insurance form and it will cost you £5.
Hope you can make it.
Ken.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Exotic female flies into Kelsey Gardens

Pippin, an African Grey Parrot, paid a visit to south lake on Wednesday afternoon.  Unfortunately for her her freedom was short lived when she was quickly caught and returned to her owner, but not before giving onlookers an unusual treat.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Terry weighs in at 24lb 11oz

Great photos taken last weekend from Ky Western and Steve at Kelsey Gardens.  Ky caught Terry at 4am, weighing in at 24lb 11oz whilst Steve's came in at just under 15lb.










Thanks to Ky for the information and photos.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

August Bank Holiday

We shall be open all the Bank Holiday until late for canoe hire and refreshments.

On Saturday morning Hull Model Boat Club will be here for their monthly Pea Pod race.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Open all hours - well not quite

Currently, and for the rest of the school holidays we hope to be open every afternoon for canoe hire and refreshments.  Of course we are always open for fishing.
If you are making a special journey then a phone call to Ian in advance will ensure you are not disappointed.

Phone 07973 909026

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Hull Model Boat Club Pea Pod Race

Last Saturday's Pea Pod Race had to be changed to Kelsey Gardens because East Park was full of weed.
Alan was back to his winning ways in both race's but Geoff did give him a good run for his money ! The next race is on the 14th August and will also be at Kelsey Gardens.

Thanks to Tim Gregg for that report.

Ky's first carp was a good one.

This is Ky with his first ever carp - a ghostie weighing in at 15lbs caught at 10.30 pm on 30th July. Ky and his friend Steve spent the weekend at Kelsey Gardens.

This is Steve's catch - a beauty at 13lbs, caught at 5.30am on 1st August.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

School holidays at Kelsey Gardens

Why not come along to Kelsey Gardens during the school holidays?  Activities and refreshments are always available at weekends but can also be arranged during the week if there is demand.  So why not come along and see what is going on?  Parties can be booked in advance for canoeing and remember there are qualified instructors to ensure that you can learn in a safe manner.

Fishing Special - father and son can fish for the special price of £8 during the holidays.

Even if you don't wish to be too active you can always relax with a gentle walk around the site. At the moment there are plenty of butterflies to spot - George, Ian's new helper was quite suprised to see how many different ones there are around. See the photo blog for some of them.

Report on the Hull Model Boat Club's July Peapod Race

New kid on the block

This report from Tim Gregg

This month the Kelsey Challenge Cup had a new skipper (Geoff) taking the 1st place in race 1 ,This ended the run of win’s that Alan Spicer has held from the start of the pea pod racing 4 years ago ,Alan regained 1st place in the 2nd race . The pea pod races have been well supported by club members over the last few months and there are a few local people building the yacht to compete in the racing. We are only half way through the season so a lot can still happen, come down and have a look to see if a local or a club member will win the Kelsey Challenge Cup.

Remember Hull Model Boat Club are at Kelsey Gardens on the second Saturday of every month. All welcome to attend and bring their boats.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Saturday night success

This email and photos was received from Brian, Russ and Barrie following their fishing session on Saturday.

"Just a quick e-mail to say what a fantastic fishing session we had on Saturday. I couldn't believe the amount of fish we caught at a guestimate between 120lb to 150lb and the quality, the fish were in pristine condition, had a really good mixed bag mainly tench and some big hybrids.

Secondly a big thank you for your hospitality and for getting us to our peg i dont know anywhere else where you get a water taxi service.

Many thanks see you soon

Brian,Russ, and Barrie"


Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Common Ghostie

















Steve caught this 17lb 3oz common ghostie on his recent visit to Kelsey Gardens. It was the biggest of the 3 fish he caught.
Steve would like to thank Ian for the original surroundings of Kelsey Gardens and for the great breakfasts.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Hull Model Boat Club Open Day

Some photos from this recent event at Kelsey Gardens.










Photos courtesy of Hull Model Boat Club

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Hull Model Boat Club Open Day

Click on above to see a larger image.
The Hull Model Boat Club will be at Kelsey Gardens this Saturday, 10th July.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Hull Model Boat Club Open Day

The first Hull Model Boat Club Open Day will take place at Kelsey Gardens on Saturday 12th June from 10am to 5pm.  Everyone is welcome.

The timetable is as follows.


Pea Pod Race 1    11:00am

Power Boat’s       12:00pm

Pea Pod Race 2     2:00 pm

Power Boat’s         3:00pm

Scale Models   any time during the day


Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Events coming up

Kelsey Gardens will be open for all the usual weekend activities this Bank Holiday Monday, the 31st May.  This will of course include the refreshment bar.

The next meeting of Hull Model Boat Club scheduled for June 12th will be a special open event. Members of any club or individuals with boats are welcome to attend. It is anticipated that there will also be a Trade Stand. Keep checking here for further details when these have been finalised.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Hottest day of the year brings out the crowds

Kelsey Gardens had a bumper weekend with about 80 people out on canoes and many more enjoying the carefree ambiance, not to mention the refreshments of course.  Others were simply enjoying fishing in the warmth, which must have made a change.

A model sailing boat reflected in the calm waters of south lake before the canoes were launched.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Memories of Fenner's pond by Paul McLaren

Good to see you guys putting what you now call the North Lake back on the map. I was a member of Fenner Angling CLub back in the mid 80's courtesy of my father who worked at Fenners. Fenners Pond was the start of my carping career back in the days when the tip was still open at the east side of the site but I see from the ariel photos that is long gone.


Back in the 80's the fishing on the pond was really good and venomously protected from any guesting by a dictatorial baliff Stewart who was also a union rep for the company, can remember many a time being woken up at 6am to see if I had my permit on me even though he knew damn well it was me fishing! I think we fell out the day I asked him if he had his permit on him, which he didn't and that was a serious breach of membership rules!

Membership of Fenners AC was a real golden ticket back then, carping was starting to take off, Motorway was yet to see carp being re-stocked from the Bransholme ponds, Nth Humberside was yet to see it's first 30lb and Jumbo had yet to be discovered before making the journey to Kevin Cliffords pond!

Large shoals of suicidial rudd used to patrol the surface for the taking, margin fishing along the reeds down from sandy bay (the swim in the nw corner) would bring plenty of cruicians and tench along with perch and roach. Never saw or heard of any pike getting caught though. As for the carping, before I stopped fishing it in 88 it never produced a 20lber, the biggest fish was a regular that hovered around the 19lb mark, most of the fish then were mirrors but I only say one of the pretty linears you have now so I guess they might be newer stock.

The majority of Fenners AC were match anglers, only myself and 3 others fished it for the carp, names escape me but Keith and Rob were two but I think we did well by local standards, I'd reckon they were probably a maximum of 20 originals in the water and between us we probably had most of them over a few years. The Fenners carp really liked their boilies and were having them from day 1. They were always obliging even managing to give me 3 doubles in 1 night during a memorable February session.

Hope this fills in some of the jigsaw, feel free to use this in your blog, any more questions let me know.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Rare visitor to Kelsey Gardens

About 9am this morning a large bird was heard to drop into the water in north lake and was subsequently seen to fly up with a fish in its talons.  It then disappeared from view for about 2 hours when it was seen again over south lake.  Good views of this Osprey were enjoyed until it eventually flew off to the north, probably continuing its journey to Scotland.
Unfortunately it was not close enough to get any good photos.

The osprey with a pair of mallards behind.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Busy day at Kelsey Gardens

Yesterday was indeed a busy day at Kelsey Gardens. Apart from the birdwatching and canoeing there were plenty of people fishing which meant that Brian - below - could not get his favourite peg on north lake.  However he arranged in advance to fish the south lake instead and ended up with a net full of tench, the biggest being about 6 to 7 pounds.



Saturday, May 15, 2010

Birdwatching session at Kelsey Gardens

A birdwatching session was held today at Kelsey Gardens under the guidance of local expert Michael Flowers.  Here is part of his report. For the full account and more photos visit Michael's blog at http://eybirdwatching.blogspot.com/

We commenced by peering through what at first glance was the unprepossessing barbed wire of the adjacent Sangwins yard. Here, we had amazing views of a Whitethroat, briefer views of a Linnet, and an even shorter view of a Stock Dove. We walked down to the first lake where we were serenaded by a Blackcap. The lake was ringed with anglers, but we saw Mallard, and Coot here. In a bush in the grassy field to our left we had good views of a Meadow Pipit, which later delighted the crowd with its parachuting song flight. After passing the lake we reached an area of reeds where we heard the monotonous rhythmic song of a Reed Warbler, and Kelsey Garden regular, Mike, was able to get his first glimpse of one. Climbing the adjacent slope we heard a Willow Warbler, but the Turtle Doves were silent. The birds were fairly quiet at the top of the hill, but we could hear another Blackcap & a Goldfinch tinkled as it flew overhead. Unsurprisingly, last year’s passing Osprey failed to appear!

Retracing our steps we arrived at ‘The Path of Brian’ where everyone got good views of 3 male Reed Buntings, and heard the songs of a couple more Reed Warblers, but the Sedge Warblers and the Lesser Whitethroat seemed to be absent this year. However, the highlight here, and the star bird of the morning, was a bubbling female Cuckoo, which flew quite close to us a couple of times before it was joined by a male. Later, they flew right over our heads as we climbed the hill between the 2 lakes. We were able to see the nest-hole of the Kingfisher, but it remained out of sight as canoeing was taking place on South Lake. Similarly, we glimpsed a Great Crested Grebe, but it hid itself among the reeds as soon as the first canoe set out. However, one participant was able to see her first Tufted Duck at the back of this lake. Along this hill we continued to hear a Cuckoo, and then saw our first Willow Warbler of the morning. The nearby drain yielded a concealed Sedge Warbler, but along the old railway line we failed to hear the usual Lesser Whitethroat or Turtle Dove. However, I was relieved to hear that Mike had heard the ever-decreasing Turtle Dove much earlier that same morning. In all we saw or heard 37 species, which isn’t bad going, but several expected birds were missing during our trip, so on a weekday when there should be less activity one may expect to encounter around 40 different species. We headed back to the refreshment tent for a welcome drink & a snack. Overall, everyone was very pleased with their trip around Kelsey Gardens.
 
Whitethroat

Blackcap

Report and photographs courtesy of Michael Flowers.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Alex at it again

Alex with a catch from last weekend. This time an 18lb ghosty.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Birding with Flowers

Michael Flowers held two of his classes at Kelsey Gardens today. For a report and some photos go to his blog
http://eybirdwatching.blogspot.com/2010/05/going-cuckoo.html

See below for details of his taster session at Kelsey Gardens next Saturday (15th)

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Caught today at Kelsey Gardens

This beauty was caught by Alex Hewitt today in North Lake weighing in at 19 pounds 15 ounces. During his 48 hour session he also reeled in three more ghostly commons at 11lb 12 oz, 12lb 8oz and 17lb. He followed this up with a mirror weighing in at 13 1/2lb.His advice is to find the clear patches in between the weed and do your homework then you will be laughing.

Alex with his 17lb ghosty

Another beauty this time from last month

May 15th Birdwatching Walk