THE GRAYLING, AND BAIT-FISHING FOR. 399 



\ will now refer to the Lugg, a stream with which I am more 

 intimately acquainted, and which is little less famous for grayling 

 than its sister the Teme. Like the latter it has also a Welsh origin. 

 It rises in Radnorshire, in the wild hills in the neighbourhood of 

 Llangynllo, and after flowing for several miles a parallel course 

 southward of the Teme, arrives at the neat, prettily situated town 

 of Presteign, Llan Andras, the ' church of St. Andrew,' which is 

 the capital of the county of Radnor. Presteign, however, is not 

 entirely a Welsh town, as it is partly situated in Herefordshire, the 

 River Lugg here dividing the Counties of Radnor and Hereford. 

 It has a good market for agricultural produce, and living is 

 moderate, a desideratum to such as have only small incomes ; and 

 to the angler Presteign is a most desirable residence during the 

 summer and autumn. 



From Presteign, the Lugg flows past Kinsham, between thickly 

 wooded hills near Shobdon Court, the picturesque seat of Lord 

 Bateman ; thence to Aymestry, Mortimer's Cross, and the pretty 

 pastoral village of Kingsland. After passing Leominster its course 

 is through a rich, level, fertile country, until it finally discharges 

 itself into the Wye below Mordiford. 



Now through the wood 

 We steal, and mark the old and mossy oaks 

 Imboss the mountain's slope : or the wild ash, 

 With rich red clusters mantling : or the birch 

 In lonely glens light wavering : till behold 

 The rapid river shooting through the gloom 

 Its lucid line along. 



The Arrow joins the Lugg a few miles below Leominster ; it 

 contains grayling and trout, but to the angler it is of far inferior 

 attraction to the sister stream. 



Such being a brief sketch of the topography of the Lugg, I now 

 come to the more practical question where and how to find gray- 

 ling fishing. From Presteign, to and below Leominster the Lugg 

 contains grayling more or less numerous. This river is now 

 almost entirely preserved from a short distance below Presteign, 

 until it joins the Wye. I have met with excellent sport at 

 Aymestry, and more especially at Kingsland, a charming retreat 

 for the fisherman ; very comfortable although somewhat primitive 

 and homely. Accommodation may be obtained at the village inn. 

 Grayling are peculiar in their habits, and are only to be found in 

 rivers abounding in rapids and scours, alternating with ' lanes ' of 



