It was wonderful to welcome so many guests to the Arundell over Christmas. The fires roared, the conversation sparkled and Christmas settled its gentle cloak of warmth and happiness around our shoulders. On Christmas Eve, the Arundell’s Home and Bottom Beats on the glorious River Lyd were the stars of the show in the ‘Gone Fishing’ Christmas Special. Mortimer and Whitehouse caught a silvery grayling and fabulous sea trout between them – all with the help of our own James Christoforou!


As 2025 draws to a close and we look ahead to 2026, we leave behind a quarter century that was full of unexpected and turbulent plot twists, and we head into a future where technology is blurring our borders, changing our perceptions and the ground is shifting beneath our very feet. It is why it is so important to hold onto the touchstones and traditions that ground us, tie us back to our roots and give us a sense of certainty. Our little corner of West Devon with its calming rivers and ancient moorland has so far eluded the grasp of the modern world and as we head into 2026, we are happy for our little institution to be ‘a place that time forgot’.
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