LIVINGSTON MANOR FLY FISHING CLUB

LIVINGSTON MANOR FLY FISHING CLUB

SLOWING DOWN AND GETTING INTO NATURE

We’re approaching Livingston Manor, a hamlet nestled in the Catskills Mountains. At first glance, it seemed like a sleepy place where time stands still. Oh my, were we wrong! This town has everything we need (and more). The main street is dotted with antique stores, restaurants, a farmers’ market, an art gallery and quaint cafés. A historic covered bridge and beautiful hiking trails are just around the corner. And, most importantly, you’re never far from an experience of a lifetime — nature is everywhere you look.

A WEEKEND ON THE RIVER

At the edge of the hamlet lies our destination, a hideaway where we can reconnect with the wilderness. When we pull into the courtyard, we’re warmly greeted by Anna Aberg and Tom Roberts, two of the founders of Livingston Manor Fly Fishing Club

We’re immediately surrounded by the natural energy and tranquility that infuses this magical place. It’s an energy that makes us want to be outdoors and to turn off modern, everyday life to achieve total serenity.

When we walk inside LMFFC’s main house, we’re offered coffee and apple cider and we discover a quaint wood-burning stove. We’re tempted to sink into the warmth of the couch in front of the fire and simply do nothing. However, lots of fun awaits outside, so we resist.

And there’s just so much to do here. Willowemoc Creek, a popular fly-fishing river, flows alongside LMFFC. Guests can also go out on a hike or just wrap themselves in a warm blanket to enjoy the view from an Adirondack chair.

In addition to accommodations in the cottage, loft and lodge, the club has two tents for guests to sleep in. Given the luxury of crawling into a bed made up in Lexington sheets and drifting off to sleep as we listen to the river flow, “glamping” is the best word to describe our experience here.

Along a narrow path, guests will find a firepit where the catch of the day becomes dinner, a large dining table with space for many hungry folks, a hammock for an afternoon nap and a small beach from which the daring can enter a swimming hole.

Everything feels exclusive at LMFFC, but it’s not a conventional type of luxury. This is the ultimate luxury: spending time in nature, a rarity for the hip New York City dwellers who treasure their time here. Here at LMFFC, everything is meaning- ful. One can learn from nature and adapt to it. Our weekend by the river has become about “connecting with the disconnect” which is one of the LMFFC house rules.

WE MET WITH ANNA AND TOM TO DISCOVER MORE.

How did this all start?

We were drawn to the Catskills because of its wild natural environment and slower, more connected pace of life. After years spent working in New York City, we were craving nature. We needed to work with our hands and see the real, physical results of our labor. The town of Livingston Manor initially drew us because of its fly fishing heritage, but it was the strong sense of community and collaboration that exists and grows among its residents that ultimately convinced us to make the leap full time.

In a time when you have instant access to almost everything just through a few clicks, slowing down, getting into nature, and experiencing a slice of a simpler, more peaceful life becomes luxury.

Can you describe LMFFC?

Livingston Manor Fly Fishing Club is neither a sports club nor a hotel. It’s a place to gather people, to reconnect them with nature and with one another on a more meaningful level. It’s a modern interpretation of fly fishing traditions.

The essence of the sport — the process of slowing down, getting outside, developing a deeper understanding of the natural world, and sharing the experience with like-minded people — is just as important for us. While we encourage fishing, we’re not prescriptive. The same results are just as easily achieved by having a sauna on the river, foraging in the woods or simply sitting outside around a cracking fire — all activities available and encouraged here.

What do you want to offer your guests?

We want to offer our guests a sense of community and a newfound appreciation for nature developed through first-hand experience. From the layout of the houses to the communal dinners and hikes, it’s very different from the typical anonymous hotel experience and can be jarring for some people when they arrive.

It sounds cliché, but what we find is that people arrive as strangers, and through shared experiences in nature, they leave as friends. The connection is far deeper than one you would develop through an encounter at a bar or in an artificial environment.

Secondly, we encourage people to get outside whatever the weather may be. We provide guides and activities as well as Stutterheim raincoats, rain boots and Sandqvist backpacks to facilitate this. The result is a revelation that the great outdoors doesn’t have to be a brief encounter on a sunny day, or a stroll in the park with a coffee, but an ever-changing environment that rewards those who truly immerse themselves in it — in all weather conditions. It’s equally important that when you return, the indoors should feel like a warm embrace and a place to rejuvenate, reflect on experiences you’ve had and dream of adventures still to come. Lexington Company, with all the luxurious comforts of home, has been the perfect partner for us to give our guests that feeling.

All of this follows the guiding principles of “Homestedt,” our company that we launched earlier this year. It will expand the experiences and design of LMFFC and the content around it to partner with properties around the Catskills and beyond.

What is luxury for you?

In a time when you have instant access to almost everything just through a few clicks, slowing down, getting into nature, and experiencing a slice of a simpler, more peaceful life becomes luxury. A conversation undisrupted by a buzzing phone is luxury. The healing power of nature combined with the comforts of home and good company is luxury.