Nice fish Wendy, well done.
My view is that one wild natural fish from a river is worth more than a dozen 'stockies' from a commercial
As to wading
Here is what Glenn Law (A Concise history of Fly fishing) has to say about it:
On the beats of the Hampshire streams, the anglers even today fish to rising fish. Fishing the water is thought less than civilized. Getting in the water is deemed equally as boorish. Carefully manicured, the chalkstreams are absolutely never waded; rather, rising fish are fished from the bank once they have been observed feeding on the surface. The dry fly is used preferentially ? even today it is a more aristocratic approach ? and only when that brings no result is the upstream nymph brought into play
That noted, get yourself a good set of chest waders (or do Ladies call them somethig else?) and seriously don't venture into any river without a Wading Stick.