Newlyn....

We spent the day in Newlyn as the forecast is for strong Northerly winds and so we are waiting for something different. Almost anything different would be better. Geoff and I walked along the shoreline of Mount's Bay as far as St Michael's Mount and back.

Newlyn is one of Britain's busiest fishing ports but it does seen to be quieter than when I was last here several years ago. If Brexit was supposed to help the fishing industry, it doesn't seem to have been much of a success, and there are no more fish in the sea, British or otherwise, than there were before.

Sadly fishing stocks have been depleted for years by industrialised fishing methods. In Daniells book about travelling round Britain written in the 1820s he talks about small fishing boats under sail catching enough fish to completely fill the boat within a couple of miles of the shore. Those days are unlikely to return.

On a more hopeful note ( for the industry if not the fish) the photo shows a brand new boat at Newlyn, 'Winter of  Ladram', nominated for fishing boat boat of the year 2023. She was in harbour transferring tons of newly caught shellfish to a Spanish refrigerated lorry for export.

We now have several other Gaffers in Newlyn all waiting for a favorable wind : Susan J, Recipe, Indian Runner and Lahloo. We all had a convivial supper in the Red Lion pub.