The Fisherman's Apprentice - Monty Halls in Cadgwith - part I

A few of the bigger boats pulled up on the beach at Cadgwith.

Marine biologist Monty Halls explores the challenges facing the British fishing industry by living and working as a traditional Cornish fisherman. In this episode he goes it alone and soon learns that making a living as an inshore fisherman is a lot harder than he thought. A bout of violent sea sickness puts the whole project in jeopardy.


Episode one last week saw Monty arrive in Cadgwith 'down on the Lizard', home to a fleet of small beach-based inshore boats looking every inch the visiting celeb. Under the wing, or should that be lobster paw of top pot man Nigel Legge,  Monty began his metamorphosis into a fisherman proper. Nigel is full time punt fisherman, one of the last withy pot makers left in the UK, part time artist and full of patience.


His charge is bewildered at first; he has eight months in which to try and prove he can make a living on his own, but keen to get stuck in and be a fisherman. As Kingfisher II skipper John 'Tonks' Tonkin says, fishing is a way of life not a job. What that means is every moment of the waking day, and at night too, is either spent thinking about the sea, being at sea, looking at the sea or listening and watching others do the same - taking stock of the weather and orientating the boat by eye are unthinking and a constant.


Diver Monty will have given many local fishermen their first glimpse of the bottom on which they shoot their gear - expect more later in the series. Talk of accidents at sea and what can go wrong make up much of the early footage - necessarily so as fishing is the number one most dangerous job in the UK.


The weekly rod fishing competition which involves many of the boats going to sea for the fun of it with all hands fishing for the biggest specimen of any fish they can catch is a part of the village's way of life. The world will become a duller and drearier place in general without such intimate activities that involve communities so closley with the very reason for their existence in the first place. Those parties at Newlyn may wish to consider the knock-on effect of allowing fish to be auctioned away from the port and losing the fish market altogether - it is a part of community life that is Newlyn and just as relevant and important as the fortnightly angling events that are celebrated in front of, and inside, the Cadgwith Cove Inn.


Look out for the next episode this Wednesday at 8pm on BBC 2. 

In Penzance, patron saint St Piran promotes piscatorial pleasure

Cornish flagged streets in Penzance herald St Piran's Day.......

as market business gets under way, prime Dovers......

razor clams......

and one less John Dory for the Imogen II to catch later this year.......

stick to the hake Ajax says Mr Nowell.......

even the waste oil is treated to an environmentally sensitive exit from the port these days......

one man and his dog walk Newlyn Green as the sun begins its daily toil.......

the intensely patriotic fish and chip shop at the top of Penzance's oldest street, Causewayhead has matching Cornish colours twixt flag and name board.

Cool Marazion in colour

One of the oldest town in the country is Marazion.......

where even the Post Office has its creative side.......

round the corner in the Market House Gallery there are some excellent examples of reasonably priced Newlyn Copper for that unusual gift......

with a strong nautical theme.......

 evident in most of the pieces......

across the road a gallery with an excellent selection of highly collectable Glynn Macey originals and prints at affordable prices inside the Out-of-the-Blue Gallery........

down the road and the Mount immediately makes its presence felt under the afternoon sun......

with plenty of beach to enjoy when the tide is still out.......

watched over by a pair of cavorting dolphins.......

the spotless sand provides one of the safest beaches in Cornwall.......

despite the screaming Northerly beeze........

giving rise to plenty of beach combing for anyone needing to collect examples of flotsam and jetsam for art groups.......

and a host of clouds to conjure flying by......

with shadows........

and patterns galore.......

and buried treasure of sorts......

make it easy to uncover all sorts of patterns......

and textures at every step........

of the cycleway.........

up the hill by Penzance Station there's fine local seafood on offer for the discerning traveller.

Cefas Endeavour away again to the North Sea

Why the compass rose?

After a brief stop back at base in Lowestoft, the Cefas Endeavour is back at at sea and has resumed her MCZ Characterization survey. Follow this section of her current tour of duty and read the first post from seagoing Paul on board.

Sennen to Land's End and back - under 3 miles.

Wayward fish boxes at work on the quiet in Sennen Cove.......

with the local fleet of punts pulled well up the slip.......

as heavy seas pound the rocky shore.......

giving Sunday's hardy walkers plenty to enjoy close at hand......

with the odd surprise in store for the unwary.......

round the corner the size of the ground sea can be judged from the waves breaking in the shallower water of  Gramper bay......

where the RMS Mulheim ran aground almost eight years ago today.......

time for a  round of teas, the walker's perfect accompaniment....... 

high above, a portent of dampness filling the skies over the Longships and beyond......

before heading back via the cycle path to the car park at the far end of Sennen.........

View Short walks Sennen and Marazion in a larger map

Saturday morning in Newlyn, Ajax in, Ajax out.

What was once Wilkin's Estate Agents is now small art gallery on opposite the fish and chip shop in Newlyn......

more art work on offer at the Star Inn.......

empty net pounds in the stern of the Ajax means her gear is still at sea, after landing 150 boxes mostly of hake and taking a few tonnes of ice she will head straight back out to sea again to land for Tuesday's market....... 

meanwhile the boys wait for Matt to get back........

signs of Spring have been around for  a few weeks now.

Newlyn auction action

It's all ears on the auctioneer as WS&S' Ian Oliver raises the price of prime fish on Friday's fish market.