Sadly this sort of thing isn’t as unusual as one might hope.
Most holiday makers taking a stroll around a working harbour might expect to see the odd fish.
But when David Copp came across a fishing trawler moored in Ilfracombe Harbour he took great offence and complained about the “disgusting” smell.
The 46-year-old was outraged that his children, aged seven and nine, had been forced to endure the sight of 12 crates of dead fish and crabs, piled up on the quayside.
He said the ordeal had left them “quite distressed” and demanded to know why the harbourmaster was not more considerate to tourists.
“There were flies flying around and the smell was awful,” he said. “The ship was just sat there not doing anything, and there were 12 crates of dead crabs and fish just lying there covered in flies.
“It’s not the sort of thing you want to see on holiday, there was a real stench.
“My children were quite distressed by it. These people should be a bit more considerate to the holidaymakers.”
Whilst those of us who subscribe to the bushcraft or low impact living lifestyle or aspiration understand that the countryside or a harbour can be a smelly noisy business, there are a whole lot of people out there who have an idea in their heads of a silent sweet smelling playground. It’s a shame that so many people are so far removed from the reality of outdoors living.
