Exploring Fishing Boats and Ports of Wales

Isn’t it amazing how the internet has changed our lives. Last week I was contacted asking if I’d mind reviewing a book if they sent it me, well… it would be rude to say no wouldn’t it.

The book, “Fishing Boats & Ports of Wales, A Way to Explore” by Stewart Lenton is about 180 pages in total, including the index and spiral bound which for an exploration type of book is a great idea as it means you can leave it open on the relevant page.

The introduction by Liz Lenton is a fascinating read and goes into a bit of history as well as guiding us gently round the coast from South to North. It shows that Liz really does enjoy these explorations and is written in a way that makes them accessible to us all.

The real ‘meat’ of the book is the Ports section. Every major (and a lot of minor) port is listed with a great introduction into the ports history, uses throughout it’s life and current condition as well as a few pictures of the port and surrounding area. This is then followed by a listing of the vessels registered at that Port including such details as registration number, name, type (eg, angler, liner, etc.), size and build year.

These details are actually quiet interesting in a geeky kind of way and I found myself looking through them even though I only had a passing interest but the main bit that caught my eye were the boats photos – I spent ages just going through Ports I’d visited looking at the pictures of boats thinking “I’ve seen that” or “I wonder if there’s a picture of…”

So overall, although it’s not a book I would normally buy I found it interesting and once I’d started hunting through areas I knew, it dragged me in. Is it worth £17.99 ? If you have any interest in boats or ports of Wales I’d say yes. Even if you just amble round the coast it would come in handy for those “I wonder what the boat is…” moments.

The Fishing Boats & Ports of Wales – A Way to Explore by Stewart Lenton  is published by Channel View Publishing, Plymouth, ISBN: 978-0-9554023-4-0 and is priced at £17.99. You can purchase it (and other books by Stewart and Liz) from the Chanel View Publishing website.