Oyster Boats, Isle of Orèlon

Oyster Boats, Isle of Orèlon. Oil. £99. purchase details click here

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The little town of Trojan on the ile d'Oleron is well known for oyster farming and boat building both of which are still thriving. I love the old huts and the paraphanalia that you find in these places, there is a kind of random scruffyness everywhere but one is aware that it's a very organised kind of chaos. While I was walking around, various boats were being readied to go out for another harvest, engines fired up smoke billowing, the smell of deisel in the air. Some of the larger huts have been converted into little restaurants and I guess if you are a fan of oysters that would be one of the best places to eat some, personally I would prefer cod and chips!

It's just like Walberswick and Southwold Harbour in Suffolk, the same scruffyness and activity, I think I'll be spending some time here...