We dithered because we wanted a long walk and Mike wanted to fish. I should have made that picnic! Then I remembered Mor Shellfish T –Eat, in the square at Mortehoe, run by Geoff’s sisters (selling Geoff’s lobsters and crabs of course) who feature in our film. I rang them on 01271 870633 and Cath said she could have a seafood platter ready in minutes.

So mad dogs and English families (I think Cath and Sally thought us a bit mad) we headed out to the coastal path in the rain, carrying our seafood platter and a bottle of chilled white (not on Boat Stories budget I promise you.) As we walked along, I wondered if we were following the same route the Huelin children took when they went to help their father haul his wooden potting boat out of reach of the tide. Mike climbed down the rocky shore to fish and we girls sat out of reach of the salt spray, watching the world go by. Amazingly, although we could see beyond Barricane Beach to the lighthouse on Bull Point in one direction and over to Baggy in the other (Woolacombe beach was hidden by the headland) the only human life we saw was a potting boat – possibly the Compass Rose, heading home to Ilfracombe.

OK so it was drizzling – the rain had blotted out Lundy Island. But it was still a glorious experience feasting on lobster and crab and salad with the swell crashing against the rocks and the odd gannet and two curious seals watching us watching them. I don’t think we disturbed the seals – the tide was rising, the rocks not particularly comfortable - it didn’t look like a good spot to haul out. Between four of us we couldn't manage the seafood platter for two (though we added a French baguette and the wine) we had it for lunch the next day too.

If instead of a picnic you’d rather have your seafood Mediterranean-style, sitting out under a brightly coloured umbrella watching the fishing boats coming in and out of the harbour then head to Ilfracombe.

  Every time Boat Stories has been busy slaving away in the harbour she has looked longingly at the punters sitting outside S & P’s café enjoying their seafood platters or crab sandwiches (lobsters and crabs landed by Lady of Lundy) and their wine. To be fair - Boat Stories has been known to hold the occasional meeting at the café... after all it’s only a stone’s throw from where the trawlers tie up. A reminder that S & P fish shop also sells wet fish which comes directly from their trawlers. 01271 865923 see our fish page or scroll down to find an earlier blog on S&P.

The squid are blooming off the North Devon coast. I'm not sure if blooming is the correct term but when Boat Stories spoke to Paul Stone, skipper of the Sparkling Star, in Ilfracombe this week, his crew were unloading 50 boxes of squid.  Paul told us that he always looks forward to the squid fishing every year because the catch rate is good, they can work locally on shorter trips and their fuel bill is down. “It’s uncanny,” he told me “how they appear the same time every year – only two days different from last year.” About a fortnight ago I met up with Marcus White, known as Tats who gave me a guided tour of Our Olivia Belle, the second trawler in S&P’s fleet – at that point Tats was waiting for the squid to arrive.

A group of tourists watched the catch being unloaded, hidden in ice. “Do you think they’ve got fish fingers in there?” one father asked his son. Helpfully, Paul produced a squid for everyone to look at but the youngster didn’t want to touch it. I thought Paul immensely cheerful and patient with the tourists (and me) considering he'd been on the go for 48 hours and had a two hour turn-around in harbour before they were back fishing again. No-one else in Ilfracombe got a look at the squid, they were loaded straight into a lorry bound for Appledore. The driver told me they would be processed overnight and sent abroad – probably to Italy.

Although it was nearly 9 in the evening, Clare from S&P fishshop turned up to collect her box of fresh mixed fish ready to sell in the shop the next day. Even she didn’t want squid – as she had some from the other boat.  I love eating squid – and as fish goes it’s amazingly good value. So why does 90% or more of our local squid catch go abroad? The fishermen would like it if more of their catch was eaten locally - but even they don't seem to like squid. So maybe there isn't the demand? A question for Boat Stories to try and answer? Meanwhile I went on the hunt for squid for supper in Ilfracombe. It was late – but I couldn’t find any. I would have happily settled for squid and chips. But I did find delicious sea bass and chips – with the fish supplied by S&P fishshop.

 I love their fish pasties and their menu seems to have something mouth-wateringly different on it every week. I wish their red trailer stopped at the end of my street. Look out for Seadog at festivals, the street food market in Barnstaple and in Braunton on Thursday evenings. They often tweet their latest menu: @seadogfoods