Hi guys I know this village really well as I volunteer for NT Glendurgan 5 cottages are lived in permanently One is owned privately, and lived in. The other 4 are owned by NT but rented out full time to local residents. The others are holiday cottages but not all owned by NT 8 are privately owned and let as holiday houses So there are still 9 people living there 😊
I think it’s so wrong there are so many people needing homes in Cornwall. It will become people less . The only people living there being tourists not Cornish people as the houses are priced so high.
@@spudspuddy Probably in the same way as volunteers work for the scam that is charity shops. I bet there are people earning loads whilst using the volunteer model to enable that to happen.
There are quite a few tiny hamlets in the West Country like that simply because scratching out a living on that land became economically unviable. I've seen abandoned villages in central Spain that had collapsed to rubble, so at least these cottages are being kept maintained. And the ones you see in the thumbnail are owned by The National Trust so it's not quite accurate to say this is a playground for the well off.
It is sadly ironic, that the villagers who all lived there happily years ago, lived a simple life by the sea - they had no money, but had enough just to get by - they did not need much to live a happy life. These small communities were truly rich, even though they had no dosh in the bank. Now, it costs a fortune just to rent a cottage there for 2 weeks- it is a resort for the wealthy, who need lots of money to feel 'happy' - however fleeting that may be. And you can't get the staff! Cleaners, caretakers, gardeners - where the hell are they meant to live? Certainly, not by the Cornish coast - that's only for toffs!
Well, the "villagers" were "cleaners, caretakers and gardeners" but they weren't happy with the "simple life" and "no money" and they wanted a decent salary instead - how dare they 😂
The problem goes back to good old feudalism. There were huge country estates, with the big house at the centre with its rich landowners family. Their estate workers, servants, gardeners etc, lived in estate cottages or estate villages. Their jobs were on the estate. Once the estate was broken up, sold off, for whatever reason. or passed into the hands of the NT, the economic "model" was broken.
@John-G The thing about gardeners, caretakers and domestic staff leaving in search of better salaries is it's a double edged sword. If you live and work on an estate, your salary may be quite low. But the job will come with estate accommodation such as a cottage or house at a very low rent or even free. Of course you can leave in search of high salaries in a big city. And then spend 70 per cent or more of your high income on rent and utility bills.
LIVE IN CORNWALL AND I CANT GET A CLEANER FOR LOVE NOR MONEY. IM DISABLED AND NEED HELP TO KEEP A CLEAN TIDY HOUSE. LAST CLEANER I HAD WAS TERRIBLE, KEPT CANCELLING AND DOING HALF JOBS WANTED £20 PER HR. I DO WITHOUT!!!!!
Too many holiday homes about Cornwall and many other places …Love Cornwall ,feel so sorry for young local people who can’t get a home in there village due to outsiders buying up property ……….Great videos and both of us in Somerset love Cornwall…🙋♀️🙋♂️💑
There used to be a family called Badger who used to live there years ago. I used to walk there regularly when I was a teenager, it was a vibrant friendly place then. So sad to see it used only by people with the means to afford a few days in the summer months or occasionally by second home owners. A horrible indictment of todays society!!!
Just want to mention that the loss of Hallsands village in Devon was destroyed by nature (or a storm) however the only reason it happened and was so devastating was that when Plymouth docks were being built they decided it would be a great idea to obtain the sand/shingle for the concrete by dredging it off the coast in Start Bay, just offshore from Hallsands. They took vast quantities and in the subsequent months the beach that the fishermen of Hallsands had kept their boats on for decades completely disappeared thus removing the thing that had kept the sea away from the village itself. The subsequent storm that washed the village away would not have been a problem had the protecting beach still been there.
The trouble is even if some residents remain, the school closes, the shop will close, the pub will close, any cafe will close any local doctors surgery will close, any bus or taxi service will close. In the end even those who really want to stay in the village will find it is not practical, especially as they grow older. Many villages in the South Hams have only a few actual residents & in the main they are over 70 or 80 years of age.
I think there should be a local law for only a certain percentage of properties in a coastal village to be holiday "homes" . It is a scandal that local people are priced out of the market by second home owners and holiday let companies.
That's against the principles of the law of demand...money talks unfortunately, and those with it are oft the least caring and humane...hence not just Cornwall, but much of the world is suffering!
That’s exactly how it’s done in Norway to keep their beautiful fjord-side village communities intact in the face of increasing tourism. The owners have to be in continuous occupation for a good chunk of the year and there’s a maximum period that a home can remain empty. As I understand it if the owners are, for instance, going to go travelling for a few years then it is possible to get dispensation from owner occupancy but the property has to be occupied by tenants and I believe there is a fairly flexible maximum term limit. The specific terms are set by the local administration, the town councils or their local equivalent, and everyone has a voice in the process. It works pretty well and Norwegians get along just fine with it. I only really know about it because my sister-in-law was born, brought up, and owns a property in one of those fjord-side villages.
It's not just Cornwall, else where they may not be overpriced holiday homes but possibly the rental market. There are empty houses and derelict properties be them homes or office blocks all over the place it's truly shocking. A market with a seeming lack when it is plentiful , all due to greed.
How many of the empty holiday homes in this village are owned by the National Trust, and how many by private owners ? If it's a NT owned house, it will be empty, by definition. If the village is part of an estate now owned by the NT, all or most of the houses will be NT. The policies of the NT and the way they manage properties, are a big part of the problem. The NT is about pure greed and money making. Even if they own the houses, they could make them available to LOCAL people at low rents, with the proviso that they maintain them responsibly. That way the village would come back to life overnight. But the National Trust is a greedy corrupt organisation run for the benefit of its bosses and their friends and families.
@AndriyValdensius-wi8gw Of the 15 houses, 7 are owned by the NT. Of those 7, 4 are rented to locals long term, 2 available as short term holiday lets, with 1 kept by the NT for volunteer staff. Of the 8 privately owned houses, 1 has an owner / occupier and 7 are available as short term holiday lets. There are 9 permanent local residents in 5 houses - 1 owner occupier and 4 long term rentals from the NT. That took about 30 seconds to check, looking at the NT and holiday rental websites, and is confirmed by others commenting here who've lived / worked there. Sorry, but while that may not suit many here, including you, that's how it is.
@John-G It's not true of the National Trust in general, though. And can you explain why this video describes it as an "empty village ?" The NT has a lot of properties as "holiday lets" at outrageous Airbnb type prices, yet very few at affordable rates for local people.
WW1 and the ensuing economic collapse of the 1920s was disastrous for Cornwall's sense of both history and community. So many landowners either lost their sons and heirs, and/or their staff, who had enabled them to keep and run their estates. Cornish estates, like Clowance near me, were sold off in job lots, and because most of the properties on them were rented by estate tenants, the communities they supported were gradually dispersed when the leases ended and the surviving tenants moved elsewhere in search of work. With the collapse of the mining industry, Cornwall went into a steep economic decline until tourism came to the 'rescue' - an apparent blessing, which turned out to be a steel trap from which there is no escape.
That's truly so sad, seeing these beautiful little cottages that offered a simpler life are now nothing but shells for paying guests, just heartbreaking
Very well summarised! I was working at Cornwall Council when the seeds of tourism were being sown and tended, photographers employed to take stunning photos and trips to Europe to promote our little County, who could have known where it would lead! Sarah :)
I live in a dying village in Cornwall. I am one of the last homeowners and at 76 l shall soon have to move on after living here all of my adult life. My children,grandchildren and great grandchildren are nearby so l am lucky, but the village they grew up in is now full of empty holiday cottages. It is the most horrible thing to happen to a once vibrant community. The rich people just come to look at a manicured idyll, a money making investment. My cottage will be joining them. What a tragic end ,sign of things to come.
I tell you what I was most amazed about....the fact that you got sunshine and blue skies!🌤 I can't remember the last time I saw the sun & blue skies with white fluffy clouds here in Kent! Dear me, all there is down here are grey skies, murky mist, drizzly rain & blinking cold! As for Durgan, it would be my idea of paradise in December with barely a soul in sight, lapping waves, empty beach & peace and quiet.🌊🌅☯ Take me there!...NOW! x J x
Yet another fascinating story. It's just so sad that so many beautiful places are now only available to those with money. True community has now been lost in so many places. Thanks for sharing xxx
Sorry to say it’s not true - there are 8 permanent residents, it’s a perfectly lively and wonderful community. The publisher took no effort to check any of their claims.
My partner is from Cornwall but live in Western Australia , we have been back twice now and hopefully a third time in June, really enjoy your video's both of you.
@andyb7123 my wife and I live in Gloucestershire U.K. and try to visit Cornwall at least 3 times a year. This year we only made it there once because we will be landing in Perth W.A. on the 15th Dec to visit our daughter and the grand kids for Christmas. 🛫🛬
Just discovered your channel, wow! I live in Australia but just love seeing little villages in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, so much history but what a very sad state of affairs that this delightful little village is now really a ghost town for most of the year. Thank you for taking me on this journey with you xxx
Most of N Devon where l live is second homes & holiday lets, so much so that there is now nowhere for staff to stay to service that industry. This year restaurants, bars & other small businesses have had to operate on reduced hours because they have no staff. It’s reached saturation point. I’ve watched over the years how communities have been decimated - lack of resident children means no football club or cricket club etc; where there were three full school buses now there is half a bus; there aren’t enough tradesmen, shops have closed. It’s very sad.
That's due to people being told kids are bad for the planet, it's better to follow a career than have a family, and various chemicals that impede fertility. A very sad state of affairs indeed!
We have watched a similar decline, and wonder where it will go. Do we need to rip up farmland for new builds to replace the houses that stand empty? Sarah :)
Thank you for showing us around this beautiful beach village, I really enjoy your interesting videos, I love Cornwall and had lots of holidays there over the years ❤❤
Used to spend weekends anchored off Grebe beach in the 70s. Would sail from Mylor Pool to Durgan. Would have a bbq on the beach. There was no one there. It was tranquil and magical. Would walk down to the Ferryboat. Also, learned to swim there. It’s a shame it’s gone down the holiday home route, but it’s inevitable due to no facilities nearby. I used to have a school friend who lived there, not sure where exactly. We all used to catch the bus to school from Mawnan. She would spend all her time on the water sailing and windsurfing. As you say, it used to be completely normal to have locals and no holiday homes, but maybe B&Bs later on. Every village in Cornwall was lived in. People didn’t travel, no transport. Everything was obtained locally. These properties must get incredibly damp if not lived in full time. You’re dead right about becoming Disneyfied. We don’t want or need theme parks. We didn’t have them as a kid growing up. We didn’t need them. Everything was a bike ride away. Never got bored.
@@CornishWalkingTrailseverywhere on the coast is the same. As you quite rightly point out, locals are being pushed further inland so rich people can play. I’m not sure how we have allowed it to happen into its current appalling state. People will say, well, they were happy to sell to an outsider, but the realism is that locals didn’t want to buy and if an outsider didn’t buy, property would languish on the market and become derelict.
We tried to secure the lease of one of the cottages behind school house nearly 15 years ago and National trust were asking for silly money back then. We had every intentions to live there full time. We now live up the river just outside Constantine.
Another fantastic video CWT! Durgan is such a beautiful village, we often visit here as we live locally. But it is such a shame the properties aren't filled with people all year round. There is no community to speak of. I've often thought there must be a way to revive these areas in a way that supports the local community. Perhaps a subsidary scheme or part ownership mortgage could enable people to live more comfortably in such places. The affordability of living is astronomical and you only have to look over the Helford river to Helfrod village and see why that is a different story. A listers such as Roger Taylor, Pete Townsend and Kylie Minogue have all been residents of the village but I doubt they'll be knocking on each other's door asking for a pint of milk haha. The communities of these beautiful places have really suffered. Unfortunately greed has taken over.
A similar story all around the coast! It leaves us wondering what it must be like to be one of the last permanent residents in a village of empty houses, Sarah :)
Loved this Sarah and Andrew, thanks for taking us along! I hope your daughter finds somewhere to live, the rentals are ridiculously high, it’s so unfair.
I grew-up in North Cornwall and have had to suffer in silence as I saw my home county being destroyed by the very thing it was once known for. No-one can blame people for selling their homes, but to the highest bidder is what invites pure greed and it is those dark energies which are destroying a part of the world with it's own history and now forgotten culture. Modern man has much to answer for and in the case of Cornwall it is the greed of outsiders that has brought about the demise, or loss of soul that we see everywhere.
@@John-G Here's how it works. People on higher than average incomes saw the prices of property in the SW as being much cheaper than in metropolitan areas e.g. London, so buying a second/holiday home as an investment becomes a practical option. This in turn puts pressure on the housing market, so house prices rise, putting the average dwelling outside of the reach of poorly paid workers living in the region. Back in the seventies, even buying a old barn to convert became unviable for locals. Due to poor local incomes available, many Cornish and Devonian's alike were forced to look elsewhere for work in oder to survive. The knok-on effect of this is that many local people move away from the towns and villages where they grew-up and the communities that once were commonplace are gone forever, the reason being that second homes stay empty from 6 -9 months a year. This is why you end up with ghost towns and villages. Where I grew-up the prices of local housed kick off at around a million Quid these days and when employers still have the same mentality that paying minimum wage as maximum wage and where even skilled people are paid 20-30% less than elsewhere in the country, it's not rocket science to figure out why we are now in the situation we now find ourselves in. Common sense needed to be applied back in the 70's but instead we had boom/bust times (this is Mrs T's & N. Tebbits legacy). Grab all you can now and screw tomorrow. Just so you know, I am not a politically motivated person, I just recognise BS for what it is.
@@John-G No they didn't, they bought more than they really needed. Houses were bought for pleasure and to make money. Sorry, but if you are not capable of figuring this whole situation out for yourself, then that's sad and no wonder we are where we are.
@@wolfwise44 Unfortunately you don't recognise your own BS. You blamed it on "the greed of outsiders" which was BS; pure, total BS. It was nothing to do with "the greed of outsiders" in any way. Edit: "Common sense" WAS applied. What were the alternatives? For the original owners to stay where they were, with no job, and starve? For the original owners to move to find work but keep their houses, not selling their houses but leaving them derelict instead.? For Harry Potter to come along?
@@wolfwise44 Of course "outsiders" didn't sell their houses to the highest bidder - those living in them did. That isn't so much "greed" as common sense for anyone with an IQ bigger than their shoe size - the previous occupiers didn't "need" their house any more as there was no work there, so they sold them, for the best price they could get, and moved to where there was some work. Of course those buying them didn't "need" a second house. They didn't "need" a first house either - they could have lived in a cave instead, wearing skins or plaiting grass - but instead of remaining in the stone ages they moved on to get some "pleasure" out of life. You may find it "sad" that we're not still living in caves, getting all we need from rubbing two sticks together to keep warm and killing the occasional wooly mammoth but times change.
Great video. Really enjoyed the chance to look around the village through your eyes. It's sad to see somewhere so lovely being so quiet. I never really appreciated until now, that it's people like me, who pay so much to stay in holiday accommodation, who are destroying the communities 😢. Not a nice feeling! Hope that you and the family have a great Christmas and New Year 🎉
So sad. Everything that made these beautiful places to visit has been destroyed by greed. We really need to regulate Air bnb and holiday Lets urgently. While villages sold off really and huge housing crisis for locals. 😢 Must regulate this. We can go to hotels/campsites/purpose built pkaces for a 2 week holiday. We don't need to use up a family home for the sake of a 2 week break. It has to change
John, We know that second and holiday home ownerships is a contentious issue in Cornwall and we wanted to shine a spotlight on the destruction this can cause in small villages and hamlets, not only in Cornwall but anywhere on the coast. This is a wide reaching issue that affects a lot of people. We feel that everyone is entitled to an opinion and the freedom to express it. We rarely delete of intervene in the comments section. However, we will step in if we feel that comments make others uncomfortable and unwilling to express their point of view. Your tone is unnecessary to the people that have left comments under this video. Please refrain from replying to every comment, and moderate your tone, or we will block you from this channel. Sarah
I'm in Newquay. This place has been ripped apart. Its become a concrete jungle of multi floored pods and AirB&B along the coast. Alot of new houses being built that no-one can afford because there is no jobs here, social housing is scarce because all housing projects back down on the amount given. All the big hotels have gone, traffic is awful. There is no economy here beside what they rely on over the summer, and theres not much of that. The council have doubled down on efforts to bring more families in over summer but theres nothing here for them besides a couple of packed beaches. The place has become so dire with no entertainment, no proper shops, no variety. Everything is being knocked down to be 'living quarters'. The council have the place to be tripled in sized with no plan for a proper town/shopping centre. I think it will get better with time as everybody demands for things, but the amount of people in Cornwall as of now cannot be supported by the current infrastructure. We need schools, doctors and hospital, etc, but all we get is this.
We went here last June. We spent a couple of hour on the beach. Found a few bits of sea glass. Beautiful place but way to expensive to rent a holiday let. ❤
Guns and roses 😂 Amazing video enjoy I loved to live there lol😂I live here 😂Sarah and Andrew my paradise . Merry Christmas Sarah and Andrew family happy new year too . Canit wait for next video love it 😊
Please don't think this problem is unique to Cornwall, I live in Anglesey, North Wales and so many villages here and the mainland are overwhelmed with holiday lets and second homes, I have lived in a village in the Lake District where just a few houses are permanent homes and it was soul destroying living there through the winter months. Many other parts of the country must be the same. Sadly it is a sign of our times
Hi both ,when I went to sennen cove Cornwall in July this year .the people we spoke to and the people in the fish and chip shop .where so polite and the shopkeepers in the cove .hopefully this will help you OUT . A lot of the places in Cornwall is holiday let's . Thank you for sharing your day .😄😄😊😊😊👍👍👍👍
Hi, interesting video, as usual. When I lived in Redruth, I used to visit Gweek, to look at the boats, and was told that many parts of the Mulberry Harbour was built around the Helston river area. I have never seen pictures, but also learnt that many of the old Engine Houses were blown up by American Sappers practising for D-Day 1944. Some villages on the North Coast, in 2000, only had five residents still living in the villages. These days, parking charges are horrendous, and put off visitors from outside, (Grokkles). Have a nice Christmas, and stay fit.
The village near me in West Dorset had 50% second owner homes in 2008. I tried to rent in the village but got beaten by somebody from London he ended up using it as a holiday home only staying there 2 or 3 times a year after which the owner solder and now it is permanently a holiday home on airbnb
Love all the storys love Cornwall i remember the great holidays over the year's. My children live and work in Devon Dartmoor. Great blog thank you very much. ❤
Having lived in Cornwall in the 70’s, it’s heartbreaking how the people locals call ‘fereighners’ have ensured that locals can no longer afford to buy houses in their own villages- there’s always been huge unemployment problems there going back to the hard rock miners taking their skills to places like Australia and Canada but the current situation is so much worse as whole communities are being destroyed 😢
Such a shame that no one lives there permanently in the little village. It's just so sad. It would be a lovely little place to live with your own village beach. 😢 A lot of cottage by some of the canals in Northamptonshire are now just holiday lets. I guess because its a tourist hot spot locals don't want people photographing their homes. I live in an old rented cottage in a small village and its often photographed by ramblers, pained by local artists or have even had people just walk in the garden for a nose!
You’ll be pleased to hear that this video is false and that 8 people live there permanently. It is a lovely place, as is the community of people in it.
Was talking to a Cawsander who's folks have fished there for generations earlier this week, and I happened to make the comment that I had walked there last week and the twin villages of Kingsand/Cawsand were dead as usual. He said that he estimated that 80% or more of the houses there are holiday homes. The locals have either left Cornwall or live on the outskirts on the Coombe council estate, or elsewhere on the Rame peninsula. As you say, we're used to that in our communities as it's become quite 'normal' over the years.
I love this pretty village- bustling during the Summer months but so sad to see in the Winter period. This sad sight is so very common in our lovely County Cornwall and many other places in the UK. Locals struggle to find accommodation - rents are larger than wages and to buy the deposit is impossible to save and mortgages again higher than Cornish wages. It is so very sad. It was lovely to see Durgan out of Season - great video to watch- thank you Both - you missed your vocation Andrew maybe there is a band out there needing a lead singer ha ha!!
The knock-on problem is that with an ever increasing number of homes only being occupied for a part of the year, it makes sustaining a local business such as a shop or even a veg stall increasingly non-viable. As a small farm we used to supply milk, beef, chicken and lamb/mutton, plus oats and wheat flour along with fresh vegetables to the local community 364 days a year. Because the permanent population has reduced by so much we’re now forced to sell the majority of our produce on the commercial market, where we’ll only achieve a fraction of the return from the big commercial buyers who effectively control the market prices. Our dairy herd went ten years ago, our chickens not long after. We’re too small to grow wheat and oats for the trade in any commercial way that makes sense so we’re now reduced to all permanent pasture and renting extra land to support enough sheep to remain viable. Now, with Brexit, the lucrative European restaurant market has become closed to us and the deals for tariff free imports from Australia, New Zealand and other nations has driven market prices down even further. Now Reeves has imposed further taxation on farm businesses and because of the ridiculous inflation of property prices, driven ever upwards by wealthy London based purchasers, despite being a tiny family farm of barely 100 acres that’s fighting hard to make ends meet we fall into that taxation category. My family has been born, farmed and died, on this small farm for over 650 years and our son wants to continue with his life here when we go… but there’s no way we or he could ever put enough aside or generate the necessary income to settle the IHT liability. So, the community that we’ve been the heart of for centuries, along with so many others, will soon be gone. Ultimately tourism and the influx of wealth has killed the very thing that made this once idyllic place attractive to visit, not just for the scenery but also for the community that once thrived and welcomed them in.
So fun!! It is a beautiful spot. But it is sad how places have become ghost towns. I loved the Guns and Rose "altered" song! Brilliant 😂😂😂... you need to do that in all your videos 😉. My granddad (Falmouth) used to have a boat like that and go out to fish for dinner... mum said as a child they ate fish most nights ..lots of shell fish, crabs, prawns etc. As "normal" cheap dinner. Some meat, like chicken and beef, was a luxury. How times have changed! Ps. I LOVED your idea of NT etc having to give some profits to build homes for locals. Pps. My parents now live along the coast of N.Devon near Clovelly. I love how that village is full of locals and very few houses are "holiday rentals". So many of my friends lived there when I was growing up.
was back in Bude 3 weeks ago . Little changed in 50-60 years . Pay and show ! only 1 toilet used to be dozens , male/ female , was my dads 1 d sanctuary for an hour or so . Fewer beach huts , think ours is still there on the front . new cafe looks ok . Lifesaving ' shack ' has an upgrade . Saw someone enter , gave a knock , no reply , no other entrance , gave another knock , got entrance . In a time warp . Saw the names of the family we stayed with on holiday for many years . Frank Higham gave my folks an oil painting of Crooklets from the South :-) still some Highams around apparently . will see :-) Was back 8 years ago , cannot see many changes since then . Sea pool got an upgrade , was in use too !
You're wrong, I'm the Postman of the village , and I can tell you there are 5 houses that are lived in full time in Durgan. One elderly lady who recently passed away had lived in the village since she was a child. In the Summer months and school holidays it is packed..,great place.
What a lovely lighthearted video. I would have asked the guys pulling the boat in if they lived there or what was the state of play. New subscriber, last visited Cornwall St Mawgan 1982. Bet that place has changed?
I first visited Durgan 53 years ago as a young teenager, and fell in love with it. Such a shame to see it almost deserted now. It does get busy in the summer though.
You used to be able to get amazing deals on winter lets years ago. Its usually warmer than the rest of the country due to the gulf stream, tho the wind can be a bit chilly off the Atlantic. Its really beautiful & peaceful when all the tourists are away.
Unfortunately, there aren't many Cornish people who can afford property at this village! I could not afford to even holiday there! It's very sad, I think and it's not just in Cornwall, ir even just coastal areas that effected.
I live in Gorran Haven, which you have visited previously. I commute 44 miles a day, just for a simple driving job. I'm qualified for much greater things, but as I'm nearing retirement, the opportunities just aren't there; it's driving or Care. I will be selling my house next year. It's all well and fine building 'affordable' housing, but where is the work?
Really enjoy your videos and this one is excellent, although somewhat saddening. I did wonder why you didn’t go over and talk to the guys who were bringing their boat in, you might have learnt a lot as they were probably locals. Oh and Andrew, an old music business line comes to mind: “ Don’t phone us, we’ll phone you” 🤣🤣🤣
Compulsory purchase by the council and rented to true locals is an option, national trust or not housing is needed for locals. I was born and brought up in West Dorset but housing is beyond my means, I’ve had to move over a 120 miles away where property is more affordable.
@@CornishWalkingTrails it does have a healthy community of permanent local residents and there is absolutely nothing sad about it. The publisher did nothing but wander around on a quiet day and speculate to create a little rage bait.
My daughter did a summer season in the fish cellar selling ice cream at least 5 yrs ago and my memory is she said it was all holiday lets back then. Like you we enjoy a walk there out of season.
Such a beautiful village. I walked past it in July 2022 on my way to Mawnan Smith and I remember it was very quiet. It is a pity that some villages are abandoned. But whom is to blame? I guess it is the opportunity we are given by the internet, as you said. It must be great to have a house there as a second hone. So many walking opportunities and the area is beautiful. Port Quin close to Port Isaac is abandoned too, but sadly because of a tragedy long time ago. And it is now owned by the National Trust and some houses can be rented. I loved Andrew's Axl Rose impression 🥰🤘😊 Thank you for sharing. Torunn 🥰
Hi there folks . Thankyou for a really fab Video.Such an interesting one:-) I would imagine the money that National Trust generated for the holiday homes is used for the upkeep of the properties. They are very much at the mercy of very bitterly cold Winters!! I nearly fell through my floor when you should us, for 2weeks in Beach (or was it Beech?!) Cottage £4,600!!!😮 That 2024 price guide?? Look forward to watching many more of your amaZing video walks❤️
That's not how it works. Income from any NT property doesn't only go to maintaining that particular property, as some are obviously more popular than others, and some more costly to maintain, so income generally goes to NT centrally. Their rental charges are set to compete with others, to generate income, not to cover costs.
The English are learning what the Welsh ,Spanish and many other holiday destination residents learnt years ago.Tourism does not enrich a place but strip it and ruin it if not done with extreme care for the culture and benefit of the locals..
Hi Andrew and Sarah, totally agree with you, although we always choose a self catering cottage for our Cornish holidays, but rarely now have holidays even every two years. But Duchy have built permanent housing and created a community just outside of Dorchester, which I visited years ago for work when it was new. It was all incredibly well built and thoughtfully designed, a credit to the then Prince Charles.❤
We have Nansledan near Newquay, built on similar principals but the houses are very expensive. They have built a new school but families struggle to meet the mortgages, Sarah :)
When great aunt Nell pops her clogs and leaves her estate to her family, this Cornish family will sell to the highest bidder, or rent out the house, hence the chance of it becoming vacant during part of the year. Same as the Cornish working outside the county and leaving their permanent home empty, when they come back to their holiday home in Cornwall.
Thank you for sharing this is the sound very interesting I love watching things like this about places so this actually caught my eyes thank you for sharing
Beautiful village & arcitecture! I imagine much is Grade II Listed. Holiday homes/holiday lets is always a tricky subject. I thought that second homes tax (rumoured to be on the increase) was re-routed by Cornwall Council to local communities? or maybe not (or maybe it keeps CEOs in ever more luxuriant clover!). I think the helicopter was NT security deployed after spotting two people recceing the joint 🙂(Like Portmeirion in 'The Prisoner'...hidden cameras everywhere!).
I seriously thought about renting one of the houses in 1998 but it was in my eyes too far to take the children to school as we would have needed cars. Distance can make a difference to locals, they could have afforded houses in Sennen but it's too far to go to work in the rest of the county. So holiday lets fall into that vacumn.
I have worked for a housing association in the south west of England and while we offered village houses to people on benefits they didn’t want them. They wanted to be in towns. No pleasing some people.
Of course they "wanted to be in towns" - they wanted jobs, schools, and supermarkets! What's the point in living in "village houses" where there's no work, no shops, no schools and no hospital? They may be on benefits, but when they have to spend those benefits to get to the shops, the schools or the hospital it's costing them money they can't afford. Surely that's obvious?
At least the houses are maintained to a good standard. Not many people could live there even if the houses were available- no jobs other than cleaning or property maintenance, no schools, no shops, no public transport. It would be lovely for an artist maybe.
I lived in France a small village, in winter less than 30 inhabitants, even less now. During summer probably 1,000. Patrimone in France gives them a huge range of do's and dont's, some of which can be crippling. However the French embrace the area, which for businesses is a life saver, but in order to survive it must have winter traffic. It proves that small hotels, and bars were family run, something that has started to die out over the last 20 years.
Residents Parking - definition of resident 'a person who lives somewhere permanently or on a long-term basis'. So should people who are only staying in holiday homes be allowed to park there?
Hi guys
I know this village really well as I volunteer for NT Glendurgan
5 cottages are lived in permanently
One is owned privately, and lived in.
The other 4 are owned by NT but rented out full time to local residents.
The others are holiday cottages but not all owned by NT
8 are privately owned and let as holiday houses
So there are still 9 people living there 😊
I prefer your version of Paradise City 😂😂😂❤
i rented from NT once, they call volunteers MUPPETS
I think it’s so wrong there are so many people needing homes in Cornwall. It will become people less . The only people living there being tourists not Cornish people as the houses are priced so high.
@@onebagbeachclean6721 where is everyone then ?
@@spudspuddy Probably in the same way as volunteers work for the scam that is charity shops. I bet there are people earning loads whilst using the volunteer model to enable that to happen.
This is so sad to see a thriving little village become an empty playground for the well off
Thank you, I stand corrected, memory plays up in old age sometimes.
Probably better than just empty.
There are quite a few tiny hamlets in the West Country like that simply because scratching out a living on that land became economically unviable. I've seen abandoned villages in central Spain that had collapsed to rubble, so at least these cottages are being kept maintained. And the ones you see in the thumbnail are owned by The National Trust so it's not quite accurate to say this is a playground for the well off.
@@Dogtagnan Exactly. Who do these people expect to live there?
Doing what?
@@John-G Growing food, living simply as people did in the past
It is sadly ironic, that the villagers who all lived there happily years ago, lived a simple life by the sea - they had no money, but had enough just to get by - they did not need much to live a happy life. These small communities were truly rich, even though they had no dosh in the bank. Now, it costs a fortune just to rent a cottage there for 2 weeks- it is a resort for the wealthy, who need lots of money to feel 'happy' - however fleeting that may be. And you can't get the staff! Cleaners, caretakers, gardeners - where the hell are they meant to live?
Certainly, not by the Cornish coast - that's only for toffs!
Well, the "villagers" were "cleaners, caretakers and gardeners" but they weren't happy with the "simple life" and "no money" and they wanted a decent salary instead - how dare they 😂
The problem goes back to good old feudalism. There were huge country estates, with the big house at the centre with its rich landowners family. Their estate workers, servants, gardeners etc, lived in estate cottages or estate villages. Their jobs were on the estate. Once the estate was broken up, sold off, for whatever reason. or passed into the hands of the NT, the economic "model" was broken.
@John-G
The thing about gardeners, caretakers and domestic staff leaving in search of better salaries is it's a double edged sword. If you live and work on an estate, your salary may be quite low. But the job will come with estate accommodation such as a cottage or house at a very low rent or even free. Of course you can leave in search of high salaries in a big city. And then spend 70 per cent or more of your high income on rent and utility bills.
@@AndriyValdensius-wi8gw Exactly - it's up to the individual, not up to some Mr Nasty.
LIVE IN CORNWALL AND I CANT GET A CLEANER FOR LOVE NOR MONEY. IM DISABLED AND NEED HELP TO KEEP A CLEAN TIDY HOUSE. LAST CLEANER I HAD WAS TERRIBLE, KEPT CANCELLING AND DOING HALF JOBS WANTED £20 PER HR. I DO WITHOUT!!!!!
Too many holiday homes about Cornwall and many other places …Love Cornwall ,feel so sorry for young local people who can’t get a home in there village due to outsiders buying up property ……….Great videos and both of us in Somerset love Cornwall…🙋♀️🙋♂️💑
There used to be a family called Badger who used to live there years ago. I used to walk there regularly when I was a teenager, it was a vibrant friendly place then. So sad to see it used only by people with the means to afford a few days in the summer months or occasionally by second home owners. A horrible indictment of todays society!!!
Did Badger live there with Mr Toad and mole?😂
Don't forget Mr Squirrel.
@alcatraz3539 I was thinkin the same thing...perfect size for a family like those in Wind in the Cornwalls
Mrs Badger died and cottage lease lapsed back to NT. some of her children are in Port Navas and Falmouth.
What a gap there is now,between rich and poor.Imagine all those Cornish youngsters who would like to settle there.A cruel end to pretty villages.
Just want to mention that the loss of Hallsands village in Devon was destroyed by nature (or a storm) however the only reason it happened and was so devastating was that when Plymouth docks were being built they decided it would be a great idea to obtain the sand/shingle for the concrete by dredging it off the coast in Start Bay, just offshore from Hallsands. They took vast quantities and in the subsequent months the beach that the fishermen of Hallsands had kept their boats on for decades completely disappeared thus removing the thing that had kept the sea away from the village itself. The subsequent storm that washed the village away would not have been a problem had the protecting beach still been there.
Devastating. A whole ecosystem destroyed for commerce
Such a shame 😢
The trouble is even if some residents remain, the school closes, the shop will close, the pub will close, any cafe will close any local doctors surgery will close, any bus or taxi service will close. In the end even those who really want to stay in the village will find it is not practical, especially as they grow older.
Many villages in the South Hams have only a few actual residents & in the main they are over 70 or 80 years of age.
I think there should be a local law for only a certain percentage of properties in a coastal village to be holiday "homes" . It is a scandal that local people are priced out of the market by second home owners and holiday let companies.
I think Meva has a similar local only purchase in recent years?
That's against the principles of the law of demand...money talks unfortunately, and those with it are oft the least caring and humane...hence not just Cornwall, but much of the world is suffering!
But there's no work there for "local people" to do - are you going to make a local law about that?
That’s exactly how it’s done in Norway to keep their beautiful fjord-side village communities intact in the face of increasing tourism.
The owners have to be in continuous occupation for a good chunk of the year and there’s a maximum period that a home can remain empty.
As I understand it if the owners are, for instance, going to go travelling for a few years then it is possible to get dispensation from owner occupancy but the property has to be occupied by tenants and I believe there is a fairly flexible maximum term limit.
The specific terms are set by the local administration, the town councils or their local equivalent, and everyone has a voice in the process.
It works pretty well and Norwegians get along just fine with it.
I only really know about it because my sister-in-law was born, brought up, and owns a property in one of those fjord-side villages.
@@John-GThere was work before the communities collapsed, though it’s true that currently there’s little to none.
That's so sad most of the villages around our Cornish coast are holiday homes when there are so many homeless people.
It's not just Cornwall, else where they may not be overpriced holiday homes but possibly the rental market. There are empty houses and derelict properties be them homes or office blocks all over the place it's truly shocking.
A market with a seeming lack when it is plentiful , all due to greed.
What would homeless people do if they moved there?
Where would they work?
How many of the empty holiday homes in this village are owned by the National Trust, and how many by private owners ? If it's a NT owned house, it will be empty, by definition. If the village is part of an estate now owned by the NT, all or most of the houses will be NT. The policies of the NT and the way they manage properties, are a big part of the problem. The NT is about pure greed and money making. Even if they own the houses, they could make them available to LOCAL people at low rents, with the proviso that they maintain them responsibly. That way the village would come back to life overnight. But the National Trust is a greedy corrupt organisation run for the benefit of its bosses and their friends and families.
@AndriyValdensius-wi8gw Of the 15 houses, 7 are owned by the NT.
Of those 7, 4 are rented to locals long term, 2 available as short term holiday lets, with 1 kept by the NT for volunteer staff.
Of the 8 privately owned houses, 1 has an owner / occupier and 7 are available as short term holiday lets.
There are 9 permanent local residents in 5 houses - 1 owner occupier and 4 long term rentals from the NT.
That took about 30 seconds to check, looking at the NT and holiday rental websites, and is confirmed by others commenting here who've lived / worked there.
Sorry, but while that may not suit many here, including you, that's how it is.
@John-G
It's not true of the National Trust in general, though. And can you explain why this video describes it as an "empty village ?" The NT has a lot of properties as "holiday lets" at outrageous Airbnb type prices, yet very few at affordable rates for local people.
WW1 and the ensuing economic collapse of the 1920s was disastrous for Cornwall's sense of both history and community. So many landowners either lost their sons and heirs, and/or their staff, who had enabled them to keep and run their estates. Cornish estates, like Clowance near me, were sold off in job lots, and because most of the properties on them were rented by estate tenants, the communities they supported were gradually dispersed when the leases ended and the surviving tenants moved elsewhere in search of work. With the collapse of the mining industry, Cornwall went into a steep economic decline until tourism came to the 'rescue' - an apparent blessing, which turned out to be a steel trap from which there is no escape.
😢
That's truly so sad, seeing these beautiful little cottages that offered a simpler life are now nothing but shells for paying guests, just heartbreaking
Very well summarised! I was working at Cornwall Council when the seeds of tourism were being sown and tended, photographers employed to take stunning photos and trips to Europe to promote our little County, who could have known where it would lead! Sarah :)
I live in a dying village in Cornwall. I am one of the last homeowners and at 76 l shall soon have to move on after living here all of my adult life. My children,grandchildren and great grandchildren are nearby so l am lucky, but the village they grew up in is now full of empty holiday cottages. It is the most horrible thing to happen to a once vibrant community. The rich people just come to look at a manicured idyll, a money making investment. My cottage will be joining them. What a tragic end ,sign of things to come.
And it’s people like you that sell to the rich and then complain the place is a ghost town… sell to a local
Why ? Won't you leave it to your children ?
@@SarahPutnam-q1h inheritance tax
Rather hypocritical to first complain then, despite having children and family living nearby, doing exactly what you're complaining about.
@@loopi7126No inheritance tax if it's a main residence and gifted in advance.
I tell you what I was most amazed about....the fact that you got sunshine and blue skies!🌤 I can't remember the last time I saw the sun & blue skies with white fluffy clouds here in Kent! Dear me, all there is down here are grey skies, murky mist, drizzly rain & blinking cold! As for Durgan, it would be my idea of paradise in December with barely a soul in sight, lapping waves, empty beach & peace and quiet.🌊🌅☯ Take me there!...NOW! x J x
The same in West Germany, haven’t seen the sun for weeks, either dull grey at about 0 degrees or Storm with loads of rain…I am so jealous..😂🙈
It is very unusual for the Helford area to get sun these days. We had no summer at all this year😢
Yet another fascinating story. It's just so sad that so many beautiful places are now only available to those with money. True community has now been lost in so many places. Thanks for sharing xxx
Sorry to say it’s not true - there are 8 permanent residents, it’s a perfectly lively and wonderful community. The publisher took no effort to check any of their claims.
My partner is from Cornwall but live in Western Australia , we have been back twice now and hopefully a third time in June, really enjoy your video's both of you.
@andyb7123 my wife and I live in Gloucestershire U.K. and try to visit Cornwall at least 3 times a year. This year we only made it there once because we will be landing in Perth W.A. on the 15th Dec to visit our daughter and the grand kids for Christmas. 🛫🛬
National trust, says it all.
Yes, national should not be trusted more like!
National kerrr- ching £££££🤑🤑🤑🤑😝
Just discovered your channel, wow! I live in Australia but just love seeing little villages in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, so much history but what a very sad state of affairs that this delightful little village is now really a ghost town for most of the year. Thank you for taking me on this journey with you xxx
You’re welcome! I hope you stick around and watch some more - mostly we find happier content! Sarah :)
Great video again, but very sad to see it so empty.
They filmed in the middle of a working day. There are 8 permanent residents who were likely all at work!
Most of N Devon where l live is second homes & holiday lets, so much so that there is now nowhere for staff to stay to service that industry. This year restaurants, bars & other small businesses have had to operate on reduced hours because they have no staff. It’s reached saturation point.
I’ve watched over the years how communities have been decimated - lack of resident children means no football club or cricket club etc; where there were three full school buses now there is half a bus; there aren’t enough tradesmen, shops have closed. It’s very sad.
That's due to people being told kids are bad for the planet, it's better to follow a career than have a family, and various chemicals that impede fertility.
A very sad state of affairs indeed!
We have watched a similar decline, and wonder where it will go. Do we need to rip up farmland for new builds to replace the houses that stand empty? Sarah :)
Thank you for showing us around this beautiful beach village, I really enjoy your interesting videos, I love Cornwall and had lots of holidays there over the years ❤❤
Used to spend weekends anchored off Grebe beach in the 70s. Would sail from Mylor Pool to Durgan. Would have a bbq on the beach. There was no one there. It was tranquil and magical. Would walk down to the Ferryboat. Also, learned to swim there. It’s a shame it’s gone down the holiday home route, but it’s inevitable due to no facilities nearby. I used to have a school friend who lived there, not sure where exactly. We all used to catch the bus to school from Mawnan. She would spend all her time on the water sailing and windsurfing. As you say, it used to be completely normal to have locals and no holiday homes, but maybe B&Bs later on. Every village in Cornwall was lived in. People didn’t travel, no transport. Everything was obtained locally. These properties must get incredibly damp if not lived in full time. You’re dead right about becoming Disneyfied. We don’t want or need theme parks. We didn’t have them as a kid growing up. We didn’t need them. Everything was a bike ride away. Never got bored.
I resonate with your comment! I learnt to swim at Flushing and that village has similar issues! Sarah :)
@@CornishWalkingTrailseverywhere on the coast is the same. As you quite rightly point out, locals are being pushed further inland so rich people can play. I’m not sure how we have allowed it to happen into its current appalling state. People will say, well, they were happy to sell to an outsider, but the realism is that locals didn’t want to buy and if an outsider didn’t buy, property would languish on the market and become derelict.
Go back in the evening to check for lights on. Just don't wear a striped jumper and a mask.
😆🤣😂 Sarah :)
What about my batman or Superman gear,,,any chance of fancy dress...you could as yourself...Dr Who's brother
@@nialloneill5097You got me! I am Dr#6 ! Fancy dress party in the TARDIS this time last week
@@colinbaker3415 Knew it...and I'm a Dalek...exterminate exterminate exterminate...
We tried to secure the lease of one of the cottages behind school house nearly 15 years ago and National trust were asking for silly money back then. We had every intentions to live there full time. We now live up the river just outside Constantine.
I've watched this early today, but will watch on tele with friends this evening.
Thank you so much.
Hope you enjoyed it! Sarah :)
Another fantastic video CWT! Durgan is such a beautiful village, we often visit here as we live locally. But it is such a shame the properties aren't filled with people all year round. There is no community to speak of. I've often thought there must be a way to revive these areas in a way that supports the local community. Perhaps a subsidary scheme or part ownership mortgage could enable people to live more comfortably in such places. The affordability of living is astronomical and you only have to look over the Helford river to Helfrod village and see why that is a different story. A listers such as Roger Taylor, Pete Townsend and Kylie Minogue have all been residents of the village but I doubt they'll be knocking on each other's door asking for a pint of milk haha. The communities of these beautiful places have really suffered. Unfortunately greed has taken over.
A similar story all around the coast! It leaves us wondering what it must be like to be one of the last permanent residents in a village of empty houses, Sarah :)
Loved this Sarah and Andrew, thanks for taking us along! I hope your daughter finds somewhere to live, the rentals are ridiculously high, it’s so unfair.
Yes, in 1998 a three bedroom semi in Pool was around £28500 average.
I grew-up in North Cornwall and have had to suffer in silence as I saw my home county being destroyed by the very thing it was once known for. No-one can blame people for selling their homes, but to the highest bidder is what invites pure greed and it is those dark energies which are destroying a part of the world with it's own history and now forgotten culture. Modern man has much to answer for and in the case of Cornwall it is the greed of outsiders that has brought about the demise, or loss of soul that we see everywhere.
"The greed of outsiders"?
How do you figure that out?
"Outsiders" didn't sell their houses to the highest bidder.
@@John-G Here's how it works. People on higher than average incomes saw the prices of property in the SW as being much cheaper than in metropolitan areas e.g. London, so buying a second/holiday home as an investment becomes a practical option. This in turn puts pressure on the housing market, so house prices rise, putting the average dwelling outside of the reach of poorly paid workers living in the region. Back in the seventies, even buying a old barn to convert became unviable for locals. Due to poor local incomes available, many Cornish and Devonian's alike were forced to look elsewhere for work in oder to survive. The knok-on effect of this is that many local people move away from the towns and villages where they grew-up and the communities that once were commonplace are gone forever, the reason being that second homes stay empty from 6 -9 months a year. This is why you end up with ghost towns and villages. Where I grew-up the prices of local housed kick off at around a million Quid these days and when employers still have the same mentality that paying minimum wage as maximum wage and where even skilled people are paid 20-30% less than elsewhere in the country, it's not rocket science to figure out why we are now in the situation we now find ourselves in. Common sense needed to be applied back in the 70's but instead we had boom/bust times (this is Mrs T's & N. Tebbits legacy). Grab all you can now and screw tomorrow. Just so you know, I am not a politically motivated person, I just recognise BS for what it is.
@@John-G No they didn't, they bought more than they really needed. Houses were bought for pleasure and to make money. Sorry, but if you are not capable of figuring this whole situation out for yourself, then that's sad and no wonder we are where we are.
@@wolfwise44 Unfortunately you don't recognise your own BS.
You blamed it on "the greed of outsiders" which was BS; pure, total BS.
It was nothing to do with "the greed of outsiders" in any way.
Edit: "Common sense" WAS applied.
What were the alternatives?
For the original owners to stay where they were, with no job, and starve?
For the original owners to move to find work but keep their houses, not selling their houses but leaving them derelict instead.?
For Harry Potter to come along?
@@wolfwise44 Of course "outsiders" didn't sell their houses to the highest bidder - those living in them did.
That isn't so much "greed" as common sense for anyone with an IQ bigger than their shoe size - the previous occupiers didn't "need" their house any more as there was no work there, so they sold them, for the best price they could get, and moved to where there was some work.
Of course those buying them didn't "need" a second house. They didn't "need" a first house either - they could have lived in a cave instead, wearing skins or plaiting grass - but instead of remaining in the stone ages they moved on to get some "pleasure" out of life.
You may find it "sad" that we're not still living in caves, getting all we need from rubbing two sticks together to keep warm and killing the occasional wooly mammoth but times change.
Great video. Really enjoyed the chance to look around the village through your eyes.
It's sad to see somewhere so lovely being so quiet. I never really appreciated until now, that it's people like me, who pay so much to stay in holiday accommodation, who are destroying the communities 😢. Not a nice feeling! Hope that you and the family have a great Christmas and New Year 🎉
Glad you enjoyed it, Sarah :)
I live in Cornwall and love your videos. I’m finding out so much about my local area. Thanx
So sad. Everything that made these beautiful places to visit has been destroyed by greed. We really need to regulate Air bnb and holiday Lets urgently. While villages sold off really and huge housing crisis for locals. 😢 Must regulate this. We can go to hotels/campsites/purpose built pkaces for a 2 week holiday. We don't need to use up a family home for the sake of a 2 week break. It has to change
So sad - how dare the peasants want to earn a decent wage ... pure greed ...
John,
We know that second and holiday home ownerships is a contentious issue in Cornwall and we wanted to shine a spotlight on the destruction this can cause in small villages and hamlets, not only in Cornwall but anywhere on the coast. This is a wide reaching issue that affects a lot of people.
We feel that everyone is entitled to an opinion and the freedom to express it. We rarely delete of intervene in the comments section. However, we will step in if we feel that comments make others uncomfortable and unwilling to express their point of view. Your tone is unnecessary to the people that have left comments under this video.
Please refrain from replying to every comment, and moderate your tone, or we will block you from this channel.
Sarah
Great story and a very entertaining video. Brighten up this Friday the 13th Dec. All the best Bob
Over tourism has wrecked Cornwall.
And capitalism and the chase for money...and what it affords people
Wait for the illegal immigrants to move in
I'm in Newquay. This place has been ripped apart. Its become a concrete jungle of multi floored pods and AirB&B along the coast. Alot of new houses being built that no-one can afford because there is no jobs here, social housing is scarce because all housing projects back down on the amount given. All the big hotels have gone, traffic is awful. There is no economy here beside what they rely on over the summer, and theres not much of that. The council have doubled down on efforts to bring more families in over summer but theres nothing here for them besides a couple of packed beaches. The place has become so dire with no entertainment, no proper shops, no variety. Everything is being knocked down to be 'living quarters'. The council have the place to be tripled in sized with no plan for a proper town/shopping centre. I think it will get better with time as everybody demands for things, but the amount of people in Cornwall as of now cannot be supported by the current infrastructure. We need schools, doctors and hospital, etc, but all we get is this.
@@stuwilldoo7035 It needs 26000 council houses.
We love this place, visit Glendurrgan every time we’re in Cornwall. They have a lovely Cercidiphyllum japonicum tree that smells like candy floss.
Amazing! Sarah :)
We went here last June. We spent a couple of hour on the beach. Found a few bits of sea glass. Beautiful place but way to expensive to rent a holiday let. ❤
Great place to visit! Sarah :)
Guns and roses 😂 Amazing video enjoy I loved to live there lol😂I live here 😂Sarah and Andrew my paradise . Merry Christmas Sarah and Andrew family happy new year too . Canit wait for next video love it 😊
The silence there is deafening! Wouldn't want a holiday there
Good !
Please don't think this problem is unique to Cornwall, I live in Anglesey, North Wales and so many villages here and the mainland are overwhelmed with holiday lets and second homes, I have lived in a village in the Lake District where just a few houses are permanent homes and it was soul destroying living there through the winter months. Many other parts of the country must be the same. Sadly it is a sign of our times
It's a sign of times when a house "earns" more money than its owner occupant. Or these days, just owner. So many houses are unoccupied.
Hi both ,when I went to sennen cove Cornwall in July this year .the people we spoke to and the people in the fish and chip shop .where so polite and the shopkeepers in the cove .hopefully this will help you OUT . A lot of the places in Cornwall is holiday let's . Thank you for sharing your day .😄😄😊😊😊👍👍👍👍
Hi, interesting video, as usual. When I lived in Redruth, I used to visit Gweek, to look at the boats, and was told that many parts of the Mulberry Harbour was built around the Helston river area. I have never seen pictures, but also learnt that many of the old Engine Houses were blown up by American Sappers practising for D-Day 1944. Some villages on the North Coast, in 2000, only had five residents still living in the villages. These days, parking charges are horrendous, and put off visitors from outside, (Grokkles). Have a nice Christmas, and stay fit.
Grockles go to Devon. Emmets go to Cornwall.😉
The village near me in West Dorset had 50% second owner homes in 2008.
I tried to rent in the village but got beaten by somebody from London he ended up using it as a holiday home only staying there 2 or 3 times a year after which the owner solder and now it is permanently a holiday home on airbnb
It is so incredibly sad. Completely changing the dynamic of the villages.
Love all the storys love Cornwall i remember the great holidays over the year's.
My children live and work in Devon Dartmoor.
Great blog thank you very much. ❤
That looks like an amazing place but staying there at those prices no I would definitely visit only great video well done
I like to see abandoned places and villages. Love this video, Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed, Sarah :)
@@CornishWalkingTrailsit is not abandoned. Stop pedalling this falsehood.
The military one being tyneham village Dorset just a lovely place ❤️
Tyneham is beautiful. Has an eerie feel to it, probably because it's just been left as it was when the villagers were forced out virtually overnight.
Having lived in Cornwall in the 70’s, it’s heartbreaking how the people locals call ‘fereighners’ have ensured that locals can no longer afford to buy houses in their own villages- there’s always been huge unemployment problems there going back to the hard rock miners taking their skills to places like Australia and Canada but the current situation is so much worse as whole communities are being destroyed 😢
Polkerris is part of the Menabilly estate and is privately owned and very nearly every house is lived in .
I never knew that, thanks for sharing! Sarah :)
The whole of Durgan belongs to The National Trust.Rented out to holiday makers There are no long term rentals.
The way the locals describe it when they walk around these villages at night, there is not one house / cottage light showing, empty and sole less
Thank you for sharing . Beautiful scenery loved it .
So glad i found you two.
Hello! I am just going through the comments… welcome to our channel! Sarah :)
Such a shame that no one lives there permanently in the little village. It's just so sad. It would be a lovely little place to live with your own village beach. 😢
A lot of cottage by some of the canals in Northamptonshire are now just holiday lets. I guess because its a tourist hot spot locals don't want people photographing their homes.
I live in an old rented cottage in a small village and its often photographed by ramblers, pained by local artists or have even had people just walk in the garden for a nose!
If anyone lived there, what would they do?
Where would they work?
You’ll be pleased to hear that this video is false and that 8 people live there permanently. It is a lovely place, as is the community of people in it.
@jkbrewin Actually, very few here will be pleased to hear that as it doesn't suit how they'd like it to be.
Was talking to a Cawsander who's folks have fished there for generations earlier this week, and I happened to make the comment that I had walked there last week and the twin villages of Kingsand/Cawsand were dead as usual. He said that he estimated that 80% or more of the houses there are holiday homes. The locals have either left Cornwall or live on the outskirts on the Coombe council estate, or elsewhere on the Rame peninsula. As you say, we're used to that in our communities as it's become quite 'normal' over the years.
Beautiful Helford River and Durgan. 🙏
Great idea about NT building or contributing to replacement houses for local people.
What "local people"? Working doing what?
I love this pretty village- bustling during the Summer months but so sad to see in the Winter period. This sad sight is so very common in our lovely County Cornwall and many other places in the UK. Locals struggle to find accommodation - rents are larger than wages and to buy the deposit is impossible to save and mortgages again higher than Cornish wages. It is so very sad. It was lovely to see Durgan out of Season - great video to watch- thank you Both - you missed your vocation Andrew maybe there is a band out there needing a lead singer ha ha!!
The knock-on problem is that with an ever increasing number of homes only being occupied for a part of the year, it makes sustaining a local business such as a shop or even a veg stall increasingly non-viable.
As a small farm we used to supply milk, beef, chicken and lamb/mutton, plus oats and wheat flour along with fresh vegetables to the local community 364 days a year.
Because the permanent population has reduced by so much we’re now forced to sell the majority of our produce on the commercial market, where we’ll only achieve a fraction of the return from the big commercial buyers who effectively control the market prices.
Our dairy herd went ten years ago, our chickens not long after. We’re too small to grow wheat and oats for the trade in any commercial way that makes sense so we’re now reduced to all permanent pasture and renting extra land to support enough sheep to remain viable.
Now, with Brexit, the lucrative European restaurant market has become closed to us and the deals for tariff free imports from Australia, New Zealand and other nations has driven market prices down even further.
Now Reeves has imposed further taxation on farm businesses and because of the ridiculous inflation of property prices, driven ever upwards by wealthy London based purchasers, despite being a tiny family farm of barely 100 acres that’s fighting hard to make ends meet we fall into that taxation category.
My family has been born, farmed and died, on this small farm for over 650 years and our son wants to continue with his life here when we go… but there’s no way we or he could ever put enough aside or generate the necessary income to settle the IHT liability.
So, the community that we’ve been the heart of for centuries, along with so many others, will soon be gone.
Ultimately tourism and the influx of wealth has killed the very thing that made this once idyllic place attractive to visit, not just for the scenery but also for the community that once thrived and welcomed them in.
What an absolutely lovely couple ❤
As long as people are willing or stupid enough to pay£4600 to stay there then nothing is going to change.
Indeed! Sarah :)
So fun!! It is a beautiful spot. But it is sad how places have become ghost towns.
I loved the Guns and Rose "altered" song! Brilliant 😂😂😂... you need to do that in all your videos 😉.
My granddad (Falmouth) used to have a boat like that and go out to fish for dinner... mum said as a child they ate fish most nights ..lots of shell fish, crabs, prawns etc. As "normal" cheap dinner. Some meat, like chicken and beef, was a luxury. How times have changed!
Ps. I LOVED your idea of NT etc having to give some profits to build homes for locals.
Pps. My parents now live along the coast of N.Devon near Clovelly. I love how that village is full of locals and very few houses are "holiday rentals". So many of my friends lived there when I was growing up.
Clovelly seems a little bit fairer somehow, but I am sure there are reasons for the locals to complain! Sarah :)
was back in Bude 3 weeks ago .
Little changed in 50-60 years .
Pay and show !
only 1 toilet used to be dozens , male/ female , was my dads 1 d sanctuary for an hour or so .
Fewer beach huts , think ours is still there on the front . new cafe looks ok .
Lifesaving ' shack ' has an upgrade .
Saw someone enter , gave a knock , no reply , no other entrance , gave another knock , got entrance . In a time warp .
Saw the names of the family we stayed with on holiday for many years .
Frank Higham gave my folks an oil painting of Crooklets from the South :-)
still some Highams around apparently .
will see :-)
Was back 8 years ago , cannot see many changes since then .
Sea pool got an upgrade , was in use too !
You're wrong, I'm the Postman of the village , and I can tell you there are 5 houses that are lived in full time in Durgan. One elderly lady who recently passed away had lived in the village since she was a child. In the Summer months and school holidays it is packed..,great place.
What a lovely lighthearted video. I would have asked the guys pulling the boat in if they lived there or what was the state of play. New subscriber, last visited Cornwall St Mawgan 1982. Bet that place has changed?
The Thought Of BeIn aLone WithOut Tourists/Stalkers Sounds WonderFull Of Tranquil Vibes ✊🏾🙌🏾💜
I first visited Durgan 53 years ago as a young teenager, and fell in love with it. Such a shame to see it almost deserted now. It does get busy in the summer though.
I assumed it was locals that live in Durgan. Sometimes The National Trust is to the detriment of the locals.
You used to be able to get amazing deals on winter lets years ago. Its usually warmer than the rest of the country due to the gulf stream, tho the wind can be a bit chilly off the Atlantic. Its really beautiful & peaceful when all the tourists are away.
Rich London incomers are doing that to nearly every village in the westcountry!
Hence the lack of farm labour!
Rich incomers yes but certainly not all are Londoners. As a South Londoner my family and I are lucky to have a day trip to Brighton.
Unfortunately, there aren't many Cornish people who can afford property at this village!
I could not afford to even holiday there! It's very sad, I think and it's not just in Cornwall, ir even just coastal areas that effected.
your so British 😆 just go an ASK some one if anyone still lives there 🤣
I live in Gorran Haven, which you have visited previously. I commute 44 miles a day, just for a simple driving job. I'm qualified for much greater things, but as I'm nearing retirement, the opportunities just aren't there; it's driving or Care. I will be selling my house next year. It's all well and fine building 'affordable' housing, but where is the work?
The problem is the National Trust , I've had dealings or rather tried to have :-I will write no more for fear of being banned from You Tube
I know. And c.r.t. they are completely unaccountable because they are trusts.
@@SarahPutnam-q1hActually they're a charity, not a trust - that's just the name.
Greed has killed off Cornwall , parking fees , anti dog , anti cash , anti motorhomes and camper vans , ill never re visit along with many others. !!
I absolutely agree. Greed.
sounds perfect to me!! after 34 years of front line customer facing roles, I am so over people ;-)
You have my sympathy! People can be very challenging! Sarah :)
Really enjoy your videos and this one is excellent, although somewhat saddening. I did wonder why you didn’t go over and talk to the guys who were bringing their boat in, you might have learnt a lot as they were probably locals.
Oh and Andrew, an old music business line comes to mind: “ Don’t phone us, we’ll phone you” 🤣🤣🤣
Compulsory purchase by the council and rented to true locals is an option, national trust or not housing is needed for locals. I was born and brought up in West Dorset but housing is beyond my means, I’ve had to move over a 120 miles away where property is more affordable.
Really good blog. Must have been lovely when it had a community of local people. Sign of the times.
Absolutely! Sad though! Sarah :)
@@CornishWalkingTrails it does have a healthy community of permanent local residents and there is absolutely nothing sad about it. The publisher did nothing but wander around on a quiet day and speculate to create a little rage bait.
Holiday home's and the national trust have a massive part to play.
It’s giving subtle Mediterranean vibes but also feels haunted. A place is made not just by the nature but also humans/human life.
Present activity is due to owners readying their property for Christmas letting.
Second busiest season after school summer holidays!! Sarah :)
My daughter did a summer season in the fish cellar selling ice cream at least 5 yrs ago and my memory is she said it was all holiday lets back then.
Like you we enjoy a walk there out of season.
Such a beautiful village. I walked past it in July 2022 on my way to Mawnan Smith and I remember it was very quiet. It is a pity that some villages are abandoned. But whom is to blame? I guess it is the opportunity we are given by the internet, as you said. It must be great to have a house there as a second hone. So many walking opportunities and the area is beautiful. Port Quin close to Port Isaac is abandoned too, but sadly because of a tragedy long time ago. And it is now owned by the National Trust and some houses can be rented.
I loved Andrew's Axl Rose impression 🥰🤘😊 Thank you for sharing. Torunn 🥰
Hi Torunn, yes this is the fate of many coastal villages, with transient occupation and seen only for their potential yield! Sarah :)
Looks a beautiful village would be somewhere my hubby and I would love to live or at least stay there a bit 😊 can't believe been just abandoned!
Hi there folks .
Thankyou for a really fab
Video.Such an interesting one:-)
I would imagine the money that National Trust generated for the holiday homes is used for the upkeep of the properties. They are very much at the mercy of very bitterly cold Winters!!
I nearly fell through my floor when you should us, for 2weeks in Beach (or was it Beech?!) Cottage £4,600!!!😮
That 2024 price guide??
Look forward to watching many more of your amaZing video walks❤️
That's not how it works. Income from any NT property doesn't only go to maintaining that particular property, as some are obviously more popular than others, and some more costly to maintain, so income generally goes to NT centrally.
Their rental charges are set to compete with others, to generate income, not to cover costs.
Here in London just the same smart flats go up and the wealthy buy them and don't live in them. They live overseas.
Wasteful idiots.... Money doesn't buy brains🙄
The English are learning what the Welsh ,Spanish and many other holiday destination residents learnt years ago.Tourism does not enrich a place but strip it and ruin it if not done with extreme care for the culture and benefit of the locals..
Hi Andrew and Sarah, totally agree with you, although we always choose a self catering cottage for our Cornish holidays, but rarely now have holidays even every two years. But Duchy have built permanent housing and created a community just outside of Dorchester, which I visited years ago for work when it was new. It was all incredibly well built and thoughtfully designed, a credit to the then Prince Charles.❤
We have Nansledan near Newquay, built on similar principals but the houses are very expensive. They have built a new school but families struggle to meet the mortgages, Sarah :)
When great aunt Nell pops her clogs and leaves her estate to her family, this Cornish family will sell to the highest bidder, or rent out the house, hence the chance of it becoming vacant during part of the year. Same as the Cornish working outside the county and leaving their permanent home empty, when they come back to their holiday home in Cornwall.
Thank you for sharing this is the sound very interesting I love watching things like this about places so this actually caught my eyes thank you for sharing
Like the joke when the Welch were protesting about this very thing it goes like this ...... " Come home to a real fire ..... buy a cottage in Wales"
Beautiful village & arcitecture! I imagine much is Grade II Listed. Holiday homes/holiday lets is always a tricky subject. I thought that second homes tax (rumoured to be on the increase) was re-routed by Cornwall Council to local communities? or maybe not (or maybe it keeps CEOs in ever more luxuriant clover!). I think the helicopter was NT security deployed after spotting two people recceing the joint 🙂(Like Portmeirion in 'The Prisoner'...hidden cameras everywhere!).
🤣 Bug brother here we come! Sarah :)
@@CornishWalkingTrails Bug?...yes, they're listening as well :)
I seriously thought about renting one of the houses in 1998 but it was in my eyes too far to take the children to school as we would have needed cars. Distance can make a difference to locals, they could have afforded houses in Sennen but it's too far to go to work in the rest of the county. So holiday lets fall into that vacumn.
Hmm all look good from outside , Nat trust enclave ?
What price a place there ?
I would take a good look too. Its such a shame most houses are holiday homes xxx
Well maybe the sellers need to make sure that they don’t sell to people who just use it as a holiday home
Who else are they going to sell to if no-one else wants to live there because there are no jobs?
Paradise for... Many a true word spoken in jest.
I have worked for a housing association in the south west of England and while we offered village houses to people on benefits they didn’t want them. They wanted to be in towns. No pleasing some people.
Of course they "wanted to be in towns" - they wanted jobs, schools, and supermarkets!
What's the point in living in "village houses" where there's no work, no shops, no schools and no hospital?
They may be on benefits, but when they have to spend those benefits to get to the shops, the schools or the hospital it's costing them money they can't afford.
Surely that's obvious?
What was the name of the Housing Association, please ?
At least the houses are maintained to a good standard. Not many people could live there even if the houses were available- no jobs other than cleaning or property maintenance, no schools, no shops, no public transport. It would be lovely for an artist maybe.
I lived in France a small village, in winter less than 30 inhabitants, even less now. During summer probably 1,000. Patrimone in France gives them a huge range of do's and dont's, some of which can be crippling. However the French embrace the area, which for businesses is a life saver, but in order to survive it must have winter traffic.
It proves that small hotels, and bars were family run, something that has started to die out over the last 20 years.
Lovely, but sad.
Residents Parking - definition of resident 'a person who lives somewhere permanently or on a long-term basis'.
So should people who are only staying in holiday homes be allowed to park there?