One year ago, at 8:40 a.m., a landslip stopped us in our tracks. Fifty cubic meters of soil and debris slipped off our cliff and onto our family/carvery room and shelter.
2024 was a testing year. Summer was particularly hard—our family/carvery room was unstable, we had no undercover space, and the poor weather only made things worse. We struggled for space and, regrettably, had to turn many people away.
We fought with the insurance to keep it local—and that’s exactly what we did!
Finally, last Friday, our original log burner—built to last—was repaired by Phil Wickett, reinstalled by R. Mears & Son, and lit once again.
Now, it’s time to give thanks to those who made this possible…
First, Simon Biddick, who was here at the drop of a hat to isolate the electrics, and who carried out all electrical work throughout the entire rebuild.
Boscastle Shanty Festival’s Heras fencing was installed at short notice—thanks to Shaun Edwards for the heavy work.
Ian Dawson, structural engineer, provided essential advice, and ID-Struct.E supplied the supports for the family/carvery room, which took the brunt of the landslip and enabled us to use two doors again!
After much back and forth, exploratory holes were dug, plans were made, and work to make the cliffs safe began before the end of September.
A huge thanks to Johnny Vector Rope Access, who—through Aviva and Innovation—took over the planned works. The boys from Vector were amazing! After drilling over 100 holes, up to 3m deep, the matting and pinning work was completed in under six weeks.
Once the roof was repaired internally, we moved on to tackling the damp and water damage in the family/carvery room. A huge thanks to Matt Thomas, whose help—not only on this but throughout the last 12 months—has been invaluable.
Next, the flooring was laid by Phil Sleep Flooring from Delabole, completing the refurbishment.
The Boscastle Shanty Festival went ahead as promised, with amazing marquees provided by Absolute Canvas from Bodmin. They took care of the setup and takedown—a real luxury for everyone involved in the festival.
At the end of November, as the marquee came down, groundworks began.
Under the organisation of Pete Bluett Construction and Civil Engineering, we saw incredible efforts from Rob Williams, Chulainn Penny, and Tim Sprake. The family/carvery room roof was strengthened and future-proofed, and our much-missed shelter was replaced. The results speak for themselves.
Throughout this entire journey, we have been reminded of the skilled and dedicated tradespeople we are lucky to have in our area.
Wherever possible, we kept all our suppliers local—supporting businesses such as Tintagel Skip Hire, Bude Windows, and many more. There are far too many to name, but if we have missed you, please let us know—we truly appreciate every contribution.
Finally, a massive thank you to all our customers for your support, kind words, and well wishes. It has been a tough year, but we are back.
We hope to see you all sometime this year.
With much thanks, The Cobweb Inn.
