Boscastle

Boscastle Harbour

Boscastle (Cornish: Kastell Boterel) is a village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Forrabury and Minster. It is situated 14 miles (23 km) south of Bude and 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Tintagel.

The name of the village derives from Bottreaux Castle, a 12th century motte-and-bailey fortress, of which few remains survive.

Boscastle harbour is a natural inlet protected by two stone harbour walls built in 1584 by Sir Richard Grenville (of HMS Revenge). It is the only significant harbour for 20 miles (32 km) along the coast. As well as being a fishing harbour, Boscastle was once a small port (similar to many others on the north coast of Cornwall) importing limestone and coal and exporting slate and other local produce.

The oldest part of Boscastle surrounds the harbour; more modern residential building extends up the valleys of the River Valency and River Jordan.

View from Boscastle harbour path leading to headland

Tourism

The village with its picturesque harbour is a very popular tourist destination. Among the attractions are the Museum of Witchcraft and the Boscastle pottery shop. Much of the land in and around Boscastle is owned by the National Trust, including both sides of the harbour, Forrabury Stitches, high above the Boscastle and divided into ancient "stitchmeal" cultivation plots, and large areas of the Valency Valley, known for its connections to Thomas Hardy. The former harbour stables (part of the National Trust estate) are now a youth hostel run by YHA, popular with walkers on the South West Coast Path. The National Trust runs a shop at the harbour, and a visitor centre in the Old Smithy.

A Seaside Parish

In 2004 British television channel BBC 2 began broadcasting A Seaside Parish, a weekly series focusing on the life of the newly-appointed Rector of Boscastle, Christine Musser.

The Rector of Boscastle is responsible for seven churches in the district: Forrabury (St Symphorian), Minster (St Merthiana), St Juliot, Lesnewth (St Michael and All Angels), Trevalga (St Petroc), Otterham (St Denis) and Davidstow (St David).

St Juliot is of particular interest to devotees of the works of Thomas Hardy since he acted as the architect for the church's restoration in March 1870 and this is where he met his first wife, Emma Gifford, who was the Rector's sister-in-law. Their love affair was the inspiration for his novel A Pair of Blue Eyes and later in life, some of his poetry.

Boscastle harbour and landscape

Boscastle floods

A flash flood on 16 August 2004, caused extensive damage to the village. Residents were trapped in houses as the roads turned into rivers: people were trapped on roofs, in cars, in buildings and on the rivers' banks and the village's visitor centre was washed away. Two Royal Air Force Sea King rescue helicopters from Chivenor, three Royal Navy Sea Kings from Culdrose, one RAF Sea King from St Mawgan and one Coastguard S61 helicopter from Portland searched for, and assisted casualties in and around the village. The operation was coordinated by the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC) based at RAF Kinloss in Scotland in the largest peacetime rescue operation ever launched in the UK. A total of 91 people were rescued and there were no fatalities, only one broken thumb. Around 50 cars were swept into the harbour and the bridge was washed away, roads were submerged under 2.75 m of water, this made communication very difficult for the citizens of Boscastle. The sewerage system burst and due to the health and safety reasons Boscastle was declared inaccessible. Boscastle was flooded again on 21 June 2007 although the scale of devastation was not nearly as bad as in 2004.

View from the path leading to the harbour