Boscastle

Boscastle harbour is a natural inlet protected by two stone harbour walls built in 1584. It was a hardworking small port importing limestone and coal and exporting slate and other local produce. In the mid 16th-century, the village of Boscastle was described ″… it is a very filthy town and il kept.″ Now it is a picturesque harbour and popular tourist destination, with much of the land in and around Boscastle owned by the National Trust.

A flash flood in 2004 caused by a month’s rainfall falling in two hours created extensive damage to the village. Residents were trapped on roofs and in houses as the roads turned into rivers. Seven rescue helicopters made the largest peacetime rescue operation ever launched in the UK. A total of 91 people were rescued with no fatalities. Around 50 cars were swept into the harbour and the visitor centre and bridge were washed away, roads were submerged under 9 ft of water, the sewerage system burst and Boscastle was declared temporarily inaccessible.

The village has a large National Trust shop and the well known Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, held in high esteem by the British occult community and other weirdos. We haven’t been in for donkey’s years and it has changed hands quite a few times, but you have to visit once in your lifetime.