92 Cornwall Today

magine discovering a derelict beach hut hidden in dense undergrowth and forgotten by the world for a decade. You’d have to pinch yourself to make sure you weren’t

dreaming. But this is just what happened to Rebecca and Stephen Peck four years ago when they came across The Limit on land near their home in Holywell Bay.

“When we first visited, it gave us goose bumps,” says Rebecca. “We had to battle our way through the brambles and ivy to reach it, but there was just such an amazing sense of peace here. We knew we had to rescue it.”

The couple, who have two young sons – Tom, now ten, and Harvey, eight – discovered that, coincidentally, The Limit was just about to come on to the market. “It was clear that it would sell in a breath and we knew that we would have to move fast to clinch it,” says Rebecca. “Although we weren’t intending to buy another property, we just couldn’t let it slip through our fingers.”

The Limit was built in 1932, when wooden beach chalets

OF LIFEnew lease

A TUMBLEDOWN BEACH HUT AT HOLYWELL BAY IS RESTORED TO ITS FORMER GLORY

Words by Alice Westgate

were the height of fashion for day-trippers seeking fresh air at the coast. It is the last remaining original beach hut in the area, a stone’s throw from the sand dunes and five minutes’ walk from the broad sandy beach and hidden caves of Holywell Bay. “The location couldn’t be better,” says Rebecca. “It is utterly secluded.”

The hut has been called The Limit since the early days, and fittingly there used to be another nearby

RIGHT: THE HEIGHT OF FASHION IN

THE THIRTIES, THE BEACH HUT IS STILL

ONE OF LIFE’S GREAT PLEASURES

HOMES

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HOMES

94 Cornwall Today

called Halfway, though that is sadly long gone. “We love its name because it fits in so well with the remote location,” says Rebecca. “We wouldn’t change it for the world.”

The site was originally home to two separate huts and, though they were never joined together, they were used as one holiday home. “Going inside for the first time was like stepping back in time,” remembers Rebecca. “They were filled with vintage furniture, crockery, pots and pans, but everything was in a terrible state and needed lots of tender loving care.”

One of the huts had fared better than the other and was a candidate for restoration. But the other was so badly neglected it could not be saved. “The planners wanted us to retain the same footprint, though,” says Rebecca, “so we replaced it with a new structure with a similarly sloping roof and clad it in Cornish chestnut.” This building houses the bathroom and bedroom, while the kitchen and sitting room are located in the original hut, whose internal walls were removed to accentuate the space.

Though daunting, the amount of work involved didn’t faze the Pecks as Stephen is a builder and had recently completed the family’s own new-build nearby. What’s more, he has a passion for restoration and is meticulous about authenticity, so the roof of the old hut was repaired with reclaimed slates from a house in nearby Polly Joke, the windows were custom-made replicas and even the guttering

was sourced to match the originals. While Stephen focused on the construction, working in

the evenings and at weekends to reduce costs, Rebecca concentrated on landscaping the garden and creating a decked terrace that would take full advantage of the views over the sea, dunes and garden. She also began gathering ideas for the interior and gradually sourced furniture and accessories that would create the right balance between indulgence and simplicity.

“It wasn’t all plain sailing,” says Rebecca. “The project was never going to be an easy one because the huts were set in greenbelt land adjacent to an area of Special Scientific Interest. The plot was also surrounded by bats, badgers and protected plants, so it has been an uphill battle at times,” she admits.

The whole project has taken four years to complete and the Pecks have been “bowled over” by the interest people have since shown. “We must have spent thousands of hours toiling here,” says Rebecca, “so it has been a real labour of love. But in the end, it is just a huge privilege to have brought such a magical place back to life.”

The Limit sleeps two and can be rented for holidays and honeymoons from £995 per week. For details, visit www.thelimit.uniquehomestays.com or call 01637 881942. Contact Stephen Peck at North Coast Builders on 01637 830402

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