History

It’s four decades since Ann Grace fell in love with Vessacks. The Grace family were already regular visitors to Cornwall, but Vessacks’s stunning sea views were special. Since then, it’s become a much-loved holiday home for three generations of the family as well as for countless other visitors – friends, families and couples who have returned time and again to enjoy its spectacular views, relax on the nearby beaches and walk the Cornish coastal paths.

The house was originally built by the Cozzens family in the 1930s and was heated by a Rayburn stove. Since then major additions and renovations have opened up panoramic views over the sea and across the fields to the ancient settlement of Roskethal. Year round, you can watch the sun go down behind the headland and see people coming up from the beach and hikers, dog walkers and trail runners following the coastal path. Pods of dolphins and basking sharks can be seen from the sunroom which overlooks the bay. At night, lighthouses, ships and the Milky Way are all visible.

The dining table is large; meals at Vessacks are lively. The house can sleep up to eight people. Downstairs, the master double bedroom looks out over the sea and shares a bathroom and separate loo with a more sheltered twin room. Upstairs are two en-suite rooms, one double and one twin. The house is ideal for one big family or two smaller ones. If you’re an extra large group, the house next door, Heatherlands, can also be rented. (Do note that you’ll have to plan far in advance as both homes are in high demand.)

There are numerous beaches nearby – Porthchapel, Porthcurno, Pedney, Sennen – which are sun-kissed in summer and wind-swept in winter. Vessacks is an excellent base for outdoor activities such as surfing, climbing, hiking and birdwatching, and is directly on the South West Coastal Path. The PK Museum (formerly the Telegraph Museum) and the Minack Theatre are only a few minutes’ walk away. Further afield are galleries, ancient historical sites and museums, including the Tate St Ives, St Michael’s Mount, Penlee Gallery, the Eden Project and the Geevor Tin Mine.

Myths, legends and folklore have left their mark on the Cornish countryside. The tales of the coast involve trade, shipwrecks and pirates; from the coves and the hidden valleys, you can see why. The winter light festival in Mousehole reminds visitors of the extreme hardship faced by fishing villages, even relatively recently. Antonia Barber’s classic children’s book The Mousehole Cat tells the tale with magic and fidelity. Twentieth century artists such as Barbara Hepworth, Dod Proctor, Ben Nicholson and Peter Lanyon fell in love with the light and the space. Writers and philosophers like H.D., W. S. Graham, Bertrand Russell, Rosamunde Pilcher and John le Carré have found this part of Cornwall an inspiring home or a retreat.

At Vessacks we’ve had a wedding where guests ate pasties and listened to a traditional Cornish voice choir. We’ve had lazy summer weeks lolling on sand with sticky sandwiches and melting ice creams. From the cliffs we saw the 1999 total eclipse, when the gulls fell silent as the moon crossed the sun. We’ve spent afternoons watching cormorants fishing, spotted whales and basking sharks in the bay and followed the breathtaking trajectories of lightning and thunderstorms. We’ve come back to the house sweating, sunburned and dripping from expeditions hiking, climbing, swimming and exploring (or just going to the pub). We welcomed the new millennium here with a party which brought the clifftop neighbours together in a riot of confetti and champagne.

Vessacks is a truly special place. We hope it will be for you.