Cornish Guardian (Bodmin & East Cornwall)
Former city consultant Christine quits job to rebuild family’s clifftop chalet – on her own
AFORMER city financial consultant has left her London job and moved back to Cornwall to single-handedly restore the former fisherman’s cabin at Whitsand Bay where she holidayed as a child.
Despite having no formal construction training, Christine Coyne, 40, has demolished her family’s now dilapidated Tregonhawke chalet and, after its sensitive renovation, intends to live in it full time.
Christine grew up in Plymouth and after going to university worked in financial consulting for 15 years. But the coronavirus pandemic changed her entire outlook.
She said: “When Covid hit, I went back home to my family and worked remotely. But I realised just how unfulfilling my job was. So, I decided to take a leap of faith, quit my job, change my life, and restore the chalet which my mum had handed down to me.”
Her chalet is one of about 150 around Whitsand Bay which are now protected by local planning restrictions in an Area of Great Landscape Value.
She continued: “It’s only 57sqm and before the rebuild, I was living in it full of damp, with a lot of spiders and creepy crawlies.
“I’m rebuilding it in keeping with its original footprint using as many sustainable products and methods as I can.
“It will be timber clad, and the most significant change will be large five-metre wide, floor to ceiling windows to take in the wonderful view.”
The chalet is 20 metres from the coastal road and difficult to reach, providing Chrstine with many challenges.
She explained: “When I demolished it, I had to drag the debris back up the hill too. Sometimes I have sat there and wondered what the hell I’m doing.
“But I have been lucky to get the advice of a friend who is a local builder and use of a small digger to do the groundworks. I watch a lot of YouTube videos and find things out the hard way. It is a huge task, but I am really enjoying it.”
The first chalets on Tregonhawke Cliff appeared in the 1930s when weekend fisherman built them to store their tackle. At the time the cliff was leased by John Parsons, the managing director of the Millbrook Steamboat Company.
A road was later built and water previously collected from a spring was provided by a number of new standpipes. In 1979, regulations were put in place to stop the chalets being over-developed by leaseholders.
Twenty years ago, when John Parson’s remaining relative died, the
❝❝ When I demolished it, I had to drag the debris back up the hill too. Sometimes I have sat there and wondered what the hell I’m doing Christine Coyne
leaseholders formed a management committee which successfully bid on the land.
Christine continued: “My mum bought the chalet when my sisters and I were young and everyone thought she was mad because it was little more than a shack, but she loved it. Now as an adult I realise she was right, and it is a little piece of heaven.”
The tiny dimensions of the chalet mean Christine is having to utilise every centimetre of space and this led her to enrolling on a 12-week furniture-making course at the renowned Boat Building Academy and Furniture School (BBA) in Lyme Regis, Dorset.
She explained: “I want to learn how to build a custom kitchen and furniture and searched online and found the BBA. The moment I saw it I knew I had to go there. The building, the people, and amazing tutors, it was an absolutely wonderful experience.
“I was thrilled to get a bursary and while it was a sharp learning curve I loved it. For my final project I made dining chairs of apple wood for the chalet, which I am thrilled with.”
She added: “As well as making the chalet as sustainable as possible I ideally want to develop skills for a new creative career. The BBA has helped me do that.
“My aim is to now finish the chalet so my mum can stay there again. It has a special place in hers and all our family’s hearts.”