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Living at Cuckmere Haven Towards the end of last year, our dear friend Carolyn McCourt put a very attractive proposition to us: would we like to rent and care for her house whilst she was travelling in China with her daughter? Now, this is no ordinary house. This house is steeped in magic and history, perched precariously atop the cliffs with one of the most iconic views in Britain. Built in 1818 by Customs and Excise as a means of curtailing smuggling, the coastguard cottage at Cuckmere Haven boasts a panoramic view of the horizon that brings a sense of uplift and peace to all who enjoy it. If I’m sounding a little like an estate agent here, forgive me. This isn’t the kind of house that comes up regularly on estate agents’ lists and if it did, gushing would be understandable! You won’t be surprised when I tell you that we said yes. My husband and I have spent the last year living on a beautiful little 91-year-old wooden boat, our own piece of history. We’ve loved it; it has given us the chance to spend more time together, doing the things we enjoy and we have been welcomed into a close-knit live-aboard community. Before that, we were very happily living in Stanmer Village, in another close-knit community. But the chance to live at Cuckmere Haven, well, that is something else altogether. The cottage is regularly hired as a film location and has recently been featured in projects as diverse as a Natwest mortgage advert to Brora the cashmere company’s brochure. Groups of film students have created their own mini-masterpieces using it as a backdrop. What a lot of fun it is to watch a film shoot! Especially the ones where they bring crates of beautiful clothes and shoes for the models to wear! Carolyn has asked us to take over this aspect of managing the house as a film location, something we’re only too happy to do.
enjoyed visiting the cottage and sampling the view. We also felt hugely welcomed by Seaford people as we went around to all the satellite venues to help distribute the many paintings by amateur artists. Particularly memorable is a delicious and well-needed meal at Diellas after another manic day of preparation! We are looking forward to discovering Seaford and making it our local community. Before Carolyn and Li Chen set off on their adventures to China, we will be spending a week together to get to know the rhythms of life without mains electricity. We’ve been at the cottage during cold winter days when the nights draw in even before the sun seems to have made an appearance but it will be different when we’re really ‘living it’. Last year’s Christmas card from Carolyn urged us not to forget to order coal before this year’s winter set in with the word ‘brrrrrrr’ to remind us this would be a rather chilly mistake. But we’ve still got the last days of summer to enjoy before then…and where better to soak up the rays and marvel at nature’s majesty than right by the sea with the Seven Sisters soaring up to the skyline? Lucy Corkhill
For a week in June, we were very much involved in the wonderful Celebrate Cuckmere festival which Carolyn and her friend Tanya Lindon set up as a way for artists to explore their feelings about the imminent changes for the Cuckmere Valley. It was the perfect initiation to our new life. Not only did we get to meet lots of people for whom Cuckmere is sacred and special, we got to enjoy a vast array of beautiful artwork inspired by the landscape. Rob and I helped out at the open house at the cottage both weekends and met many lovely people who hugely To advertise in Seaford Scene please call 01273 710793 or email fran@seafordscene.co.uk
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