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The Picture Perfect Cornwall village where nobody lives? Why is it deserted?

Cornish Walking Trails

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Prompted by a comment left on one of our recent videos, we visit a village in Cornwall to find out if it is abandonned or if there are still some people living there, but what will we find? Is there a community?

What price does Cornwall pay to host millions of visitors on their holidays every year?

The standard description bit…
©Cornish Walking Trails 2024
Hello! We are Sarah and Andrew and we film around Cornwall and publish videos on YouTube, usually weekly. Sarah collects sea glass to add to paintings of local scenes which are sold on Etsy. The channel is a hobby that we fit around family and day-to-day lives.

Unfortunately we cannot answer comments coming in more than a week after the publishing date of the video.

Frequently asked questions:
Do we have meet ups?
We are limited for time because we fit the channel around our family and jobs. We meet up with people who are Patrons and YouTube members, both on group walks and one-to-one. Why not join us on Patreon for meet-up details, ad free content and bonus videos.

Unfortunately we do not have scope for further meet ups but if you happen to bump into us while out and about, we will be more than happy to have a quick chat!

What camera do we use?
Since December 2018 we have used: Canon Powershot G7x MkII and from June 2025, Canon Powershot V1

How do I find the books you use?
Some are still in print although some we pick up in charity shops and may be available secondhand on Amazon or eBay. Please refer to the video for the book titles. Sorry but we can’t put a link in every description.

Best time of year to visit Cornwall?
We love May, June for flora and fauna, July and September for spectacular scenery.

What is your dog’s name?
Sorry but we do not release the name of our dogs, perhaps you can make up your own name for them.

Sarah and Andrew

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To support our channel with a donation: https://www.cornishwalkingtrails.co.u... Many thanks

Contact us by email: cornishwalkingtrails@gmail.com

20 Comments

@falperth1967 1 year ago

You're wrong, I'm the Postman of the village , and I can tell you there are 5 houses that are lived in full time in Durgan. One elderly lady who recently passed away had lived in the village since she was a child. In the Summer months and school holidays it is packed..,great place.

@sueq6 1 year ago

This is so sad to see a thriving little village become an empty playground for the well off

@sarahstrong7174 1 year ago (edited)

The trouble is even if some residents remain, the school closes, the shop will close, the pub will close, any cafe will close any local doctors surgery will close, any bus or taxi service will close. In the end even those who really want to stay in the village will find it is not practical, especially as they grow older.
Many villages in the South Hams have only a few actual residents & in the main they are over 70 or 80 years of age.

@gailedavis5562 1 year ago

National trust, says it all.

@veganvocalist4782 1 year ago

your so British 😆 just go an ASK some one if anyone still lives there 🤣

@cathrynbagley8005 1 year ago

I think there should be a local law for only a certain percentage of properties in a coastal village to be holiday "homes" . It is a scandal that local people are priced out of the market by second home owners and holiday let companies.

@indiakane9327 1 year ago

That's so sad most of the villages around our Cornish coast are holiday homes when there are so many homeless people.

@juliaogara8794 1 year ago

I assumed it was locals that live in Durgan. Sometimes The National Trust is to the detriment of the locals.

@Polopony 1 year ago

WW1 and the ensuing economic collapse of the 1920s was disastrous for Cornwall's sense of both history and community. So many landowners either lost their sons and heirs, and/or their staff, who had enabled them to keep and run their estates. Cornish estates, like Clowance near me, were sold off in job lots, and because most of the properties on them were rented by estate tenants, the communities they supported were gradually dispersed when the leases ended and the surviving tenants moved elsewhere in search of work. With the collapse of the mining industry, Cornwall went into a steep economic decline until tourism came to the 'rescue' - an apparent blessing, which turned out to be a steel trap from which there is no escape.

@mikemiller9867 1 year ago (edited)

We tried to secure the lease of one of the cottages behind school house nearly 15 years ago and National trust were asking for silly money back then. We had every intentions to live there full time. We now live up the river just outside Constantine.

@23trooper 1 year ago

Like the joke when the Welch were protesting about this very thing it goes like this ...... " Come home to a real fire ..... buy a cottage in Wales"

@pennyclay4258 1 year ago

Having lived in Cornwall in the 70’s, it’s heartbreaking how the people locals call ‘fereighners’ have ensured that locals can no longer afford to buy houses in their own villages- there’s always been huge unemployment problems there going back to the hard rock miners taking their skills to places like Australia and Canada but the current situation is so much worse as whole communities are being destroyed 😢

@easyrog 1 year ago

Just want to mention that the loss of Hallsands village in Devon was destroyed by nature (or a storm) however the only reason it happened and was so devastating was that when Plymouth docks were being built they decided it would be a great idea to obtain the sand/shingle for the concrete by dredging it off the coast in Start Bay, just offshore from Hallsands. They took vast quantities and in the subsequent months the beach that the fishermen of Hallsands had kept their boats on for decades completely disappeared thus removing the thing that had kept the sea away from the village itself. The subsequent storm that washed the village away would not have been a problem had the protecting beach still been there.

@pollywaffledoodah3057 1 year ago

It is sadly ironic, that the villagers who all lived there happily years ago, lived a simple life by the sea - they had no money, but had enough just to get by - they did not need much to live a happy life. These small communities were truly rich, even though they had no dosh in the bank. Now, it costs a fortune just to rent a cottage there for 2 weeks- it is a resort for the wealthy, who need lots of money to feel 'happy' - however fleeting that may be. And you can't get the staff! Cleaners, caretakers, gardeners - where the hell are they meant to live?
Certainly, not by the Cornish coast - that's only for toffs!

@muzleflash1341 1 year ago

The way the locals describe it when they walk around these villages at night, there is not one house / cottage light showing, empty and sole less

@NigeSparks 1 year ago

Too many holiday homes about Cornwall and many other places …Love Cornwall ,feel so sorry for young local people who can’t get a home in there village due to outsiders buying up property ……….Great videos and both of us in Somerset love Cornwall…🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️💑

@bobcharles2683 1 year ago

There used to be a family called Badger who used to live there years ago. I used to walk there regularly when I was a teenager, it was a vibrant friendly place then. So sad to see it used only by people with the means to afford a few days in the summer months or occasionally by second home owners. A horrible indictment of todays society!!!

@debbiehollis5711 1 year ago

The whole of Durgan belongs to The National Trust.Rented out to holiday makers There are no long term rentals.

@JeanninedeVille-bv7fy 1 year ago

Most of N Devon where l live is second homes & holiday lets, so much so that there is now nowhere for staff to stay to service that industry. This year restaurants, bars & other small businesses have had to operate on reduced hours because they have no staff. It’s reached saturation point.
I’ve watched over the years how communities have been decimated - lack of resident children means no football club or cricket club etc; where there were three full school buses now there is half a bus; there aren’t enough tradesmen, shops have closed. It’s very sad.

@ashleywhiteman2684 1 year ago

The village near me in West Dorset had 50% second owner homes in 2008.
I tried to rent in the village but got beaten by somebody from London he ended up using it as a holiday home only staying there 2 or 3 times a year after which the owner solder and now it is permanently a holiday home on airbnb