A
s well as surfing, the humble pasty, and
piracy, Cornwall is famous for its
invention of a building material. The
material, called mundic, makes use of waste
from mines in the area by using it as the main
ingredient in building blocks.
Before you applaud this thrifty approach to
recycling waste to lessen the environmental
impact of mining, mundic has long been a
byword for crumbling construction – one that
leads many mortgage brokers to balk.
But as the old adage goes, where some see
problems, others will see opportunities, and
for those with money to invest and a taste for
serious structural renovation, there are plenty
of crumbling cottages still dotted around
Cornwall’s coastline that can make a dream
holiday home a reality.
Like so many families living in London, Jeff
and Wendy East shared a dream of creating a
coastal hideaway, and had already purchased a
flat in 2002 in the much-loved surf capital
Newquay, where the couple had married. But
in a place where even the most bijou holiday
homes can easily cost half a million, when it
came to upgrade from their flat, Jeff and
Wendy settled on an unassuming bungalow,
Egret View, constructed of mundic in
Newquay.
Good advice from an estate agent led them
to the bungalow, offering the potential for
uninterrupted views from south to west