Poet and musician Christabel Lancing lives in London but her family own one of the last two remaining cottages in Hallsands, a village that was devastated by a storm in 1917.
Pebble Cove was bought by Christabel’s grandmother Rosanne Brownrigg in 1952 from Lizzie-Anne Prettyjohn, the last full-time resident and is now the only one still used.
Christabel describes it: “There is now electricity but that was a later addition.
“There is an outside shower and outside loo so it’s all very remote.
“There are two bedrooms upstairs, a kitchen downstairs where the Rayburn powers the whole house.”
“It’s such a special place and one comes alive down there.
“You can’t get closer to the sea.
“It’s such a magic spot and the public can’t get down there anymore.
“Only the fishermen know you’re there.”
In the 1980s there was an old bridge path that brought visitors down but erosion by the sea meant that the council had to close it.
Christabel explained: “We were allowed to bridge the gap with scaffolding planks and bars at our own risk; that is when the council built the viewing platform.
“The sea eventually took that access of ours away.
“We then built a concrete path down to the cottage.
“Then came Storm Emma which, meeting the Beast from the East, blew out the top of the cave over which our path ran. “Our only access now is by a leg-wrenching set of 70 steps down the cliff.”
Christabel’s book, Beside a Stranger with the cover design by Airtsy 01123 is out now.
It is a compendium of her poetry, some of which is inspired by Hallsands and other local themes.
An honours graduate in the History of the Arts and Journalism she has worked in publishing, producing English language materials, is a specialist in 19th century French literature.
She sings, plays and writes music and was a member of the world-famous Huddersfield Choral Society.
Christabel told me about the house: “We tend to come down in the summer and it is wonderfully remote.
“Over the past 40 years or so my father has with local help been trying to shore up the cliff below.”
The centenary of the flood in 2017 attracted hundreds of visitors from around the world and many with connections to the village.
Turning to her work and Christabel described how she gets her inspiration:
“It’s funny it just comes to my head.
“It’s one of those things where something needs to be resolved emotionally in my mind and sometimes things just pop up and appear.”
“Some of the poems are inspired by the natural surrounding like the waves, passing yachts, a sunrise or a storm.”
As well as poetry Christabel writes music and is an accomplished guitarist.
The work ‘Untitled’ was originally a guitar song.
Christabel remarked: “Sometimes I get the work produced by a producer.
“Sometimes I get a professional cellist and a pianist as I don’t play the piano myself.
‘The plan is to turn some of the others (poems) into songs eventually.