A West Country village is so overrun by tourists that locals have to leave to buy everyday essentials. Mousehole is the epitome of the picture postcard Cornish coastal village, which is very much a poison chalice for the area.
It's estimated that around 80 per cent of the properties are second homes and holiday lets and shops selling basic items have been replaced with trendy delis and bars, reports Cornwall Live. And tourists are prepared to pay over the odds to stay there, with people forking out £4,000 a week to stay in 'two garden sheds'.
But the village still has a tight-knit community and they are working together to tackle the destination's traffic chaos. Flick White moved back to Mousehole when she was 26 and works in Tyler Gallery and runs her own sustainable and eco-friendly swimwear business, Flickini.
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She previously told Cornwall Live said: "The village shop and post office has gone, Janners fish and chip shop has gone and is now a house. We don't need another gift shop.
"You can go to a deli and spend quite a lot, but I worry there isn't anywhere where villagers can buy everyday shopping, especially now times are difficult.
"I moved back here because it's calm and safe and has a great community. The Solomon Browne Hall is really good - there are crafts fairs and the pasty and pint shows recently were very good. We could do with more people in their 20s starting businesses like the new vegan cafe.
"I've got friends who cannot find a home to live in yet there are homes here that are only being visited three times a year, if that."
The village shop and post office closed last year to make way for Just Lily gift shop, while neighbouring Mousehole Deli & Kitchen and No 2 Fore Street have introduced stylish dining to the harbour.
Terri and Caleb Munday, who run the deli and its upstairs restaurant, have had great local support for their special dining events, including Burns Night and a Greek experience - 90% of the diners are residents.
"It seems like more people are moving to the village, which is nice," Terri previously told Cornwall Live. She also said that there are more younger families in Mousehole now, which is creating a new dynamic.
The deli is a perfect example of people helping others out in a tiny community - since the pandemic eased, it is still sending food to some of Mousehole's elderly residents who struggle to leave their homes. It even put the oven on for some of the locals and help them heat their dinner.
The councillor for the area, Thalia Marrington, is behind a feasibility study to make Mousehole less busy when it comes to traffic. It's looking at improving traffic flow and parking issues. She feels the village could be playing its part in Cornwall Council's bid for the Duchy to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Thalia said: "Sometimes you have to think differently. I’m delighted to have secured funding for a feasibility study which will provide more detailed analysis of possible options and any proposals will come back to village residents and businesses/ stakeholders for them to decide on. There’s no perfect solution for the issues we have in the village with traffic and parking but I’m determined to try and do something.
"One of the things I was elected on was the traffic and parking issue - sometimes you have to be a bit radical. Penzance businesses were a bit nervous when the town centre was semi-pedestrianised, but many businesses are happy with the results. If you say 'pedestrianisation' it splits opinion, but it's a feasibility study at this stage."
The councillor says that she has faced some quite heated opposition on the issue, which was discussed at a packed meeting in January. The harbour office is against any changes to traffic coming through Mousehole. With dwindling use as a working harbour, a major part of its income is from its two pay and display car parks.
Deputy harbourmaster Bill Johnson previously said: "Mousehole is no longer a working harbour, it's a resort. Pedestrianisation will never work. We have one of the best bus services in the county, which could be affected. People who stay in holiday lets often bring two cars with them - how will they get to where they're staying?
"With the village shop now closed, people have to use their cars to get provisions. To ask them not to use their cars is impossible."
His colleague, harbourmaster Royden Paynter, agrees: "People ain't prepared to go the four-mile trip around Mousehole. Income from parking runs the harbour. I do know it's a nightmare in the summer though."
Royden was born in the village 73 years ago and knows better than most how much Mousehole, which has around 600 residents, has changed. A change that was reflected in Mark Jenkin's BAFTA-winning film sensation, Bait, which was filmed in the village.
"I wouldn't be surprised to find that 80 per cent of the properties here are second homes and holiday lets," said the harbourmaster. Despite others saying Mousehole has a healthy mix of all ages, Royden adds that "it's become a retirement and holiday place really.
"Some of the houses are a ridiculous price to stay in. There's one place that's basically two garden sheds, which is £4,000 a week. The local shop and post office went last year. There are plenty of delis, cafes and galleries, but nothing much for the locals really. You have to travel somewhere else if you even want a paper.
"It will never go back to what it was before - it's not going to be quiet anymore. Mousehole is one of the busiest places to visit in Cornwall now, but it still has a sense of community."
The Solomon Browne Hall is testament that community is king even in a village that's now become a tourism mecca. It hosts regular events, markets, workshops and classes. There's a community garden, playgroup and forest school, summer school and local children traditionally celebrate their birthdays with rollicking parties in the hall.
It's managed by Sarah De'Lacy and Tamsin Harvey, who can trace her family in Mousehole back to the time of the Spanish Armada but, again, like in so many Cornish villagers, can't afford to live there herself now. Sarah added that second homes is always a hot topic: "A lot of the properties are only visited twice a year, when they could be home to people contributing to life in the village."
They agree that the whole traffic issue has become another big talking point. "A lot of people want to see fewer cars, and there's also a massive issue with parking. It really has split opinion."
Sarah said: "There's a misconception that people don't like to come to Mousehole because there's no parking, but there's a great bus service every 25 minutes and people are making more use of the new e-bikes scheme - we're really pushing that with people coming in for events. The whole traffic issue is in the really early stages and anything that's done will have to be agreed by the entire village."
