Country diary: How much bad weather can one village take? | Tom Allan

Torcross, Devon: 2026 has been defined by storms here. My job of repairing a thatched roof is simple compared with the wider recoveryDuring the storm, the waves sounded like bombs going off under the house, Bonni Breeze Lincoln tells me. She lives on the seafront of Torcross, a Devon village that is accustomed to weathering storms, but even she is not used to waves shattering her storm shutters, or sending seawater down the chimney.I've come to Torcross to repair the thatch on Bonni's roof. Up the ladder, I tie bundles of reed, called "wads", to pack them into the holes; the thatch is riddled with shingle, fragments of seaweed and even limpet shells. Looking down the seafront to torn up paving slabs and slate roofs that yawn open to the sky, it's clear that this house - the oldest in the village - has come off comparatively well. The soft, springy nature of thatch allows it to absorb even the impact of breaking waves. Continue reading...