A boat at Glendurgan fell victim to recent storms despite being 45 feet above sea level, and well inland.

After the latest storm, staff at the National Trust’s garden at Glendurgan, near Mawnan Smith, were surprised to find a Scots pine tree had blown down and crashed into the side of a seat made out of a boat.

The boat-seat has been a feature of the upper part of the garden, which sits above the Helford River, for decades, and the current structure was built to replace its predecessor in 2013 to celebrate 50 years since the opening of Glendurgan.

Local boatbuilder and green woodworker Dave Hart built the boat-seat last year, and when called back by the Glendurgan team to assess the damage, said the structure is intact and repairs should be fairly straightforward.

Jon O’Donoghue, manager at Glendurgan, told the Packet: “We’ve had to close the garden on several occasions for the safety of visitors and our team and this goes to show the importance of doing that.

“We’re naturally very relieved that the boat-seat wasn’t damaged further but we’re also very sad to lose the Scots pine tree.

“Its orange branches and blue-green foliage was a great backdrop for the many magnolia trees which flower in the area at this time of year.”