Lihou Island suffered significant damage during Storm Ciaran, and was chosen by the organisers of the Festival as this year’s beneficiary. ‘After Storm Ciaran, we read the reports of the damage in the house and that they needed fundraising and thought we’d like to support them,’ said organiser Lorna Chadwick. ‘It’s great how the schools can go over and learn while they stay there.
'Lihou is so beautiful and has such amazing and unique wildlife. ‘We all go over to decompress and relax as a team because we’re quite busy.’ The festival raised £1,110 through donations on stalls, bar games and mobile phone charging points.
On the last day of the festival, there was even a toilet roll raffle to raise some final funds. The money will go towards carpets and a carpet cleaner. The house had to close for months after Storm Ciaran caused damage to the roof and electrics.
It reopened in early June after months of hard work, but there was still more to do. ‘Repairs are going okay, there’s still some snagging left over from the storm,’ said Lihou House warden Steve Sarre. ‘We’re looking for some sponsors for rooms, some have been fixed up, but others need some work.
’ The house consists of nine bedrooms and can sleep up to 30 people at a time. It is regularly used by school groups, but social groups, corporations and families also book it out. Bookings for next year recently opened for Friends of Lihou, and from September, anyone will be able to book for 2025.
‘We have a new website with a new booking system which is better and easier for people,’ said Mr Sarre. ‘Normally we sell the whole lot within half a day, but we haven’t done that this time, perhaps because we’ve changed websites, but I’m sure we’ll still sell out.’ The cost of staying at the house starts from a minimum of £400 per night.
The Lihou Charitable Trust is a locally registered charity set up in 2005 to maintain and operate Lihou House for the benefit of the community..
