The beautiful UK village where Hollywood stars keep buying homes | Travel News | Travel

A beautiful seaside village in the UK with only a few hundred residents appears to have become a magnet for some of Hollywood‘s biggest stars – who are snapping up the huge mansions being built on its clifftop.

Mawgan Porth in Cornwall may be less famous than its neighbour Newquay – but its reputation has crossed the Atlantic Ocean that rolls in on its beautiful sandy beach. And Aquaman star Jason Momoa is reported to be the latest A-lister house-hunting in the village

If he succeeds in his property search, the Game of Thrones actor would count Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett, Fifty Shades Of Grey star Jamie Dornan and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin as neighbours – as they all have holiday homes in the surfer’s paradise.

Movie hardman Jason Statham and The Devil Wears Prada actor Stanley Tucci are also believed to have properties in Mawgan Porth. And now Momoa has reportedly been seen viewing a property in the village – which locals have dubbed ‘Hollywood-on-Sea’. 

However, Cornwall has been on Momoa’s radar for several years. The Hawaii-born superstar was spotted around the historic port of Charlestown, in 2018, where he had been filming scenes for the third season of Frontier, a drama about the American fur trade in the 18th century.

His visit certainly made an impression. After spending a few days in Cornwall, Momoa recorded a video message saying: “Cornwall, I love you. Thanks for having me. I’m out.”

And now, five years later, it would appear he’s back – and planning to spend more time in Cornwall. One Mawagn Porth local told The Sun: “Jason filmed for Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom two hours from here, at Saunton Sands in Devon, and loved the pace of life. There is a place on the cliffs which he has apparently fallen in love with and now wants to buy.”

“These kinds of home are being transformed into the luxury places you see on Grand Designs, so he would be able to make it very special. It’s the talk of Mawgan that Jason is going to be the next big star moving in.”

However, the Hollywood influx hasn’t pleased everyone. Earlier this year locals said that they were being priced out – and that huge new mansions were changing the village’s character.

Nick Bennett, landlord of the Merrymoor Inn which overlooks the beach,  told Cornwall Live: “People can live where they want. But the trend right now is to buy a house and garden and stick a massive house on the whole footprint.

“My own parents used to have neighbours they knew on either side of them. Now they have holiday homes on either side. Some of the locals feel they are being priced out and pushed out of the village.”

Ebrel Poole, 23, who manages the Beach Box Cafe but can’t afford to live in Mawgan Porth, said: “Housing is definitely an issue here. It’s becoming like St Ives and Padstow and I know the community is trying to fight against too many second homes to help protect the area.”

However, given it’s just a mile or so down the road from Cornwall Airport Newquay, the beautiful village is an attractive bolthole for jet-setting superstars.

Pub landlord Nick said: “Mawgan Porth is a lovely place. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I have lived in other places but it’s where I have gravitated back to. It is a nice, safe and peaceful place with very little crime.”

Tourist Mark Kerley, who visiting from Nottinghamshire with wife Louise, sons Jack and Ollie, and another family of friends, also gives an insight into why Mawagn Porth has become a celebrity bolthole.

He told Cornwall Live:  “We’ve been holidaying in Cornwall for 10 years, including nine in Mawgan Porth. Of all the places we have been to, it’s our favourite.

“The beach is dog friendly and everyone has been so welcoming. We love the fact it’s not too commercialised like some of the places we have been to up North. We come here to escape the commercial seaside towns.”

“But it’s becoming overpriced. We paid £1,200 for a week in a house with our friends but the same house would have cost us £4,000 in August. We can’t afford that so we took the fine for taking the boys out of school.”