FAQ's
- GENERAL ARRANGEMENTS
How
do weddings at the fort work? What happens?
Introduction:
The Fort is hired out rather
like a glorified self-catering holiday cottage, where you have the whole
place to yourselves (sleeping 20), and can do pretty much as you like
(anything legal considered, sort of thing). The Fort has much of the
apparatus of a hotel, ie Civil Wedding Licence, Drinks licence, Fire
Certificate and so on, but there aren’t any staff to boss you
about. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who are available
by separate arrangement (i.e. cost) to help and advise you to get what
you want. All of them have a wide experience of the 500 or so weddings
we’ve already held here, and you can meet some of them when you
come, as most of our customers do, to view the Fort.
We hire the Fort out for
a weekend from Friday 3.00pm to Monday 10.00am, or for a mid-week from
Monday 3.00pm to Friday 10.00am. The Fort sleeps 20 people in luxury
top of the range pocketed sprung beds from Vi-Spring, but there are
additional mattresses for extra people if you wish, at no extra charge.
Generally close family stay in the fort, and the majority of guests
stay in the wide variety of local accommodation in this lovely corner
of Cornwall. Weddings generally take place on the Saturday and Wednesday,
but these days are not set in stone.
We’ve been fully booked
for the last few years, and haven’t had an empty weekend for about
nine years. This means that if you want to come and have a look, it
will need to be on one of our changeover days, which are Fridays and
Mondays, between 10.00am and 3.00pm. You are most welcome, though it
helps if you have an appointment, and you can come as often as you wish
on these days.
Weekend
Weddings: overview
Midweek Weddings: overview
Weekend
Weddings: detailed description
Midweek Weddings: detailed description
Weekend Weddings: overview
Friday: arrive sometime
after 3.00pm. General organization (& chaos), self-catered or catered
dinner for those staying at the fort (20ish people), either here, or
at some local restaurant/pub.
Saturday: Morning preparations,
caterers arrive & start up. Wedding ceremony in afternoon, photos,
wedding reception meal, speeches, evening party, collapse.
Sunday: recovery, choice
- small gathering for catered/self-catered breakfast/brunch or larger
gathering for barbeque/Cornish Pasties/Sunday Lunch etc. In the afternoon/evening
some people leave, some stay.
Monday: depart by 10.00am.
Start of new life…
Midweek Weddings: overview
Monday: arrive after Monday
3.00pm, and then similar to weekend weddings except a wider variety
of choice as to when you get married.
Tuesday: some people get
married (just like weekend weddings, the day after they arrive), with
the rest of the week to relax, like a mini honeymoon.
Wednesday: most people get
married on this day, thus allowing themselves a bit more time for preparations.
Thursday: a Thursday wedding
often suits couples wishing to depart for their honeymoon straight after
the reception (generally staying in a secret West Country hotel before
setting off the following day).
Friday: depart by 10.00am.
Start of new life…
Weekend
Weddings: detailed description
Friday: The Fort is hired
out a bit like a glorified self-catering cottage, and 3.00pm is the
start of the contract time. We understand that you may be champing at
the bit and eager to arrive, but we are generally showing prospective
couples around before 3.00pm, so it helps us if you don’t get
here much earlier. It’s not uncommon for people to want to arrive
a bit earlier, dump some luggage and then shoot off to the supermarket
for supplies and we can usually help with this, but please don’t
tell your guests that they can arrive early as they can be disappointed
if things aren’t sorted for a proper welcome. It also helps if
you can make sure that your guests understand that the Fort is hired
out
Arrive
sometime after 3.00pm. General organization (& chaos), self-catered
or catered dinner for those staying at the fort (20ish people), either
here, or at some local restaurant/pub.
Saturday: Morning preparations,
caterers arrive & start up. Wedding ceremony in afternoon, photos,
wedding reception meal, speeches, evening party, collapse.
Sunday: recovery, choice
- small gathering for catered/self-catered breakfast/brunch or larger
gathering for barbeque/Cornish Pasties/Sunday Lunch etc. In the afternoon/evening
some people leave, some stay.
Monday: depart by 10.00am.
Start of new life…
Midweek
Weddings: detailed description
How do I go about booking
the Fort?
How is the change from a
wedding ceremony to a meal arranged?
How is the change from a meal to an evening party arranged?
Will
the fort be warm in winter?
Yes. There is a powerful
central heating system with thermostatically controlled radiators throughout
the Fort. The Fort is in effect like an enormous storage heater - when
the stone all around you is warm it will stay like that for hours and
takes days to fully cool down. We will ensure the Fort is warm when
you arrive - which isn’t difficult as it’s been fully booked
for the last two or three years. Alternatively, in the summer, the fort
can be thought of as like a cave, cool whatever the weather. The timing
control is found by going down the stairs outside the kitchen, turning
right at the bottom and at the end of the short corridor.
Does
the Fort ever get cut off in winter?
No. At least - not yet.
We benefit by being close to the sea and by the gulf stream. We only
have snow about once every seven to ten years, and it’s never
been deep.
Can
we put up decorations in the fort?
Please see FAQ's Decorating the Fort
Is
there someone who can help us to move stuff about?
The Fort is hired to you
without any direct labour or staff included. If you would like some
help, then please contact our maintenance contractor, Fred Buss direct
on 01752-822830, and he will be glad to help - and advise you.
Is
the Fort spooky? Does it have a ghost?
The Fort is not spooky,
probably because nothing dreadful has ever happened here (as far as
we know). We’ve never heard of any ghosts or any sightings. One
interesting potential sighting occurred a few years ago when a group
of Past Lives Therapists stayed here, and one lady, who had only been
here a number of minutes, asked whether the stairs outside the kitchen
were new. It turned out that they were relatively recent, and certainly
not original as they appear. She said that she knew that because they
were “silent”. She said that on the other stairs she could
“hear” the voices of bored soldiers. This is interesting,
as it is known that the Fort was used as a barracks in the later part
of the 19th Century, when the coast road was a private military road
connecting the forts, and the soldiers would almost certainly have felt
very cut off, and have little to do. We also know that they were bored
from the writings on the walls of the magazine (for gunpowder storage),
where some of them were imprisoned for minor offences during the start
of the First World War in 1914 (see prisoners’ writings).
How
many cars does the car park take?
About 25 if they are parked
carefully, with someone in charge. A good way to increase this number
is for the resident guests to park their cars in rows two or even three
deep in front of each other at the far end of the car park. Additional
car parking can be arranged with the local farmer, Lyn Wilton (tel:
01752-822215) in a field at the top of our drive - your guests can then
be ferried down by a local minibus from Cremyll Cabs (tel: 01752-822196),
or, in summer, may choose to walk on down (it’s a lovely half-mile
walk, gently sloping downhill)
Is
the Fort suitable for disabled people?
See FAQ's Fort Building
Is
the Fort non-smoking?
Yes, under the new smoke free England law the Fort is now a non smoking building. There are signs at the entrances to the Fort to inform your guests. We would ask that you ensure that all your guests are aware of this and to make sure that none of them smoke in the Fort – including the bedrooms! Please note that secret smoking in bedrooms will probably set off the fire alarm – which in incur a call out charge to reset the system – never mind the disturbance to everyone else.
Is
there a cloakroom in the Fort?
Not as such. We provide
moveable coat racks on wheels, and these can be put where you choose
- generally in one of the bedrooms, sometimes at the bottom of the main
entrance spiral stairs, sometimes in one of the corridors.
Is
there anyone to call on for help?
Yes. You can always call
on our main trouble-shooter, Fred Buss on 01752-822830. This number
is up on a notice board in the kitchen of the Fort, along with those
of our Wedding Co-ordinator, Ruth (tel: 01503-230711) and our office
manager Kathy (mobile: 07767-373754) as well as several others to turn
to, including emergency plumbers/electricians etc. Most people by-pass
this anxiety during their weddings by arranging direct with Fred Buss
himself to attend the wedding and help move furniture around and a hundred
and one small things to help the wedding go smoothly.
Is
there a member of staff on the premises at all times?
No. The whole point of the
way we let you have the fort is that you have it to yourselves to do
(within reason) what you want. The only time we specifically provide
someone is during the wedding itself and the hour before, which we are
obliged to do for the purposes of our wedding licence. The benefits
of this privacy far outweigh any perceived disadvantages, and if you
need help and advice, Fred Buss (see section on Anyone To Help) is the
man.
Are
there any cots or high-chairs?
We have at present 3 highchairs
and 2 travel cots. It is worth checking this prior to coming to the
fort as sometimes we do have unforseen breakages. The cots do not include
bedding, so you will need to bring bedding to use - we have found that
most parents prefer to do this. It is advisable to bring a set of suitable
reins to use with the highchairs.
Is
baby sitting or a crèche available?
A local nursery school regularly
provides qualified staff to help out with babysitting and crèche
facilities at the fort - please phone Sarah Ford on 01752 822287 (Fledglings
Nursery) or 07989 822124
Is
there anywhere for a helicopter to land?
Yes - on the lawn in front
of the Fort. We have only had one land there (see the photo), and we
understand that there is probably a limit to the size of helicopter
that could manage it - as well as lots of other considerations that
helicopter pilots should know about.
Does
the Torpoint Ferry from Plymouth stop at night?
No, it runs 24 hours a day
- it is actually considered part of the A374, the King’s (or Queen’s?)
Highway. Between 9.00pm and 7.00am it runs twice an hour each way, on
the hour and half hour from this side (Torpoint), and a quarter to,
and a quarter past each hour from the Plymouth side. It takes about
8 - 10 minutes to cross.
Can we have a barbeque?
On the beach?
Yes - to both. We have a
charcoal one available in the main gardens (you will need to arrange
charcoal supplies - eg with Fred Buss). You can certainly have one down
on the beach, though you will need to arrange the barbeque yourself,
and consider issues like getting supplies down (and back up), and the
suitability of the beach path for your wedding guests when they are
all dressed up.
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