Kicking off the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations in Boscastle on Thursday, June 2 was a synchronised laser light and music show overlooking Boscastle’s iconic Coastwatch Lookout.

The event was attended by over 800 people who viewed the show from the commons between St Symphorian Church and The Stitches.

The Show started with a runner carrying a torch up to the lookout with precision timing, to arrive one minute before the lighting of the beacon at 9:45pm, high up on the cliffs beside the Lookout.

The laser light show was put on by Lumatec Visuals, a specialist events and lighting company based in St Austell in conjunction with Andrew Leeds, maestro and events organiser for the Kindred Spirits Festival near Launceston and other music events around the country.

The Boscastle Platinum Jubilee Events Committee (BPJEC) who staged the event included local volunteers including members of Forrabury & Minster Parish Council, the National Coastwatch Institution, Boscastle WI, Boscastle School and Forrabury & Minster PCC. Local landowners provided space for parking, members of Boscastle Coastguard attended and several local businesses sold raffle tickets to help finance the event.

The Forrabury & Minster PCC provided a spread of home-made cakes, tea and coffee for donations only to the large crowd, as well as access to power for the music. This was truly a community team event.

Winners of the raffle were Boscastle resident couple Guy Steed and Fiona Brayshaw.

As a rather stunned Guy said: “I never win anything, so it came as a complete surprise to hear the announcement that Fiona and I had won. We were thrilled. Then standing up on the cliffs, with the sun setting on the horizon and lighting the beacon together, we recognised that this was a once-in-a-lifetime event, a great honour.”

A BPJEC spokesperson said: “The rural coastal village of Boscastle is nestled in a steep valley on the North Coast of Cornwall, with houses winding down and ending down by the harbour. The village has seen a rich history over hundreds of years and the Jubilee activities were set up to honour the Queen and her long, committed reign as well as provide the community with an opportunity to come together with joy.”