A Good Scrap I Fear

A memoir of hospitality, family, and a fight for accountability.

At the heart of Hope Cove in South Devon stands The Cottage Hotel, a family-run business that has welcomed guests for more than half a century. In A Good Scrap I Fear, William Ireland tells the story of life behind the scenes of the hotel—an unforgettable scrapbook of people, service, and survival, as well as the long planning battle that would come to define a chapter of his family’s life.

But this is more than a memoir of hospitality. It is also a candid record of the family’s struggle with South Hams District Council, a fight that revealed how small businesses can be disadvantaged when power is exercised without responsibility.

The title of the book comes from an email uncovered through a Freedom of

Information request: “We shall be in for a good scrap, I fear.” Those words capture both the spirit of the conflict and the determination with which William and his family fought back.

With warmth, wit, and unflinching honesty, A Good Scrap I Fear celebrates the invisible craft of hospitality while calling for greater accountability in public life. It is a story rooted in a Devon hotel, but its themes—family, resilience, fairness—resonate far beyond.

William Ireland grew up in the family hotel business and has spent his life immersed in the realities of service, community, and resilience. In writing A Good Scrap I Fear, he set out to finish the work begun by his mother and to preserve the spirit of a place and a profession he deeply values.

William Ireland grew up in the unique world of a family hotel, where every day brought new guests, new challenges, and new stories. The Cottage Hotel at Hope Cove was not just a livelihood—it was the heart of his family’s life. From an early age, William absorbed the values of service, resilience, and community that defined hospitality at its best.

In writing A Good Scrap I Fear, William set out to do more than share anecdotes. He wanted to finish the work his late mother, Janet, began when she first started chronicling the hotel’s early years. Her notes and diaries became the foundation for a book that honours her voice and captures the legacy of three generations who kept the doors of the hotel open through decades of change.

There are two reasons behind this book...

First, my lovely Mum began writing her own chapter (see pg. xx), and that became my inspiration.

Second—Planning. A Judge once advised me to write a book rather than spend two years battling the planning department. He said many judges are institutionalised and reluctant to ‘roll the dice’. This journey has been cathartic.

Now, let’s be honest—planning is mind-numbingly boring. My friends told me, “Just shut up about planning!” So, I’ve taken their advice… sort of.