WGB magazine 2017

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STEPHEN MANGAN / MARK KERMODE / TARQUIN’S GIN / CORNISH FLORA FIFTEEN STORIES / THE GOODNESS OF DOGS / MIX TAPE / SLACKLINING WATERGATE BAY ELEMENTS / THE WAVE PROJECT BEACH EVENTS CALENDAR / ANOTHER PLACE, THE LAKE


COLD WATER SPECIALIST We t s u i t s S i n c e 1 9 6 7 G u l. c o m


At Watergate Bay, we’ve been looking at the things that make a holiday here a bit special. It’s not that we’ve had to look hard. We know what our guests keep coming back for is the good food, the amazing beach and the laid-back atmosphere in the hotel. Most importantly, I think it’s the way these things come together. The beach is for using, not just for looking at it. The food is for spending time over – and to set you up for the day. The hotel is like a friend’s beach house where you can shake off your wellies and tread sand on the floor. All of this, we think of as a ski resort on a beach. But could these ingredients work in another location? This year, we’re launching Another Place, our new hotel collection. Watergate Bay Hotel won’t be joining the collection but it will be lending the new hotels much of its DNA. We toyed with bringing to the collection an entirely new ethos. In the end, we realised that so long as each hotel is in an exceptional, elemental location, we can take the Watergate Bay experience to new and exciting places. The first of those places is Ullswater, in the Lake District. Until I went there just a few years’ ago, I imagined the Lakes to be genteel. In fact, I found Ullswater to be a dynamic, beautiful location – both rugged and tranquil. I felt at home there and, in our new hotel, I think others will too. Another Place, The Lake opens summer 2017. Back at Watergate Bay, life never stands still. Looking afresh at what we have here got us excited about the new things we could do. The Beach Hut is having a makeover this year and Extreme Academy is bringing new fun to the beach in the form of SUP squatches – giant inflatable rafts you can use as a surfboard, stand-up paddleboard, or a float to lie and relax on. We also have plans to open a new restaurant on the sea wall – a place whose diverse and changing menu will include wood-fired curries, pizzas and fresh-off-the-boat lobster and crab. Change is good. But some things should stay the same. •

Will Ashworth Managing Director


Commissioning editor Judi Blakeburn Editor Caroline Davidson Assistant editor Heidi Fitzpatrick Copywriting Sarah Ashworth Alex Wade Art direction Nick Wylie Design Holly Donnelly Cover "Underneath" Emily Hamilton Illustration Emily Hamilton Nicole Heidaripour Sally Muir Special thanks to Hayley Anderson Sean Conway Jessica Cooper Darren Dickey Chris Difford Beth Druce Mark Kermode India Knight Tarquin Leadbetter Stephan Mangan

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Mike Nelhams James Otter Tom Raffield Penguin Random House Matt Smith Hannah Stacey Photography Hayley Anderson Mat Arney Bob Berry Simon Burt David Chapman Sarah Clarke Danny Clifford Beth Druce Brock Elbank David Gray David Griffen Michelle Hawkins Luke Hayes Russell Inman Tim Lautensack Hand Luggage Only Karl Mackie Louise Murray Luna Photography Mark Pringle Kirstin Prisk Romane Regad Kevin Rushby Shambhala Think Sideways Passport Stamps UK Sanders Studio Vince Timson Stephen Tolfrey Artem Verbo

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FLOTSAM & JETSAM

Bits and bobs from around the Bay

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MANGAN STYLE

Actor Stephen Mangan gets on board with Cornwall

22 CINEMA PARADISO

Mark Kermode celebrates the films in which Cornish scenery stars

Watergate Bay Hotel Limited, On The Beach, Watergate Bay, Cornwall TR8 4AA 01637 860543 | life@watergatebay.co.uk | watergatebay.co.uk Registered In England No. 3709185. List of directors available.


Missing us? Don't be a stranger... @watergatebay | #watergatebay

24 JUST PASSING THROUGH

Traveller Hayley Andersen remembers a winter at Watergate

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MIX TAPE

Musician and lyricist Chris Difford shares his soundtrack to the Bay

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CAPTURING THE ELEMENTS

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Illustrator Emily Hamilton on her designs for Watergate Bay’s product range

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THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT HARRY

'QUIN & TONIC

The botany and bottling of Tarquin’s Gin

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62 SHARING THE STOKE

TELLING STORIES

The award-winning community project changing lives through surfing

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2017 EVENTS CALENDAR

Fifteen Cornwall, as told by its people, its produce and its tasting menu

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IT'S ANOTHER PLACE

A new hotel collection launches in the Lake District

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PARADISE FOUND

Kevin Rushby's longstanding love affair with a lake

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FREE RADICAL

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Sean Conway traded a fiver for a life of adventure

WALK THE LINE Strike a balance with one simple bit of kit

Pro surfer Harry Timson leads a life on the road

It all happens at Watergate Bay

SHAPING THE WAVE James Otter has a clever use for the offcuts of wooden surfboards

SHORE THING

Contemporary dance exploring our enduring relationship with the sea

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PLANT LIFE

Coastal plants, from the familiar to the exotic

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TAKE FIVE

Five creative minds share the Cornwall that inspires them

82 GOOD DOG!

India Knight on the brilliance of dogs and owning one

84 BOOKSHELF

A guide to your next great read

All content, including words and images, is subject to copyright. Any copying or reproduction in whole or in part is not permissible without prior permission. © Watergate Bay Hotel Ltd.

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Life at Watergate Bay is a mix of cultural happenings, sporting endeavours, culinary events – and lots more things in between. Here’s a look at some moments from 2016 together with the stories exciting us now. 6


IN WITH THE NEW‌ The Beach Hut is getting a makeover. The laid-back beachside hangout is re-opening spring 2017 with a new layout and a contemporary coastal look. The sea view is here to stay.

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Watergate Bay Hotel is a brilliant place to get married. There’s the beach on your doorstep, large and intimate spaces as well as great food and drink in our restaurant, Zacry’s. watergatebay.co.uk/events/weddings/

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"GATHER OUTSIDE" OFF THE GRID We light the bonfire and you bring the party as event nights return to The Beach Hut this autumn. With Fish Supper Fridays and Argentinian Steak Night returning, there’ll be outdoor food and drink, live music and games on the beach. the-beach-hut.co.uk

SOUNDS OF RUARRI JOSEPH The soulful track featured on The Beach Hut’s latest film is ‘Until the Luck Runs Dry’, by Cornwall-based singer/ songwriter Ruarri Joseph. The song is from Brother, the most recent of Ruarri’s four acoustic albums. Ruarri, who also composed a special piece of music for the hotel’s latest film, is playing at this year’s Polo on the Beach party on Saturday 20 May. Watch the films #mywatergatebay 9 watergatebay.co.uk/gallery/videos/


IN OUR BEST JOULES Thanks to a shared love of the coast, the clothing brand Joules is the hotel’s perfect sartorial partner. Look out for Joules’ latest collection worn by our team in the hotel and The Beach Hut. A lesson with Extreme Academy will likely see you in a Joules rash vest too. #joulesxwatergatebay

TAKE AN ACTIVE BREAK Watergate’s active breaks make the most of the two-mile stretch of beach and coastal path on our doorstep. Run by experts in their field, the breaks provide the opportunity to learn something new and develop technique. Swim Clinics, which make use of the warm indoor pool, and Yoga Breaks take place throughout the year, as does the new Coastal Fitness Break featuring running, hiking, circuits, body conditioning and swimming. watergatebay.co.uk/active-breaks/

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19-21 May 2017 ASPALL POLO ON THE BEACH In 2017 Polo on the Beach is celebrating 10 years of free high-action polo and family fun. In the build-up to two world-class polo matches – go team Cornwall! – there will be beach entertainment, horse displays, street food and a fully flowing Champagne garden. Starting Friday 19 May, the festival atmosphere will continue well into the night on Saturday 20 May when live music and DJs come to our Polo on the Beach Party. Tickets are £25 and available online. watergatebay.co.uk/polo/ #POTB17

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Our village family suites are a real home away from home. Tucked behind the hotel, the two-bedroom properties feature large open-plan living, dining and kitchen areas: yours if you want use of all the hotel’s social spaces, such as Swim Club, as well as a private place of your own. Call 01637 860543 to book.


"WALKIES" Stealing the show

The moment when a pod of dolphins dropped by Watergate Bay last July...

"IT'S FUN BEING YOUNG"


HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU Watch our latest film and see if you star. The short includes the best #mywatergatebay videos shared on social media, including our competition winner and the world’s happiest bodyboarder, Instagram’s @magdalena.bieth. watergatebay.co.uk/gallery/videos/

TATTOOS AHOY! Legend has it that the word ‘tattoo’ entered the English language following Captain Cook’s voyage to Tahiti. Yet, as a new exhibition at National Maritime Museum Cornwall shows, the history of British tattooing goes back further. As well as delving into maritime’s tattoo heritage, the exhibition looks at how tattoos have left their mark on all areas of society from the 19th century to the present day. Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed runs 17 March 2017 – 7 January 2018. nmmc.co.uk

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A LITTLE DITTY Many of you got lyrical about the Bay on 2016’s #NationalLimerickDay. Here’s some excellent verse by Fiona Jones, shared with us via Facebook. facebook.com/watergatebay

WATERGATE BAY! OH WHAT A FIND THE IDEAL PLACE FOR ALL TO UNWIND A DIP IN THE POOL OR A WALK BY THE SEA GREAT FOR THE FAMILY AND PERFECT FOR ME


For the second year running, Watergate Bay Hotel is hosting Surfaced Pro, an event promoting gender equality in surfing. Organised by students from the FdSc Surf Science and Technology course at Cornwall College, Newquay, last year’s Surfaced Pro was the first UK surf event to award equal prize money to men and women riders. This year, Surfaced Pro takes place 6–7 May 2017. watergatebay.co.uk/events/calendar/

"SHARE A BITE OF THE ACTION" 17



ACTOR STEPHEN MANGAN GETS ON BOARD WITH CORNWALL

We didn’t go to Cornwall when I was a kid. My parents were Irish so all trips west were to County Mayo. It was a 24-hour journey. Drive to Liverpool, nine-hour overnight ferry to Dublin and then a six-hour drive to the west coast. It felt like we were travelling to the other side of the planet. We always stopped in the middle of the Irish leg of the journey for sandwiches, in Longford at the Longford Arms, and every year it was always the same – they weren’t serving food at the time we got there. “Can we have some tea and sandwiches?” “No, we’re not serving food now.” Every year.

In fact, legs that mean surfing will never be for me. My nine-yearold took lessons every day and within minutes was standing up on the board. This is because he has reasonably normal proportions. My leg-to-body ratio means that bit when you catch a wave and you leap into a crouch on the board… That’s never gonna happen. With my legs it’s like trying to collapse a stepladder, throw it up

Our never-varying trips to Ireland meant I never holidayed as a kid

onto the board, open it and then climb up it. Not. Going. To. Happen.

in Cornwall or Wales or Scotland. I still haven’t experienced many of the delights Wales and Scotland have to offer but I have spent

Luckily I had my six-year-old with me and so could pretend I was

quite a lot of time in Cornwall. And, do you know what? Despite

‘only’ bodyboarding to keep him company. Once he’s old enough to

the clear lack of Irish people and the weird all-day availability of

surf I’ll be able to use our now one-year-old as the excuse and then

sandwiches, it’s pretty good.

we’ll just have to keep having more children at regular intervals to explain why I’m not surfing with the cool kids.

We can leave London early Sunday morning and be swimming in the ocean by lunch. We were last at Watergate Bay in October and

So if one day you see me at Watergate Bay aged 85 with a

that meant I needed to wear a wetsuit which, let’s face it, is not a

bodyboard and a five-year-old, you’ll know why.

tremendous look for a middle-aged man like me. I looked like a bin liner full of yoghurt on legs. Very long legs. Ninety per cent of my

I now split my spare time between the west coast of Ireland and

height is legs. Legs of John Cleese, body of Warwick Davis.

the north coast of Cornwall – they are both utterly glorious. Ireland has the village pub in which I’m related to 80% of the clientele; Cornwall has Watergate Bay. It’s a win-win. Wales and Scotland will just have to wait. •

Words: Stephen Mangan | Photography: Shambhala

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Looking through the picture window to the hotel's Swim Club pool and the sea beyond - @lukehayesphotos


With its breathtaking natural beauty and matchless coastal vistas, Cornwall is one of the UK’s most cinematic locations. Filmmakers as diverse as Alfred Hitchcock, Nicolas Roeg, Sam Peckinpah, and Antal Kovacs (director of the Cornish language feature Hwerow Hweg) have all made grand use of the local scenery. Last year, Truro filmmaker Brett Harvey (Weekend Retreat) scored a local hit with the Bodmin-set Brown Willy, for which the tagline ran ‘What happens on the moor … stays on the moor’. Here’s a list of 10 movies – the good, the bad and the weird – to accompany your Cornish break. Jamaica Inn (1939) Alfred Hitchcock’s adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s 1936 novel was the source of much friction between the director and Charles Laughton, but became a solid hit nonetheless. The titular inn still stands proudly on Bodmin Moor. Hitchcock’s next picture, Rebecca (the second of three du Maurier adaptations), was also set in Cornwall, although largely shot in the US. Love Story (1944) The Minack Theatre in Porthcurno features heavily in Leslie Arliss’s classic romance, from a story by J.W. Drawbell. Margaret Lockwood and Stewart Granger are the star-crossed lovers who wooed wartime audiences in a film which Granger later called “a load of crap … and a smash hit!” Dr Blood’s Coffin (1961) ‘Can you stand the terror … the awful secret it contains?’ Carn Galver Mine provides an impressive location for

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this creaky, creepy tale of a young doctor experimenting with resurrecting the dead. An early outing for director Sidney J. Furie. Straw Dogs (1971) Sam Peckinpah’s ‘West Country Western’ was banned on video for years, although according to the residents of St Buryan (who feature heavily), “it was always available here!” Still disturbingly controversial, it’s a brutal blend of sex, violence and rugged Cornish scenery. Silent Running (1972) The Eden Project has appeared in films such as Die Another Day, but it’s Doug Trumbull’s sci-fi tearjerker (shot entirely in the US) which Eden’s beautiful biomes call to mind. In 2014, this space-age heartbreaker was screened at The Eden Project, with the geodesic domes glowing in the background. The Witches (1990) Nicolas Roeg’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s classic makes great use of the Headland Hotel, Newquay. Anjelica Huston is in show-stopping form as the Grand High Witch presiding over a fiendish gathering. Blue Juice (1995) Despite critical derision, this tale of Cornish surfers is beloved by stars Sean Pertwee and Ewan McGregor, both of whom have spoken frequently and fondly of their time shooting it in Cornwall. Remember: back

in the Nineties, the Cornish surf scene was still a secret to sniffy metropolitan journos. How times have changed… Saving Grace (2000) Port Isaac and Boscastle are among the prominently displayed Cornish locations in this pre Doc Martin comedy in which greenfingered Brenda Blethyn finds herself a dab hand cultivating marijuana. Really. Ladies in Lavender (2004) Even director Charles Dance thought the title sounded awful, but this tale of two sisters (Maggie Smith, Judi Dench) who take in a washed-up Polish man (Daniel Brühl) in 1930s Cornwall is something of an overlooked gem. Picturesque locations (including Bessy’s Cove) add rich visual charm. About Time (2013) Only the hardest of hearts could resist the magical schmaltz of Richard Curtis’s time-travelling romance. Domhnall Gleeson is the young man who inherits the ability to rewind his life from his father (Bill Nighy). Porthpean House, the village of Portloe, and Vault Beach all have starring roles. • All films mentioned in this article are available to watch during your stay. Just ask reception for a DVD.

Words: Mark Kermode | Photography: Mark Pringle


MARK KERMODE, THE OBSERVER’S CHIEF FILM CRITIC, CELEBRATES THE FILMS IN WHICH CORNISH SCENERY STARS


My boyfriend, Kyle, and I were sceptical as to how and where we might find jobs in the winter after our first European summer stint. We were travelling through Morocco with our friends, Naomi and Ricko, in late November when they were told they could return to work at Watergate Bay Hotel – and that the hotel needed a few extra people to work the Christmas period. After hearing stories of their past experiences working there, we were pleased and strangely excited to start work again. Three weeks and 3,000km later we had arrived at Watergate Bay. That afternoon it was as if the skies could sense I was missing Australia. The sun came beaming through the scattered clouds and the beach looked unbelievably calm and beautiful with every wave rolling in perfect unison. The bay was absolutely stunning and if anything could make me feel better it would be the ocean. Straight away it felt like home. One of the great things about working at Watergate was our picturesque onfoot commute from Porth, where we were staying. I highly recommend walking along the cliffs from Watergate Bay. The glorious views of each cove from high above and the unrivalled turquoise waters will have you mesmerized the whole way. Whenever I walked to work I would arrive with the biggest smile on my face, feeling so happy and relaxed. On my days off I would usually find myself at the beach with friends surfing, or just taking a walk up and around the cliffs. Perhaps my most memorable day at Watergate Bay was when a few of us from work hired kayaks and stand-up paddle boards. We explored all the little sea caves and coves for hours on end. We even tried surfing the little waves on our kayaks, but that only ended in me taking a tumble. Among the best things to do is to watch the sun set from the beach or the cliff tops. It’s a magical sunset – still one of the best I've experienced (and I've seen a lot throughout Europe). While living and working at Watergate Bay, the place found a special place in my heart. I made some lifelong friends there, to whom I’m thankful for making my experience unforgettable. But, after five months in Cornwall, it was time to move on. The next stage of our travels took us through Europe. From Greece, we travelled up to Scotland before taking the ferry across the North Sea to Holland. In our van we then drove through the Scandinavian countries, down to Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Switzerland and Austria, to name a few. Soon, Kyle and I plan to return to Watergate Bay. I miss it. •

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Words & photography: Hayley Anderson


TRAVELLER HAYLEY ANDERSEN REMEMBERS A WINTER AT WATERGATE

To many, Hayley Andersen is better known by her Instagram moniker @haylsa. With 20,000 (and counting) followers, Hayley’s Instagram feed tells of her enviable life on the road, photographing her way from one breathtaking location to another. Here, the Australian remembers the time she laid her hat at Watergate Bay.



MUSICIAN AND LYRICIST CHRIS DIFFORD SHARES HIS SOUNDTRACK TO THE BAY

Chris Difford is a founding member of Squeeze, the new wave band we have to thank for classic, enduring tracks such as ‘Cool for Cats’, ‘Up the Junction’ and ‘Tempted’. The double Ivor Novello Awardwinner recalls some moments in Cornwall before sharing his top tracks for Watergate Bay. The first time I came to Cornwall I was a small boy on a school trip. It was a very long journey by coach, with the only entertainment being 35 boys and girls all singing ‘In the stores’ and other such childish folk songs. These days, of course, the buses are full of children looking at screens, their headphones filled with all types of music. Cornwall’s coastline, though, has changed little since then. My wife Louise, the kids and I stayed at Watergate Bay Hotel last year and had a wonderful time letting go and letting the waves do the talking. Louise and I felt safe that the kids were safe and having fun while we read the papers and lost ourselves in the wet summer days. Boardmasters music festival was taking place on the hill and The Strypes, who I manage, were playing, so the week made perfect sense: a bit of relaxation and a bit of fun – or ‘work’ as some might call it. The wind licked the stages on the hill while we licked our ice cream cones and once again I was taken back in time to the days when school supplied a short summer break part funded by my dad.

Words: Chris Difford | Photography: Danny Clifford

Creatively, Cornwall is hard to beat. It’s amazing for the imagination. You can sit on the rocks and be taken away into the ‘now’ of songwriting. It’s a joyful place. Music festivals have blossomed over the last five years and Cornwall has hosted its fair share of wonderful events. I have played a few with Jools Holland, a former member of Squeeze. People like a drink and a singsong, and we love that too. I’m blessed to have returned many times to Cornwall over the years. The drive has become much easier and these days I don’t have to share a school bus and sing folk songs along the way. I cruise down and open my heart to the fresh air and the sky, which you can almost touch. In Cornwall, I feel so much closer to heaven than I do when I’m in the dusty backstreets of London.

CHRIS' PLAYLIST: Ain’t Got No Home, Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry A good mix tape should always begin with something upbeat and from the past, a song that pulls you to the dashboard and summons you to take part. For me this song does all of the above. With a middle name like Frogman who could fail? The Boys of Summer, Don Henley I saw Don Henley last summer and was knocked out by his band. His songs had passed me by over the years and I’m not sure why. So I’m a newcomer to this one but it fits the bill – a sing-along summer beauty. Girl on the Train (2009 Remaster), Pete Atkin Train journeys are where the mind and the imagination can meet and inspire. This song takes me back to train journeys where I would fall in love with reflections on a window, as a pretty girl might look at her magazine and ignore me. The lyrics are by Clive James – his poetic genius ever-

present. Indian Queens, Nick Lowe Indian Queens. There it is on the signpost as Cornwall grabs you from a long journey, but what goes on there? Nick seems to know more than most. His tailor-made songs always embrace me and make me feel like I’m being taken on a journey. God Knows I’m Good, David Bowie David Bowie is always on my mix tapes – he was the one, after all, who inspired me to write lyrics in the first place. ‘God Knows I’m Good’ is something of a mantra to me. He knows it, if no one else has a clue. Satellite of Love, Lou Reed You can’t have David without Lou. Some say I sing a little like Lou Reed and I think that’s right: my voice lives very happily down in the boots. I met him once in a Chinese restaurant in New York – and he agreed. Paper Sun, Traffic A paper sun shines down on us all. I have always loved Traffic and Steve Winwood’s voice. It takes me back to school jackets on a park bench, a fag and a dream to be in a band, which came true. Country Honk, The Rolling Stones So laid-back, just like summer, just like Cornwall, this song almost falls backwards it’s so laid-back. Perfect for a lazy beach afternoon with the waves crashing softly on the rocks. Sun optional. Lazy Sunday, The Small Faces The Small Faces were my heroes as I grew up; the band I most wanted to be in. They were the lads and I was one of them. Being in a band is like being with the lads some days. Other days, it’s work. Waterloo Sunset, The Kinks Sadly you have to come back to reality from any good holiday and being back in London feels safe. It’s home, or it used to be. And this song makes me feel so at home in London. It reminds me that I am proud to be a Londoner even though I’m now a country sausage. • Listen on Spotify - watergatebaymusic

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“My illustrations are inspired by natural elements. They capture that love for the active outdoor lifestyle that a stay at Watergate is all about.”

ILLUSTRATOR EMILY HAMILTON ON HER DESIGNS FOR WATERGATE BAY’S PRODUCT RANGE

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Based on pure plant, fruit and flower essential oils, the Watergate Bay Elements bath and body collection is evocative of the great outdoors. When the range required new artwork, thoughts turned naturally to illustrator Emily Hamilton and her simple yet dynamic style. From her bright and breezy coastal studio, Emily explains how she went about illustrating Watergate Bay in a bottle. In what ways does your style reflect Watergate Bay? I took it as a compliment when the creative team at Watergate Bay thought I lived in California. My illustrations are often inspired by natural elements and it's nice to think they capture that love for the active outdoor lifestyle that a stay at Watergate is all about. Describe your creative approach to the project. Often I’ll be drawing for my own projects and creations, so to work collaboratively on a specific brief was a new challenge. From screen-printing to branding and having to consider the functionality of the products alongside my illustrations, I really enjoyed learning new skills and pushing myself creatively. What feelings are captured in your final eight illustrations? I wanted to recreate the experience of when my family and I stayed at the hotel. We enjoyed every minute, from the ocean room’s

massive comfy sofas to swimming in the pool with that amazing panoramic sea view. We all left feeling so calmed, indulged and re-energised. The magazine’s cover is an evolution of one of these illustrations. What’s your ideal working situation? My studio up in the roof of my house is my sanctuary. I put my daughters to bed, make a cup of herbal tea, and relish every minute of the peace and quiet I get up there to draw and paint. Do you have any philosophies for approaching your work? I’m forever starting projects and my house is littered with half-finished weavings, sketches and random creations. Whatever medium, keeping myself busy creatively is a good way of working. What are you inspired by at the moment? I can lose hours on Instagram and Pinterest. Social media is a fantastic space to find new artists and see what's going on. Really though, nothing beats the inspiration and head-clearing I get from fresh air and a nature fix – big walks around the coast and getting in the sea with my family. • Shop the Watergate Bay Elements collection online or at the hotel reception. watergatebay.co.uk/shop

Interview: Sarah Ashworth | Illustration: Emily Hamilton

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GIN

THE BOTANY AND BOTTLING OF TARQUIN’S GIN

Words: Sarah Ashworth | Photography: David Griffen


Close your eyes and breathe in the scent of gin and it is at once both immediately familiar and somehow of a faraway place. At least, that’s what comes to mind as we step into Southwestern Distillery, six miles up the road from Watergate Bay. Home to Tarquin’s Gin, it is one of a new wave of artisan distilleries in the UK producing small-batch gins using increasingly exotic botanicals. For founder and head distiller Tarquin Leadbetter the aroma is more akin to “stumbling across an orange blossom in a pine forest”. And as he explains the gin-making process his faraway place becomes less far-fetched. Let’s set the scene. Gin is booming. Official figures show there were 233 licensed gin producers in the UK alone at the end of 2015, almost double of that in 2010. Distillers like Tarquin have responded by going back to basics: using traditional techniques, old-fashioned equipment, and experimenting beyond the usual juniper, coriander and citrus botanicals. “Our woody, earthy juniper is from Kosovo, we use lemon-sherbety coriander seeds from Bulgaria, and the citrus notes come from the fresh fruit zests of orange, lemon and grapefruit,” explains Tarquin. Then there’s angelica root from Poland, orris root from Morocco, green cardamom seeds from Guatemala… “One of our more unique ingredients is Devon Violets, the leaves of which add a green tea freshness.” These are grown in Tarquin’s garden, although demand means they occasionally need an extra supply. Twelve botanicals are thrown into the cooking pot. They are left to soak overnight submerged in a natural wheat-based spirit – a blank canvas on which to add the flavour profile – before being warmed to distilling temperature in the morning. At the heart of the process are two flame-fired copper stills called Tamara, named after the goddess of the River Tamar, and Senara, a saint with ties to the village of Zennor in West Penwith. After eight hours of tinkering, only the heart of the run is collected for bottling, with the first and last portions (the heads and tails) discarded. Thankfully the potent 80% proof spirit is tempered to 42% using Cornish spring water.

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The whole process from botanicals to bottle takes about a day, with 230 bottles made in each run. Tarquin still hand-numbers and writes his own tasting notes on each to celebrate any nuance and subtle variation in flavour. Even the weather can affect the taste. It was the hottest day of the year when we visited, and Tarquin was on batch number 396 – if you want to check your bottle. Back at the hotel, the 14-strong (at the last count) gin menu – or ‘gin journey’ as The Living Space manager Andrea describes it – is championing this re-gin-eration. “It gives guests in The Living Space and Swim Club something new to explore and something they may never have tasted before,” explains Andrea. All Watergate Bay’s gins are served in giant fishbowl Burgundy glasses, allowing the delicate botanicals room to swirl and taste their best – and all with a twist on the classic ice and a slice. The garnish brings out the flavour of the gin. Some are served simply with lemon or a twist of lime peel, others, like the Monkey 47, with a kaffir lime leaf; Brockmans with blueberries and orange; Gin Mare with basil and rosemary and The Botanist with lemon and thyme.


“Tarquin’s is absolutely best served on The Living Space deck with plenty of ice, Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic, a chunk of pink grapefruit and a pretty edible flower which mirrors the gin's botanicals,” says Andrea. “Complemented, of course, by a classic Watergate sunset.”•

Words: Sarah Ashworth | Photography: Mike Searle

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Food and travel adventures - @DavidGriffen



AT FIFTEEN CORNWALL, THE AUTHOR OF FIFTEEN STORIES TALKS GROWERS AND GREMOLATA

I’ve come to Fifteen Cornwall to meet Beth Druce, the fashion journalist turned photographer behind Fifteen Stories – a series of photo-led pieces exploring the people and places that make the Italian restaurant what it is. Beth was inspired to create the series, which the restaurant publishes on its website, having been invited into Fifteen’s kitchen to take some pictures. Impressed by what she saw there, she describes being “blown away by the relationship between the restaurant and its suppliers”. “I remember thinking there’s so much here and we should shout about it,” explains Beth over dinner, with an enthusiasm that fizzes over every time we’re brought a new plate of food. Having plumped for the restaurant’s five-course tasting menu we get to eat ten different dishes between us. That’s a lot of enthusiastic outbursts. It’s June and the food in front of us sings its own praises. Colourful, fresh and ravishing in a natural way, every dish on the menu is inspired by the seafood, meat and veg brought to the kitchen that day. Ingredients are properly seasonal, sourced as much as possible from Cornish producers and growers. I know, I know, you’ve heard it all before, but Fifteen’s claim on its menu to using ‘fantastic seasonal produce’ doesn’t refer to just lettuce. Around two thirds of its produce is supplied within Cornwall. Everything else comes from one speciality Italian supplier.

Words: Caroline Davidson | Photography: Beth Druce

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Fifteen Cornwall’s signature tasting menu, served in the evening, includes either five or seven courses per person.

Beth, having shot and interviewed several of Fifteen’s producers, knows a lot about the provenance of my every forkful. First up is antipasto of crispy zucchini flower – an Italian speciality – with crab. The latter is sourced from Lee Carter, a local fisherman working out of Hayle harbour. The zucchini (courgette) flowers come from Laura and Paul Salmon of Newlina, an eco-garden in North Cornwall. Fifteen have bought from Newlina, at the height of season, since the restaurant opened 11 years ago. As Newlina’s first major customer, Fifteen has played a significant part in the sustainability of the enterprise. “Fifteen’s approach to suppliers is far from one-dimensional,” explains Beth as I concentrate on not quaffing the glass of Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut served – from a Magnum – as a complement to the zucchini. “They invest a lot of time in going out and visiting suppliers. It’s the other side to the apprenticeship programme – and they want both sides to develop equally.” For those who don’t know, the Fifteen Cornwall Apprenticeship Programme each year gives a new cohort of disadvantaged young people in Cornwall the chance to train as chefs. It attracts a lot of attention for the restaurant – and rightly so. But it’s interesting to learn from Beth that the same values driving the programme are applied to other parts of the business.

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For example, rather than dictate quantities to a grower, which can deplete a crop, Fifteen buys what’s manageable for the grower at a given time. The restaurant has given some local producers an incentive to grow, before helping them gradually expand. Fifteen was one of the first clients of Looebased producer The Modern Salad Grower. Today, its clients include The Fat Duck, Ottolenghi and Master Chef. For diners who don’t necessarily want to think about the worthiness of their meal, the proof is in the pudding. Food is rarely this good. Our antipasto is followed by four courses – eight different dishes, which Beth and I divvy up so we each get a taste of it all. From the burrata with peas, pistachio and mint to Cape Cornwall lobster with asparagus and Nduja aioli, monkfish with cockles, cuttlefish risotto and gremolata, ricotta agnoletti, dry aged fillet of beef with bone marrow, three English cheeses, and chocolate Caprese, raspberries and (Cornish natural) yoghurt gelato – I mean, where do I start? If this were a review, it would be dullsville. Nothing bad here. All just extraordinarily good. “There’s a synchronicity between Cornwall and Italy,” says Beth and I have to agree. Dishes are infused with sunshine: you can taste it in the yellow petals of the zucchini flower and the fresh herbs of the gremolata, and in the way good Italian food just is. Eaten slowly over a relaxed three to four hours while in front of us the sun sets over the surfers at Watergate Bay, the tasting menu is a taste of the Cornish lifestyle. Attracted by this pace of life, Beth, a Londoner, moved to Cornwall some eight years ago. Putting a brake on a career in fashion (having gained a degree in Fashion from Central St Martins she went on to work as a writer for Condé Nast) she picked up a camera to document a new passion: the people, the surf and the food scene in Cornwall. Today, although she still works as a fashion features writer, she says, “I see my job as communicating to the world how great Cornwall is”. Through Fifteen Stories, Beth can do that in one fell swoop. From the apprentices to the chefs, the producers, the service, the location and the food on the plate, Fifteen showcases some of the best of what Cornwall has to offer. Elly Owen, the head sommelier who pours us a different wine for each dish on the tasting menu, is a case in point. First things first: the wine she’s chosen is hands down good. But the way she talks us through each pairing, in this professional but relaxed, unobtrusive yet sunny way somehow sums up the whole experience for me. As Beth and I leave and she waves a big goodbye to everyone in the open kitchen, I thank the chef in charge that evening – former Fifteen Cornwall apprentice, now junior sous chef, Jack Bristow. “Our suppliers do the work for us,” he says. “We just do it justice.” They sure do – and that’s a great story. •

fifteencornwall.co.uk

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Food and conversation in The Living Space - @DavidGriffen



A NEW HOTEL COLLECTION LAUNCHES IN THE LAKE DISTRICT



Where do you start when you want to create a new hotel collection? For the creators of Watergate Bay Hotel, the answer is always ‘with exceptional locations’.



Some two years after first asking this question, the team has launched Another Place, a hotel collection whose name reflects its commitment to extraordinary destinations. It’s hardly surprising that place is a priority. While Watergate Bay Hotel will not belong to the new collection, it will remain a guiding influence for Another Place.

The first hotel to join Another Place is The Lake on the shores of Ullswater, the second largest – and for many the most beautiful – lake in England. Set in 18 acres of secluded, unspoilt parkland, The Lake will connect you with this special part of the Lake District. During the first half of 2017 the hotel’s original, 18th-century building is undergoing sensitive restoration and development. By the time it opens in August, The Lake will house 40 bedrooms, including a number of family suites and dogfriendly rooms, as well as fresh, contemporary spaces with views over Ullswater and the fells beyond.

Whether on the coast, by a lake, in the countryside or the city, each hotel in the new collection will derive inspiration from its particular surroundings – just as Watergate Bay Hotel looks constantly to the beach and surf break on its doorstep. Watergate is also lending Another Place its relaxed, active and social ethos. Beyond all that, each hotel in the collection will be as distinct as their locations.



Open-water swimming, sailing, stand-up paddle boarding, cycling, walking, even skiing, will allow you to explore the stunning location – a place that is shaping so much of this hotel, from the colours and textures of its interiors to the active, laid-back living it promotes. Gathering spaces will be woven throughout the hotel and grounds, while in Swim Club you’ll find a warm 20-metre indoor pool and treatment rooms. Good food will be at the heart of The Lake – as will the chance to come together round a table, fire pit or picnic. Led by Neil Haydock, the Lancashire-born chef who’s been at the helm of Watergate Bay for seven years, the hotel’s chefs will make the most of Cumbria’s outstanding produce, as well as their own vegetable patch and herb garden. Another Place is growing at a pace that gives it time enough to instil in its hotels qualities that are instinctive and relevant, yet surprising and refined. The Lake is taking bookings now for August 2017. But there’s more to come, so watch this space.

To book a stay at The Lake visit www.another.place or call 01768 486442



They were all beautiful, but this one was special. She was wilder, more spectacular, and a bit dangerous. I was 10 years old and ready to fall in love. My parents threw us together with uncharacteristic glee, repeatedly taking camping and walking holidays in her company. I loved the way, when we arrived from Penrith in the east, she always seemed rather dreamy and lovely – a bit Laura Ashley – but delving further west she became wilder and moodier – definitely Raquel Welch (this was a long time ago), or should I say Veronica Lake. No, I’m serious. My love was a lake, a nine-mile long silver beauty that is the equal of anything that Italy or Switzerland can offer. My opening encounter with Ullswater was not promising. Our first camp was at Park Foot and my father borrowed a sailing dinghy with the stated desire of teaching me and my brother to sail. The only drawback was that he didn’t know himself. We set off on a lovely calm afternoon from Pooley Bridge and an hour later a vicious little squall blew down off Barton Fell and turned the boat over. The water did not seem so cold, but after half an hour of attempting, and failing, to right the craft, we were all exhausted and starting to shiver. Fortunately a man in a speedboat came along and helped us to shore. We stuck to using

ONE EXPLORER’S LONGSTANDING LOVE AFFAIR WITH A LAKE Words and images: Kevin Rushby

the vessel as a rowing boat after that. Curiously the experience did not put me off the lake; if anything it increased my fascination. When I built a coracle, it was Ullswater that I automatically chose for the grand launch. When I bought my first tent, it was to Side Farm at Patterdale that I went to camp. When I decided to do a triathlon, I chose one of the hardest and most spectacular, the Helvellyn, whose swim is in the shockingly chilly water off Glenridding pier. In any estimation of Ullswater, that fell, Helvellyn, looms large. I’ve climbed it dozens of times from Glenridding and I would happily go again tomorrow. Like the lake itself, the route has a perfectly wellbalanced drama about it: a bit of forest at the start – watch out for red squirrels – a bit of a tussocky uphill trial followed by unfolding views that just get better and better. Everyone remembers Striding Edge, certainly the finest ridge walk in England, matched only by Swirral Edge, its immediate neighbour. Between them lies Red Tarn which, despite any suggestion of heat in the name, is freezing cold all year.


One baking hot summer’s day, I came down Swirral

steamer – Golden Boy in complete new top-of-the-

Edge with my new dog, Wilf, then a pup who had to be

range walking gear, me in my filthy old boots,

carried part of the way. At Red Tarn I left him on shore

carrying a leaky thermos flask. We lunched on Place

and swam across, only to turn for the return leg and

Fell, which is a great spot for it, with views to Brothers

find him right behind me. He had never been in water

Water and Ullswater. Golden Boy had brought quails

before. From that moment Wilf was a hero and the

eggs, a selection of Italian artisanal cheeses and

swim in Red Tarn a fixture of every summer ascent.

prosciutto, a Bulgarian shopska salad, a dozen bread rolls, various patisserie, a bottle of Dom Perignon and

Dogs, it should be said, have long had heroic status on

a guide to carry it all; I had half a bar of Kendal Mint

this fell, ever since the artist Charles Gough fell to his

Cake and half a flask of tea. I suggested we share.

death on Striding Edge in 1805. His body was guarded

The weather was superb and Golden Boy declared

by his faithful terrier, Foxie, for several weeks before

he loved the mountains: “What do you call it again?

discovery. A small plaque marks the spot these days,

The Lakeland District?”

a bit of a pilgrimage for any hound. It is perhaps typically English that the dog should be

When we finished the day, he demanded a massage –

commemorated and not the man.

not from me, from a trained professional – and then ran up a £486 bill at the bar. I cannot imagine how he

That tragic event was in the early days of hill

managed that, but then I was concentrating hard on

walking. Both Coleridge and Wordsworth came up

helping him achieve his avowed goal of sampling

several times and the latter wrote a fine poem,

every whisky in the house.

‘Inmate of a Mountain Dwelling’, about the view with the “solemn shadows” of the valleys and the distant

There are, it has to be said, some excellent places to

ocean, “a silver shield”. In those days mining was just

celebrate various swims, ascents and descents on the

starting in the Lakes and the most famous, Greenside,

shores of the lake. There is even a brewery now, at the

close to Ullswater’s northern shore was to open in 1825.

Brackenrigg Inn at Watermillock. Other local ales are

By the time it closed in 1961, 45 tonnes of silver had

available at Sharman’s store in Glenridding, one of

been extracted. I once donned a wetsuit and clambered

two shops where I’ve stocked up for walks and camps

all the way up Swart Beck to the mine’s entrance.

for many years (the other is the mini-market around

At one spot I fell into a deep pool and, scrabbling for

the corner).

a handhold, picked up a fist-sized lump of galena, the raw natural lead sulfide that holds the silver. I couldn’t

The lake love affair still goes on. I still get excited

believe my luck, and heaved its considerable weight

when I drive over to see her from my home in Yorkshire.

around with me all day, even into the pub that night

But I do vary my approach nowadays: sometimes I

for several celebratory pints. No doubt like many

cycle over ‘The Struggle’, the legendary pass in from

hapless prospectors before me, I then managed to

Ambleside, foregoing the softer Laura Ashley preamble

lose my fortune somewhere between the beer pumps

for the straight Raquel Welch experience. Yes, she can

and the saloon doors. The loss still hurts.

still send shivers through me. The thrill is not gone.

If the Helvellyn side of Ullswater has attracted walkers

Kevin Rushby is Guardian Travel’s ‘Explorer’, and author of four travel books. His latest book, Paradise, is a historical account of human’s search for perfection.

for over two centuries, it is the other side that remains less trodden. It was there, on a bizarre assignment, I was sent to “help de-stress” a prima donna television host. I called him ‘Golden Boy’. We were dropped off at Howtown pier by the highly recommended Ullswater

" The lake love affair still goes on."



WIN A STAY AT ANOTHER PLACE Be one of the first to stay at Another Place, The Lake. Enter our competition online to be in with a chance of winning a two-night stay.

www.another.place 01768 486442

life@another.place




SEAN CONWAY TRADED A FIVER FOR A LIFE OF ADVENTURE

Many of us know the feeling. We go to work, because we have to, but we’re not happy. We feel trapped, but can’t seem to make a change. And each day we submit to the daily grind, a sense of loss gnaws at us. We miss our younger self, the person with dreams, the young man or woman who was going to climb mountains, surf waves and live a life of adventure. Sean Conway – now known around the world for a series of extraordinary feats of endurance – was one of us. “I’d just turned 30, and was living and working in London, with a successful career,” says the Zimbabwean. “I was a photographer, taking commercial portraits of up to 15,000 people a year. But I was miserable. I had bad skin and was depressed with the life I’d made. I kept thinking ‘why aren’t I trekking in a jungle in Peru, or doing something like that?’” Sean was one of us – until he decided to make a radical change. “One day I walked into the office, and said to my business partner: ‘I want out’. I sold my stake for £1. I had no money, but I knew that I wanted to go travelling and vowed to fill my life with experiences rather than things from that day on.” And some. In just five years, Sean, 35, has amassed enough adventures for a lifetime. They include cycling around the world (with a fractured spine), setting the record for sailing the length of Britain (83 hours and 53 minutes, from Land’s End to John O’Groats) and walking from his mother’s house in Cheltenham to London – for less than £48.50, the cost of the train. Eagle-eyed visitors to Watergate Bay might even have seen Sean: he swam along the bay, not once but twice, as he became the first and only man to cycle, swim and run the length of Britain, and this year set the bar yet higher in completing a 4,200-mile, 85-day continuous triathlon of the British coastline. “As soon as I quit my job, I started to think about ways to finance travelling,” says Sean from his home aboard the Lady Sybil, a restored Second World War gunboat. “It struck me that if I could find a record, to be broken or set, I might be able to get sponsors to help fund it. That’s when cycling around the world came to me. I felt a real flame of excitement in my belly as soon as I had the idea.” Sean was injured in the United States during his cycling trip, and so didn’t bag the world record, but the flame kindled within was undimmed. He set about challenge after challenge – “the more bonkers, the better”, as he puts it – and acquired a notable tagline: 'Britain’s most inspiring maniac'. Books about his exploits have followed, so too work as a motivational speaker. There is never a dull moment for the former commercial photographer, who is presently contemplating – as you would – running the length of Africa. He’s also got a keen eye on learning to surf – and reckons he’ll sign up for lessons at Watergate Bay. “It’d be fitting – after all, I’ve swum and sailed Watergate Bay. I ought to learn to surf there.” It’s all a far cry from his former life in corporate London, but if ever he needs a reminder of what he escaped, Sean need only look at the result of a £4 investment he made on the day he quit his job. “I bought a frame,” he says. “It houses the £1 I got when I sold up.” That £5 symbolises the way Conway changed his life, but it’s more than that. It tells all of us that it doesn’t take much to make a difference. What we do could be a far-flung adventure, or it could be something on our doorstep. Being radical is about being brave enough to make a decision, to decide to do things differently – and who knows, it might even cost less than a fiver. •

Words: Alex Wade | Photography: Brock Elbank

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STRIKE A BALANCE WITH ONE SIMPLE BIT OF KIT

On Saturdays, the beach at Watergate Bay becomes a scene of lunging, ball throwing, rope tugging virtue. At either 10am or 2pm, depending on the tide, Extreme Academy instructor Pete Atherton leads a group of game individuals through a circuit training session called Beach Fit. The mix of hotel guests and local regulars are put through their paces using equipment ranging from speed ladders to hurdles, slam balls and battle ropes. Arranged in a large rectangle across the beach, the 12-station circuit provides a full body workout – both cardio and muscular. The exercises, combined with the way they’re performed (20 seconds on a piece of equipment; 20 seconds’ rest; 20 seconds on the same piece of equipment; move on to the next), amount to High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT. HIIT gets the heart rate up quickly, burning calories in a short time. According to Pete, “It gives you a lasting metabolism boost. As you recover from the workout, you burn energy for two days.”

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Much though I like the sound of that, I’m not sure I’m up to Beach Fit – or rather, up for it. While I know all that endorphin-releasing rushing about is bound to give me a high, I’m keen to focus on just one aspect of it – the newest bit of kit to join the circuit: the slackline. A slackline is a flat length of webbing tensioned between two anchors – tree trunks, say. Given there are no trees on the beach at Watergate Bay, Extreme Academy uses a portable ‘slackrack’ from which a slackline is suspended around a foot off the ground. During Beach Fit, Pete gets you to jump over the slackline several times, side-on, feet together. At the end of the session, the slackline is used as its makers intended – as something to walk on, much like a tightrope. Non-strenuous by comparison, Pete uses this activity as a cool-down exercise. It’s this I’d like to try. “This is leisurely fun,” says Pete, as I prepare to walk the line.


It’s a bright autumn day with an onshore wind and I’m just happy to be barefoot on the sand, my jeans rolled up (neither lycra nor bowler hat necessary). I hop onto one end of the slackline and take a few steps before falling off. I try again. Instinctively, I hold my arms out to the side, but Pete advises I raise them above my head. I take a few steps, wobble and have to jump off again. “Focus on the end of the line,” says Pete. I do and, though I get a bit further, I’m far from sturdy. I decide it’s got something to do with my core and try to engage it, but Pete says, “Relax! Your muscles will react and you’ll balance as you would naturally.” As a kid I spent hours walking along a low wall about the width of a slackline and I’m determined to crack this. Pete gives me a few more tips. I should sway with it, and place my feet along the line toes first. I should bend my knees slightly – which as well as aiding my balance is good for my quads and glutes. It takes a few attempts, a lot of focus, and not worrying

Words: Caroline Davidson | Illustration: Emily Hamilton

about the people watching me through the windows of Fifteen, but eventually I manage to walk from one end of the slackline to the other before turning to walk back again. Pete was right: relaxing is key. As I relax, I am in tune with the gentle movement of the fabric beneath my toes and the elements willing to push me to one side. It’s a small triumph, finding my balance, but it’s a hugely enjoyable one. Once I’ve found it, I want to keep going. It feels good, being on the straight and narrow.

“Balance with nature,” says Pete. “Balance your indoor time with your outdoor time. Balance good food and drink with being active.”

Slacklining can give you all that balance – and more. It’s fun that’s good for your bum. I skip off the beach with ideas of getting a slackline for my garden. •

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Harry Timson has come a long way since he caught his first wave at Watergate Bay aged just three years old. Now 21, the Extreme Academy-sponsored surfer tells us about a life dedicated to the ocean.

I was born almost as far away from the ocean as you can get in the UK. Each summer we would up sticks in Leicestershire and travel to Watergate Bay where my dad would work as a lifeguard and surf instructor. When it was time to go I would cry in the car the whole way home. I was three and at Watergate Bay when my dad pushed me into my first clean wave. From that moment on I haven’t stopped surfing. My whole family’s lives revolve around the ocean. My older brother is a RNLI lifeguard supervisor as well as a lifeboat volunteer, helping prevent tragedies at sea. My younger brother and sister are sponsored surfers, like me. It’s inspiring to see them progress and mature in their surfing. Now they come to me for advice. I am so grateful my parents decided to move to Cornwall. They thought it would be better for all of us growing up on the beach, but it must have been really hard leaving a huge part of their lives behind like that. A lot of people ask, ‘How do you make a living from surfing?’ There are different ways – being sponsored, freesurfing or competing. I have tried all of them. I won nearly every single contest I entered aged seven or eight, but now I enjoy freesurfing waves around the world, getting photo and video coverage in the media, and making money from sponsor incentives. When I’m not in the water I am promoting myself through social media – it’s the perfect advertising for brands.

My father, Vince, travels with me almost everywhere I go, filming and shooting me in the surf. He’s a dedicated cameraman and without him I wouldn’t be where I am today. I try to surf as much as I can in whatever conditions, always trying to improve and push myself. When the waves are flat I do surf-specific training twice a day, and in winter I do pool training sessions to boost my cardio and paddle power. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I live in France but it wouldn’t be far off. I spend a lot of time with Volcom who have a house in Hossegor – one of the best beach breaks in the world. It’s the perfect training ground. There really is nowhere like home. Watergate Bay gets great waves and I can surf with my family and friends here. But I really enjoy new places and adventures. The long layovers and delayed flights might be a downside, but that’s all part of it. I wouldn’t want to leave the ocean for more than a few days. I haven’t been back to Leicestershire for years but all my relatives up there know how much I love surfing. I couldn’t ask for more support from my family. That means a lot. Surfing is my life... I can’t imagine ever doing anything else. •


PRO SURFER HARRY TIMSON LEADS A LIFE ON THE ROAD

Interview: Sarah Ashworth | Photography: Vince Timson


THE AWARD-WINNING COMMUNITY PROJECT CHANGING LIVES THROUGH SURFING


When Joe Taylor founded The Wave Project in 2010 there was little interest in surfing as a therapeutic tool. But speaking to one boy's parents after a six-week pilot scheme it became clear the project had the potential to make a real difference to children and young adults suffering with anxiety. “Their son had been referred to the programme with high levels of anxiety, which had caused him to stop speaking,”explains Joe. “As his confidence grew, he suddenly started chatting away to one of the volunteers in the middle of a session.” Since then, The Wave Project has developed numerous awardwinning initiatives that are helping to improve the emotional wellbeing of youngsters. New projects have been set up around the UK, including Wales, Scotland and even inner-city London.

Participants, volunteers and passers-by – everyone was drawn in by the event’s electric atmosphere. Along with glorious blue skies, perfect-sized waves and the dramatic location, the Summer Surf Challenge had all the ingredients for a fantastic and memorable day on the beach.

Supported by Extreme Academy and Watergate Bay Hotel, the MS-Amlin funded Summer Surf Challenge is one such project. Last summer, it involved hundreds of local volunteers and disabled children – some with very complex disabilities – hitting the waves at Watergate Bay for a fun and free weekend of surfing. Now in its sixth year, the project is designed to give children who wouldn’t usually be able to surf the chance to get in the water.

Sponsored big-wave surfer and former Watergate Bay lifeguard Tom Butler was there. He says he loves every minute of his time volunteering with the project. “I get as much satisfaction from seeing another person enjoying the water as I do myself. It's amazing to see how far everyone has come since they joined the programme years ago.”

“What’s beautiful about surfing is that it is such a levelling sport,” says Joe. “That sense of freedom, travelling along the wave at speed… Once you’re on a surfboard the experience is the same. It’s humbling to see how enthusiastically everyone embraced the opportunity.”

The Wave Project is aiming high. Now that surfing has been officially recognised as an Olympic sport, there’s a possibility the same youngsters will become part of the first UK Paralympic surf team to compete in Tokyo 2020. The project hopes to sponsor some of the future athletes. Joe tells us another story, this time of Louis (pictured left with Tom on the day) who has autistic traits as the result of brain damage. When Joe and Tom first met Louis five years ago he was 12, and it was fair to say his behaviour was uncontrollable. “He pinched my car keys and hid them in a wetsuit boot,” he laughs. Five years later and Louis is at college. “He recently completed his work experience in The Wave Project office. He’s probably better than me at surfing now too!”• The Summer Surf Challenge returns to Watergate Bay over the weekend 8–9 July 2017. waveproject.com

Words: Sarah Ashworth | Photography: Sarah Clarke

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JANUARY

JULY

27–29 Yoga Break

8–9 Wave Project Summer Surf Challenge 29 Sandball

FEBRUARY 3–5 Swim Clinic

AUGUST

MARCH

Rip Curl Grom Search 5–6 Shoreline

3 Beach Hut Tapas Night 4 Otter Handplane Workshops 10–12 Swim Clinic

SEPTEMBER

APRIL 1–2 Legend of the Bay 29 April – 1 May English National Surfing Championships

15 Beach Hut Lobster Friday 17–19 Yoga Break 22–24 Coastal Fitness Weekend 23–24 BSUPA 29 Beach Hut Surf & Turf Supper

OCTOBER MAY 3–5 Yoga Break 5–7 Swim Clinic 6–7 Surfaced Pro 19–21 Aspall Polo on the Beach

JUNE 23–25 Coastal Fitness Weekend

8–10 Yoga Break

NOVEMBER 3–5 ThunderCat Racing 10 Beach Hut Supper

DECEMBER Beach Hut Christmas Party Nights Beach Hut Christmas Day Lunch Beach Hut New Year’s Eve Dinner


Polo on the Beach, Sandball, Legends of the Bay, ThunderCats, English National Surfing Championships, it all happens at Watergate Bay.

watergatebay.co.uk/events/calendar/

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POLO ON THE BEACH 19–21 May watergatebay.co.uk/polo

Polo match action - @kirstinprisk



WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE OFFCUTS OF WOODEN SURFBOARDS? IF YOU’RE JAMES OTTER, YOU TURN THEM INTO HANDPLANES. Have you ever wondered what impact your surfboard might be having on the environment? Currently, more than a million boards are made each year worldwide. At the end of a season or two of use a board may snap, get waterlogged, or its owner might get bored, and then the board gets discarded. “Surfboards simply aren’t built to last,” says James Otter, founder of Otter Surfboards and advocate of wooden surfboards. “Longevity is a much overlooked characteristic when looking for a new board. But when you have one for a long time you get to know it. You learn how to really surf it." With a background in designing and making traditional timber framed structures, James turned his skills to crafting wooden surfboards. Otter Surfboards evolved from his passion to marry wood with wave riding and the search for a board with minimal environmental impact. Making wooden handplanes was a natural extension. Essentially, handplaning involves gliding across a wave with a small float – or handplane – on the end of your arm. James recalls how he got into it: “I can’t remember ever having a bad bodysurf,” he says. “The surf was terrible, the wind was howling and my friend and I were at a loose end when we decided to give handplaning a go.” They knocked up a couple of rudimentary versions of handplanes using leftover pieces of wood from James’s workshop and ran into the sea. “We were like children again,” he says smiling.

With the addition of a pair of swim fins to help to kick you into waves earlier, these small concave boards give you extra lift when held flat in the water. Dig your leading arm further into the water’s surface using the handplane’s rail – ‘sides’ in surfing terms – and you can control your position in the wave. With a bit of practice you might even find your way into a small barrel or two.

“It’s a more intimate experience with the wave compared to surfing,” explains James. “You’re completely submerged under the water, your body being propelled along with the wave.” Extreme Academy provides all the tools you need to give handplaning a go yourself, as well as lessons to help get you started. Similarly, the aim of James’ Handplane Workshops – in which you make your own wooden handplane – is to share this fun, exhilarating form of wave riding. At the end of the day you will have taken your blank wooden canvas, drawn a template, cut the outline, shaped the rails and smoothed and oiled your plane ready to hit the waves. The workshops are suitable for teenagers but are challenging enough to make the hours fly by. “Some find using the tools tricky, others struggle visualising their shape and turning it into a reality,” says James. But, he adds, like the art of handplaning itself, “The most important principle of shaping is to wear a smile on your face”. •

Join James for a handplaning workshop at Watergate Bay on Saturday 4 March 2017. Call 01637 861295 to book.

Words: Sarah Ashworth | Photography: Mat Arney

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CONTEMPORARY DANCE EXPLORING OUR ENDURING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SEA

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“The beach is a lovely place,” says choreographer Simon Birch, “but it can be changeable, stormy and dangerous – a metaphor for our own vulnerability.” That was the inspiration behind Simon’s work for Shoreline – part of the SALT landscape/dance Festival 2016 – that took to the sand for a stirring spectacle at Watergate Bay last summer, and which is returning in August 2017. Performed by five professional dancers to live choral music sung by the Shoreline Choir, comprised of community singers from across Cornwall, Shoreline is part of a pay-what-you-can event that also sees local school groups create their own dance on the beach. As writer Philly Byrde says in her review of last year’s event, published here, Shoreline brings to Cornwall’s wider community an impressive, memorable performance of contemporary dance.

Something extraordinary is happening on Watergate Bay. A group of men and women – floral frocks and barefoot, suited and unbooted – are stirring themselves. They warm their limbs, slap their chests, test their voices against the echo chamber of the cliffs that soar above them. Leather suitcases rest at their sides. They could be lost on their way to a Fifties postcard. So Shoreline begins, an arms-wide-open yet stunningly intimate performance. Without the safety net of a backstage warm-up, the piece eases itself into being, drawing Saturday beachgoers in and building to a striking closing image, before ebbing away into the crowds. Exploring our connection to the sea, ‘the borders and boundaries we fear or dare to cross’, Simon Birch’s Shoreline is a series of choreographed snapshots, brought to life by a formidable choir directed by Claire Ingleheart. Full disclosure: what I know about contemporary dance you could write on the back of a postcard and still have enough room for stamps to send it around the world several times. Yet this feels accessible without being patronising – the rawness of the performance and its setting taps into one of our most instinctive and intriguing connections with landscape.

Review: Philly Byrde | Photography: Karl Mackie

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In Cornwall, the beach is our common ground, our gathering space and our story. There are potential distractions, but the piece admits them – the puff-squee puff-squee of a surfer inflating his kite, rip warnings from the lifeguards, yappy dogs. Everything is embraced in the soundscape, and the choir’s diction remains faultless above it. The performers are both focused and open to possibility, which creates some beautiful incidental images: the perfect arc sand makes as it flies into the air from a pointed toe, silhouettes rushing to the sea as kites wheel like gulls above them. As the singers chant prayers for waves and sun, composed for Shoreline by Jon Hughes, the dancers create their own beachscape to explore. Their bodies strong and emotionally articulate, they build structures from themselves for each other to climb, with tentative, joyful steps. These energetic early movements generate a constant, irresistible urging towards the water’s edge, paired with patchworked lyrics that snatch at salt-tinged memories (‘birthplace and barefoot, catching sea bass on Black Rock…’). My stomach knots as these scenes unfurl, gently tugging at memories both lyrical and physical. There’s one scene played to a simple chord from the choir, where the dancers whip and float like seaweed in the current, which transports me achingly-sharp to childhood snorkelling. This is magic. But despite the initial suggestion of the costumes, the piece refuses to settle into cosy seaside nostalgia. The suitcases make stark sense once they are abandoned on the sand, and the lyrics shift from memory to witness testimony. The dancers flow into a choreography startlingly tender for its wild setting, holding each other as the company sings of the Aegean, and the old women, teachers and students helping refugees to her shores.

Review: Philly Byrde | Photography: Karl Mackie

Soon the dancers fall to the sand, their movements more violent as they mimic flotsam tumbled helplessly in the shore-break. There is something so disturbing about bodies in wet, sandy clothes – it looks unnatural, out of place. Paired with the unsettling sound of them slapping into the ground, their movement raises the memory of Alan Kurdi, that one image on the margin of the land that changed the world’s perspective on the refugee crisis. The closing image of a woman lifted tall, a beacon anchored in a rock of grouped performers below her, speaks of hope and unity. The choir is used so thoughtfully throughout this piece, far more than mere accompaniment. They are the dancers’ shield and shelter, creating temporary amphitheatres and viewpoints, removing the need for intrusive marshalls. Their harmonies are a mix of shanty scales and anthemic hymns, which settle into – rather than fight with – the constant, background tenor of the ocean. It seems impossible to witness this experience and not be moved – not least by the simple sensuality of watching in bare feet on soft sand, constantly having to uproot and reposition yourself in a way that is so different from fidgeting in an unyielding theatre seat. Shorelines are the margins between what we know and the promise of something new, between safety and risk, firmness underfoot and slipping away. It seems perfect, then, that I came here for my first toe-dipping into contemporary dance. I'd urge you to do the same. • Philly Byrde reviews new performance work in Cornwall through the Hall For Cornwall 'New Reviewers' programme Shoreline returns to Watergate Bay 5–6 August 2017

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Last light - @handluggageonly


Illumination - @davidgriffen


Cordyline australis

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COASTAL PLANTS FROM THE FAMILIAR TO THE EXOTIC

There are many things that attract people to living, working and holidaying in Cornwall, but perhaps chief among them is nature. Relatively unaffected by urban sprawl, surrounded by sea, warmer than the rest of the country and yet more exposed to the elements – bright sunshine, howling winds and Cornish mizzle among them – Cornwall looks and feels different to the rest of the country.

Echium pininiana

Words: Mike Nelhams | Illustration: Nicole Heidaripour

To celebrate some of the natural sights common to Cornwall yet rare elsewhere, we invited botanical illustrator (and Cornwall dweller) Nicole Heidaripour and curator of Tresco Abbey Gardens Mike Nelhams to show us round the county in six examples of flora.

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Ulex europaeus

Gunnera manicata

Carpobrotus edulis

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Over the course of a year the Cornish coastline can present to its visitors many different faces and moods. The north coast offers rugged cliffs and a windswept quality with sparse and isolated outcrops of vegetation. The southern coastline, meanwhile, presents a completely different aspect with its softer, protected hidden creeks, abundantly furnished with woodlands and gentler coastal walks.

branches shaped into layers as it tussles with regular salty gales. Echium pininiana is a tall attractive biannual and a native of the Canary Islands that has found its way around much of Cornwall. Although considered tender it has a remarkable tolerance to colder temperatures well below freezing. Having a life span of only 18 months it will grow up to four to five metres in height in the

One iconic sight is the stately Cupressus macrocarpa or ‘Monterey Cypress’, from the Bay of Monterey in California. Introduced to Cornwall and Scilly in 1894, the tree can often be seen standing alone and isolated on cliff tops. It will grow to 30 metres high on the sheltered south coast while on the north coast it will make a stunted tree giving the lopsided appearance of trying to evade the wind, its

Words: Mike Nelhams | Illustration: Nicole Heidaripour

On a more practical note, if you ever run out of garden twine the leaf of the Cordyline can be stripped down and used to produce a very long lasting substitute when tying up any garden plant. Gunnera manicata can be found around the wet and shady areas within the southern coastline, often under a shady bough near the water’s edge. Among its common names ‘Giant Rhubarb’ stands out, as the plant will produce large umbrella like leaves with long stalks up to six foot high.

The diversity in both coastlines is fully reflected in the way that plant life naturally inhabits these areas. Throughout the four seasons the generally warmer climate in the South West influences what will grow – and how it will grow. Being coastal, some of the plants that thrive here are shaped and matured by the winds and sea breezes they defy on a daily basis. Much of the plant life that grows around our cliffs and shoreline adapts to the local conditions. Many of the plants termed ‘exotics’ have made their escape from semi-cultivated landscapes. Here are just a few varieties you may come across on your strolls around the Cornish coastline.

copious and heavily scented flower heads that flower in June. Native to New Zealand it is well able to withstand any salty breeze that the West Country may throw at it.

What coastline is not enhanced by the plant we all know for its sweet coconut scent and bright golden flowers – the humble ‘Gorse’ or Ulex europaeus?

Cupressus macrocarpa

second spring period of its life, producing a marvellous focal point of a slender spearlike spike of deep blue flowers that will appear in the second season. Not a plant that is easily missed. Cordyline australis or the ‘Cornish Palm’ will always stand out in an open landscape. Any palm tree on British soil tends to be admired and evokes a feeling of sunnier climes and warmth. It will produce

How many times have we cursed it as we try to find that coastal path that tapers into a dead end of spikes that poke through our flimsy trousers? There can be no finer sight than a colony of flowering Gorse at the height of summer on a Cornish cliff. Carpobrotus edulis or ‘Hottontot Fig’ has become very familiar to many of Cornwall’s beaches. It clings to the ground with its stubby succulent fingers, growing at a tremendous rate as it creeps along contours of the shoreline while stabilising any sand dune it happens to find. Its pale yellow flowers turn to pink with age. •

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Hannah Stacey

Matt Smith

Jessica Cooper

Tom Raffield

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Darren Dickey


Matt Smith, co-editor of Backwash surf magazine: Modern life tries to drag us in certain directions so I try very hard to reverse this. Growing up in St Ives I have made decisions to live and work as close to nature as possible. Sailing, surfing and gardening, they all require you to be present – simple, small tasks make the big picture seem straightforward. Backwash is an ode to cold-water surfing. We want to tell inspiring stories that are remembered and passed on. Our first issue focused on Ireland and for each copy sold we planted a tree there. I recently visited a woodland community in south Cornwall. The people were co-housing, working and living together – children young and old. I had driven past it hundreds of times, but it’s what you don’t know in Cornwall that keeps things interesting. Hannah Stacey, broadcaster and former UK freediving champion: Dad used to make floating platforms for the beach out of fishing net and tractor inner tubes. If you tumbled into the sea, you’d have to hold your breath until someone pulled you to safety. There is a weightlessness as you descend in freediving. Relaxing your body, heart beating slower, looking back upwards through slanting columns of light. It can be a long ascent, but drawing that first breath as you resurface is like taking a shot of oxygen. Like being reborn. In contrast, my hectic work as a broadcaster can bring stress, but Cornwall serves up the most brilliant stories. I recently coached newsreader Kate Silverton to freedive on the Helford River. We set out on a gloomy May day but when the sun finally appeared it delivered another stunning filming location. Tom Raffield, furniture designer: There aren't many forests in Cornwall, so finding an old gamekeeper’s lodge for my workshop – in one of the last remaining native English woodlands this far west in the county – was the highlight of my life. As a boy I always felt a strong connection with the Cornish landscape, particularly the water. Bending wood with steam, which informs a lot of my work, is a traditional woodworking practice heavily associated with boat building. It is essentially an art process, enabling the artist to shape wood as you might shape clay. I'm inspired by my surroundings on a daily basis. It’s a magical place to be based. Jessica Cooper, artist: Winter is my favourite time to paint, with no distraction but the bleakness of the West Penwith landscape. I am aware of how the changing sea and sky can highlight isolated forms, such as a single tree or a building on the horizon. Turning on the radio, opening the windows and reflecting upon the paintings I’m working on – this quiet time settling in to my Newlyn School of Art studio is important. Being in this space helps to get me through any mental block I may have. I always write a page in my notebook before I go to sleep: work ideas, letters to an anonymous person, the state of the world, my dreams for the future. Darren Dickey, head gardener at Trebah Garden: Early flowering magnolias are always a welcome start to the year, their bright white through to deep pink flowers lead us out of winter and into spring. In 2015, our champion Magnolia campbellii for Cornwall’s Spring Story (marking the official start of spring in the UK) flowered at the end of December – the earliest in recorded history. Continuing into summer our later flowering rhododendrons catch your attention with their beautiful scents. Come autumn acers are ablaze with wonderful reds and yellows before their leaves finally fall. Even in their restful winter state, some of our trees and shrubs display striking ornamental stem colours. Trebah has something to give whatever the time of year. •

FIVE CREATIVE MINDS SHARE THE CORNWALL THAT INSPIRES THEM

Interviews: Sarah Ashworth | Photography: Simon Burt, David Gray, Michelle Hawkins, Louise Murray

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In her latest book, The Goodness of Dogs, India Knight provides a sound, witty guide to dog ownership. Inspired by her own love of dogs, the book shares practical, bighearted wisdom on how to choose, train, feed, live with and care for your dog. In the following five extracts, each from ‘A Breed Apart’, the book’s introductory chapter, India tells of her changing relationship with dogs – and how today, as the owner of one happy dog, her life’s never been better.

INDIA KNIGHT ON THE BRILLIANCE OF DOGS AND OWNING ONE

If you love dogs – the idea of dogs, the reality of dogs, the imaginary dog you will have one day, the beloved dog you had as a child or the dog(s) you already own – then this book is for you. This book loves you, because this book believes that dog people are just kind of . . . not better, exactly, but a breed apart, let’s say. A special pod. Chosen. (I totally mean ‘better’ – I’m just trying to be tactful.) This is because we are privileged enough to know dogs, to have them in our lives and to experience firsthand the joy – the great and infinite heart-soaring joy – that they bring. I am demented about our dog, Brodie. I am crazed with love for him. He is my favourite person-that-isn’t‑actually‑a‑person. It’s like a joke, how much I love him. I think about him all the time. On the rare instances where I’m away from him, I pine and look at photographs of him on my phone, as if I were twelve and he were dog-Zoella, except it’s so much more special than that. I feel such tenderness for him. He moves me deeply.

*


I got my first dog, Otis, sort of by accident. I had two little boys and a very new boyfriend, and I’d vaguely wondered – aloud – whether it mightn’t be nice to have a dog. The boys, of course, started jumping up and down at the idea and saying, ‘Please, please can we have a dog? Pleeeeeease.’ We bought a dog breeds book and got as far as identifying a likely breed, and then one day this boyfriend appeared with a puppy. Just like that. It turned out his dad bred this very breed, the divine Soft-Coated Wheaten terrier, and there we suddenly were, with a dog. Called, following a hastily convened Saturday morning family conference in my bed, Otis.

thing about rubbing the dog’s nose in the pee, I felt genuinely incensed and upset on the dog’s behalf; I was so cross that I actually made my excuses and left. But we didn’t know back then that any of this was already old-fashioned thinking, and that people who raised happy dogs no longer did any of these things and instead based their training methods on kindness and rewards. We were stuck with a parentor even grandparent-inherited Barbara Woodhouse type of thinking about dogs.

*

*

We belonged to the generation – generations, plural – that thought that a dog who’d fouled a corner of the sitting room ‘needed’ to ‘have his nose rubbed in it’, ‘to be taught a lesson’, and it didn’t occur to us that this was both disgusting and unkind (well, actually, it did – it’s not a thing I’ve ever done, thank God). We didn’t think that it might be absolutely baffling for the dog, for reasons I’ll explain later, or that that bafflement might turn itself into various unhappy behaviours and anxieties. That sort of approach was very much the norm. It amazes and saddens me that, in some quarters, it still is: only the other day I was talking to a friend about her mother’s dog, who was visiting. This dog peed everywhere. ‘Poor dog,’ I said. The Otis-era me would have said, ‘Ugh, what a nightmare.’ When the friend said the

Words: India Knight | Illustration: Sally Muir

My partner’s children were a couple of years older and very keen on the idea too. Everybody slept through the night those days; we had a bit more money; I worked from home; and at the time we lived in London next to two big parks... So we started doing our research again, gingerly. I wanted another Wheaten – they are such lovely dogs, both inside and out, and, being super-sociable, brilliant with big families. We talked to various breeders, identified one, sat back and waited . . . and on 1 April 2013, a litter was born. We went to visit it, in Sheffield, a few weeks later. We both knew which puppy was ‘ours’ within seconds – it really was love at first sight. That love, pretty powerful in the first place, has now, three years later, reached, as I was saying, almost demented levels. It grows and grows.

*

Fast-forward a decade or so, and my new partner and I (I, mostly, which is ironic because I’m not the one who walks into a room and bellows, ‘WHERE IS THE BEST DOG IN THE WORLD? WHERE IS THE KING OF PUPS?’) started wanting a dog again. The children were now young men, and their sister, who’d come along in the intervening period, was nearly ten – not a needy, demanding toddler or a human-dynamo five-year-old, crucially.

Because the salient fact is this: dogs are made of joy. They are happiness with four legs and a tail, and when they’re happy it isn’t just the tail that wags, but the whole bottom half of the body. It’s fantastically endearing and completely life-enhancing. Proximity to happy dogs makes your life a thousand times better (and proximity to sad dogs is no good for man nor beast). Onward, then, to dog nirvana, or as close as any of us are likely to get. And three joyous yaps for the goodness of dogs. •

Watergate Bay Hotel and the beach are dog friendly all year round. India Knight’s book The Goodness of Dogs is published by Penguin Books and available from all good book shops.

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A GUIDE TO YOUR NEXT GREAT READ

From gripping psychological thrillers to exciting debuts and new novels by literary greats, Penguin Books share their top titles in 2017. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Arundhati Roy 26 June 2017; Hamish Hamilton hardback, £20.00. In 1997 Arundhati Roy won The Booker Prize for her groundbreaking novel The God of Small Things. Now the author returns with The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, her first work of fiction in twenty years. House of Names, Colm Toibin 5 May 2017; Viking hardback, £18.99. From one of the world’s greatest writers, House of Names is a brilliantly imagined story of a family at war with itself. Clytemnestra eagerly waits for her husband, Agamemnon, to return victorious from battle. Before he had set out he had sacrificed their beautiful young daughter to the gods. When Agamemnon returns home his wife will be waiting for him, for his death, for her revenge. And so this story of heartbreaking loss and brutal reprisal begins: their son is sent into the countryside to escape the darkness but he cannot avoid the bloody violence that swirls around the court; their other daughter, meanwhile, plots her own course of retribution. Three Daughters of Eve, Elif Shafak 2 February 2017; Viking hardback, £14.99. A sweeping tale of faith and friendship, tradition and modernity, love and unexpected betrayal set in Istanbul and Oxford, this is the eagerly anticipated new novel from the bestselling author of Forty Rules of Love and The Bastard of Istanbul. Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi 5 January 2017; Viking hardback, £12. One of the most exciting literary debuts of 2017, this is the profoundly moving story on the bonds of family and history. Effia and Esi: two sisters with two very different destinies. One sold into slavery; one a slave trader's wife. Taking us from the Gold Coast of Africa to the cotton-picking plantations of Mississippi; the consequences of their fate reverberate through the generations that follow.

Words and photography: Penguin Random House

Gone: a girl, a violin, a life unstrung, Min Kym 6 April 2017; Viking hardback, £14.99. At seven years old Min Kym was a prodigy, the youngest ever pupil at the Purcell School of Music. At 11 she won her first international prize. She worked with many violins, waiting for the day she would play 'the one'. At 21 she found it: a rare 1696 Stradivarius, perfectly suited to her build and temperament. She recorded the Brahms concerto and a world tour was planned. Then, in a train station café, her violin was stolen and in an instant her world collapsed. She descended into a terrifying limbo land, unable to play another note. Gone is the deeply moving story of a child prodigy and her soulmate. My Sister’s Bones, Nuala Ellwood 9 February 2017, Viking hardback, £12.99. One of the most exciting debut thrillers of 2017, My Sister’s Bones tells the story of Kate: a war reporter who returns to the family home following the death of her mother to find a seaside town full of terrifying secrets. The Witchfinder’s Sister, Beth Underdown 2 March 2017, Viking hardback, £12.99. It’s 1645. Alice Hopkins returns in disgrace, husbandless and pregnant, to her brother’s house in the small Essex town of Manningtree. When she left, Matthew was an awkward boy, bullied for the scars that disfigure his face. But the brother Alice has come back to is like a different person. Now Matthew has powerful friends, and mysterious business that keeps him out late into the night. Then the rumours begin: whispers of witchcraft, and of a great book, in which Matthew is gathering women's names. A mysterious historical debut. Swing Time, Zadie Smith 6 July 2017; Hamish Hamilton paperback, £8.99. From the multi-award winning, bestselling author of White Teeth and NW, Swing Time is an extraordinary story about friendship, music and true identity. • Available from all good retailers.

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Ready for Action @lukehayesphotos


Sunset @handluggageonly

For four days each during 2016, three brilliant Instagrammers – photographers Luke Hayes and David Griffen, and travel bloggers Lloyd and Yaya of Hand Luggage Only – took ahold of the @watergatebay Instagram account. In these pages is a selection of the images that reveal their take on the Bay – plus one picture by a budding photographer, aged six. Don’t forget to share your photos with us using #watergatebay.


Waking up at Watergate Bay @handluggageonly



Paddling Out @handluggageonly

Passion Fruit Caipirinha @davidgriffen

Dinner at Zacry’s @handluggageonly


Watergate Bananagram by Lottie Middleton, aged six


Life on the beach is different to life elsewhere; the rules are not the same and priorities shift. Shopping here is different, too. We love that people relax, hang out, natter and get excited and inspired when they come to the Shop on the Beach, and if that means the floor gets a bit sandy, well, that’s just fine by us.


JOIN US FOR SURFING, KITESURFING, TRACTION KITING, SUP, WAVESKI, HANDPLANING & MORE.

Surfing holidays at Watergate Bay start with tuition and hire from Extreme Academy – a place that’s about the balance of life, being active, getting among the elements, chilling out, getting cosy and, most of all, having a good time.


PRICES PER ROOM PER NIGHT

LOW SEASON

MID SEASON

SUMMER HOLIDAYS

SEA VIEW ROOMS STANDARD

B&B

STANDARD D,B&B BETTER B&B BETTER D,B&B BEST

B&B

BEST D,B&B SUITE B&B SUITE D,B&B

THE SEASONS £215 £270 £230 £285 £265 £320 £360 £415

£235 £290 £250 £305 £280 £335 £375 £430

£335 £390 £350 £405 £380 £435 £445 £500

£205 £260 £225 £280 £235 £290 £355 £435

£225 £280 £245 £300 £250 £305 £375 £455

£325 £380 £345 £400 £350 £405 £445 £525

£175 £230 £180 £235 £205 £260 £275 £355 £320 £400 £340 £420

£190 £245 £195 £250 £225 £280 £295 £375 £340 £420 £360 £440

£280 £335 £285 £340 £305 £360 £385 £465 £410 £490 £430 £510

FRONT FACING ROOMS STANDARD B&B STANDARD

D,B&B

BETTER B&B BETTER

D,B&B

BEST B&B BEST D,B&B BETTER FAMILY SUITES B&B BETTER FAMILY SUITES D,B&B

HOUSE ROOMS STANDARD B&B STANDARD

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BETTER B&B BETTER D,B&B BEST B&B BEST D,B&B STANDARD FAMILY SUITES B&B STANDARD FAMILY SUITES D,B&B BETTER FAMILY SUITES B&B BETTER FAMILY SUITES D,B&B BEST FAMILY SUITES B&B BEST FAMILY SUITES D,B&B

VILLAGE FAMILY SUITES BEST FAMILY SUITES B&B BEST FAMILY SUITES D,B&B

£620 £700

£655 £735

VAT is included at the current rate but these prices are subject to change if VAT rises above 20%. E&OE ROOM PRICES All prices are per room per night based on two people sharing, except for Family Suites which are per room per night based on up to six people sharing. An additional 25% of the room rate is charged for a third person in a double room. There is a 25% discount for single occupancy of a double room. CHILDREN Children under three years old (sleeping in a cot) stay free of charge. Children seven and under sharing their parents’ room are charged 20% of the room rate. Children eight and over sharing their parents’ room are charged 25% of the room rate.

£775 £855

LOW SEASON 26 February to 31 March 29 October to 22 December 2 January to 24 February 2018 MID SEASON 1 April to 30 June 3 September to 28 October 27 December to 29 December SUMMER HOLIDAYS 1 July to 2 September CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR BREAKS 23 December to 26 December 30 December to 1 January 2018

ROOMS DETAILS: STANDARD: Contemporary beach living comes as standard. Available as Sea View, Front Facing and House. Some are interconnecting. BETTER: A little bigger than our standard rooms. Some with unrivalled sea views, some interconnecting, all designed with contemporary beach living in mind with wooden floors and textural features. Available as Sea View, Front Facing and House. BEST: The best kind of contemporary beachside living with bigger rooms. Most have sea views, some have balconies and some are interconnecting. Available as Sea View, Front Facing and House. FAMILY SUITES: A king size room for you, while the kids get space of their own. Most of these will sleep up to five people but some will suit a family of six with a cot. All have a contemporary beach-house style with a separate bunk room. Available as Front Facing and House. VILLAGE FAMILY SUITES: Contemporary two-bedroom properties situated adjacent to the hotel offering our most spacious family accommodation.Open-plan coastal living with a kitchen, living area, dining area and a decked veranda. SUITES: Our two very best rooms. Open plan with contemporary design and comfort, bold textured décor and the best feature, a freestanding roll-top bath in the bedrooms’ bay window. All rooms will take a cot and some will take an extra bed for a child. DOG FRIENDLY Bedrooms in The Coach House and some in The Ocean Wing are dog friendly, along with The Living Space and The Beach Hut. Watergate Bay beach is dog friendly all year round. B&B - Bed and full breakfast in Zacry’s. DINNER INCLUSIVE - Bed, full breakfast and a three course dinner in Zacry’s.

Interconnecting rooms are charged at full rate for two people sharing, additional children / adults sharing these rooms will be charged as detailed. DOGS Dogs are charged at £15 per night for the first dog and £5 per night for each additional dog. Dogs can stay in Ocean Wing and Coach House rooms with a maximum of two dogs per room. We do not provide dog food. Terms and conditions can be found at watergatebay.co.uk


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