WGB magazine 2019 by Watergate Bay Hotel

Transgressions in remote crumbling mansions • Two chefs pinch ingredients from each other’s domain and run away with the rules • An Olympian snowboarder melts into the ocean • Briefly, the colour

green illuminates the horizon • High spirits, tall tales and unexpected conversations with strangers who become friends • The roar of classic cars hitting the open road • Swimming as lonely as a man in a deep sea...

Hello Even having grown up here, the Watergate Bay I know and love feels different all the time. Especially when I see it through the eyes of our guests. I’m amazed by how many people come and say hello, happy to share their own relationship to the place. It’s fascinating hearing what Watergate means to you; these are the kind of connections that still excite us and spur us on after over 50 years as a family business. Just when you think you’ve got Cornwall pegged, you only have to turn a corner and be greeted by an unexpected view. Maybe it’s the way the weather and light shifts from one minute to the next; the changing seasons and tides; or the endless ways you can experience land, water, and the fringe between the two. Or perhaps it’s new people coming and going from the hotel and beach, sharing ideas along the way. Whatever the reason, our corner of the world buzzes with the energy of reinvention. Right now there’s more of that energy than ever. The Watchful Mary project (p26) is a really exciting example of what can come from the spark of an idea. Now it’s moved beyond those early imaginings, I can’t wait to see it take on a life of its own this year. This magazine explores the idea of going beyond expectations to open up a new perspective; looking at the familiar through a different lens. Whether it’s snowboarder Jenny Jones reflecting on her life while floating around in the water (p48); our sweet and savoury chefs swapping staples to challenge tastebuds (p16); travel editor Anna Hart getting to grips with the new ‘extreme’ (p46), or vintage car enthusiast Chris Nelson relishing the coastal scenery at five times the usual pace (p54). From spider crabs to snow-covered cliffs, ditch your preconceptions and give in to Cornwall’s endless ability to surprise and delight. Hope you enjoy this issue. I look forward to seeing you at Watergate Bay soon – and maybe hearing your perspective on the place too.

Will Ashworth Director

Contributors This issue’s contributors expertly blend local knowledge with global reach. We asked them, ‘What do you do when you want a different perspective?’

Anna Hart

Demi Taylor

Chris Nelson

The New Extreme (p46) Belfast-born, globallyfocused writer Anna specialises in social trends, international culture, travel and lifestyle. Her travel memoir, Departures: A Guide to Letting Go, One Adventure at a Time, was published in 2018

Step by Step (p48) Demi tells tales of pioneers on film and in print, from Atari’s Nolan Bushnell, to lowbrow artist Robert Williams, to wetsuit creator Jack O’Neill. She’s also a bestselling surf travel writer, London Surf / Film Festival director and pasty lover.

Coastal Chicanery (p54) An unhealthy obsession with classic cars, youth culture and surfing has evolved into a career writing about them for the screen, in print and online. Weekday: 1992 Volvo. Weekend: 1974 Porsche. Project: 1976 Vespa.

“There's something about leaping into cold, bracing water that reshuffles my priorities, soothes a stressed mind and reminds me what's important and what's not.

“The sea, always the sea.” “I leave my board behind, pull on my fins and kick into some waves, arm outstretched, eyes just above the waterline.”

Dominick Tyler

Vicki Jones

Uncommon Ground (p14, 52, 64) Writer and photographer Dominick grew up in Cornwall, but is now based in London. His personal work centres on themes of landscape, nature and sense of place.

Step by Step (p48) Vicki is an illustrator, print designer and founder of sustainable swim and surfwear brand sand&palm. She studied at Falmouth University where she fell in love with surfing and Cornwall.

“When I want a different perspective I go swimming, preferably outdoors in a lake, river or the sea.”

Wyl Menmuir In Search of the Cornish Gothic (p20) A novelist and editor based in Cornwall, Wyl’s bestselling debut novel, The Many, was longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize. He also writes for the Guardian and Elementum, and teaches creative writing at Falmouth University and Manchester Metropolitan University. “I’m a big fan of getting purposefully and thoroughly lost, whether that’s in the countryside or in the city. It’s a good way to find the thing you didn’t know you were looking for in the first place.”

“I get out in nature – go for a walk in the woods or on the beach, watch the ocean, surf, run or do some yoga, concentrate on my breath and be grateful. It works like magic to reset and refocus my mind.”

Oliver Berry The Big Blue (p40) Oliver is a writer and photographer specialising in travel, nature and the great outdoors. He has travelled to 71 countries and worked for some of the world’s leading publishers, but still calls Cornwall home. “I like to go to a quiet place somewhere outside: a woodland, a creek, a hilltop or an empty beach. There's nothing like being in nature to make you look at the world again.”

Alex Wade The Great British Swim (p60) Writer, freelance journalist and media lawyer, Alex is the author of Surf Nation and Amazing Surfing Stories. He’s currently working on a book called The Year of Surfing Sustainably. “Anywhere with my 19-month daughter.”

Mike Newman The Great British Swim (p60) Having grown up in Cornwall yet still discovering scenic gems along Cornwall's convoluted coastline, Mike is never happier than when photographing the sea. Preferably in the water. “Going for a surf or a sea swim definitely gives you a better perspective on everything.”

Dan Crockett Chasing the Green Flash, (p32) A writer, surfer and ocean conservationist, Dan writes in various mediums about the darkness and light of human relationship with nature. His award-winning poetry has been read on Channel 4. “I go in the sea, every day if possible.”

Contents Editor Judi Blakeburn

Flotsam and Jetsam

The New Extreme

Stories from our shores.

In search of adrenalin – Anna Hart explores why lying on the beach just doesn’t cut it anymore.

Managing editors Stranger Collective

Sweet or Savoury?

Assistant editor Heidi Fitzpatrick

Neil Haydock and Mariana Chaves swap ingredients to take our tastebuds outside the box.

Art director Nick Wylie

In Search of the Cornish Gothic

Of mist and Du Maurier: Wyl Menmuir strays towards Cornwall’s dark side.

Designer Holly Donnelly Illustration Victoria Jones, Jackie Morris Additional Writers Phyllida Bluemel, Helen Gilchrist, Tristan Gooley, Clare Howdle, Ian Hsieh, Meg Lobb, Ellen Mason, Cat Sarsfield, Dave Waller Cover image Owen Tozer Additional Photography Henry Ashworth, Melissa Beckford, Bob Berry, Oliver Berry, Helen Bishop, Paul Blakemore, Tim Borrow, Kate Chamberlain, Sam Crosby, James Darling, Holly Donnelly, David Griffen, Luke Hayes, Mark Hemsworth, Huskee, Emily Inman, John Isaac, Matt Jessop, Sophie King, Jon Lewin, Karl Mackie, Mike Newman, Lowenna Pascoe, Lewis Pinder, Kirstin Prisk, James Ram, Bert Ramsey, Abi Riley, Pia Schiele, Kristina Simkeviciute, Owen Tozer, Dominick Tyler, Elliott White, Nick Wylie

Cover on G . F Smith Munken Kristall Smooth True White 300gsm Text on G . F Smith Munken Kristall Smooth True White 120gsm

Step by Step

Olympic snowboarder Jenny Jones swaps slopes for swell in a weekend at the Bay.

Coastal Chicanery

Chris Nelson captures the thrill of the high road at the first annual Watergate Bay Speed Hillclimb.

Hooked on a Feeling

From the spark of an idea to cliff-perched reality. The story of Watchful Mary.

The Great British Swim

Chasing the Green Flash

We take to the water and carb load with Ross Edgley, the first person to swim all the way around mainland Britain.

Trick of the light? We gaze to the horizon to glimpse a rare phenomenon.

All is Not Lost Waxing lyrical on the beauty of the bluebell and other words fading from our language.

Grow, Catch, Make.

Three ingredients, three stories, three reasons we’re not straying far for food adventures.

On the Horizon

The Big Blue

Everything from the celestial sphere to the bar on the beach. In the Bay and beyond, here’s what to look out for in 2019.

H₂O all along? For a life-changing shift in perspective, the research points to water.

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. 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. 7

Flotsam & Jetsam From space travel innovation on the Lizard to microbial adventures at Eden, a warrior who's travelled round the world and back again, to a chance to sample Finnish sauna zen right here in the Bay, there's a lot happening in Cornwall this year. Here's a round up of stories from our shores...

On the Horizon

Not Just Hot Air

Want to know what's on while you're here? Need some help deciding when to stay? Simply flick to p68 and discover the wealth of feasts, festivals, active breaks and beach gatherings on offer in 2019. From indulgent lobster cook-outs to swim clinics, wild wine clubs to watersports championships, whether it's in the Bay or further away there's so much choose from. Here's a little taster to whet your appetite...

If you’re seeking a fresh perspective on good living, you can be assured that the Nordics have it covered. While Denmark and Norway offer ‘hygge’, the spirit of coziness and contentment, Sweden has ’lagom’, which is all about moderation and balance. Yet Finland may trump them all. It gives us ‘saunanjälkeinen’. Meaning ’post-sauna’, the term describes the blissful sensation of being physically and mentally clean. And such is the respect for the sauna in Finland that, if you wanted to free yourself of almost any commitment, you could cite saunanjälkeinen and probably get away with it.

Let's Rock!

But the Finnish sauna is not just about chilling out for its own sake. The health benefits are legion: from helping you recover from exercise quicker, to superior sleep, happiness, healing, fitness and weight loss. It could even boost your life expectancy. Finland is home to fewer than six million people but still boasts three million saunas. The average life expectancy is 81.

Sparks, sprinting and seismic sounds, all set against a Cornish sunset. Join us for an unconventional evening combining live music, fireworks and running – yes running – at the Rock 2 Rock Let’s Rock event on the beach at Watergate Bay on 29 June. With a choice of 2k or 5k courses, runners can set off to a live rock soundtrack along one of Cornwall’s most iconic stretches of sand. Whether you’re going the distance, or simply drinking it all in, runner and event tickets are available now. rock2rockletsrock.co.uk

Finns can often be found taking to the sauna after jumping into holes in frozen lakes. Which presumably delivers supersaunanjälkeinen. For a mellower Cornish version, try relaxing in the Finnish sauna at Watergate, watching the mizzle sweep in over the breaking waves… watergatebay.co.uk/sauna

News and events

Get Up, Stand Up, Chill Out Going off the beaten path in Cornwall sometimes means leaving the land entirely. The Extreme Academy (XA) has begun offering stand-up paddleboard safaris, taking groups out from Watergate Bay towards Beacon Cove. Now novices and seasoned paddlers can drink in a seldom-seen part of Cornwall, which XA manager, Carl Coombes, calls “the land that time forgot”. “The safaris give people the magical experience of going to an area you just can’t physically get to any other way,” says Coombes. “And it really is magical up there. There are rocky outcrops covered in kelp and spider crabs, and pockets of still water where we can raft the boards together and sit and relax for half an hour, or put a mask on, and have a snorkel to look at the wildlife. You can even see dolphins and seals there. I love it.” The safaris run when conditions permit, and last 2.5 hours. The £40 charge includes all the necessary equipment and tuition. So if you want to combine adventure with zen-like calm – while giving yourself a unique view of Cornwall at the same time – get paddling. extremeacademy.co.uk

Warrior of the Surf Traditionally, if someone came

The piece was made by Wadebridge-

running up from the beach at

based artist Richard Austin, a

Watergate saying they’d seen a

keen surfer himself in his younger

15-foot giant, they might be raving

days, who turned his attention to

about the size of the surf. These

sketching others as they surveyed

days, however, it could be the size

the swells. With these silhouettes as

of a surfer.

his inspiration, he set about creating the Warrior. It took him six months.

The Warrior of the Surf is a sculpture standing on the sea wall

What the Warrior has seen while

at Watergate, shielding its eyes as

staring at the world’s most sought-

it looks out over the waves. Made

after waves, we can only imagine...

from recycled milk bottles, it was

watergatebay.co.uk/warrior-of-

created for a Cornish surf contest

the-surf

back in 2007. Having since travelled the world – even sizing up the surf in Malibu for a while – it has now landed back home where it belongs.

One Giant Leap… As if the glorious dome of stars, planets and meteor showers that comprise Cornwall’s night sky wasn’t already captivating enough, other celestial travellers may soon be helping them fire the imagination. Spaceport Cornwall, based at Newquay airport, is set to start sending rockets into the cosmos in the next three years. Spaceport Cornwall is entering a partnership with Virgin Orbit that will make it the first horizontal launch site in the UK. According to the plan, Cosmic Girl, a modified Boeing 747 operated by Virgin Orbit, will begin carrying launcher rockets out over the Atlantic from Newquay and firing them into space, carrying satellites into the Earth’s orbit – by 2021. This one small step could soon become a giant leap: Goonhilly Earth Station, the satellite tracking centre based on the Lizard, is partnering with a leading satellite operator to run a network of satellites around the Moon. And the Moon is now being seen as a stepping-stone for voyages to Mars. It’s all part of the county’s ambitious plan to build a £1 billion space economy. But this isn’t the first time Cornwall has looked to new frontiers: in July 1969, Goonhilly’s iconic satellite dish, Arthur, beamed the footage from Neil Armstrong’s historic moon landing around the UK. The Earth Station is marking the 50th anniversary of that groundbreaking voyage this July with Apollo 50, a celebratory festival of science, culture and music. spaceportcornwall.co.uk | apollo50.co.uk

Cornwall's low levels of light pollution – especially Bodmin Moor, which has International Dark Sky Status – makes it great for stargazing. See our ‘Look to the Stars’ boxes on p70–76 for some key celestial dates in 2019, so you can make sure you're in a good spot and ready to catch everything from meteor showers to blue moons. cornwall.gov.uk/darksky

Uncommon Ground When photographer Dominick Tyler travelled

features that are prominent in Cornwall – like

across Britain in 2013, he grew frustrated at

‘zawn’, ‘logan’ and ‘blowhole’ amongst many

his lack of vocabulary. While the landscape was

others. Learn more by skipping through the

mind-boggling in its beauty, his description

pages of this magazine.

stretched no further than “a hill, then a dip, then some lumpy bits…”

Dominick grew up in Cornwall, and credits the county with teaching him to read topography, “before I even knew what topography was”. “As a child I was captivated by the sculptural shapes of the tors and imagined giants stacking the stones,” he says. “As an adult I’m

That’s surely no uncommon affliction, but

no less fascinated by the natural forces that

Dominick took the rare step of doing something

actually shaped them – like how the erosion

about it. He embarked on another trip in which

of the Devonian bedrock on the north coast

he gathered language as he went, discovering

creates so many secluded but hard-to-reach

words “as rich, poetic and varied as the

beaches.” As well as hills, dips and lumpy bits.

landscape they described”. Those terms now appear in his book,

Uncommon Ground (published by

Uncommon Ground: a Word-lover’s Guide to

Guardian Faber), available from all

the British Landscape. He includes some

good bookshops.

News and events

The World Under Your Nose If you find yourself needing a fresh perspective on life, visit the Eden Project’s Invisible Worlds exhibition, which will show you how things operate beyond your senses – those forces that are too big, too small, too fast, too slow, or too far away in space and time for us poor humans to detect. It will, for example, transport you to a world that exists right under your nose – and, in fact, inside it. Visit in January and you could take an interactive trip through the microbes of the human belly button, guts and placenta. You could experience the astonishing diversity of the eco-system that lies within a single drop of water, or even create your own virus and watch as it infects a world of unsuspecting creatures. If you don’t get to see these specific exhibits, Invisible Worlds features a host of mind-bending arts and science residencies and other events throughout the year (more to be announced early 2019). Navel gazing will never be the same again… edenproject.com

From the Bay to the Baltic And, whilst we’re embracing the Nordic way of living, as of summer 2019 you’ll be able to fly direct from Copenhagen to Cornwall. SAS, Scandinavia’s main airline, recently announced regular Monday and Friday flights between Newquay Airport and Denmark’s city of folk legend and scandi-cool. The Bay’s blue clean lines and the culture-packed ‘happiest city in the world’ will soon be just a short skip apart. We reckon whichever way you’re going, one wonderful long weekend of hygge beckons… flysas.com

Displacement Artists have long drawn inspiration

You can see Displacement in the

from the Cornish landscape but

entrance lobby at Watergate Bay

Jojo Blacksmith does it with

Hotel. If you'd like to take part in

added urgency. ‘Displacement,

a beach clean, the hotel hosts and

2018’ portrays the impact of

runs them in collaboration with

plastic washed up on British

the Marine Conservation Society,

beaches. The splash of colours

Surfers Against Sewage and

and textures amid the sand

others. All volunteers are welcome.

is deeply affecting, precisely

jojoblacksmith.co.uk

because it’s no abstraction.

watergatebay.co.uk/sustainability 13

Uncommon Ground

Blowhole “If the roof of a sea cave partially collapses it will sometimes open an aperture through which air and water can be pushed by the waves entering the cave below. A large cave and a small hole results in this happening at great pressure, creating a seawater aerosol. There is something startlingly alive about a blowhole. If you get close enough you can hear the rock’s shallow breaths, uneven and regular, as though in fitful sleep.”

See one for yourself at: Porth beach, between Watergate Bay and Newquay

Sweet or Savoury? Like any well told tale, we take our meals in three acts. Beginning, middle, end. Starter, main, dessert. Each has its parts and players, its sweet and savoury standards. But what happens when we flip the script?

We challenged Mariana Chaves (pastry chef, Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Cornwall) as champion of the ‘sweet’ camp, and Neil Haydock (executive chef, Watergate Bay Hotel), our master of ‘savoury’, to each pinch ingredients from the other’s domain and run away with the rules. From cauliflower smooth as silk to plums with a vinegar kick, here’s to the joy of mixing it up.

Sweet Chef: Mariana Chaves, pastry chef, Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Cornwall Ingredient: Cauliflower Dish: Cauliflower ice cream “At Fifteen, I work with the apprentices in the pastry section; where we’re always trying different techniques and ingredients. I like to incorporate foraged products, herbs and vegetables into my desserts – all good dishes are a balance of sweet, savoury, acidic and salty tastes. For me, cooking is a mix of emotions, experiences, memories, and textures. Inspiration can come from anywhere. I sometimes get ideas from going to an art museum and looking for shapes and textures. Sweet food is my passion. When you go out for dinner, the dessert should be as good, or even better, than the other courses. It’s your final memory of the restaurant experience. And I love how creative pastry work is; it’s complex and requires precision, from choosing a fruit to developing the dish using different techniques. It’s not easy to find that perfect harmony of components. It takes time and plenty of trial and error. It’s interesting to see how different ingredients react away from their expected contexts. When you modify a recipe, you’re experimenting with the acids, bases and different ways of realising the texture and flavour. It's important to play and find what works. Cauliflower is a really interesting vegetable, with an amazing texture and mild, nutty, earthy notes, so it’s exciting to work with. Inspired by the beauty of the vegetable, I’ve made a creamy cauliflower ice cream with a nutty cauliflower crumble, pickled cauliflower and sweet crispy cauliflower – taking advantage of its every texture and taste, with added liquorice and aniseed notes.” »

Ingredients meet invention

Savoury Chef: Neil Haydock, executive chef, Watergate Bay Hotel Ingredient: Plums Dish: Pork with pickled plums “ As a chef you naturally end up falling into the sweet or savoury camp. I ended up down the savoury path, but any dish is about balance. Living in Cornwall gives you a real sense of the seasons. We follow them in our menu, and it’s such a natural and intuitive process that we hardly have to think about the flow from one seasonal product to another. As a country boy, picking ripe autumn fruits was a big part of my childhood. They’d be preserved or pickled for later in the year, to be served with roasts or cheese. The jar would come out of the cupboard and remind us of the days out in the woods and fields. It was like taking memories from the cupboard. Fresh plums make for great desserts – cobblers, crumbles, or poached to accompany rice pudding. But, by making jams, chutneys and pickles, you can cross the line from sweet into savoury. Adding salt and vinegars in the right balance heightens the plum’s various flavours and brings out the nuances of the fruit and subtleties in each variety; from the sourness of the skin to the sweetness of the flesh. Sugar can mask the fruit’s true complexity. Here, I’ve pickled the plums to create relief from the fattiness of the pork, enabling diners to finish the dish without feeling overwhelmed by one dominating flavour or texture. The plums have a sweet beginning with a natural plumminess coming through, followed by a sour tang at the end, cleansing the palate and making you ready for your next mouthful.” •

Head to watergatebay.co.uk/recipes to create these dishes yourself

Words: Phyllida Bluemel | Photography: Elliott White

In Search of the Cornish Gothic Wild, remote locations. Transgressions in isolated crumbling mansions. Encounters with the eerie. The gothic novel has a longlived love affair with the Cornish coast. Novelist Wyl Menmuir considers just what it is about Cornwall that draws writers and readers to its darker side… On days when blue skies and white beaches seem endless, when nesting fulmars scream up the cliffs and the heather is in full bloom, it’s difficult to conceive how different this scene will look in just a few weeks. But when I think of the onset of autumn, I get a palpable sense of anticipation. For me the picture postcard views from the cliffs are nothing compared to the Cornwall you only discover during the storms of late autumn and winter. It’s these turbulent times I find more interesting, at least from a creative standpoint. Out of season, Cornwall does atmospheric like nowhere else. The north coast in particular is open to the elements in a way few other places in the country are. Along a coastline subject to the full force of the North Atlantic, storm surges bring huge waves; heaving mountains that resemble soaked granite more than they do water and which, having started as ripples hundreds of miles out to sea, often overtop the cliffs by the time they reach land and make a chaos of waters that only days before looked turquoise and inviting. When the winds subside, thick sea fret lingers for days, making strangers of even the most recognisable landmarks. It’s the sort of weather that reminds you of the wildness of the world in which we live, weather which – after you’ve experienced it, sends you scuttling back inside to batten down the hatches and sit in front of the fire. Such a sense of awe is intensified by the solace and sanctuary you can feel when you spend time in the furthest reaches of the South West. Add to this the deep layer of myth and folklore that lies heavy on this most Celtic tip of Britain; stone circles, otherworldly fougous and barrows that are spread out across the county, the purposes of which are lost to deep time, and it’s hardly surprising that the Cornish landscape has been used as the backdrop for gothic novels and short stories since at least the 1850s. »

Wyl Menmuir on landscape and gothic fiction

A writer’s muse While you’re more likely to think of Whitby and Transylvania when you think of Bram Stoker, the novelist set two stories in Cornwall, rich with descriptions of the landscape. Wilkie Collins too set several novels here, including Basil, the climax of which takes place on the cliffs at Land’s End. Much later, Cornwall’s most celebrated adopted daughter, Daphne du Maurier, was so taken by the Cornish landscape that she moved here to write the novels for which she is most remembered – and every year in May, Cornwall celebrates her work and influence at the Fowey Festival of Arts and Literature. In all these works of gothic fiction, the landscape plays a pivotal role, having sway over the characters, shaping the plot or serving as an extension to inner landscapes. Many of today’s gothic writers are driven by the same desires of those earlier novelists to explore the sublime, by an appreciation of all that is fearful and awesome in nature, by the untamed and the untameable. Similarly the thrill of reading gothic fiction is often to be found in encountering nature at its most raw and elemental. Something Cornwall offers in abundance.

Wyl Menmuir on landscape and gothic fiction

A character of its own Much of the research for my first novel, The Many, involved exploring the coves and villages of Cornwall’s coast. In particular, I walked and wrote along the north coast in all weathers, and as I did, the sea mist and the waves coursing against the cliffs below gradually seeped into the story. I took small details from villages all over the county – the line of rocks leading down to a cove from one, the stones and gradient of the beach from another, and the further into the novel I got, the more the landscape I wrote became loaded with significance for my characters. I was fascinated by these beautiful but deserted villages, eerily quiet in the absence of holidaymakers. And along the long stretches of coast, I felt the presence of the Atlantic that stuck in my mind and became an increasingly important part of the book. I was – and remain – fascinated by the many faces of the sea, by its mutability; both its deceptive calm and inspiring ferocity. As I suspect is true for many writers drawn to the dark and gothic, Cornwall’s landscape for me became more than a setting in which to place my characters, but almost a character in its own right.

“The sea, fiercer now, with the turning tide, white-capped and steep, broke harshly in the bay... there was no sound at all but the east wind and the sea.” The Birds, Daphne du Maurier

The construction of my small village, bound in by cliffs and the sea, conspires to keep my protagonist, Timothy, contained; and the sea becomes a menacing presence, loaded with dramatic potential for my small cast who live alongside it. In short, the dramatic landscape of Cornwall enabled me to write the story I needed to tell. And therein lies the county’s attraction. For many writers the gothic novel is all in the atmosphere. It’s an expression of dark desires, a place for the reader to experience discomfort, terror and awe, yet revel in it, safely curled up on the sofa. And where better to do that than on the Cornish coastline, with a storm sweeping in across the bay. Happy reading. •

Fowey Festival of Arts and Literature takes place from 11–18 May, 2019. See p70 for more details.

Going Gothic Want to get a taste for Cornish gothic but don’t know where to start? Here’s a selection of novels with a gothic twist inspired by and infused with the Cornish landscape. Find a copy in the Watergate Bay Hotel library and settle in for the night…

Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier (Gollancz, 1938) It’s impossible to create a list of the Cornish gothic without mentioning the grand dame. Du Maurier makes it look easy. This is gothic incarnate – an atmospheric remote mansion, the supremely sinister housekeeper, Mrs Danvers – essential reading for anyone interested in the Cornish gothic.

Weathering, Lucy Wood (Bloomsbury, 2015) Following on from Wood’s excellent short story collection based on Cornish folklore, Diving Belles, the dilapidated house and rain-sodden valley of Weathering are as atmospheric as they come. Reading Wood’s book you can almost feel the cold and the damp seeping under your skin.

Over Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper (Jonathan Cape, 1965) The first in Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series, this is one of my favourite childhood novels. It starts with a family holiday to Cornwall and, while it might not strictly fit in the gothic tradition and it’s nowhere near as dark as the later novels in the series, the crow-like vicar, Hastings, is a gothic staple, and the mythic significance of the Cornish landscape is spectacular.

Words: Wyl Menmuir | Photography: Karl Mackie

Watchful Mary

Hooked on a Feeling From the mountains to the ocean and back again, when it comes to creating a space unlike any other, the feeling is everything.

It started with a memory. Of après ski in the Alps. Of a bar crammed full, of high spirits and tall tales and unexpected conversations with strangers who become friends. Of an owner always propped up in the corner, of dancing in the spaces between the chairs as waitresses weave between the waves and hollers. “You just don’t find those sorts of places here,” Watergate Bay Hotel's Will Ashworth explained in Autumn 2018, when we met to talk about Watchful Mary, part of the newest building on the Bay’s shoreline – which at the time was just about to have its steel frame set into the cliff above the beach’s sea wall. You do now. For Will, Watchful Mary began more than 25 years ago (or at least can be traced back to annual holidays that long ago), in Meribel. “ There’s a bar there where we all used to go, which had this feeling; it was the place everyone went where you just knew you’d have a good time. That’s what I want to create for Watergate Bay, our very own après ‘ surf’ vibe, if you will.” The pursuit of that feeling, which for Will pivoted on a friendly post-powder beer dissecting a day on the slopes, laid the foundations for Watchful Mary. But it wasn’t going to come easy. On the top floor of a building designed to provide for Watergate Bay’s community – from its vital RNLI lifeguard service to its spirited surf lifesaving club (SLSC) – Watchful Mary stands on a 100m² patch of rock between the cliff edge and the sea wall, which was built in the 1950s to protect the hotel from the ravages of high tides and winter storms. Low to the water with an uninterrupted sweep of the Bay stretching in front of it, the space offered an open invitation

to create something special that everyone who lives in, loves and visits Watergate Bay would benefit from. “For a long time, I’ve thought about what it would be like to build there,” he continues. “The view can’t be rivalled. At high tide you’re literally sat on the water. Views like that are essential for lifeguards protecting the beach, but they can also be enjoyed – bringing people together, watching the sun set, remembering the day.” A problem shared… And so an idea started to form. An idea that would involve 130 rock anchors drilled into the cliff face to stabilise it, 27 tonnes of part-galvanised steel to create a frame that would be impervious to anything the Atlantic swells could throw at it, and a broad range of people coming together to solve any problems that might arise – including a flood expert to ensure the space would hold up against a 200-year climate change model. “It had a lot of challenges for such a small site,” says Alastair Wilson, director at Stride Treglown, the architects tasked with creating the building. ”The location, the environment; they both pushed us to think differently. For example the materials we used didn’t just have to be resistant to the effects of the salt air and the harsh weather, they needed to be maneouvrable enough to get onto such a remote site in the first place. We had to work out whether we needed to crane them across the beach or if we could get vehicles down sea lane.” Then there was the build itself. Construction couldn’t happen during the summer months because the beach was too busy, so the team had to wait until the winter to do the hard graft. In the thick of the 2017 winter storms, construction workers clung to the cliff to put 6m- and 8m-long rock anchors into place to secure the cliff face and lay

the foundations of the building. “Last winter a lot of the loose cliff was taken away and some major drilling work into the rock face was completed to stabilise it. It was critical that this happened during that time period, regardless of the conditions, because the beach is quieter then and the access is easier. We had to plan and design in advance then the construction team really went for it,” Wilson continues. “That’s what’s needed for a site like this, to realise the vision.” You feel it too? It’s a vision that became clearer, the more people Will spoke with. ”As I talked about plans for Watchful Mary and the feeling I wanted to create, I realised I wasn’t alone,” he continues. “We’ve all got a memory of going somewhere like it, often from a holiday or a trip abroad. Somewhere the food and drink are great of course, and maybe the location is unique too, but the thing we always remember is the atmosphere. Crowded and busy and charged with a special kind of energy. People on the team started recollecting the places they’d been to like that and that’s when it clicked. We all knew that the atmosphere we wanted to create had to be at the heart of the project; that it needed to feel inviting, inclusive and irresistible.” Interior designer Matt Hulme was one of those people. From the moment he took the brief for Watchful Mary he was clear about how it should feel. “I spent quite a lot of time in Australia and there was nowhere here in Cornwall that had that kind of vibe to it,” he says. “I just imagine being down on the beach and hearing some music coming off the deck, drawing you into a place that’s really enticing all round – that was my starting point.” »

Blending sense of place with sense of communal gathering was important for Hulme from the outset. “We drew on the landscape surrounding Watchful Mary for the colour palette and finishes, creating texture and design focal points to draw the eye and get people talking,” he continues. “ On top of that, we wanted to make sure the bar lived up to its unique location and vision. This wasn’t about creating something cookie cutter that you could see absolutely anywhere. We wanted something bespoke, made by local craftsmen. Something worth talking about.” From local joiners to furniture makers, metalworkers to textile designers, Watchful Mary draws from the creative talent that makes Cornwall stand out to ensure it’s a representation of all that makes it different. “ We wanted a living, breathing sense of community, right down to the fixtures and fittings,” Hulme says. “It was essential.”

Back to our coffee in Autumn 2018 and Will is telling me what he pictures when the doors to Watchful Mary open. ”I imagine people walking in, sand on their feet and just feeling, ‘wow this is a great space’. They’d find a free seat, maybe on a table with other people and a conversation would strike up – perhaps with some of the lifesaving club after a session, or with a hotel guest, or a local regular. They’d be loving the music that’s playing and tucking into small plates and interesting drinks, just kicking back and revelling in it all.”

What’s in a Name?

Sounds like our kind of feeling. It’s amazing what stumbling upon a buzzing little bar in the French Alps can lead to. •

With its prime position on the sea wall, above the ever ‘watchful’ lifeguards’ new home and offering uninterrupted views across the Bay, it was Mary’s experience that inspired the name of our new bar and the spirit of the Green Flash that runs through everything we do.

People people Because underneath it all, people are the bedrock not just of Watchful Mary but the building as a whole. As home to Watergate Bay’s lifeguards and SLSC downstairs, Will was clear he wanted it to be a place that belonged to the Bay and the community that lived there, as much as for guests of the hotel. “From the very beginning I knew I wanted to work with the RNLI on the project, to create a permanent space for them, year round. Similarly the SLSC didn’t have a home of any description, so I wanted to make sure that the ground floor was big enough for them to take up some space. It’s important that the building contributes to the Bay community and brings something valuable for everyone. That’s how you create a sense of connection with a space; make something that is inspired by the people it’s for.”

Watchful Mary opens in May 2019. Find out more at watchful.co.uk

Which brings us back to the beginning. To late nights and long talks on the deck as the sun sets, or lazy afternoons sipping something cold and mulling on triumphs and tumbles in the waves. A place where everyone feels welcome. A place for people to come and just be people, together.

Words: Ellen Mason | Photography: Huskee, Lewis Pinder, Holly Donnelly

The first time she saw it quite by accident. But every time since, she’s known what to do. Wait until the very end of the day, when the sky is clear and the final curve of the sunset is just peeking over the ocean. Stay focused, stay alert, train your eyes on the horizon. That’s how you catch the Green Flash (p30) – something Watergate Bay Hotel co-founder Mary Ashworth has now managed to do four times (and counting).

Rare yet rooted in the place that shapes us, attentive yet eager to cut our own path – Watchful Mary offers locals and guests a memorable experience. And as the sun sets, all eyes turn westward in hope of a stellar story to tell as the evening sets into full swing.

Watchful Mary

Watchful Food and Drink: a Taster Anyone for a drink? Lean over the crowded bar and ask the team what they’re pouring. They’ll be happy to tell you about the craft beers they’ve discovered, or walk you through the simple but carefully curated wine list. Ask for continental cocktails with a twist, or sample a handmade non-alcoholic cordial. The morning watch starts with fresh smoothies and specialty barista coffee (homemade nut milks anyone?), with regular guest blends to try and pastries for dunking. As the sun climbs higher in the sky, there will be plates for passing around friends – breads and cheeses, cured and smoked meats, deep green olive oil, and marinated vegetables and seafood – fresh flavours to keep appetites at bay amongst chilled glasses and a chattering crowd. As the sun dips to the horizon, toast the sunset with jugs of red and white sangria. Call in another round of manzanilla olives or salt cod crostini. This is laidback drinking and grazing that blends a lively international feel with traceable, tasteable, local provenance.

Watchful Mary

A rare sunset phenomenon

Chasing the Green Flash Magnificent and mystical, the Green Flash is as elusive as it is disputed. If you look closely enough, what might a Cornish sunset reveal to you? Dan Crockett goes in search of the Green Flash. As the name suggests, the Green Flash is often a fleeting moment – just one or two seconds in Cornwall. Unlike the starry night sky, which reveals itself lazily through the gloaming, this quarry is furtive; a case of blink and you’ll miss it. To be in with any chance of catching a rare glimpse, the best strategy is to closely watch the first instants of the sunrise, or last embers of sunset. What you will witness if you are very, very lucky is a sudden, bright colour change as the tiniest sliver of sun crosses the vanishing point. Briefly, the colour green illuminates the horizon in a vivid dot or ray – or the most fortunate might see a pathway of light shoot up into the sky, or stretch back towards the land. But of course, the very notion of the Green Flash divides opinion. There are those who dispute its existence, while others – myself included – have seen or claim to have seen it. One thing that’s certain is that the Green Flash is undeniably elusive. Having squinted at the sea for the vast majority of my life, I’ve seen it only once; as a teenager, from the terrace of a surf hostel in Newquay. Hardly the most mystical environment, but one common misconception is that the Green Flash only happens in far-flung places. Cornwall is actually an ideal location. Technically, what we call the Green Flash is really numerous distinct phenomena, scientifically referred to as inferior-mirage flashes, mock-mirage flashes, sub-duct flashes or the rarer green ray. Whether we witness them or not, each of these depends on a precise set of atmospheric conditions, location and time of year – and, of course, an open mind. A clear sky and far-off horizon offer the greatest chance – hence why they’re often seen whilst gazing out over the ocean. »

“The Green Flash is undeniably elusive. Having squinted at the sea for the vast majority of my life, I’ve seen it only once.”

Throughout history there has been a degree of mysticism associated with the phenomenon. As visual artist Tacita Dean said in The Green Ray (2001), “Sailors see them more than the rest of us, and they have come to signify for some the harbinger of great change or fortune in their lives.” This perhaps dates back to Jules Verne’s 1882 novel Le Rayon Vert, which states that, “He who has been fortunate enough once to behold it is enabled to see closely into his own heart and to read the thoughts of others.” And while the Green Flash may not bestow physical fortunes on those who witness it, it is a powerful and moving experience. Watergate Bay Hotel owner Mary Ashworth has seen the Green Flash four times (once in the Caribbean and three times at Watergate Bay). She first learned about it from her husband, John, who had been in the navy and saw it multiple times in the Indian Ocean. It made her feel exhilarated, she says. “And it’s always satisfying when you find something you’re looking for. Especially when many people think that you are pulling their leg.” The fact that the experience is fleeting certainly hasn’t put Mary off. She still looks out for the Green Flash every time she’s near the sea, which is often. As Tacita Dean said, scanning the horizon for the Green Flash is something that becomes, “about the act of looking itself, about faith and belief in what you see”. •

Tips for Catching the Green Flash 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Wait until the sun is nearly entirely below the horizon before you look at it in order to protect your eyes and not dazzle yourself Sea horizons are the best (and Cornwall has many) A high vantage point is better, but not essential Wait for a clear sky with no dust or clouds on the horizon Get a blanket and a comfortable position, and settle back The Green Flash happens fast, so try not to blink or look away at the critical moment Even if you do miss the Green Flash (which is sadly very likely), Cornwall has incredible dark night skies that are ideal for stargazing

Words: Dan Crockett | Photography: Lowenna Pascoe, Holly Donnelly

The Green Flash captured on 22 October 2018, 6.15pm

A rare sunset phenomenon

Local produce

Grow, Catch, Make. Exploring some unique perspectives on coastal cuisine. Round these parts, ’local’ is the word; and with that comes community, family and authentic connections between produce, growers, chefs and those that they’re feeding. Neil Haydock, Watergate Bay Hotel’s executive chef, is a proud pioneer of this movement. Out of the 14 suppliers used across all three restaurants – Zacry’s, Living Space and The Beach Hut – ten of them are Cornish. Neil and his head chefs are on a mission to serve up global cuisine powered by local produce and local producers. We look into the stories behind three star ingredients enjoyed in these three restaurants.

Grow: Buttervilla strawberries It’s rare that a producer’s story is so deeply entwined with the chefs they provide for. Buttervilla began in 2006, founded by Rob Hocking and his wife Gill. After hearing him speak at a conference, Neil was inspired by Rob’s business ethos of small scale growing and convinced him to supply Fifteen Cornwall, where Neil was at the time. “Back then, we were only growing for our family and friends, but agreed to supply Neil,” says Rob. “So we had to learn real quick how to scale up our home growing.” Buttervilla has stayed small and exclusive, and now only grows summer fruits and heritage tomatoes. Rob’s passion translates into the intensely perfumed taste of his strawberries, which he delivers twice a week to the hotel. And Neil always makes a beeline for Rob to touch base on different varieties, weather and growing conditions. “His passion and enthusiasm not to deviate or conform inspire us,” Neil says. “We are blessed to know him and have the pleasure of using and eating his amazing produce.” How Zacry’s head chef Carl Paparone would serve it... Buttervilla strawberries with caramelised white chocolate mousse and lime meringue. »

Catch: Cornish spider crabs These spiky creatures can grow up to just under a metre in claw span. “People tend not to go for them because there isn’t masses of meat on them,” says Neil. “But for me they’re the best crabs you can get – the meat is sweet and juicy, with a unique flavour.” Spider crabs are prolific on Cornwall’s shores, and Neil goes to Hayle fisherman Lee Carter for his crab pots. But it’s not just left to the professionals. Spider crabs start coming into shallower waters as the weather warms, and paddleboarders have been known to venture out in search of them around the Newquay coastline – Neil included. “You get the guys who go out specifically for them, either free diving or on stand-up paddleboards (SUPs); they’re in the shallower rocky waters and the whole seabed is covered with them.” How Beach Hut’s head chef Anthony Quinn would serve it… Spider crab poke served with sticky rice, edamame, carrots, nori, pickled ginger, coriander, spring onions, spicy mayo and toasted sesame.

Make: Cornish Gouda At 19, Giel Spierings founded the Cornish Gouda Company to save his family’s dairy farm from closure. His family had moved from Holland to Cornwall in 1998, and when Giel came home from college and saw a ‘For Sale’ sign on the gate, he decided to diversify the farm by producing Cornish Gouda cheese using traditional techniques learnt in Holland. It’s a family business in every sense. Giel’s parents are the dairy farmers looking after their pedigree herd, whilst his brother Jan is the farm’s agronomist who manages the crops to feed the cattle. In this way, they strive for a zero food miles supply chain, which makes it more local than many other cheeses produced in the county. While the provenance of this artisan cheese is impressive, it’s the unique flavour that makes this gouda stand out for Neil – almost akin to parmesan, with its orange hue and salt crystal umami nuttiness, it’s a perfect pairing for earthy salads or sweet chutneys. How Living Space’s head chef Adam Stock would serve it… As part of a cheese board with quince membrillo, or melted onto burgers. •

View the recipes at watergatebay.co.uk/recipes

Words: Cat Sarsfield | Photography: Elliott White, David Griffen, Holly Donnelly

The Big Blue Everyone loves the beach, but there’s a growing body of evidence to suggest that it’s more than just a nice place to be – it could actually be vital for your health. “Like everyone, I started out with grand dreams and ambitions, in my case about becoming a jet-setting travel writer and bestselling author,” recalls Joe Minihane. “But instead of this glamorous lifestyle I found myself writing about mobile phones, games consoles and Bluetooth speakers. Things just hadn’t gone as planned.” Sometime in his late 20s, Joe realised he was dissatisfied with life. Gradually, he began to feel anxious. Having suffered from mild anxiety for almost a decade, he recognised the feelings, but this time they were different. He was unhappy – profoundly unhappy – and knew something needed to change. The problem was he didn’t have the faintest idea what, until one hot summer’s day when his wife suggested taking a dip in the Hampstead Mixed Bathing Pond. “To be honest I wasn’t that keen,” he laughs. “I wasn’t a great swimmer, especially not outdoors. But the moment I got in, I fell in love with it. I didn’t appreciate how calming it was, stepping into natural water. But the interesting thing was that when I got out, I realised I felt a darn sight better about everything than I had beforehand.” Soon after, he came across a book called Waterlog, in which the late nature writer Roger Deakin recounted his own wild swimming experiences. Joe decided to recreate Deakin’s odyssey by swimming in every river, pond, lake and pool mentioned in the book, recording his odyssey in a blog (waterlogreswum.com) and, later, his own memoir Floating: A Life Regained. “Swimming outdoors just worked for me. It made me feel calmer, more centred. For the first time I wasn’t standing on top of the world looking down at it. I was inside it, looking out – experiencing what Deakin called the ’frog’s eye view’. I felt this deep connection with the natural world. And that was when I started to get better.”

The benefits of water

We are all water It’s long been known that being on, in or near the water can have beneficial effects on our health and well-being. In the Victorian era, people flocked to the seaside hoping for cures for ailments as diverse as rheumatism, tuberculosis and asthma; a century later, people escape to the coast to leave behind their pressurised, urbanised, digitised modern lives. Some find it surfing a wave. Others find it fishing on the riverbanks, wandering the cliff-tops, or paddling in rock-pools. The result is the same; people feel better when they spend time close to water. The question is, why? Step forward Wallace J. Nichols: marine biologist, conservationist and research associate at the California Academy of Sciences. For many years, Nichols’s research – both academic and anecdotal – had pointed to the health benefits of proximity to water. In 2014, he explored some of his research ideas in a book, Blue Mind: How Water Makes You Happier, More Connected and Better at What You Do, interspersing his findings with background interviews with surfers, scuba-divers, conservationists, neuroscientists, psychologists and researchers. The book became an international bestseller. The thrust of Nichols’s argument is that the ‘blue mind’ is a natural state which gets drowned out by two other conflicting mind-states: the ‘red mind’ (caused by the stresses, stimulations and chatter of the modern world) and the ‘grey mind’ (feelings of lethargy, lack of focus and general dissatisfaction). Humans, Nichols maintains, have an innate connection with water; being near it helps us reconnect with our own internal blue minds, triggering feelings of calm, contentment and inner peace. »

“Water quiets all the noise, all the distractions, and connects you to your own thoughts,“ he writes. “For many of us, until that moment of observance or submergence, we work hard and struggle to maintain our ancient, personal connection to water. There is an interdependency with the natural world that goes beyond ecosystems, biodiversity, or economic benefits; our neurons and water need each other to live.”

“Blue spaces make us feel happier, calmer and healthier. We want to find out why.” It’s an idea that’s being explored by many academic institutions around the world, including the University of Exeter’s ECEHH (European Centre for Environment & Human Health). Working with inter-disciplinary teams from across the EU, their BlueHealth 2020 project is the first academic, scientifically rigorous programme of research to establish the quantifiable health benefits of water environments, or ‘blue spaces’. Ultimately, the team hopes the data they gather will both influence policy (for example, on health spending, urban planning, coastal management and marine development) and also come up with clinical therapeutic treatments that make use of the ‘blue space’ effect (current topics of investigation include prescribed ‘nature doses’ and virtual reality immersion in headsets). “We know the stresses of everyday life consume a lot of your cognitive resources, or brain-power,” explains environmental psychologist and researcher Dr Lewis Elliott. “We also know that getting into natural environments is one of the best ways to restore these resources. But what’s interesting is that blue spaces seem to have a unique edge when compared

to, say, green spaces. There are many theories why that might be – more physical activity, perhaps, or improved air quality, or increased serotonin uptake, or most likely, a combination of different factors. What we know for sure is that blue spaces make us feel happier, calmer, and healthier. We want to find out why.” Into the blue One person who has an unusually intimate relationship with the world of water is world-champion freediver Tanya Streeter. In 2002, she set a new record for ‘no-limits’ freediving, with a dive of 160m; it’s still the deepest no-limits dive ever performed by a woman. “I’ve never quite been able to explain my relationship with the sea as eloquently as the way I feel it,” she says. “But when I discovered my talent for breath-hold diving, I felt protected in the aquatic environment in a way I have never felt on land. Freediving forces you to look within yourself, because the challenge is great and the solitude deep in the ocean is so pure.” Sam Bleakley is someone else who has devoted their life to understanding water. An ex-pro surfer, he is now a documentary maker and author; his most recent book, Mindfulness and Surfing, examines the many ways in which being in the water can calm your mind. “As I’ve grown older, I’ve become more philosophical about the water,” he explains. “I’ve realised it’s not so much about the quality of the wave or what you do on it. The important thing is just to be in there. There’s as much value in paddling out, feeling the spray on your face, noticing the rainbows, waiting for sets, as there is in actually taking off on a wave. It’s about being present; existing in that moment. Appreciating it. Living it.” “For me, it’s to do with the liminality of water,” says Paul Miles, who has spent much of the last decade cruising England’s 2,000 miles of waterway on a 57ft narrowboat. “Water is neither earth,

Words: Oliver Berry | Photography: Owen Tozer, Karl Mackie

nor air. You exist between two worlds. It’s the simple things you notice: the reflection of sunlight, the rocking of the boat as you move, the sound of raindrops falling on water, watching leaves floating past. It’s incredibly calming. And you get a different view every day. You only get that when you live on the water.” “Intuitively, people enjoy having a relationship with water,” adds Tristan Gooley, author of How to Read Water, which provides a compendium of techniques to interpreting water in all its myriad forms. “It sounds strange, but water has this incredible cast-list of characters – rip currents, glitter paths, diffraction, undertow – that we all know, even if we can’t put a name to them. And what’s amazing is that you can see these things working in almost any body of water, whether it’s on a great big lake or a puddle in the middle of the park. Water will always teach you something. You just need to be open to it, and know what to look for.” “Ultimately, I think it’s that sense of limitlessness,” concludes Bleakley. That endless horizon. It promotes openmindedness and creativity. It promises possibility. It creates a space in my mind I can’t get from anything else. It’s become fundamental in my spirit, my productivity, my well-being. Even if I’m not surfing, if I’m away from the sea for too long, I just don’t feel balanced. I don’t feel like me.” •

Resources: wallacejnichols.org bluehealth2020.eu jmtravels.org

naturalnavigator.com sambleakley.co.uk @TanyaStreeter @EnglandByBoat

The Big Blue

The benefits of water

Water 101 Tristan Gooley, the Natural Navigator, picks out five things to look out for the next time youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re walking on the beach. Find out more at naturalnavigator.com

Pin holes

Glitter path

These tiny holes are caused by water sinking into the sand, which displaces air bubbles between the sand particles. The holes are formed as they bubble up.

The line of reflections that form on the sides of waves: they get narrower when the sun is lower, and broader as the waves get steeper.

Swash & backwash

Rip current

Rill marks

Swash is the foamy water that is pushed back up the beach by a breaking wave. The water that flows back down to the sea is known as backwash.

Formed when water on the beach is pulled through a narrow gap, causing the water to accelerate, like when you put your thumb over the end of a hose. They can flow at two metres per second, faster than any swimmer.

These ridges form when water that has sunk into the sand gets pulled back to the sea, carving channels.

Words: Tristan Gooley | Photography: Karl Mackie

The New Extreme As more British holidaymakers crave adventure and challenge, travel writer Anna Hart celebrates the fact that the ‘extreme’ is now accessible to all.

Travel in 2019 is a very different beast to the holiday of 1999. Travellers don’t want a shopping break in New York; we want to run the New York Marathon in under five hours – and then hit up Barneys and Balthazar. We don’t want to see the Serengeti through the dusty window of a jeep; we want to quad-bike across the plains, bouncing in the saddle. And as for the former buzzwords ‘pampering’ and ‘relaxation’ -– well, maybe, but only after we’ve caught a few waves at a Cornish surf beach. Activities that used to be branded ‘extreme’ are now a vital ingredient in most travellers’ itineraries. Psychologist Catherine Sykes works both with professional sportspeople and city high-flyers, and she’s noticed clients becoming more and more ‘extreme’ in what we demand from our lives outside work. “The word ‘leisure’ used to be synonymous with ‘relaxation’, but this is now a hopelessly inadequate way of understanding what we want with our holiday and leisure time,” she says. To Dr Sykes’s mind, savvy, high-achieving consumers now use their leisure time for various purposes: recreation (expressing ourselves creatively, through learning a hobby or a skill); pleasure (seeking desirable sensory experiences); rejuvenation (a physical and psychological reboot) and function (broadening our experiences). “When we perceive that we’re not getting enough of one area in our working life, we feel frustrated, and we’ll seek to compensate for this lack in our leisure time,” she explains. Put simply, British travellers are craving a more extreme, immersive, adventurous experience, something that physically or mentally challenges us, and leaves us feeling transformed. The reason holidays are having to work harder? It’s because we sure are. “Life in our fast-paced, screentime-heavy world is fuelling a desire for intense, realtime, shareable experiences that stimulate the physical senses,” says trend forecaster Zoe Lazarus. Because “despite stimulating the imagination, the online world actually does very little to satisfy the primal need for stimulation by touch, smell, taste and tangible human experience.”

Words: Anna Hart

Smart travellers are now ‘self-prescribing’ holidays, and it’s easy to see the causal link between spending more time online and demanding more from our offline experiences. And as more travellers demand ‘extreme’ elements, the definition of the term has broadened. The extreme – a physical challenge, an emotional journey, immersion in a dazzlingly new culture – is now accessible to all travellers. When Watergate Bay Hotel opened the Extreme Academy in 1999, the concept was to create a “ski resort on a beach” – a place where people could be active as well as relax, offering lessons for those who wanted to try new sports or improve their skills in a range of activities. Over the past 20 years, Extreme Academy sports manager (formerly of the RAF and the 2005 Waveski World Champion) Carl Coombes has witnessed pursuits that used to be labelled ‘extreme’ become increasingly democratised. “When I first joined there were only three sports taught in the Bay; mountain boarding, kite surfing and waveski,” says Coombes. Today the Extreme Academy offers lessons across various waveriding pursuits – surfing, handplaning, stand-up paddleboarding, waveski and kiting. “Unlike many surf schools, we are open 364 days of the year; we plough on through the winter and make the most of the big swells that come with the season, and our lessons are still busy throughout the winter months,” he says. “I love developing people’s skills and seeing the progress they make. It’s fulfilling and rewarding to see people get the results they’re hoping for on the water.” As a travel editor who is equally passionate about the potential of travel to transform us as individuals and the potential of responsible adventure tourism to transform communities, I find this new thirst for more extreme pursuits and immersive experiences incredibly exciting. And you don’t need to take six months off and trek to the Arctic in order to embrace the extreme. Anything that quickens the pulse, that challenges us mentally or physically, qualifies as an adventure. It’s possible to bring extreme elements into the everyday. Adventure, something that pushes us to our extremes, can be found in a weekend in Cornwall, just as easily as it can be found on a horseback safari in South Africa. •

Anna Hart’s travel memoir, Departures: A Guide to Letting Go, One Adventure at a Time, published by Little Brown Book Group, is out now.

Anna Hart on the meaning of extreme

Jenny Jones interview

Step by Step Olympic snowboarder Jenny Jones takes time out with Demi Taylor to contemplate her journey from dry slope to Olympic hope – and soak up the best of what Watergate Bay has to offer. The sun’s rays have cast a golden shimmer across the ocean. I’m floating out back in the Watergate Bay line-up with Jenny Jones – Olympic medalist, three times X Games winner and multiple British Snowboard Champion – who’s been drawn west by Cornwall’s Indian summer. “I love surfing, the thrill of it, the adrenalin release, and being in the ocean is just a joy,” she says, her eyes scouring the horizon for the next set. “It’s not for a competition, it’s purely for me and the intrinsic motivation of going surfing and getting a little better every time.” As we rise and fall with the passing swell, our chatter drifts back to snowboarding. “There was a time before the Olympics when I felt ready to begin winding down my competitive career,” says Jones. “And then I got the phone call.” It was a call that would change her life. Jones’s route to becoming the first British Olympic snowsports competitor to stand on the podium is no ordinary growing-up-withample-ski-holidays story. Born in 1980 in the southwest of England, her first taste of snowboarding didn’t come until the age of 17, after spying an advert offering a free dry slope lesson. That first run down an artificial, plastic-coated hill proved she was a natural. She was also hooked, deferring university applications in favour of a season in the snow, working as a chalet maid in the French Alps. Taking the leap “I didn’t have the qualifications,” she remembers, laughing. “You had to be over 21 – I was 18. You had to be able to cook – I couldn’t. You had to be able to speak French. Another no. I thought, ‘I’m totally going to be able to get a job!’” And she did, spending every spare moment snowboarding – learning, practising, perfecting details and pushing herself. “It’s a really good feeling, getting better at something,” Jones explains. “Focusing in on one little task, being able to achieve that and improve. Small increments don’t seem that exciting or grand on their own, but keep building those little nuggets and suddenly you’ve made a massive leap.” When a friend suggested she enter the British Snowboard Championships in Switzerland, she thought, ‘Why not?’ and hitched a ride over there. “I slept on someone’s couch. I did a back flip and landed it. I couldn’t do a lot, but I could do a bit,” she says with a broad grin and trademark underplay.

She turned up and won. “Everybody immediately knew she was going to be massive,” says Matt Barr, editor of Whitelines snowboard magazine at the time. That win kick-started a decade of dominance on the international circuit, with podium finishes at all the major events across the globe, competing in the slopestyle discipline against peers who had grown up with snow under their feet. She won three gold medals at the X-Games – at that point the greatest achievement in the snowboard world – becoming an international star. “All the competitive goals I’d set myself, I’d reached,” says Jones. I was satisfied and as an athlete; that’s an indication that you should begin winding down.” On top of that, her body hurt from ten years at the top of her game and the crashes, injuries, and surgery to shoulders, knees and ankles that go with it. “That brings me back to that phone call… My first thought was, ‘Wow, slopestyle is going to be included in the Olympics!’ Immediately followed by, ‘But should I go?’ I felt I wasn’t at my peak; I’d been considering retiring. It was a gamble, did I need to go?” Working closely with her sports psychologist, Jones drew up a list of pros and cons. “Ultimately, could I sit there watching everyone else competing in the Olympics knowing I could have maybe gone, forever wondering how might I have done? It was at that point I decided to commit. It definitely wasn’t easy, but the outcome was almost fairytale for me.” September dreaming We ease into the hot tub overlooking the beach; the late September light taking an orange hue. The swell lines are still rolling through, still drawing our attention – like a television in the corner of a bar invading your consciousness, but 100 times more compelling. Jones recounts how two years of dedication working towards the Olympics were broken down into a series of goals. A horrendous training injury and concussion two months prior to the Games nearly derailed everything, but her trademark focus saw Jones finally make it to Sochi, Russia. “The achievement of going to the Olympics was enough,” she says. But now I’m there, what’s my goal?” As a 33-year-old athlete, Jones knew this would be her only chance of winning an Olympic medal. “I heard them say it over the loudspeaker, ‘And Jenny Jones is six years older than her nearest competitor.’” She reached the final, in the same way she had achieved every victory in her snowboarding career; step by step, focusing on the increments. “Then, I’m in the finals… I have nothing to lose now. You really want a medal at that point, so let’s go for it!” »

For millions of us who woke early on that damp Sunday morning in February 2014, Jenny Jones’s Olympic Bronze is seared in the memory. “When you’re younger you watch athletes on TV go up on the podium to get their medals. I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m that person, I’m doing that. I’m waving! Is this how you wave?’ I’m this tiny bit of British history. All my other achievements, I’d been representing me, but with this I was representing my country and I was really proud. I’ve got goosebumps thinking about it.” After the snow Having won an Olympic medal, Jenny was presented with a whirlwind of opportunities, and tried everything from hosting a radio show to a regular slot presenting on Ski Sunday. “I’d watched it as a kid growing up, same as everyone else,” she remembers. “We’d watch it for the crashes into the nets!” Jones has since refocused and reprioritised, putting her knowledge to good use, whether giving motivational talks

or hosting specialised week-long retreats under the banner ‘Workshop by Jenny Jones’. “I wanted to give people a taste of what I got to enjoy – working with my team to experience high level coaching, exposing people to a sports psychologist, learning how mindset works. There’s fitness, nutrition, yoga, it’s about yin and yang. When you’re snowboarding the adrenalin is pumping, your system is on high alert. But you’ve got to have some time out, let your body switch off mentally and physically. We have a back country week in Japan; riding powder, learning to use transceivers. I’m creating bespoke weeks that I think are exciting, mini adventures experiencing what it’s like to be a top athlete.” So what does tomorrow hold for Jenny Jones? “I’ve spent so much time away in the mountains, it’s now about catching up on the coast. I love being back in Cornwall – the waves, the beaches, the outdoor living. It’s wild. Depending on the surf, I might go for a ride tomorrow. I’m into road cycling; the adventure element really appeals. We’ll see,” she says laughing, taking a last longing look towards the horizon. •

Jenny Jones’s Five Tips for Success…(and How to Overcome Fear) 1. Breathing and grounding: “It sounds simple, but try to control your breathing; nice deep breaths – that’s what keeps your body and mind relaxed. If you get too tense, you’re not going to be able to achieve your goals. During moments of feeling overwhelmed and nerves building, ground yourself by simply making yourself aware of your surroundings, pause to take in the detail – be it the colours, the textures, the smells, the sounds or literally the ground beneath your feet.” 2. Turn your fear into total commitment: “If you are completely committed you are far more likely to succeed as your mind won’t be distracted with wavering thoughts or questioning your actions. If I were to only semi-commit to an 80ft kicker, it would most definitely end badly. If I go in 100 per cent committed – to the speed, the movements and body positions – then the process is correct and my chances of success are far greater.” 3. Use self-talk that works for you: “Think of key phrases, songs or words that relax and focus your mind on that task at hand. With snowboarding you might be thinking, ‘Yeah, I’m going to do a smooth run, I’m going to land a nice 360,’ or you might just be thinking, ‘Breathe.’ Never say what you don’t want to happen, always

Words: Demi Taylor | Illustration: Victoria Jones

say the DOs. It’s like when people say, ‘Don’t think about a pink elephant.’ I bet I can guess what you’re thinking about. A pink elephant right?” 4. Focus on the process: “Put all your thoughts and energy into the process, as this is going to be what creates a successful outcome and leaves less room for fear or nerves to enter the equation. This will help you stay in the moment.” 5. Visualise what you want to happen: “This is a technique used by many elite athletes and something you can improve through training and practice: seeing and feeling yourself completing the task. Let’s take surfing, for example…seeing yourself paddling for the wave with strong smooth arm movements, feeling your timing and how your weight distribution on the board is accurate. Seeing yourself stand with ease and confidence on the board, enjoying that motion of riding your first wave. Once you’ve visualised it, the act of doing it becomes easier as you build neural pathways.”

workshopbyjennyjones.com

Jenny Jones interview

“It’s a really good feeling, getting better at something. Focusing in on one little task, being able to achieve that and improve. Small increments don’t seem that exciting or grand on their own, but keep building those little nuggets and suddenly you’ve made a massive leap.”

Uncommon Ground

Logan “To ‘log’ in Cornish is to sway drunkenly. ‘Logan’ is sometimes used for a large granite stone, often part of a tor, which is supported on one or two points in such a way that it can be easily rocked to and fro, while resisting any attempt to topple it completely.”

See one for yourself at: The Cheesewring, near Minions, Bodmin Moor

Watergate Bay Speed Hillclimb 2018

Coastal Chicanery With sweeping sea views and quiet back roads winding through an ever-changing landscape, Cornwall is a driver’s paradise. So it seemed only fitting that the UK’s first closed road speed hillclimb should take place here – right on our doorstep. Chris Nelson relishes the roar of classic cars hitting the open road. I brake into the tight hairpin bend at the bottom of the B3276 coast road and am plunged into shadow. Hugging the ground, I ease through the sharp rising turn and guide the gear lever through the tricky dogleg into second. The air-cooled engine begins to growl and the car roars up the hill. The road curves left, gaining altitude. As the revs climb, I ease into third and there’s a sudden bright flash as the open expanse of the North Atlantic floods into view to my right. Easing my foot off the pedal, almost subconsciously, the Porsche slows. I glide into the empty cliff-top layby and kill the engine. I’ve driven this stretch many times before, and am always drawn to pause. Here. »

Volvo Amazon

Ocean drive The ribbons of tarmac are only a part of the story of driving in Cornwall. It’s the ever-changing vistas that await at almost every bend in the road that also serve to quicken the pulse. That view out over the ocean, the sun dipping towards the vast horizon, is impossible to ignore. Today is no different. But it is different. Looking up the road to the crest, it’s hard to imagine that in a little over 48 hours, more than 100 exotic cars will be thundering past – fighting the g-forces that conspire against them, the draw towards the right hand side of the road, where the curb waits, where the cliff and ocean lie, and where I am standing. For here will be the apex of a chicane, a technical kink in the smooth course, designed to test the skill and precision of drivers and machines competing in the inaugural Watergate Bay Speed Hillclimb – the first such event to take place on a closed public road in the UK. Watergate Bay is known for many things: the views, the huge expanse of beach, the waves, the food. Motorsport was not one of those things. Until now. For the morning of the first run has arrived. The event has been five years in the planning by Truro Motor Club Competition Secretary and Deputy Event Director, Dave Brenton, and the time invested has truly paid off. The air reverberates with a heavy bass and angry roar as recalcitrant engines are coaxed into life.

that includes a rare Alfa Romeo 4C. But the common denominator is that they’re all at home here. The thrill of an event like this is the inclusive nature of it; the field includes everything from fully modified racers to standard road cars, and it’s perhaps the most open of all the motorsports. It’s not about the size of your engine or the size of your budget, it’s about your skill and dedication as a driver. Gary Thomas, who has been hillclimb racing for 17 years, has brought his immaculately turned out Lotus Seven all the way from Nottingham to be part of history. “Most of us ‘petrol heads’ want a chance to compete; to be able to drive as fast as we can on a public road, because we just don’t get that chance,” he says. “All other events take place on private roads or in stately homes. This is the first on public roads – and in such a spectacular setting too, seeing the ocean as you crest the hill, it’s just fantastic.” Martin Leech has trundled down the A35 from Tunbridge Wells, his regal red and gold 1971 Lotus Europa in tow. Leech has developed a passion for hill climb racing, the cars sprinting one at a time up the black top against the clock. “I like the precision of it really,” he explains. “With each racer given a number of runs, there’s the chance to get quicker on each turn. You’re competing against yourself. The capacity for improvement is what I really enjoy.”

Standing in the paddock, as the cars are prepared for racing, I look around at a kaleidoscope of colours, shapes, makes and models assembled amongst trailers, motorhomes, piles of tyres and open air makeshift ‘pits’ and garages. Some cars resemble the highly-strung show ponies of Formula 1 races – all spoilers and wide rubber. Others might be more

Meanwhile, Newquay local Mark ‘Hank’ Hankins spent six years rebuilding the car he found in a local garage. When he moved to London, the car went with him – component by component – until each part was renovated and reassembled. The chance to race his 1971 TVR Vixen on home tarmac was too good to miss. “Because I know the hill like the back of my hand, I thought, ‘I’m not even going to bother walking it,’” he says. “It was a bit of a shock when we went down for the first run and there’s a chicane in the middle of it! It’s very different driving up at full speed with the use of both lanes as compared to driving up

familiar to a lazy Sunday classic car show. There’s a brace of 1960s Volvo Amazon saloons, a swarm of classic Minis, and a collection of modern exotica

in a road car. There are two blind crests at the top that you can take flat out, and on the first run you know there’s nothing there, but you’re not quite sure.” »

Immaculate collection

Top left to right: Martin Leech with Lotus Europa, Subaru WRX STI, Radical SR4, classic Mini, John Reed with Ford Anglia, Mark Hankins with TVR Vixen, Alfa Romeo 4c

Watergate Bay Speed Hillclimb 2018

As with all motorsport, there’s always an element of risk – something Leech can attest to. “I’ve had my Lotus 30 years. It’s just been rebuilt after quite a big crash I had in France just over a year ago, so it’s looking nice and shiny. Hopefully I can keep it that way after today,” he smiles. Team spirit

“ The ribbons of tarmac are only a part of the story of driving in Cornwall. It’s the ever-changing vistas that await at almost every bend in the road that also serve to quicken the pulse.”

Standing out on the course, I see a familiar shape emerge from the valley. It carves through the chicane and accelerates with a deep roar up the tarmac, disappearing over the crest. I catch up with driver John Reed later, as he prepares for his second run. “Oh, yes, the kids love the Harry Potter connection,” he says of his Ford Anglia. Although this one is different to the one owned by Arthur Weasley in the famous films. It really does fly. “It’s got a 2.9, 24-valve Cosworth engine out of a Ford Granada, which puts out about 221 BHP at the moment (compared to the original 39 BHP). It’s all road legal – I can drive it on the road.” What is it about hillclimbing that he enjoys the most? “The friendship. Everybody talks to each other, we get on very well,” he says without a moment’s hesitation. “If you have a problem someone tries to help you out. We always have a good day out.” At the end of an exhilarating weekend I watch the flag drop as the last car is released by the marshals. As it blasts away I notice a bus waiting next in line, patiently loading passengers at the stop. Two minutes later, the road re-opens, and the double decker begins its slow climb. Those seated on the top deck look out over the sea, the sun sinks towards the horizon, surfers float around out back, and normal service is resumed. •

Profits from this event were donated to local charities Cornwall Air Ambulance and Cornwall Food Foundation, which includes Jamie Oliver’s apprentice training scheme at Fifteen Cornwall. Watergate Bay Speed Hillclimb will return in September 2019. See p70–77 for Chris’s favourite Cornish drives through the different seasons.

Ford Anglia

Words: Chris Nelson | Photography: John Isaac

â&#x20AC;&#x153; The statistics are mind-boggling: he will swim more than 2,700km, over 150 consecutive days, ingesting more than a million calories in the process.â&#x20AC;?

Ross Edgley interview

The Great British Swim Writer Alex Wade gets in the sea with Ross Edgley, the first person to swim around mainland Britain. I’m 150 metres offshore. To my right are the cliffs of Land’s End. To my left, the open ocean. Next stop, the United States. I take a breath. Looking up, I realise the man I’m swimming with is no longer by my side. I swim faster but on my next breath there is still no one in sight. I stop, and tread water. An unbidden image enters my mind, of Razumov in Joseph Conrad’s Under Western Eyes, swimming as lonely as a man in a deep sea. Luckily, I am not alone. I signal to Matt Knight, the skipper of a catamaran called Hecate. Soon, I am back on board. Ross Edgley, the man I’ve been swimming with, roars his encouragement from the sea. A couple of hours earlier I’d clambered down a cliff path near Logan Rock to a sandy cove on the eastern side of Porthcurno bay. I’d swum 200 metres to Hecate to meet Edgley, who was then some 30 days into an extraordinary mission. Dover to Calais, daily “Yes, it’s a little bit crazy,” said the 32-year-old. “I’m aiming to be the first person to swim around mainland Britain.” Edgley began his quest, dubbed ’The Great British Swim’, at Margate on 1 June 2018. The statistics are mind-boggling: he will swim more than 2,700km, over 150 consecutive days, ingesting more than a million calories in the process. That’s up to 15,000 calories a day, eaten while aboard Hecate or in the form of bananas thrown to him as he swims, which he will merrily chomp while treading water. So demanding is the swim that Edgley does not expect to lose weight. He will swim and sleep with the tides, completing between 30 and 50km a day. He won’t touch land once in what is the equivalent of swimming from Dover to Calais, and more, every day for up to four months. Edgley sees himself as an incarnation of the great British adventurer: “I love the spirit of Ernest Shackleton and the other polar explorers. Their commitment was extraordinary. I want to harness that same strength of will and combine it with modern sports science, and push the boundaries of human physical endurance.” »

Everest by rope There is not an ounce of fat on Edgley’s 5”8’, 95 kilo frame. No surprise that he’s the author of a Sunday Times #1 bestseller called The World’s Fittest Book. Among many outlandish exploits, he has climbed the height of Mount Everest on a rope in under 24 hours and completed a marathon while dragging a Mini behind him. When we meet, he’s fresh from a 40km swim between the Caribbean islands of Martinique and St Lucia – during which he towed along a 100lb log. I’m inspired not just by Edgley’s derring-do, but his sheer enthusiasm. “Swim along with me!” he booms. “It’ll be great to have some company!” I jump in with him, and off we go on this, the Land’s End leg of his journey. It’s 15 minutes before I return to Hecate, Edgley’s support vessel. He is far too fit for me. I shake my head in amazement as Edgley swims on, powering his way through The Great British Swim – one of the greatest sporting accomplishments of all time. •

Words: Alex Wade | Photography: Mike Newman

Ross Edgley, who was swimming to raise awareness of the RNLI’s Respect the Water campaign, began The Great British Swim at Margate on 1 June 2018 and completed it on Sunday 4 November, to become the first person ever to swim around mainland Great Britain. He holds the current world record for the longest staged sea swim (157 days), the fastest swim from Land’s End to John O’Groats (62 days) and is the the first person in history to swim the entire south coast (30 days).

Ross Edgley interview

ROSS EDGLEY’S GREAT BRITISH SWIM 7 metre basking shark sighting

Halfway point: Ullapool

Becomes first Brit to swim Land’s End to John O’Groats in record time of 62 days

Red Bull Matadors aerobatic display team marks 100 days at sea

Breaks world record for longest staged sea swim

Scottish wild swimmer brings freshly-baked cake on her head

Storm Ali brings 70mph winds

Storm Callum causes two day delay

Swims 100 miles across the Irish Sea in three days

Celebrates 33rd birthday in Grimsby Harbour

Finish

Start

Swims with minke whale in Bristol Channel

Stung by an army of jellyfish Swims with pod of 12 bottlenose dolphins

Becomes first person to swim entire length of English Channel Plays ’hide and seek’ with a grey seal

WORLD RECORDS: First person to swim entire south coast: World’s longest staged sea swim: Land’s End to John O’Groats:

30 days 157 days 62 days

Presented with an honorary plaque by the Royal Navy

STATISTICS: Average time swimming per day: Longest single swim: Distance travelled:

12 hours 33.4km 2,883km

Uncommon Ground

Zawn “Derived from ‘sawan’, a Cornish word for chasm, these steep-sided coastal inlets are formed by wave erosion on weak spots in the cliff face. The Cornish coastline – especially towards Land’s End, where the unhindered force of the Atlantic Ocean dashes against the seemingly immutable granite cliffs – is punctuated by zawns; a reminder that in geological terms there really is no such thing as immutable.”

See one for yourself at: Nanjizal beach, near Land’s End

All is Not Lost Acorn, fern, otter, heather, raven, wren… Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris’s The Lost Words captures and celebrates the words fast fading from the language of our children. A spellbook for conjuring up wonder for the natural world, through each kingfisher-bright illustration and lyrical turn it encourages children to seek, find and speak – bringing a lexicon back to life. Read (out loud) and wonder...

BLUEBELL B lue flowers at the blue hour – L ate-day light in a bluebell wood. U nder branch, below leaf, billows blue so deep, sea-deep, E ach step is taken in an ocean. B lue flows at the blue hour: colour is current, undertow. E nter the wood with care, my love, L est you are pulled down by the hue, L ost in the depths, drowned in blue.

In Cornwall from late April to early May bluebells grow so close together they can transform the woodland floor into a carpet of blue. For details of the best woods, estates and gardens to see them, turn to p71.

The Lost Words (Hamish Hamilton, 2017) is out now. Pore over a copy in the Watergate Bay Hotel library.

On the Horizon A calendar of some exciting events and experiences coming into view this year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; both in the Bay and beyond â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to help you plan your visit.

Spring A Taste of Sri Lanka 1 February / The Beach Hut, Watergate Bay By the warmth of a beach bonfire and to the sounds of live music, discover Sri Lanka’s diverse culture in a tour of dishes and flavours. In a night of dahls, curries and caramelised coconut, well-travelled chef Jon Lewin joins forces with our own Neil Haydock to serve up a tasting menu inspired by the way the locals cook. Tickets: the-beach-hut.co.uk/events

Taco Friday 15 February / The Beach Hut, Watergate Bay A build-your-own, eat-with-your-hands, passand-share kind of feast. Bring your friends for an explosion of Mexican sounds and flavours, and get stuck into slow-cooked meats, wrapped in corn tortillas and stacked with adobo, moles and salsas; all to the upbeat strains of a visiting mariachi band and a blazing fire on the beach. Tickets: the-beach-hut.co.uk/events

LOOK TO THE STARS Virginid meteor shower, 12 April Lyrid meteor shower, 23 April Scorpiid meteor shower, 28 April Aquarid meteor shower, 6 May Scorpiid meteor shower, 13 May Blue moon, 18 May

Legend of the Bay 20–21 April / Watergate Bay A nail-biter of a spectator event right from the water’s edge, Legend brings together the UK’s best stand-up paddleboarders and kite surfers for one big weekend of high-adrenalin watersports. Cheer on your favourite competitors as they battle it out in their favoured sport, or carve their way across both disciplines to be crowned ‘Legend of the Bay’. watergatebay.co.uk/legend-of-the-bay

Poke n’ Bao

The Cornish Cycling Classic

26 April / The Beach Hut, Watergate Bay Picture fresh bowls of sticky rice and marinated tuna the Hawaiian way – piled with fried shallots, nori seaweed and pickled ginger. Add white steamed bao dumplings (the smallest bites with the punchiest fillings, from crispy duck to katsu chicken) and you've got Poke n’ Bao – a modern fusion feast. This is bright, tasty food that belongs beachside, best sampled with a helping of sea air. With a beach bonfire, long tables and live music. Tickets: the-beach-hut.co.uk/events

Porthleven Food Festival 26–28 April / Porthleven Every spring, wood smoke, spices and coffee grounds waft on the sea breeze at Porthleven. See the town taken over with sizzling stalls, spilling right to the edge of the beautiful granite harbour. A weekend smorgasbord of international and local cuisine, with tasty musical accompaniments. porthlevenfoodfestival.com

St Piran’s Day

27–28 April

Coastal Fitness

29 April–2 May

Fowey Festival of Arts and Literature 11–19 May / Fowey Daphne du Maurier put Fowey on the literary map. By bringing internationally acclaimed writers, speakers and performers into the harbour she called home, this festival keeps her legacy alive. For story-lovers, wordsmiths and dreamers, all. foweyfestival.com

St Francis Dog Show 18 May / Watergate Bay A no-brainer for fans of man’s best friend. With all proceeds going to local charity St Francis Dogs Home, expect canines of every shape, size and breed, shown over ten classes at this fun, friendly dog show on the beach. Perfect for little ones and grown-ups alike. watergatebay.co.uk/dog-show

5 March / Across Cornwall Patron saint of tin miners, St Piran’s flag is the black and white cross you’ll see flying from masts and emblazoning pubs across the county. Mark the day in Newquay with a pasty and local festivities, or flee the crowds to stomp past the impressively preserved engine house at Minions, Bodmin Moor.

Active Breaks (Please see right hand page for more details) Yoga Break

24–26 March

Swim Clinic

29–31 March 24–26 April (breaststroke and butterfly clinic)

Surfaced Pro Surf Competition 27–28 April / Watergate Bay Promoting gender equality in surfing, Surfaced Pro is the first UK surf event to offer equal prize money to men and women. Organised by Cornwall College Newquay students on the Surf Science & Technology programme, it’s also the first event on the 2018 UKPSA Pro Surf Tour. Marvel as elite surfers from across Europe flock to our doorstep to kick-start the summer competition season. watergatebay.co.uk/surfaced-pro

Yoga Break

12–14 May

Great Cornish Drives by Chris Nelson (see p54)

Food Notes by Meg Lobb @onefieldfarm

Spring: B3276 from Watergate Bay to Padstow Via Bedruthan Steps, Porthcothan and Harlyn, along the lush green coastal road hugging the Atlantic that links a series of sandy beaches, and on to Padstow. Eat Rick Stein’s Fish & Chips and stroll out along the sands.

Spring: With the thick mud of winter still heavy on my boots, I’m trying to see a thousand plates of food in the shoebox of seeds by my side. My fingers slowly warm to the promise of spring as I hammer in trellises and plot out each packet of peas, beans and beetroots in a precise constellation across the canvas of One Field Farm. Not much to look at now, but with each bed planted I’m building the stage that will host the high scenes of summer.

Best Foot Forward: Peak Perspectives As the landscape changes, we suggest you head to the hills to take in the views from the county's loftiest spots: The highest spot in Cornwall, Brown Willy Tor has views that stretch for miles. A circular route down and around Roughtor will lead you through prehistoric stone circles and Bronze Age settlements. Head up Helman Tor to join The Saints‘ Way, the ancient path that crosses Cornwall from coast to coast, then reward your hill-weary thighs with a tasting at Knightor winery. Boasting a smuggler’s cave, sacred well, castle and Neolithic settlement, Carn Brea is a hill piled high with stories. Go for an atmospheric stroll amongst the heather, and explore the tumbledown mine buildings at Wheal Basset.

Active Breaks at Watergate Bay The cold months are retreating and the days are stretching out. Now is the time to get outside and get active.

Yoga Breaks 24–26 March 12–14 May Clear your mind and regain your focus with our two-day yoga break – led by Oceanlight Yoga instructor Julia Poole. Tailored for the beginner and intermediate yogi, this break will teach you the foundations of yoga, exploring different disciplines including Vinyasa, Yin and Acro. Join walking and evening reflections, as well as workshops designed to deepen your yoga understanding – all with the calming view of the ocean.

Swim Clinic 29–31 March 24–26 April (breaststroke and butterfly clinic) Take your swimming further with a bespoke, two-day clinic led by our Swim Lab coach Salim Ahmed. Combining land sessions on streamlining, body alignment and hydro-statics with pool time and video analysis, you’ll perfect your front crawl and be able to swim smoother, faster and further with more confidence.

The Cornish Cycling Classic

Nature Trail

27–28 April Starting and ending at the hotel, pedal to Cornwall’s most iconic spots. With a choice of sport or social distances, explore from clifftop to clifftop in the company of like-minded riders, including Olympic Gold medallist Amy Williams. The break includes a two-night stay; insight sessions on nutrition, hydration and planning; a talk and Q&A with Amy Williams; yoga for cycling; plus ride captains, crew and support vehicles.

Spring means vast carpets of bluebells in leafy green woods. Venture into the woodlands at Lanhydrock Estate, Tehidy Woods or Pencarrow House and Gardens for the most impressive displays. nationaltrust.org.uk/lanhydrock pencarrow.co.uk If you're a bluebell lover, turn to p66 for more...

Coastal Fitness

Water & Wetsuits: Spring Average temperatures and wetsuits recommended:

Spring Equinox 20 March

Air temperature: 10°C Water temperature: 11°C Wetsuit: 4/3 wetsuit with boots

At this time of year the air and water temperatures are evenly matched, but the bright sunshine days bring the promise of what’s to come.

29 April–2 May Sick of sweating in a sterile gym with nothing but pounding techno to keep you motivated? Take advantage of the natural environment around Watergate Bay with Mountain Beach Fitness Retreats‘ personal trainers Lottie and Emma. From beach circuits and cliff hikes, to trail running, core conditioning and sea swimming, train holistically with functional fitness in mind. A pre-arrival consultation ensures your individual goals are met, and all fitness levels are welcome. watergatebay.co.uk/active-breaks

Summer Eden Sessions May–August / Eden Project From pop superstars to alternative icons, experience live music like never before – deep inside an old china clay pit and surrounded by the Eden Project’s futuristic biomes. Last year’s headliners included Gary Barlow, Massive Attack, Queens of the Stone Age, Jack Johnson and Bjork. Look out for announcements on this year’s line-up from January. edensessions.com

Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival 14–16 June / Venues across Falmouth Travel back in time and let the songs, stories and shanties of the 17th century envelop you as you stroll through Falmouth’s winding streets and soak up the atmosphere in its buzzing waterside pubs. falmouthseashanty.co.uk

The Wave Project Summer Surf Challenge 20–21 July / Watergate Bay A weekend of waves at Watergate Bay for people with disabilities, complete with expert surf coaching from The Wave Project’s experienced staff. Completely free to take part, and all ages and abilities are welcome. waveproject.co.uk

LOOK TO THE STARS Ophiuchid meteor shower, 10 June Capricornid meteor shower, 8 July Aquarid meteor shower, 29 July Piscis Australid meteor shower, 31 July Capricornid meteor shower, 2 August Aquarid meteor shower, 6 August Perseid meteor shower, 13 August Venus at its greatest brightness, 15 August Cygnid meteor shower, 21 August

Port Eliot Festival 25–28 July / St Germans Listen to untold stories from some of today’s leading literary talents. Dance into the early hours in a secret club in the rhododendron bushes. Take an early morning dip in the estuary. Discover enchanting performances and activities for kids galore. If you’ve never been to this magical festival of imagination, ideas, exploration and more, this could be the year. porteliotfestival.com

Kudhva Sunday Service First Sunday of the month / Kudhva Savour locally-sourced food, sip cocktails made using botanicals grown on Kudhva’s beautiful reclaimed quarry site, dance to records lovingly curated by local DJs, and enjoy the company of friends old and new at this family-friendly get together. kudhva.com

Boardmasters

Wild Wine Club

7–11 August / Watergate Bay and Fistral Beach Every year, the world’s biggest names descend on Newquay for five days of music and surf across two locations. Past acts have included everyone from Chemical Brothers and Lily Allen to Bastille and De La Soul. When you need a break from the action, explore the festival’s wealth of holistic activities, including yoga, outdoor adventure and more. boardmasters.com

Once a month / Across Cornwall A gastronomic exploration, taking in wine and food in Cornwall’s most beautiful – and unexpected – locations, from beaches to ruins in the woods. Leave your frock or dinner jacket at home; bring hiking boots and something warm, take your seat at the long table and let sommelier Debbie Warner lead the way. wildwineclub.co.uk

Surf Break

19–21 June

Lobster Friday 28 June / The Beach Hut, Watergate Bay Let The Beach Hut take you on a tour of the lobster; a night to celebrate the king crustacean in all its delectable glory. Tasting your way through a four-course menu, you’ll journey from claw to tail, peaking with our perfectly-seasoned half grilled lobster. Live music and a beach bonfire accompany the decadence. Tickets: the-beach-hut.co.uk/events

Paella on the Beach July, date TBC / The Beach Hut, Watergate Bay Food always tastes even better outside – especially when you’re on a beautiful beach with the waves crashing just a stone’s throw away. Warm up your taste buds with a selection of tapas, before feasting on the freshest seafood paella and washing it down with a glass of wine (or three) – all to a soundtrack of live acoustic music. Summer vibes guaranteed. Tickets: the-beach-hut.co.uk/events

The Great Cornish Festival Summer is the time to dust off your festival gear and don the glitter – and nowhere is that truer than here in Cornwall. From the weird, wonderful and whimsical Great Estate, bringing international headliners to Scorrier House, to Leopallooza and Live in the Wyldes (hosting the likes of Paloma Faith, Rag’n’Bone Man and Kelis in a hidden, wooded valley in North Cornwall); from Tropical Pressure’s rich exploration of African, Latin American and Caribbean culture on the cliffs of Porthtowan, to the underground music, arts and food championed by independent, non-profit upstarts Knee Deep, who’ve put on the likes of Loyle Carner and Wolf Alice in their top secret spot near Liskeard. There are also the Sundowner Sessions at Lusty Glaze if you’re in the mood for relaxed live music on the beach – previous headliners have included Guy Garvey, Ben Howard and Morcheeba. greatestatefestival.co.uk tropicalpressure.co.uk leopallooza.com kneedeepfestival.com intothewyldes.com lustyglaze.co.uk/sundowner-sessions

Great Cornish Drives by Chris Nelson (see p54)

Food Notes by Meg Lobb @onefieldfarm

Summer: B3306 from St Ives to St Just Via Zennor, Treen and Pendeen, on a beautifully winding ribbon of road. Moorland and cairns on one side, the rugged Atlantic cliffs on the other, via the occasional cluster of granite farms, cottages and ghostly engine houses. Turn down to Cape Cornwall; the caravan serving tea and cake in the National Trust car park is an institution.

Summer: Summer is a thirsty one. For every hour of sunlight there are sirens calling across the field, courgettes screaming to be picked, seedlings shouting to be watered, the sunflowers sigh to be planted out as I rush past with averted eyes. With each hot delivery down to the Bay the sea winks over the hedgerows, and every day in August I’ve had to say no. One day though, I run down, kick off my boots and jump under one wave, for a minute’s relief.

Best Foot Forward: A Dramatic Walk Explore the road less travelled and download Walk With Me – a free story-walk app from Cornish theatre company Kneehigh. Fire it up, and the app triggers stories brought to life by local artists according to your GPS coordinates. Choose from walks in six Cornish locations, including Newquay, Mevagissey and Bodmin. Available on iOS and Android. kneehigh.co.uk/page/walk-with-me.php

Theatre & Performance: The Great Outdoors Love theatre in the open air? Look no further. From the iconic Minack and Kneehigh’s award-winning Asylum, to WildWorks’ imaginative promenade performances at Trelowarren and the Lost Gardens of Heligan, and Salt’s dynamic dance shows at beaches, country houses and even aircraft hangars across the county, you can’t go wrong. For kids, the always tongue-incheek Squashbox popping up in gardens and parks across Cornwall is a sure-fire winner, while Rogue Theatre will leave you thoroughly enchanted in Tehidy Woods. Now, what to choose… minack.com kneehigh.co.uk roguetheatre.co.uk wildworks.biz dancerepublic2.com/salt squashboxtheatre.co.uk

New Adventure: Deep Breath Thinking about going for a cold water swim? If you’re feeling brave, now’s the time. With the water at its warmest, you’ll be reaping the benefits in no time – a natural high thanks to the adrenalin rush, increased mindfulness and an amplified sense of being, just a few of them. Be sure to enter the water slowly and breathe deeply.

Nature Trail Take to the water and go on a search for dolphins with a two-hour boat trip along Cornwall’s beautiful north coast. Common dolphins, harbour porpoise and bottlenose dolphins all inhabit the waters around Padstow, and if you do encounter the ever-sociable common dolphins, you’ll enjoy the trip with a new pod of friends right by your side. wavehunters.co.uk

Water & Wetsuits: Summer Average temperatures and wetsuits recommended:

Active Breaks at Watergate Bay Surf Break 19–21 June An intensive two-day clinic for beginners wanting to improve their surfing. Boost your confidence with in-water coaching and first-hand tuition from Extreme Academy’s professional surf coaches. You’ll learn proper technique and surf science, and then put it into practice with the instructors by your side. The course can be tailored for seasoned surfers, too. extremeacademy.co.uk

Summer Solstice 21 June

Air temperature: 17°C Water temperature: 16°C Wetsuit: 3/2 wetsuit

On bluebird days, it’s possible to forgo the rubber and jump into the Atlantic's embrace – boardies and bikinis for the bold! Or at the very least, a shortie...

Autumn Cracking Crab 6 September / The Beach Hut, Watergate Bay Food that requires a hammer and an apron is not to be messed with; and the hardest work reaps the richest rewards. Grab a drink, gather around the fire, and soak up the live music while our chefs demo how to tackle a succulent feast of brown crab, enhanced with herbs and luxurious drawn butters…then dive into a joyfully messy eating experience. Tickets: the-beach-hut.co.uk/events

Early September / Perranporth (TBC) Wooden boards, vintage swimsuits and a healthy dose of silliness. The World Bellyboarding Championships take surfing back to basics. With an infectious ethos, you’ll be dying to get in the water, or whoop from the beach. Look out for stylish handmade boards from local heroes Dick Pearce & Friends. worldbellyboardingchampionships.com

BSUPA National SUP Surf Championships

Little Orchard Cyder Festival

28–29 September / Watergate Bay Setting out to battle some serious autumnal swell, the country’s best stand-up paddleboarders will descend on Watergate Bay for a two-day surf competition with their eyes (and balance) firmly set on securing the nation’s paddleboarding crown. Three prestigious titles are there for the taking, including Men’s and Women’s Open, and Junior Under 16s, with triumphant finalists’ names put forward to represent Team GB in next year’s ISA Stand Up Paddleboard World Championships. Global titles aside, we’ll also be handing over the much-coveted Watergate Bay Waterman or Watergate Bay Waterwoman trophy. bsupa.org.uk

Yoga Break (see p71)

8–10 September

Watergate Bay Speed Hillclimb 14–15 September / Watergate Bay Hairpin bends and views for miles… If Chris Nelson’s account of the UK’s first closed road speed hillclimb (p54) set your pulse racing, mark your calendar for its return in 2019. With plans for an even bigger and better event underway, come for a piece of the motoring action and listen out for the engines roaring along the coastal curves of the B3276. watergatebayhillclimb.co.uk

LOOK TO THE STARS Draconids meteor shower, 8 October Full Moon – Full Hunter’s Moon, 13 October Orionids meteor shower, 21–22 October Leonids meteor shower, 17–18 November Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, 24 November

World Bellyboarding Championships

13–15 September / Healey’s Cyder Farm A proper party, done the Cornish way. With ciders for tasting and music for dancing, headliners have ranged from The Fratellis to The Wurzels: there’ll be something for everyone. cornwallciderfestival.co.uk

Newquay Fish Festival 13–15 September / Newquay Bringing the traditional fishing community, world class chefs and hungry seafood fans together upon Newquay’s 300-year-old harbour; the Newquay Fish Festival is a chance to taste the very best the Cornish coast has to offer. newquayfishfestival.co.uk

St Ives September Festival

Coastal Fitness (see p71)

23–26 September 26–29 September

The Market All year round / Crantock Only in its second year, The Market in Crantock Village Hall is the community farmers’ and craft/ design market building a loyal following – a favourite amongst locals in the know. Go for the bountiful autumnal produce; stay for street food, barista coffee and good vibes. facebook.com/TheMarketCornwall

14–28 September / Venues across St Ives A sprawling, two-week celebration of music and the arts across multiple venues – with a folk, roots and acoustic bent. With the summer holidays gone and crowds diluted, St Ives September Festival is the perfect way to explore everything the town has to offer. The only problem is choosing between the walks, talks, exhibitions, workshops, theatre, comedy, poetry and street performances. stivesseptemberfestival.co.uk

Surf Break (see p73)

2–4 October

Falmouth Oyster Festival 10–13 October / Events Square, Falmouth Pay homage to the oyster at the start of dredging season as Falmouth brings on the bands, lays on a spread and provides the tabasco. A weekend of shucking, slurping, live music, drinking, dancing, and local crafts. falmouthoysterfestival.co.uk

Swim Clinic (see p71)

9–11 October

Yoga Break (see p71)

13–15 October

Great Cornish Drives by Chris Nelson (see p54)

Food Notes by Meg Lobb @onefieldfarm

Active Breaks at Watergate Bay

Autumn: A3078 down the Roseland Peninsula to St Mawes… then back via B3289 and the King Harry Ferry. The roads are quiet, the leaves are golden-red and falling, the beaches are empty… eat lunch at The Hidden Hut close to Portscatho, try a detour to Towan Beach and stop off at Trelissick Gardens overlooking the estuary of the River Fal.

Autumn: As September stretches out between summer and autumn, the field is reaching its heady peak. The sweetcorn is perfect for a fleeting moment, tomato vines have reached the roof and the pumpkins are enjoying their last week of sprawling before winter storage calls. The ever earlier sunsets are matched by one last hurrah from the field flowers; flames of marigolds, nasturtiums and sunflowers stand out in the gloom as the bees make their final forage.

Yoga Break (see p71) 8–10 September 13–15 October

Coastal Fitness (see p71) 23–26 September 26–29 September

Surf Break (see p73) 2–4 October

Swim Clinic (see p71) 9–11 October

Best Foot Forward: Storm Watching

watergatebay.co.uk/active-breaks

The colder months bring drama to the Cornish landscape, in amongst those beautiful crisp, clear days. Gale-force winds and mountainous waves can lash the coast to create an awesome spectacle, so why not try some storm watching? Porthleven is the poster-child of the howling sou’westers; head to a safe spot above the village at high tide to watch the Atlantic swell smash over the harbour wall and iconic clock tower. Closer to Watergate, venture out to Newquay’s Towan headland and you might just be lucky enough to see the legendary Cribbar wave (also known as ‘the Widow Maker’) breaking, with local surf talent trying their luck on its 20 to 30-foot plus waves. Pack the waterproof and wrap up warm!

Halloween 21–31 October / Across Cornwall It’s the witching season; when the clocks change, darkness descends, and Cornwall’s spooks and spirits dance to life. If you’re joining us in October half term, embrace the magical and the monstrous, whether it’s the fantastical family programmes at Eden Project’s Halloweden and the Lost Gardens of Heligan; or deadly late night revelry from the Masked Ball crew. In the hotel, there will be ghostly parties in the Kids Zone; spooky games, slimy cookery workshops and wondrous face-painting, plus plenty more horrid half-term fun. edenproject.com maskedball.net heligan.com

Nature Trail While the water’s still warm but the nights draw in, it’s the best time to try to spot bioluminescence. Take a walk along the beach on a moonless evening, throw in a pebble or two, and look out for ‘sea sparkle’; tiny plankton that glow when disturbed.

Water & Wetsuits: Autumn Average temperatures and wetsuits recommended:

Autumn Equinox 23 September

Air temperature: 13°C Water temperature: 14°C Wetsuit: 4/3 wetsuit

These are the days we as surfers live for, the water in the early autumn months is surprisingly warm and the days can be long and golden with consistent surf to boot.

Winter Swim Clinic (see p71) Yoga Break (see p71)

22–24 November

13–15 November

Coombeshead Farm City of Lights 20 November / Truro See Cornwall’s cathedral city shining in its annual festival of lanterns. Delicate paper artworks made by local artists and schoolchildren parade the streets, accompanied by dancers and live bands, in a magical welcome to winter. Wrap up warm and bask in the otherworldly glow of over 700 lanterns. cityoflights.org.uk

Various events throughout the season Discover this bakery and restaurant nestled in 66 acres of meadows, woodland and oak-lined streams just a stone’s throw from Launceston. Pick from festive lunches, bread and wreath-making workshops, as well as takeovers by acclaimed guest chefs. coombesheadfarm.co.uk

LOOK TO THE STARS Taurid meteor shower, 4 November Leonid meteor shower, 17 November Geminid meteor shower, 13 December Ursid meteor shower, 21 December Why not make the most of those crisp winter skies? Head to the Bedruthan Steps at Carnewas or the North Cliffs between Portreath and Godrevy. Stunning stargazing guaranteed.

Padstow Christmas Festival 5–8 December / Padstow Food, drink, arts, artisanal crafts, and demonstrations from over 60 celebrated chefs from around the UK. Celebrating its 12th anniversary this year, this four-day festival championed by Rick Stein, Paul Ainsworth and Nathan Outlaw is just the ticket if you’re looking to get into the festive spirit. padstowchristmasfestival.co.uk

Nancarrow Farm Feast Nights

Vegan Night

Various dates throughout the season A 100-acre organic farm set in a south-facing valley near Truro, Nancarrow’s ever-popular feast nights are a foodie exercise in magical escapism. Enjoy a festive tipple in the courtyard before taking a seat in the oak barn to sample the farm’s produce – cooked lovingly over an open fire. Tickets go quick. nancarrowfarm.co.uk

22 November / The Beach Hut, Watergate Bay As veganism sweeps the globe one oatmilk latte at a time, more and more of us are embracing exciting plant-based options. And vegan indulgence doesn’t have to be an oxymoron. Forget holier-than-thou sprouts and grains; our night promises a devilish taste explosion, alongside a crackling beach bonfire and live acoustic music. Tickets: the-beach-hut.co.uk/events

Winter Festival December / Eden Project See the Eden Project like never before and enter a world of playful light sculptures, giant projections and atmospheric live music as darkness descends on the biomes. Meet Father Christmas and his elves, experience the Rainforest biome at night from the 50-metre-high Lookout, and head over to the magical ice rink for a spot of skating. With sessions to suit everyone – including parent and toddler ice-play, and races and games for juniors – be sure to warm up afterwards with some glühwein or hot chocolate. edenproject.com

Great Cornish Drives by Chris Nelson (see p54)

Food Notes by Meg Lobb @onefieldfarm

Active Breaks at Watergate Bay

Winter: B3263 Boscastle to Bude via Crackington Haven, Dizzard and Widemouth Bay, threading the winding coastal clifftop road skirting the Atlantic. At this time of year the coppery bracken and muted gorse offer a rusty counterpoint to the clear, cold coastal fringes. Stop off at Crackington Haven where the sheltered bay offers a low tide ramble out to find the huge wrecked WW2 German S-Boat engine, then lunch at the Coombe Barton Inn. Final section via Millook Haven has panoramic views with lay-bys offering beach access to spectacularly deformed zig-zags of folded, inter-bedded sandstones and shales; considered one of the top 10 geological sites in the UK. Be sure to check tide times.

Winter: Winter’s here and an early overnight frost has called curtains for anything fragile. Days are spent clearing crops and saving some of the season in bottles and jars. Meanwhile, the bloom is just starting on the silent brassicas; cabbages, kale and cauliflowers are sitting steady, getting sweeter with each cold snap and seeing us through until spring. With trellises to be taken down and tools to be oiled, it’s easy to put off final chores in favour of throwing more wood on the afternoon’s bonfire, as time finally slows down.

Swim Clinic (see p71) Yoga Break (see p71) 13–15 November

Christmas and New Year at Watergate Bay Raise a glass as merry Christmas cheer fills the room, brace yourself for a Boxing Day dip, and watch the old year set below dazzling winter seas.

Best Foot Forward: Winter Woods You’re staying on the beautiful Cornish coast – time for some awe-inspiring walks inland. Cardinham Woods has trails for everyone, from the casual stroller to the hard-core hiker. There’s also the Lady Vale walk, perfect for little legs and pushchairs. After you’ve taken in the expansive vistas and marvelled at the towering trees, cosy up by the fire in the Woods Café with a hot drink and a cake (or two).

New Adventure: World Heritage Cornwall There are 168 surviving engine houses in Cornwall, and the Crowns Engine Houses are maybe the most iconic of them all – perched precariously on the foot of the cliffs at Botallack. Walk down and explore the remains of what was one of the most industrious mines in the area. There are plenty more to discover in the UK’s largest UNESCO World Heritage Site, but for something a little closer to ‘home’, Wheal Coates in St Agnes boasts similarly spectacular coastal views.

22–24 November

From lazing over a family brunch to dancing by candlelight, Christmas (23–27 December) and New Year (30 Dec–2 January) at Watergate Bay take some beating. Join us for a festive house party as we close the hotel to the rest of the world and sink into the festivities. Think crisp walks and wintery surfs, rosy cheeks and crackling fires. There’ll be decadent dinners in all our restaurants and Champagne on ice. We’ll make the arrangements, warm the mulled wine and strike up the band; so all you have to do is bring your loved ones and make the hotel your home. Call our reservations team to book: 01637 860543

nationaltrust.org.uk/botallack nationaltrust.org.uk/wheal-coates

Water & Wetsuits: Winter Average temperatures and wetsuits recommended:

Winter Solstice 22 December

Air temperature: 7°C Water temperature: 9°C Wetsuit: 5/4 wetsuit, boots, gloves and hood

While winter temperatures dip, so too do the number of people in the water – making this a great time for soul surfers. Modern wetsuits are warm and flexible, all but eliminating the shock of the cold… Nothing one of Watergate’s nice hot beachside showers and/ or a quick trip to the sauna post surf can’t fix!

Stay Wherever the day’s adventures take you, it begins and ends here: your room. Whether you’re hankering for a clear blue horizon or seeking space for the whole family, we have plenty of options to choose from.

Rooms Our room prices vary across locations, seasons and sizes. We have wheelchair accessible rooms and a range of dog-friendly options. All of them can be double or twin, and each is inspired by our beachside location. Family suites mean a king size room for you, with a separate bunk room for the children. Every bedroom has an en suite bathroom, TV, iPod docking station or Bluetooth speaker, hair dryer, bathrobes, tea and coffee facilities and free WiFi. They all take a cot and some will take an extra bed for a child. B&B Bed and a full breakfast in Zacry’s Dinner inclusive Bed, full breakfast and a three course dinner in Zacry’s

Standard Contemporary beach living comes as standard, some interconnecting rooms. Best A little larger, with some interconnecting rooms and some balconies. All are designed for contemporary beach living, with wooden floors and textural features. Suites Open-plan, with contemporary design and comfort, bold textured décor and a freestanding roll-top bath in the bedroom bay window. Standard family suites Sleeps a family of four and space for a cot. Better family suites A little larger. Sleeps a family of four and space for a cot. Best family suites Sleeps a family of five and space for a cot. Village family apartments Contemporary two-bedroom properties offering our most spacious family accommodation. Open-plan with a kitchen, living area, dining area and a decked veranda.

House rooms No sea view, still an easy stroll to all our facilities and a stone’s throw from the beach. Partial sea view Mostly at the front of the hotel, with the sea in sight.

Sea view Rooms that look directly out to the horizon with unrivalled views of Watergate Bay. The Village Perched on the cliffs above the hotel, this is where you’ll find our family apartments.

Eat

Taste of the Bay Three nights, three restaurants – we’re convinced it’s the best way to experience Watergate Bay. Think burgers and mussels at The Beach Hut, pork loin and chargrilled monkfish at Zacry’s, and a finely crafted five-course tasting menu at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Cornwall. Breakfast and dinner included. watergatebay.co.uk/taste-of-the-bay

Zacry’s

The Living Space

Watchful Mary

The Beach Hut

The hotel’s main restaurant with a charcoal oven at its heart and a focus on bold British food. The menu changes daily.

Coffees, salads, sandwiches, kids’ plates, large plates, sharing plates… Easy eating and lounging throughout the day, with food served from the open kitchen.

Perch right above the ocean for enticing drinks, panoramic views, lively company and even the possibility of glimpsing the elusive Green Flash (see p32).

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, The Beach Hut is always buzzing with families, groups of friends and dogs with their walkers. Right on the beach, the restaurant has wooden booths, sandy floors and large windows with surf views. The seaside menu is big on burgers, fries with rosemary salt, mussels, fish and chips, and crab spaghetti.

Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Cornwall Our famous neighbours, serving Italian dishes with a Cornish twist – alongside an inspiring commitment to making a lasting difference in young people’s lives.

Swim Club Swim, sweat, soak, bask and… breathe, in Swim Club: our take on a spa. Drink in the view from our 25-metre infinity pool, get the blood pumping in the cardio room, sit back and enjoy the café bar or a fireside spot in the ocean room. And, if you head onto the terrace, you’ll find our hot tub and Finnish timber sauna with their own unique perspectives on the sea and sky. For a full relax and reset, our treatment rooms offer bookable massages, wraps, scrubs and beauty treatments.

Extreme Academy It’s hard to resist those clean lines, crashing waves and vast stretches of sand. If you’re feeling the pull of the ocean, our surf school on the beach will get you out there. Take lessons to suit your skill level in a range of watersports including: surfing, kitesurfing, handplaning and stand-up paddleboarding. For laidback waterbabies and adrenalin chasers alike. Go get your feet wet and make it back to the Swim Club hot tub by the time the sun starts to sink. Going it alone? The academy also hires out equipment, from custom boards to beginners’ bodyboards, waveskis to deckchairs, plus everything you’ll need to stay warm in the water.

Kids We look after children so you can relax. Our Ofstedregistered Kids' Zone runs fun supervised sessions for children aged six months to seven years old, and our XA Club is for 7â&#x20AC;&#x201C;12 year olds. Sessions run twice a day depending on the time of year. We provide a baby-monitoring system that can be used throughout the hotel and we also offer babysitting services. We serve a Kids' supper each evening in Zacry's and there is a children's menu in The Living Space and The Beach Hut.

Dogs We have plenty of dog-friendly rooms, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re welcome in The Living Space and The Beach Hut. Watergate Bay beach is open to dogs all year round.

Promises made before sand, sea and sky. Weddings at Watergate Bay mean horizon-facing vows, feasting in Zacryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and dancing the night away. Call our events team on 01637 861295 to talk us through your ideas for your perfect day.

@cornwall_lover

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Directory All the details you need...

Stay Book online: watergatebay.co.uk life@watergatebay.co.uk

Reservations: 9am–5pm (seven days a week) @wefilmthings @bert_ramsey_photography

01637 860543

Eat & Drink The Beach Hut

01637 860877 | the-beach-hut.co.uk

Zacry’s

01637 861231 | zacrys.com

The Living Space 01637 860543 | watergatebay.co.uk/living-space Watchful Mary watchful.co.uk @john.fordy @kyliegriffiths

@apugcalledshelby

Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Cornwall

01637 861000 | fifteencornwall.co.uk

Venus Café

lovingthebeach.co.uk/watergate-bay

Active Extreme Academy – surf lessons and hire

01637 860840 | extremeacademy.co.uk

Swim Club – treatments and classes

01637 861237

Events and meetings

01637 861295

Shop Watergate Bay Shop Find our Watergate Bay Elements bath and body range, gifts and homeware in Swim Club or online. watergatebay.co.uk/shop

Shop on the Beach

@helzjbishop

@catherinemarmy_interior

Right where you’d expect to find it, selling seaside clothing and footwear, technical surf equipment, buckets and spades and... toothpaste. Everything you could ever need for a stay at Watergate Bay. 01637 860051

joules.com

BEACH. SEA. WAVES. PLAY. for the best of times

C LOT H I N G F O R W O M E N, M E N & C H I L D R E N