Condé Nast Traveller Magazine
One thing that’s immediately clear here are the global influences of owner Craig Burkinshaw, better known as head of Audley Travel, who started off his tour-operator business specialising in Central and South America. What he’s transplanted to the heather-covered dunes just behind a staggering stretch of buttery Cornish sand is the colourful exuberance of Brazil, Mexico and Costa Rica against a backdrop that would feel perfectly at home in the Hamptons.
The 15 wood-clad beach houses – rainbow-hued on the outside, whitewashed on the inside – are packed with all the toys that a serial traveller might set their standards by. On the terrace, backed by rustling grasses, are a sunken hot tub and barrel sauna, and, if you wave and ask for one, a pizza oven and boxes of dough and ingredients to whip up your own. Call in the private chef Rob Michael for a hands-off feast, or be more 2021 and go seaweed foraging in the rock pools of Gwithian with local author Rachel Lambert.
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The weather in this exposed spot is wild and changeable, but with St Ives’ Tate and the Barbara Hepworth studio just around the corner there’s plenty to keep busy with.
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Very little hasn‘t been thought of, from the wetsuits and boogie boards to the better-than-at-home kitchen kit, the food truck at the top of the hill and the extensive welcome book outlining everything you need to know about the area.
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Go seaweed foraging in the rock pools of Gwithian with local author Rachel Lambert.
Very little hasn‘t been thought of, from the wetsuits and boogie boards to the better-than-at-home kitchen kit, the food truck at the top of the hill and the extensive welcome book outlining everything you need to know about the area, the best tables to book, trails to follow and surf schools to check into.
The weather in this exposed spot is wild and changeable, but with St Ives’ Tate and the Barbara Hepworth studio just around the corner there’s plenty to keep busy with. Or light the Swedish log burner and grab a copy of The Salt Path from the bookshelf to remind yourself that you’re right on the South West Coast walking route but thankfully not having to sleep in a tent to experience its wonder.
This article was originally published in the Condé Nast Traveller Magazine, October 2021.
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