IN SEARCH OF Sea & seclusion
Join us in the quest for the exceptional beaches that are worth walking for: secret sands, private pebbles and concealed coves. Where better to begin, than on the Cornish coast.
WE’VE ALL SEEN them… in the glossy travel brochures and as the dreamy, clotted cream backdrops to romantic dramas on TV (I’m looking at you, Poldark). And we’ve all wished we were there: the wild and empty beaches whose sole sand-goers happen to be the broody hero and heroine in passionate embrace. Oh, to have such a beach all to oneself, even for a few precious moments. But then a cynical voice inside your head whines: ‘I bet it’s not like that during the school holidays!’ Because in reality, there’s probably a National Trust car park and an ice cream van tucked just out of shot, and the airbrushed sands of small screen escapism turn out to be a scenic secret that every Tom, Dick and Harry is in on, staking out their territory with windbreaks and beach towels. It feels awfully selfififish and terribly unsocial to say out loud, but deep down, we all yearn for the solitude of a secluded cove. You’ve just got to make an extra effort to find them. And unless you own a boat, it means roving the trails exploring the remotest corners of Britain’s 19,491-mile coastline. You don’t have to stray too far from civilisation, but just far enough to escape the holiday hotspots and root out the hideaways which nestle in between.
waterfall spluttering onto the rocks.
The sea mark above Broad Cove was my cue to turn tail and go in search of the bigger fry that lies out west. Retracing my steps along the South West Coast Path, I climb out of Lansallos Cove again, and this time make tracks for Pencarrow Head. Swinging past the pirate’s plank of a promontory at the tip of the headland, I arrive at a vantage point revealing the auspiciously named Lantic Bay: no mere cove, but a bay. It’s not so much a single beach, but a collective of coves joined up at low tide.
A steep path sidles down onto Great Lantic Beach, an arc of fine shingle sheltered by high, green cliffs. To my surprise, there’s not another soul in sight. Tramping across this hectare of shingle in my bare feet, I succumb to the temptation of the water and wade in for a quick, sole-soothing paddle. The inevitable chorus of pained ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ ensues, followed by a hasty retreat from the waves. Simply sitting and soaking up the splendid surroundings is more my sort of thing anyway. For the first time in a lifetime I had a beach all to myself. And while Lantic Bay is by no means a secret (I’m sure it can’t always be as empty as this), I could return feeling satisfied that I’d found it on foot.
If you’re quite content to forgo facilities, and maybe sacrifice sand for seclusion, there’s a quiet little cove out there you can – for a while at least – call your own. Even when it isn’t overcast, there are nooks and corners in Britain’s coastline where few others will tread. It’s one of life’s essential truisms, that to get away, you’ve got to go out of your way. The journey is as much a pleasure as the destination.
I succumb to the temptation of the water and wade in for a quick, sole-soothing paddle.”