A surfer’s guide to west Cornwall

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I moved to Falmouth for university, then lifeguarded at the beaches at Holywell, a village further north, during my study years and for a few years after. When I started lifeguarding, I started surfing.

Nothing compares to the feeling you get from being in the water. Sometimes it’s meditative. Other times it’s stormy and you’re beaten up a little bit, but it makes you feel so alive. My first sports were skating, BMX-ing and snowboarding; I ended up stunt-doubling on TV adverts before I was asked to join a modelling agency. Surfing is the sport I’ve kept up with the longest. I don’t see myself ever stopping. 

I love to get in the water first thing – usually in Sennen Cove, a village near Penzance, a few miles from where I live. The colour of the water is beautiful. You can hire boards from Sennen Surfing Centre where they also offer lessons – ask for Dave. Farm + Fort café is a 15-minute drive away, and you can walk to the beaches from there. It’s an inspiring place, and there are now more young, creative people here. Toner is a recently opened photography gallery that hosts zine workshops, and Seven Stones stocks streetwear brands nearby.

Some Sundays I’ll surf at Porthmeor in the morning, then go to St Eia in St Ives, where you’ll find the best cookie in the world; the ratio of chocolate to dough is very good. Everyone here carves out time for making the most of the weather and being outside, so if the waves are good, I’ll often bump into friends. We’ll sit outside in the sun in St Eia’s courtyard, having a nice coffee.

The queue for fish and chips goes down the street

Otherwise, I’ll go to the south coast and surf at Porthleven, where I love Origin for coffee; I tend to travel with my Aeropress and a ceramic cup my mum bought me. (There are beautiful ceramicists in Cornwall; I recommend going to Leach Pottery in St Ives.)

Porthleven is a raw, real place, with fishermen in the harbour. My sculpture there, Waiting for Fish – a life-size bronze of a man and a bird – encompasses that feeling of shared community. Sculpture came into my life five years ago when my mum was diagnosed with cancer. I would find local public sculptures to show her, just wanting to bring her some joy. To stumble across something and have a connection – which so many people have with Dave, the figure in my sculpture – is incredible. He’s on a pillbox next to the old lifeboat station. You can sit by him and watch the waves. 

For surf gear, Finisterre is a sustainable outdoor company in St Agnes where you can rent Yulex rubber wetsuits. Down The Line in Hayle is one of Europe’s biggest surf retailers – a dangerous shop to go into. Be prepared to walk out with a new board. Another favourite is Common Wanderer, which my friend Raven owns; it has a good selection of outdoor brands – Gramicci, Rhythm – and a lovely collection of books and journals. 

I also love going to Flora, a family-run bakery on the Lizard, a peninsula at the southern end of the county. The people there really care about quality food and ingredients; Flora’s pastries are Danish and absolutely incredible. For sculpture, you have Terence Coventry Sculpture Park nearby.

For fish and chips, I go to Mackerel Sky near Penzance, a tiny restaurant with a queue that often goes down the street. I love to get a takeaway, sit on the harbour wall and watch the sunset. I think about the future a lot – what Cornwall might look like in 50 years. Will there still be these beautiful fishing villages? That’s one of the reasons I make my sculptures out of bronze; they will still be there in hundreds of years.