Cordelia Fellowes and her family headed to Cornwall for a two-night stay in a self-catering cottage on the beach. Not looking out over the beach – actually ON THE BEACH. It sounds far too good to be true. Here’s what she had to say…
Our two-night stay in a self-catering cottage
My partner and I were were lucky enough to stay on Lusty Glaze Beach in early June, with our 18-month-old daughter. The self-catering cottage we were allocated is as close to the sea as you could possibly stay without sleeping with your feet in the water.
This being my first official holiday review as a semi-professional journalist, I perversely hoped it would be awful. The chance to write a scathing account of some sort of beachside Faulty Towers deeply appeals to my dark side but alas, this was not to present such an opportunity. Lusty Glaze and all that it provides is just about flawless.
We arrived in the evening and were greeted by smiling bar staff, one of whom dutifully showed us to our accommodation. The cottage is, as I already mentioned, literally on the beach and you can walk from the reasonably sized porch to the water in less than a minute, even at low tide.
Upon entering we were struck by how much space there was. High ceilings and wooden floors, all framed in soft, cool colours with a (not over bearing) nautical theme created a space that was both welcoming and impressive.
Everything we could have needed was provided. Towels, bedding (with plenty of extra blankets), cooking utensils… It was like a home from home and we settled in immediately by cooking ourselves supper and running a bath for our daughter.
The front room, with French windows almost the same size as a small cinema screen, provides a backdrop that is truly breathtaking. Although there’s a big TV and a decent selection of DVDs provided, we spent any hours not on the beach staring out of these windows; watching the sunset from a large comfy sofa with the sea breeze on our faces.
There were also several books, board games and a huge burner with a pile of logs, though we had no need to light it as the weather was extraordinarily kind to us while we were there.
The master bedroom, with the same huge French windows and a very comfortable king size bed, felt like a honeymoon suite. Our only complaint was that the curtains were white cotton, so – unless you like to be woken by the light – I would suggest taking eye masks. That said, we all three slept deeply and waking up to the view of the empty beach was heavenly.
It is worth noting that between the hours of 11pm and 8am the beach is closed to the public, so early mornings and late nights (particularly if you’re there out of season, as we were) mean that the view from the accommodation is what one would imagine from a desert island – utterly serene and beautiful.
The morning after our arrival I was booked in for a yoga class. These are run by a group called Shine Yoga and classes are held every week on a Wednesday (one starting at 8am, the other at 9.30am). As you can imagine, it’s the ideal setting for something that requires you to be as mindful as yoga does. I found myself totally immersed in the movements and whenever my mind did begin to wonder, the sound of the waves on the shore a few metres away brought me back to the present.
On the Wednesday night we were booked in to the Lusty Glaze restaurant, which is no more than twenty steps from the cottage. The whole front of the restaurant is open (in bad weather, there is a plastic awning that makes do as a see-through wall) which means every table is bathed in sunlight.
There are areas of the restaurant that are more hidden if you don’t want to watch the sun set (it’s glorious, but so blindingly bright that the majority of the guests wore sunglasses) and we were happy to sit on the second floor where we could see the beach and the changing skies, but weren’t overwhelmed by the light.
The service was exemplary and the food delicious. Half way through our meal a three-piece jazz band played a series of well chosen covers, adding a soundtrack to our evening that was too perfect for words. Our daughter was one of many children eating there that night which made us relax, though I’d say the overall ambience was quite sophisticated.
Our checkout was at 10am on the Thursday, so we rose early and enjoyed a completely solitary walk on the beach. My partner surfed for the second time that trip while I loaded up the bags to be carried up the steps. Beware – there are over 130 of them! It’s a hike back up to the car park but if you stop intermittently to watch the changing view, you shan’t begrudge it one bit.
Lusty Glaze Beach, Lusty Glaze Road, Newquay, Cornwall, TR7 3AE; (01637) 872444; info@lustyglaze.co.uk