Samantha Laurie enjoys the last days of summer in Widemouth Bay...
As a northerner whose holidays mostly begin and end with the M1, Cornwall with its unpredictable pronunciations, fancy fish restaurants, and a mad scramble for accommodation is unfamiliar terrain.
It’s a long way from Filey in every sense. But this summer more than ever before, I’ve been curious to discover what it is that draws friends, neighbours, and colleagues year after year.
So on the most beautiful of September days, we pack up the car and head to Widemouth Bay, three miles south of Bude on the North Cornish coast.
“The house is insane!” declares my first-to-arrive daughter, who has already surfed, showered (in the hot outdoor shower) and has a glass of sparkling for us lined up on the swim-up bar of the hot tub."
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Newly built by owners Liz and Stuart White, Finchfield is a three-bedroom, four-bathroom holiday home with a stunning open-plan design and a distinctly Australian by-the-beach vibe.
Having just come onto the lettings market with Aspects Holidays, it has a deliciously box-fresh feel. Everything is top spec – mood lighting in each room, underfloor heating, big fluffy M&S towels, and bed linen…there’s even an air purifying system, a giant, space-age looking creature in the loft space to zap airborne allergens and viruses.
Best of all is its location – just a few minutes’ walk from the wide dog-friendly, Blue Flag winning sandy beaches, surf schools, and tea rooms of Widemouth Bay.
This is an area famed for its surf – many of the country’s top surfers hail from here or nearby Bude, indeed two of the sports leading lights, brothers Joss and Reubyn Ash live just doors away from us at Finchfield.
Consistent beach breaks, easy access to Newquay and North Devon beaches, and a generation of older surfers who have introduced the sport to their own children have turned the area into a magnet for rippers.
For beginners, Widemouth is a good place to learn – there are a number of local schools and it’s one of the few beaches locally to operate a designated lifeguarded surfing area in the summer – an important consideration for parents of young and newbie surfers. There's also a section of the beach that's dog-friendly all-year round.
Widemouth Bay Café proves to be a top spot to enjoy a decent coffee and a crab sandwich and watch the human seals at play. You can pick up a paper, a pint of milk, and a fresh fillet of fish for your tea at the Beach House Shop and Wet Fish Store, the most versatile convenience store I’ve ever come across.
Alongside all the visitor essentials, this tiny shop sells a wide selection of fresh and frozen locally caught fish, homebaked breads, and tasty ‘artisan’ dips – what more could a holidaymaker with a bbq and three days of sunshine wish for?
When the surf’s not calling, you might be tempted by rock clambering and pool diving on a coasteering trip to nearby Bossiney Rocks.
Or a 35-min trip down the coast to Tintagel Castle, the dramatic cliffside fortification said to be the home of ancient Cornish rulers. Or sunset drinks and dinner at the highly-rated Widemouth Manor.
We opt for a walk along the rugged South West Coast Path to Bude, once a thriving Victorian seaside town with excellent railway links to London (in 1900 it took six hours; today, Bude station having closed, it’s around the same journey time to the nearest station).
Unlike many of its northern Victorian contemporaries, today’s Bude has fared well: a family-friendly busy resort with superb beaches, a sea-filled pool, and a beautiful wharfside.
For the historically curious, Bude Castle is an excellent place to discover more about the town. This beachside castellated mansion was once the home of eminent inventor Sir Goldsworthy Gurney whose early steam-driven carriage mechanism was used in George Stephenson's hugely famous "Rocket" locomotive; Gurney also invented ‘limelight’ for theatres and Bude light, an intensely bright oil lamp used in the Houses of Parliament for many years.
We explore the canalside – Bude Canal is one of only two sea canals in the UK, built to transport sand as fertiliser to Plymouth.
Today, it’s a hub of cafes, bars, and delicious-smelling Cornish Pasty stalls. Hungry and in need of a rest we’re tempted, but thankfully we press on and find a superb lunch spot overlooking Summerleaze Beach at a boutique hotel, The Beach at Bude.
In one of those rare moments of serendipity, the sun is shining, there’s a table on the beachfront terrace available and the chef is serving the perfect beach restaurant lunch: crispy calamari, a big plate of juicy Fowey mussels and hot salty chips and shared butternut squash and toasted seed salad.
Later, back at the lovely Finchfield, we take a bottle of chilled rose Champagne to the beach to enjoy the setting sun. What a joy it is to watch the sun go down with the sand between your toes.
I fear I’ve got the Cornwall bug.
For more info about Finchfield, visit Aspects Holidays
https://www.aspects-holidays.co.uk/cornwall/north-cornwall/widemouth-bay/p/finchfield
