To celebrate the start of another year in Cornwall, we’ve got a new cultural ambassador from Newquay Activity Centre. With over 30 years of experience, Rob has developed a professional bodyboarding career and has been chosen to represent England and Britain across the globe. In 1997 he set up the first bodyboarding school in Europe and since then has coached over 7000 bodyboarders, of all ages and abilities. In developing Newquay Activity Centre, Rob has added surfing, coasteering, kayaking, SUP, bushcraft, snorkelling and a whole host of other activities which you can get involved in here. Read on to find out what cultural secrets he has to share…
Rob Barber, I have two businesses; Newquay Activity Centre and Bodyboard-Holidays. Based at the beautiful Towan beach in Newquay.
Through working with Cornwall 365 we have developed a host of unique activities including our Heritage Coasteer, Heritage SUP and Kayak tours.
Upon planning our new tours, Cornwall 365 were our first port of call. Charlie helped to facilitate a tour from a local historian and helped work through the logistics involved with making this happen. Our initial trial tour was delivered to guests, which Charlie had invited from Cornish businesses. This created a unique networking opportunity. It was invaluable to the launch of the new heritage and culture tours.
Newquay Activity Centre
It’s hard to pin-point an individual moment but as I work in the ocean and on the coast on a daily basis I am constantly blown away by our incredible environment. Either Surfing, SUPing, or in particular Coasteering, you get to see a side of the coast that you wouldn’t know existed.
I love waking in the dark, heading to the beach for dawn and paddling out to my favourite bodyboarding spot, Tolcarne for a high tide session. Scoring waves on my own or with a couple of friends. Followed by breakfast with my fiance Claire and our children Mila and Parker at the Fistral Chef, Headland Hotel or the Lewinnick Lodge. Then a long day at Little Fistral Beach with friends, spent surfing, bodyboarding or investigating the coast on a SUP, then a Beach BBQ to finish.
Kelly Slater, Noel Gallagher, Richard Branson and Gary Lineker would be my guests and I’d love to watch Kasabian or Oasis in their hey day.
Tehidy Wood has something very special about it. I can’t wait to return to see Rogue Theatre for another performance.
Easily the best gig that I’ve been too in Cornwall was Oasis at Eden on my 30th birthday. It’s a great venue.
I don’t put enough time to one side to walk, I seem to spend my life running everywhere. But my favourite walks have been with my daughter on Pentire Headland in the summer.
I think it’s impossible to beat the quality of the food and the buzz of the Fish House at Fistral. Summer evenings there are unbeatable.
That has to be our Night Coasteer. We leave the centre at dusk with wetsuits, helmets, buoyancy aids and fluro glowsticks attached to us. As it gets dark your senses become so acute and swimming in the sea is an amazing experience. Even a tiny jump in to a plunge pool feels as though you are leaping off the side of a building. The caves are pitch black and super eerie. It’s an amazing, completely unique experience.
I still feel that the Newquay coastline holds the most amazing secrets. You think that you are getting to know it and then you’ll see something else that is totally amazing. We teamed up with the Cornwall Wildlife Trust for one of our Eco Coasteers and that day alone found 20 new creatures that we’d never come across. It’s an incredible world in and around the tidal zone of Towan beach and the Gazzle.
I love the lifestyle and climate of San Diego, California. But the best waves in the world are in Indonesia. So a combination of both would be perfect.
If you like what you see and read please share and if you would like to get involved and contribute a guest blog post to “In the Know” please contact info@cornwall365.org.uk
