My First Time Coasteering and Review of Cornish Rock Tors

Continuing my series of 'First Time' posts, my first experience of Coasteering is reviewed here:

What is Coasteering: 

Coasteering is exploring the coastline through swimming, entering caves, climbing rocks, jumping off them, observing the landscape, and engaging with plants and creatures at first hand. And a chance to see such things as seals if you are lucky. 

Cornish Rock Tors:

Endorsed by the National trust, Cornish Rock Tors have been providing beach activities for a decade. Our escapade left from Port Gaverne, close to Port Isaac in the North of Cornwall. 

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Who is it for?

Although all jumps into the water are optional, I would say this is not an ideal activity for anyone with serious vertigo. Or a jellyfish phobia. Or a fear of entering caves. Or a problem with being in open water. Having said that, a guided excursion like this is a great way to challenge yourself. 

A fair degree of strength and fitness is helpful, and a spirit of adventure is probably an essential for enjoying coasteering. There is a consent form to fill in, with only a small section where you declare any medical conditions, so nothing like standard gym PAR-Q form. If you are unsure whether you are ok medically to do this sort of thing you absolutely should check in advance with your GP. 

Is it safe? 

We were fully equipped with a buoyancy aid and helmet. Very clear instructions were given on how to communicate with simple signs once in the water, and there were three guides the 10 participants in our group. They were all qualified lifeguards, and carried safety equipment. The instructions for climbing and jumping were always clear, and the guides had endless patience with us asking for clarification as we needed it. 

In short, I felt very safe at all times. 

Yep, I'm in that huddle!

Was it Exercise?

I was far too engaged with the experience to notice at the time whether I was physically working hard. However, after two and a half hours I did begin to feel tired and a little cold. I woke up the next day with the tops of my pectoral muscles feeling like they had been worked. Looking back though, with all of the swimming, climbing, and scrambling over rocks we must have used up a lot of calories. 

The cost:

Introduction to Coasteering sessions like this cost £40 per person. If you have a large family this is clearly going to work out as an expensive activity. However, I'd say it is worth every penny, and the chances are that it will be a real highlight of any holiday and something that you won't forget easily. Cornish Rock Tors also offer  vouchers, which would make an amazing present. 

Nauticalia

Top Tips:

My first piece of advice is a more general one: chat to the Cornish Rock Tors staff, and make sure that coasteering is for you. They are very friendly and extremely knowledgeable, and quick to answer email queries. So if you have any questions that might seem silly I would recommend that you put them out there and put your mind at rest. 

But here are my top 3 specific tips:

1. Take the opportunity to borrow a winter-weight wetsuit (included in the price). In my experience and that of the other women in our group, the ladies ones come up a little small, so I would recommend you go up a size. Be aware also that there isn't really anywhere to change. If you are particularly shy or need to put your swimsuit on then there is a public loo close by, but our group all changed into wetsuits in the road outside the office. 

2. Carb load! Ok, that's an exaggeration, but do make sure you have eaten well and kept yourself hydrated before you head off. Coasteering can be a chilly experience, and if you are not used to being active for a few hours at a time, let alone exerting yourself by hauling your own body weight up rocks etc then I imagine this may be a shock to your system. If you haven't eaten then I expect you will start to flag. Ditto hydration.

3. Don't try to park at Port Gaverne. There are public carparks in Port Isaac, which is only a stroll away. 

Port Isaac

In Summary:

Coasteering is a magic experience. It takes you away from all of your comforts and/or millstones, depending on how you see day-to-day essentials like your phone, your handbag, perhaps even your watch. Leaving behind everything like the need to be bothered with how you appear is a liberation which lets you properly relate to the beautiful Cornish landscape around you in way that you otherwise just wouldn't.  

Taking a guided excursion like this gives you the confidence to know that what you are doing is entirely safe, and shows you things that you probably wouldn't notice, from a buoy lodged tight in the top of a cave, to rare anemones. 

The guides clearly love what they do, and that is infectious. Their respect for the Cornish coast is evident. 

Going with a family or partner is a real bonding experience, but joining a group if you are by yourself would also be really fulfilling I think. 

I loved just being out in the water, seeing the coast literally and figuratively from a whole new perspective. I'm also thrilled that I jumped off all of the highest points on offer. I'm naturally cautious, but after a few smaller jumps I really wanted to go for it on this trip. 

So, thank you Cornish Rock Tors, we had a brilliant time and can't recommend you highly enough. We'll be back for Intermediate Coasteering! 

My First Time... Bell Ringing

On Campanology

"Bell ringing", I thought. "That'll be good exercise" I thought...

I have a really nostalgic, sentimental attachment to the sound of our local church bells, and how they ring out every 15 minutes, not to mention the joyous sound they make to accompany such occasions  as weddings. I'm not at all religious, but these ancient sounds speak more to me of community than worship. 

I had in mind that bell ringing would be great physical exercise, and a bit of a challenge to the part of the brain that learns patterns and timing, much like playing anything musical is.

The church bells inside this tower are huge!

I intended to write this post some time ago, after my first session bell ringing. But, to be honest, I was slightly perplexed after that first hour and didn't know what to make of it- as a craft or an exercise. 

However, I've been to a couple of sessions now, and I am beginning to get a small understanding- despite not having actually heard myself ringing a bell as it has been silenced to save the neighbours any annoyance.  

Is it fun?

Well... sort of. I suspect bell ringing is a lot of fun once you have reached a standard of competency and can understand enough to work in a team and create beautiful patterns. This takes time though, and if I am honest I am finding the learning somewhat frustrating. 

The bells are all hung at different angles,
because they actually move the tower when they ring

Church bells: nostalgic, romantic... complicated!

Is it good exercise?

Given that I have only rung for an hour at a time, my interpretation of this is a little bit limited, but my impression is this: if you lead a sedentary lifestyle, I would imagine that standing on your feet, engaging your core to balance yourself, and raising your arms above your head to pull down continuously would be a welcome challenge to your fitness. 

I, however, have not found bell ringing physically hard work. If anything I have a tendency to over-pull, but this in itself is a challenge to me to learn how to be more controlled and precise, as I come to understand more about the rhythm of both of the strokes of the bell. 

Precision and coordination are also involved in moving the rope in such a way as to give it a smooth movement up and down- if for no other reason than to be able to catch it when you want to. 

Do I recommend it?

Given that bell ringing is by its nature a team exercise, I would say that if you can find yourself the right teacher and a social crowd, and you have some time to dedicate to learning about what is a really complicated craft, then I think you are likely to enjoy bell ringing.

Personally I have not made up my mind whether I will stick with it...

My First Time... on a Pony

First Time

Following the success of my last 'First Time' post (about yoga inversions), I have decided to make this a series, as I embrace my newly-discovered adventurous spirit and hope to discover some fresh ways to stay active in the process.

Next activity on my 'to try' list, then, was horse riding. This is not strictly speaking my first time in the saddle as I did have a go on a few friend's ponies as a child, but it most certainly was my first time as an adult, so I think it qualifies.

Meet Mr. Little 

Polmartin Riding

Just as you would expect a Cornish riding stable to be, Polmartin is found down a beautiful lane where friendly dogs greet you as you open your car door, and chickens hop around quite unworried by hooves. Steeped in atmosphere, the welcome we got was warm and there was none of the snobbery associated with some stables. I borrowed a hat and boots at no extra cost. 

We stayed in the covered school, but I imagine riding out from this location would be simply idyllic. 

A Little Magic

Trainee teacher Laurie (who also imparted a lot of knowledge to me) introduced me to my mount, Mr. Little. At 17 and just under 14:2 he is a safe set of hooves, and has a beautiful character not to mention the most unusual blue eyes. You can probably tell from the picture above that I adored him! 

my mount

Learning from an Expert

I had done no research into Jane, and if I had I may have been a bit daunted, as she definitely is not just a run-of-the-mill teacher: horsewoman extraordinaire since childhood, she is a stunt rider in films and TV, an exceptionally clear teacher, and funny and engaging to boot. 

She is also, to use her own word, a 'hawkeye' (which was a tiny bit unnerving for me, knowing that I knew nothing, but which ultimately makes for a better rider of course). I found out exactly what I shouldn't do as I tried to work with Mr. Little, and I am very glad of that. 

The content of the lesson surprised me a little: Jane is very much a kinaesthetic teacher, and at various times I was riding with my eyes shut, no reins, and no stirrups (yup, even when attempting my rising trot). However, she is sure to back up all of her directions with explanation, which really helped me come to a better understanding of what riding is about. 

I was most surprised to find that I could give Mr. Little instructions with just a breath. Who knew that this was possible? I certainly had no idea! With my interest in yoga this was a pleasant revelation. 

What I will remember the next time I am on horseback remains to be seen, but I feel as though I was given some of the key building blocks for beginning to ride.

In the Saddle

Riding for Fitness

I was warned that my adductor muscles (inner thigh) would ache, but being used to the cycle of working out and recovering I wasn't too concerned. They did ache a little bit, but oh goodness, one of my quadricep muscles has never ever screamed with DOMS quite so much as in the few days after riding (you may know that the quads are not one muscle, but rather a group of four). 

I was conscious of needing to use my core muscles a-plenty through the hour, but they didn't ache at all- which hopefully is a sign they are already strong. But I would deduce that for me personally, riding really would add something extra to my fitness regime. 

The Verdict

I paid £30 for a private lesson, and the experience that I had was well worth the price. The exercise that my legs evidently did and the knowledge I obtained, combined with the sense of wellbeing I got from just an hour on horseback make the cost seem extremely minor. 

I plan to take further lessons, and I would thoroughly recommend Jane at Polmartin if you want to learn how to ride properly. And Jane, if you're reading, please don't emigrate! 

You can also connect with Polmartin on Facebook. 

Lucky!

My First Time... Upside Down

Yoga Inversions

 

I have been wanting to try some more-challenging yoga balances for a while, so when an email with details of a workshop pinged into my inbox I took it as a sign that the time had come for me to take flight.

Messing about in Crow Pose

Perhaps jumping straight into a three hour session was a little ambitious, but I suspected that I would take something valuable from the workshop even if I sucked at getting upside down. 

As it turns out, I didn't completely suck, hurrah! My upper body strength is improving all the time, and benefitted hugely from a really thorough warm up- think loads of chaturanga. The tutor took us through some variations of Crow pose, to arm balances and beyond to handstands and headstands, and consequently the time just zipped by. 

The next day my neck ached like crazy, and so did the muscles around my hips. I took this as evidence of just how inversions can get your muscle groups working together in completely unique ways.

Now, I'm not for a moment claiming that after just three hours now suddenly I can make beautiful shapes in the air. Not for a second! And I definitely don't have the core strength yet to float my legs up slowly- I'm still very much a kicker for the time being. But, I think the main things that I gained were the knowledge of how to try various balances safely in my own practice, and the confidence to go ahead and do so. 

If you're toying with taking the same leap in your yoga practice, I'd definitely recommend that you go on a workshop: it's the best way to get specific help.  Working in a dedicated yoga space puts you in a different frame of mind, and seeing that it's ok to just keep trying even if you don't make it to graceful inversion yet is reassuring. Plus, some things are a lot easier with someone to catch your legs and tell you whether you are aligned!

I look forward to lots more work upside down.