My lifelong dream to live in Cornwall started well before I ever set foot in the county. It began many years ago after reading my first Derek Tangye book.
I went on to read the whole of the Minack Chronicle series, Derek’s description of the beautiful Cornish coast, and the slower pace of life made me desperate to visit, but I didn’t actually see Cornwall for myself until the summer of 1988.
One glimpse of the towering cliffs and the beautiful turquoise seas was all it took!
I vowed to live here one day. It was the most beautiful coastline I had ever seen, I had always loved the sea, but Cornwall is about more than the sea, it has a magical quality that is difficult to quantify. However it wasn’t until 31 years later, in 2019, that I finally realised my dream and moved here
On my first visit I made it my mission to find the place I had read so much about.
I had three young children at the time, and while the older two were happy scrambling over the rocks and navigating the sometimes tricky coastal path, my youngest had to be backpacked over the more hazardous bits,
I remember suffering from backache and blisters (I’d never climbed so many hills!) but it was an amazing holiday, the highlight of which was exploring the cliffs and finally seeing Minack for myself.
I made numerous visits over the intervening years, walking miles along the spectacular coastal path, watching the basking sharks off Lands End, spotting the sunbathing seals near Godrevy, and seeing the glorious poppy fields at Pentire, there is always something new to see!
… and then on a fateful visit to St Ives in 2017 I spotted my first piece of sea glass. It didn’t take long before I was totally hooked on hunting for the frosted ‘gems’ hidden amongst the sand and gravel, and so my collection started. It was still a couple of years before I would move to Cornwalll… but my dream was getting very close!
In the end my daughter was the first one to move to Cornwall, but I wasn’t far behind!
It was amazing seeing the “nearly there” trees, knowing this time I was here for good!
I finally achieved my dream at the end of 2019. It is not easy relocating 300 miles away. I was lucky enough to be able to transfer my job, but the house hunting proved to be a bit of a nightmare.
Initially I was working full time… then Covid-19 struck, and the whole country ended up in lockdown.
I was so lucky having the beautiful beaches pretty much to myself, and so of course my collection of sea glass grew ever larger.
With time on my hands I decided I wanted to do something to with my collection of sea glass… and so I taught myself wire wrapping, you can see pictures of some of my early pieces in my gallery.
Not all the pieces of sea glass I had collected were suitable as jewellery, but they proved ideal when recreating the beach scenes and nature I saw on my daily walks. These quirky pictures proved popular with family and friends, and with their encouragement I started my small business, inspired-by-seaglass.
If you would like to see more of my creations (I do keep quite a few for myself) please check out my inspired-by-seaglass Facebook and Instagram pages. If there is something specific that you are looking for, please get in touch as I may be able to help, and I’d love to hear from you.
