The Sanctuary Cornwall

14/10/2024

Next Saturday in Golant Village Hall

Golant was once famed for its orchard blossom hillsides. With new orchards being established GHG is planning a year long focus on Golant Orchards, with orchard related activitities, in2025. Come and find out more!

10/10/2024

Behold the wheelbarrow of plenty! I laughed when I heard someone on the radio say how awful pumpkin and squash growing was this year…..

I had no aubergines or beans (64 plants all eaten by slugs!) I went through 4 packets of carrot seeds to get a handful of successes, but boy did the pumpkins grow…… which was mystifying as I only bought Crown Prince (the blueish one) butternut squash and uchiki kuri seeds…🤔and I did go through about 12 plants that were decimated overnight by slugs….
And as for courgettes - I still have about 36 enormous marrows/weapons - if only marrow carving was a thing…..

And my dahlias and fab chrysanthemum plugs from have been fantastic and kept the building supplied with armfuls of flowers.

My other success this year was the most enormous brassica leaves you have ever seen!

And the beetroot are fab - so you just have to roll with it and be grateful for the space and peace to grow whatever nature decides you are going to have each year!

06/10/2024

What an interesting article - two things caught my attention - the importance of compounds such as limonene on boosting mood - our guests nearly always comment on my homemade room scents which include limonene compounds….

And secondly, the best combination of landscapes is to have both blue (water) views and green (landscape) both of which we have in abundance!

So it becomes less surprising that guests love the calming and relaxing atmosphere of staying with us…..

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/oct/06/best-walk-hike-for-mental-health-uk?

Research suggests that our minds benefit from our encounters with aspects of nature – be it cold water and calming scents, or vivid colours and certain types of landscape – and Kielderhead ticks all the boxes

27/09/2024

An interesting video - it is really hard to search for British fruit and veg if you are in a supermarket…..I stop buying soft fruit when the British suppliers finish their seasons. The obvious answer I suppose is to buy from local farm shops and greengrocers who sell local supplies, but the reality is most people prefer the convenience of a supermarket…..
Why we have apples from New Zealand & Chile that are often 6 months after picking is beyond my brain to compute - we have fabulous apples and pears in this country!

15/09/2024

…..and this morning a completely different view - the mist was thick and heavy, but slowly, slowly cleared…..

and there I was videoing the view when past my feet came scampering Sidney our very bold squirrel - he commutes from the sycamore at one end of the terrace to the hazel tree at the other end…… you can just hear the sound of scampering claws at the end…..

Talk about wildlife friendly……

14/09/2024

The benefit of a later sunrise is that I’m around to see it!

What a glorious morning - a bit chilly, but makes you glad to be awake!

And as all of our rooms have the same view, everyone gets a chance to experience it…for those hardy guests you can sit outside on the terrace and have your breakfast if you would like!

01/09/2024

I only really ‘discovered’ the principles of permaculture after we had built the Sanctuary and started planting, although many of our ways of working align anyway.

One of the tricky things for me was finding somewhere relatively flat for planting as everything is on steep hills! So luckily I started the veg patch near to the building on the only roughly level place, and worked outwards.

I spent the last few years trying to get the growing as near to the building (zone 1) as possible, so had a ‘great’ idea 🤔 of creating a new, nearer patch on the bank above the breakfast room….

Using old decking, loads of cardboard, waste soil, green waste and homemade compost, plus creating mesh liners for every bed to stop the voles helping themselves 😱 it is up and running, and doing pretty well considering the challenging season….

Although I have asked my friends to smack me over the head with a shovel if I decide to make any more! What seems like a great idea in the winter turns into an all consuming beast in the summer as I run around weeding, harvesting and trying to remember to succession sow and plant!

Apart from that, no dig is brilliant, easier than any other method I’ve tried and planting tight in a polyculture results in good, pest free yields - sort from the 🤬🤬🤬 slugs that is…..

My no dig heroes are and

29/08/2024

I think this could apply to everyone, not just businesses….

28/08/2024

A day of contrasts….a coast path walk from Portloe (where we finished last time) to Portholland and back…. The mist and mizzle came down, the clouds almost completely obscured the coastline……

Then the sun started to reassert itself, and slowly Portholland came gradually into view. A quick refuelling pit stop from the lovely Pebbles Cafe and crafts, and back along the quiet lanes to Portloe - ending in brilliant sunshine - it looked like a completely different day!

And apart from people at Portholland we didn’t see another soul on the path…..

22/08/2024

A special treat yesterday - a day off! We started , where we discovered that are now serving fab breakfast treats! A quick walk around the estate, and then headed to St Breward.

We didn’t know this area at all, but managed to find and had a little lunch to prepare us for our walk across the moorland to Advent Church and back.

Perfect walking weather, but unfortunately not one we can do again with the dog - there were quite a few granite ladder and step stiles which were fine, but they had been boxed in by wire fencing and more obstacles on each side. If you have a terrier or a very springy springer spaniel then you will be ok - but anything larger and you will be picking them up, negotiating these steep stiles and trying to deposit them in the other side without harm! Our dog is very agile and could squeeze under gates and gaps where there were some, but even he struggled with some of them, leaping and falling back…. And add a field of 20 curious and lively heifers running behind you…..

So that was really disappointing as it was a fabulous walk - and we saw/spoke t just one person - and that was a resident whose land the path went through…

19/08/2024

Thanks to a great tip from we have subscribed to for a few years. We keep a paper copy for guests and also have a digital copy too…

There was an article about washing up liquid and powder and came at the top of the leader board, so I thought I would give it a go… I was disappointed that the brand I had used for 30 years didn’t score highly, especially in the behind the scenes of ethics and accountability…..

I always buy in bulk and particularly like the idea that you can return the Fill packaging for reuse - although living in the sticks makes this pretty difficult, if not impossible!
So I will give it a go and report back!

18/08/2024

I love this beautiful shot taken by last week - I think that has to be my favourite yet!

It shows the setting and the building beautifully, and the following shots show the views from the balcony and the land above….

And the best thing is every guest room shares that same view out across the water - perfect!

As we are offgrid, solar powered, and have two EV chargers (they are on grid), and have 12 acres of wildlife rich land for you to explore, we hope we offer a real sustainable and green holiday option……

15/08/2024

I normally have a basket of hand cut copper leaves in the hallway, and invite guests to write 3 words that the Sanctuary & the land inspires in them- or it could be a poem or phrases.

When they leave I hang them up on one of the frames at the end of the building as you arrive (I take photos of all of them in case the ink fades and they need redoing).

The frames are actually old panels of rebar that we found on the land - they make perfect supports for the plants, and blend nicely with the colour of the weathering wood….

We are always touched by the words people use, and that they bother to write them for us….

14/08/2024

These fantastic shots were taken by the equally fantastic and talented .

Not only can you see The Sanctuary set in its wildlife rich fields and woodlands, but you can see the village, and how near we are to Fowey and St Austell bay, but slightly tucked away.

In the other direction it is Lerryn up the Lerryn river and Lostwithiel further up the Fowey river.

So you can be away from all the crowds, surrounded by nature, but near enough to Fowey, the Eden Project, Lanhydrock House, the coast path, fabulous walks, and our much loved village pub, together with kayaking and paddleboarding just a five min walk down the hill.

Plus, we are completely offgrid, award winning for our sustainable approach to tourism & hospitality, and very happy to guide you around our 12 acres or let you go exploring by yourself!

12/08/2024

My favourite trip - always!

12/08/2024

STEEP HILLS!
Yes, the entire area where we are has not only steep hills but narrow lanes - because we are in Cornwall!

Its is probably the most negative thing I constantly hear, and the only thing I can do nothing about! We had a recent review with a poor score for us - not about the setting, value of what we offer, but the guest was nervous about driving as they had had an accident in another country on holiday….

I do everything possible right at the beginning to let people know - I would rather someone didn’t book, than be anxious and miserable - and give me a bad review for location…

When you do get here, you are rewarded with the most fabulous views of estuary and countryside, that very few places can boast about - its just so frustrating!