Coasteering in Cornwall

"Wave On!!" Shouted our instructor, the words drifting to the back of the cave. I watched as a huge wave descended upon us. Holding my breath and gripping the sides of the jagged rock for support, I felt the wave crash over me and felt the force of the water pull me under. I surfaced to the sound of laughter as the other members of our group shook the water from their heads and waited in excited anticipation for the next wave.

This was the first experience I had of Coasteering.  

To be honest I had no idea what to expect when I booked this experience with Coastal Rush in St Agnes, Cornwall - only that it involved jumping off rocks into the deep sea below. And that's more or less what happened. Following our briefing, our instructors took us out to the first rocks; clearly the type of guys who had been doing this for a while, their friendly and easy attitude made it easier to wade into the freezing sea and not turn back.

"This is by far the coolest thing in Cornwall" my brother muttered to me as we approached our first jump. Adopting the position shown to us, we jumped off one by one, popping up like corks and swimming over to Tom, one of our waiting instructors. We were building up to a big jump - 20 feet! This jump, I soon realised,  wasn't for the faint hearted, but having adopted my newfound adrenaline junkie attitude I wanted to do it. 

Scrambling up the rocks like monkeys, we reached the top of the rock, stopping to admire the view. Looking around you could see the sprawling buildings of St Agnes making their way down to the beach where several dogs were playfully running into the waves and spraying their less than impressed owners. 

Suddenly it was time. Adopting the "don't look down" attitude I flung myself off the rock and into the air. Not going to lie - the first thought that went through my head was "That's it I'm going to die", followed closely by "why haven't I hit the water yet?", somewhere in between these two thoughts the adrenaline kicked in. Before I hit the water I knew I wanted to do it again! 

Yep - That's me - trying my best :P 

"Easily one of my favourite pastimes" Sam, another instructor said after doing a non chalant backflip into the water, "I do it all summer". And to be fair I can see why. Especially in this spot, off a quiet beach, Coastal Rush seems to have found the perfect place. 

The whole experience was exceptional, with three instructors with you at all time, who placed themselves throughout the group, you didn't have to worry. There was always a helping hand when you couldn't quite get onto a rock, someone to show you exactly where to go and of course someone to take photos of you taking the plunge. I loved the whole experience, and judging from the looks and exclamations from the other members of the group I wasn't alone. I wasn't quite ready to head back to shore when the time came but begrudgingly I followed the crowd - oh well I'll be watching my bank account, and as soon as I have enough I'll be heading right back down there to do it all over again! 

To find out more about Coastal Rush and see what's on offer click here! 

Until next time...

Expat Diaries x 

*all photos are copyright to Coastal Rush