RIDING THE WAVE

After years of travelling on the pro-surfer circuit, Jayce Robinson and Hannah Michael chose West Cornwall to build their dream country life

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Hidden between the seascapes of St Ives on the north coast and Mounts Bay to the south, is a series of lush Cornish valleys.

Overlooked and untouristed, this little corner of the far west offered Hannah Michael and Jayce Robinson their dream country lifestyle after years of travelling around the world for Jayce’s career as a professional surfer.

‘Even though I grew up close by, I hadn’t really explored this part of the valley and it is so stunning,’ says Jayce. “As soon as we saw the greenery, the trees, we thought “This is magic”.’

For this young couple, the magic was not just in the setting and its peacefulness, but in the potential. A plot of 3.5 acres with a small stream meant they could live out their dreams of having a more natural, self-sufficient lifestyle.

Jayce and Hannah were living in St Ives and had a self-build on their wish list, wanting ‘a home that felt like we designed every detail’. Yet plots are rare, especially in an AONB like this. Fortunately, a rundown house on an existing plot allowed them to demolish and rebuild.