Liza Pulman is best known for her role in the comedy music trio Fascinating Aida. Here she tells us about her love of walking the coastal path near her Cornish home. Photography: Dave Matthews and Johnny Boylan. Interview: Alice Westgate
I am a Londoner born and bred, so it was a big move to relocate to Cornwall last year. I was expecting all sorts of repercussions, but it felt like home the minute I arrived. The sense of space in Cornwall is almost overwhelming, and life feels calmer here. It’s been such a pleasure to do normal things like renovating and decorating the house, which overlooks the sea, as well as cooking and having friends round for dinner.
Though I’m not a natural sailor, I spend a lot of time on the water. I’ve discovered I like rowing a gig, which is a classic Cornish wooden boat with six oars, and I love walking. I have a particularly strong emotional attachment to Watergate Bay because, when I have to fly up to London, I always head to the airport early so I can walk along the beach first. I also love the Bluff at Gwithian, where I walk the length of the beach and up on to the dunes, usually into a biting wind. I love how wild it is.
I often work while I walk, playing recordings of my songs and critiquing them as I go. On a recent sunny day I was trudging along the coast path while listening to Oh Shenahdoah. I stopped and looked out over the water and, as the waves rolled in and out, I realised that I have never come across a more perfect site-specific place to sing this song. I did a quick check to see if anyone was around and then I started to sing, projecting my voice right out to sea. The song is originally about a river, and about leaving something you don’t want to leave, but at that moment it was all about falling in love with Cornwall.
Read more at lizapulman.com.
Find out more about celebrities that love the coast here. Or keep up to date with 'My Coast' features in the magazine.
