The Spirit of Praa Sands
We spoke to Makai surf school and Mounts Bay Distillery about the bewitching effect of Praa Sands…
Praa Sands, from the Cornish ‘Poll an Wragh’, meaning witches cove, is a place shaped by legend and tide alike. Said to be enchanted by old folklore, its white sands and wild surf have cast their spell on two locals: Chris, head surf coach at Makai, and Lisa, co-founder of Mounts Bay Distillery. Each, in their own craft, contribute to the warm and welcoming feel of Praa Sands.
“The most iconic beach on the southwest coast of Cornwall.”
Nestled within the protected Cornwall National Landscape, Praa Sands is renowned for its Atlantic swell, drawing in surfers like Chris with its invigorating and challenging conditions. “Praa Sands is the most iconic beach on the southwest coast of Cornwall. It picks up west swell and it is somewhere that is super popular.”
Chris has been running his business, Makai, for twenty years, all starting “from a real deep rooted passion and interest of the ocean, trying to give back some of that passion to people visiting Cornwall.”
Makai primarily offers surf lessons “for beginners, improvers, and advanced surfers,” welcoming people from all walks of life to experience and share the love for this unique stretch of the southern Cornish coast.
Chris describes his connection to surfing as “that feeling of entering the ocean, challenging your fears, hitting that blue health, and seeing that improvement” – a feeling that, ever since his first time on a board, has become his “biggest addiction.”
Beyond the beach’s golden glow lies something deeper too. Praa Sands’ rugged cliffs preserve prehistoric clues about shifting climates, while its weathered pillbox stands as a quiet reminder of 1940. Once a secret training ground for Royal Marines, this stretch of coast now hosts a different kind of courage, as Chris helps others find their strength in the surf.
Offering surf all year round, Praa Sands – pronounced ‘prah’ to reflect its Cornish roots, though ‘pray’ is also used – is “a really friendly, really welcoming place,” says Chris.
“My favourite element is the people and the businesses that are here at this beach.”
A VIBRANT COMMUNITY
Along with its stretch of sand and clear water, this is a beach with a vibrant community of local businesses. Among them is Mounts Bay Distillery, a small, family-run venture co-founded by Lisa and her husband, Ben.
Lisa echoes Chris’s enthusiasm for the beach vibe ay Praa Sands: “It really is a people’s beach,” she says. “We’ve got the two little pubs down there, and the café on the beach.”
Guided by their “crafted by fire but shaped by the coast,” ethos, Lisa says the influence of their seaside setting is reflected “through the ingredients we put into our rums and gins, and even the designs on our bottles.”
Making the most of what the Cornish coastline has to offer, ingredients such as pepper dulse and sugar kelp are foraged by hand, keeping things small-scale and truly artisan. Mounts Bay Distillery currently produce a range of small-batch gins and rums, with a non-alcoholic aperitif in development.
But their love for the coast runs deeper than simply inspiration; it’s also rooted in a respect for the environment.
Being one of just five wood-fired distilleries in the UK, Mounts Bay Distillery use refillable ceramic bottles and avoid using plastic. “We also try and think about the environment with our wood fire stills,” says Lisa. “We’ve had local wood delivered to us from storms. Tree surgeons come to drop off wood that we can use in the stills, and we have a big water tank so we can reuse water again and again.”
Take to the water with Makai, visit the stills at Mounts Bay and be bewitched by Praa Sands
