Gallivant Beach Club
It seems everyone I meet has got a memory about coming to Camber beach at least once in their lifetime. Mostly as a child, usually involving sand castles and 99’s.
Who doesn’t love a 99?
I listen and nod with a big grin on my face, loving the fact that Camber is seemingly so well known, and how so many people love it as much as I do.
But, and it’s a big but, virtually everyone I speak to came as a child and has never returned.
Unlike most people I never came with my parents. In fact I first walked onto the beach maybe 15 or so years ago.
Memories of Skagen
The first time I walked on the beach was a jaw dropping moment that I will never forget, the feeling of wonderment elevated because it’s hidden by the towering dunes, and so felt like the best kept secret.
It reminded me of the beautiful beaches and dunes you find in northern Denmark near Skagen, it had that happy duality of feeling both wild and serene at the same time.
A couple of the happiest times I have had on the beach are at two ends of the spectrum.
Darkest lockdown
Boris had just told us we had to stay indoors. I drove alone down to the Gallivant a couple of days later, to check the hotel was all locked up and as secure as it could be.
Walking inside I had a powerful sense of emptiness and a feeling of being completely out of control (not a feeling I am used to as all my friends will attest!).
Only days before the hotel had been full of happy faces, people enjoying their time with us and a young team delivering a great experience. Today it was literally dead and I wondered what it would take to get it back up again and what the future looked like for all of us.
Exiting, it felt I bit like I’d just left a funeral so before heading back to London I decided to walk over to the beach to clear my head.
As I crowned the dunes and the beach appeared a wave of hope and optimism rolled over me.
Walking along the shore I began to see what the future might look like and how hotels like the Gallivant were going to be even more needed and wanted than ever before – places where you could come and experience happiness – whatever that meant for you.
It was a real zeitgeist moment in the evolution of the Gallivant story – and re-affirmed the tag line we had begun to use – Happiness is a Place.
The second memorable ‘happiest time’ on the beach was a much more conventional.
Drinks in the dunes
Last year I’d invited my two closest childhood friends to come and stay. We lived in the same village as kids and were best friends from nursery, we still are today.
I find staying at the Gallivant tricky at the best of times, I can’t stop finding things that aren’t quite right and panic that nothing is good enough – so inviting them to stay with their partners was about as stressful as it gets.
Early evening I said we should all go over to the dunes with a bottle of wine and watch the sunset. It was a perfect evening, a gentle breeze and a sky that was just beginning to turn golden as the sun began to drop.
I watched my friends faces as we topped the dunes and I could see the beach having its happy effect on them. It was the perfect evening.
Beaches aren’t just for sandcastles
A few months ago I was agonising over the reality I had discovered about Camber – that everyone seems to have come as a child and for whatever reason never return.
I viewed this as a complete communications disaster but also an incredible opportunity.
As the war in Iran began to look like it wasn’t going to be over anytime soon, it began to feel like this summer there might be a shift in behaviour and a bit like after lockdown, more of us would want to holiday here rather than flying somewhere overseas.
What could elevate the Camber beach experience beyond sandcastles?
Gallivant Beach Club
The ideal scene would be a private beach club. Somewhere you could just walk onto the beach and feel like spending the day there, lounging in the sun, drinking a chilled glass of wine, interrupted by dips in the sea to cool off. Like in so many places overseas.
Unfortunately this is going to be possible anytime soon …
But I’ve come up with the next best thing – for all your childhood reminiscers, for those that have never returned, and to all of you that are wondering what the beach experience can really be like here at the Gallivant …. Welcome to Gallivant Beach Concierge.
Gallivant Beach Concierge
Our Beach Concierges are at your service this summer.
They’ll pick the perfect spot in the dunes to set up your personal parasol, beach chairs, rugs and iced drink station.
On hand to pour your first glass of perfectly chilled Oxney rosé before quietly slipping away.
More rosé? Yes please.
We have a saying down here – ‘what happens in the dunes stays in the dunes…’
Available to book on weekends throughout the summer – residents only.
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See you on the beach, my happy place, hopefully it can be yours too.
If you’d like to make contact you can here – harry@maingalli.wonderwebsite.co.uk
