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Cohort’s Manager – Caroline
August 17th, 2015
Caroline has been in the UK and at Cohort (previously known as the St Ives Backpackers) for 2 years. She’s fabulous and frequently referred to in glowing terms in our guest reviews. Here’s a little insight into her world…
How did you end up in St Ives?
My boyfriend Matty and I were moving to the UK as his Australian visa was coming to an end. We chose Cornwall (for surf) and came to St Ives to meet up with some friends from home before deciding where to live.
One of our friends at home had done a surf trip around UK/Europe and told us he’d had the best waves of his trip in St Ives, which was another big reason for coming here first… turns out he’d got his towns mixed up but by that time we were here and pretty happy about it.
How did you end up working at Cohort?
There was only one backpackers in the entire town, we booked in and a job became available soon after – I was just in the right place at the right time.
3 months after I started working here we met the soon-to-be new owners and heard all their plans for the new business; Matty and I were both really excited to be asked to stay on as we loved the old building and thought it had loads of potential.
What do you love most about St Ives?
Oh, where to begin… all of it! Physically, it has the clearest blue water I’ve ever seen and the views and scenery are AMAZING; cliffs, sandy beaches, mystical lighthouses, and of course SEALS.
It is the perfect balance of a small town, where everybody knows each other; super friendly and welcoming local community but not too small, in that there’s always something fun to do, or a new activity to try.
Where’s your favourite place to eat?
My favourite place (we save it for ‘special occasions’) is definitely Spinacios, a vegetarian restaurant on the harbour, you can see their vegetable garden on the coastal path so you know everything is of the best quality and about as local as you can get.
The place I visit most would be West Beach Bakery; they have something for everyone and they’re right on the beach. The Vintage Coffee shop on the harbour has the best coffee by far plus so many cool little knick knacks!
Describe your ideal day in St Ives
It would be full of activity!
Hike to Zennor in the morning. It takes around 3hrs, we’d pack some sandwiches and have lunch on a cliff along the way and spot seals. Come back into town and have a coffee from the Vintage Coffee shop or the Digey. Depending whether there was surf or not, get in the water or lay in the sun with some pals at one of the beaches, hopefully be able to read for a while.
At sunset – a surf or beach BBQ and beers; and for the evening…. either accidently fall asleep super early or treat myself to a glass of wine with friends.
What did you do on your last day off?
Accidentally slept in and then went snorkelling at Carbis Bay beach. Lots of fun and nice to see what’s down there. Read a book and then I think went for a quick paddle at Porthmeor before cooking up a big soup and watching a film at home.
What’s the best thing about working at Cohort?
The people, for sure. Some really well travelled people have come through here and given us really good tips of great places to go around the globe.
What would be your top tip for anyone visiting?
Befriend your roommates and other guests; St Ives is fabulous but it’s even better with a new pal.
St Ives has a great social scene (see What’s On and St Ives Nightlife) and there’s loads to do: You’ll find Caroline – happy to help – in reception or behind the bar at Cohort; if you have any accommodation or activity questions at all give her a shout.