Yesterday would have been the 100th birthday of author Roald Dahl so, in celebration, my Wednesday Wander this week has a Roald Dahl connection.
This is Headland Hotel in Newquay, Cornwall, and it was the location where Roald Dahl’s The Witches was filmed, starring Angelica Houston as the Head Witch.
With magnificent sea views overlooking Fistral Beach, the hotel has a storied history. The so called Newquay Riots took place during the building of the hotel, when local fisherman claimed the land was common land where they had dried their nets for generations. Out of work miners were eventually brought in to complete the build, but arson, looting and general anarchy carried on for several years.
However, eventually the hotel was completed, and the first guests arrived in 1900. It was considered the height of luxury at the time, and several royals, including King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, stayed there. However, after the Second World War the hotel fell into decline, until the 1970s when it was purchased by the Armstrong family, who restored it to its former glory.
Since then, the hotel has been used for many TV and film productions, and is also a very nice place to stay. We were lucky enough to spend a few nights there several years ago, and I can recommend the food, the ambience and the spa, as well as the surfboard storage lockers (very handy when catching a wave out front!)
It’s not a bad place to watch the sun set, either!
Thanks for coming on another Wednesday Wander with me – see you next time!
Helen Glynn Jones 
So beautiful
Thanks, Lyn – it really is gorgeous 🙂
yes!
A surfboard storage locker AND good food? Sign me up! I also enjoyed Roald Dahl books as a kid. Mathilda was my favourite. I read it so much that I knew it by heart at one point.
It’s a pretty awesome place, definitely 🙂 And the food was dee-licious! I loved Roald Dahl books too – my favourite was James and the Giant Peach. My daughter loves the books now, and one of her favourites is Mathilda – we went to see the BFG over the summer as well and she just laughed and laughed – have you seen it?
I haven’t seen the BFG yet, but I read the book in elementary school. James and the Giant Peach was another good one!
Yes. I never questioned how a boy could fall inside a peach, which is part of Dahl’s magic, I guess. He is from close to where I live and I’ve been on a couple of school trips to the museums of his work (and yes, there are two). We also visited his grave, and there are giant footsteps set into the ground around it, as though the BFG came to visit. The kids loved that (and so did the adults, really) 🙂
I would definitely love to see BFG footprints!
I love Roald Dahl and the Witches!!!
Me too! Thanks, Kristin 😀
This is stunning. A gorgeous place to stay with the history and, well, just sheer beauty of it. Thanks for taking us on the walk with you. I’ll have to watch The Witches again…
It was really cool – we hadn’t planned on staying there, but I found a last minute deal. Then we found out about The Witches which was a huge thrill for the gorgeous girl, as they were studying Roald Dahl that year at school. It was really lovely, I’d like to go back again on day.
Lovely, as always!
Thank you 🙂