Longe-côte: Discovering the French art of sea wading in Falmouth

Rachel Ifans discovers true joie-de-vivre strolling through Cornish waters

The Longe-Cote UK club imports the French practice of sea wading for Falmouth locals (Rachel Ifans)

If the dress code was wetsuits and bobble hats, would you RSVP yes to the party?  

Of course you would!  

In these rather mono-pace days – get up, turn on Zoom, turn off Zoom and go to bed – anything that comes along to upset the status quo should and must be seized with gusto.

In ordinary times, I’m a travel writer with a specialism for France, and sometime in early 2020BC (Before Covid), I took a trip to Dunkirk to meet a man who dives the wartime wrecks, join a herring-throwing festival in fancy dress and try a bonkers activity called longe-cote – sea wading – that I’d heard was popular in the north of France. 

The first two went off without a hitch: with the 80th anniversary of Dynamo approaching, Bruno the diver had many fantastical stories to tell, and the carnival saw me moshing in a town square face-to-facepaint with locals (I also had a dead duck wiped on my cheek in a bar – it was France-on-steroids). Sadly, though, the February weather was terrible and my plan to try longe-cote was thwarted.  

As soon as I returned to the UK, I got in touch with Jean-Paul Gokelaere, leader of Opale Longe-Cote club in Dunkirk, to channel my inner Schwarzenegger and assure him I’d be back.  

Jean-Paul was one of longe-cote’s founding fathers back in 2007, when it was born of a desire among the locals – the Dunkerquios(es) and the Leffrinckouckeois(es) – to spend more time in the water for wellbeing, pleasure and conviviality. His groups walk in snake formation in the sea for half an hour before turning back, taking turns at the front so that everyone gets the benefit of the full resistance from the water.  

He suggested I talk to one of his proteges, Richard, to find out more about the benefits of wading. 

“Each time we go out it’s different; the weather, the currents, the winds and the waves, daytime, night-time, always so exciting and never the same,” Richard tells me. “When the weather is bad and the sea is rough it can be really challenging but fabulous fun. I just love the feeling of the sea spray splashing on my face. It’s so invigorating.”  

I was raring to go after this glowing sales pitch, but what with Covid taking hold of all our travel plans and refusing to give them back, longe-cote soon became a distant memory.  

Until, that is, I discovered a club – the only club – in the UK.

So it was that I found myself on Gyllyngvase beach in Falmouth on a sunny Sunday morning in mid October, with two foolhardy friends also in search of a Covid-proof high and dressed in wetsuits and woollies.

Gylly is the small sandy bay, quite sheltered and with a shallow shelf, that’s home to Longe-Cote UK, a club founded four years ago and run by Jo Curd. Jo had been a regular longe-coter when she lived in Brittany and, after a bout of depression saw her ditch her career as a teacher, she set up a club back home in Cornwall.

It really was a gorgeous morning and Gylly was buzzing with kayakers, paddleboarders, swimmers, photographers and us. The 45-minute session started at 10am with a warm-up on the beach, after which we went straight into the sea, the water level between the waist and chest so that the cold-water goodness covered and invigorated our organs.  

We lunged in a socially distanced line up and down the bay (bobble hats silhouetted against the horizon), the leader peeling off after 16 steps so we all got a go at the front. Jo then led us through the variety of moves familiar to land-lubbers, from arm rolls and ab crunches to star jumps, side-stepping and arm-swinging. She also introduced us to the joy of the “punge” (a cross between a push and a lunge).  

Our group was made up of regulars and new members, with the hardcore contingent confirming that they turn out in all weathers and in all but the roughest seas. Sometimes, they said, it’s a challenge to stay standing, never mind maintain perfect form balancing on one foot. The attraction is about using the sea almost all year round; Ian, the only man in the group, confessed to really missing it in the off months. As we lay back and made “sea angels”, another devotee, Sarah, said it reminded her of being a kid.  

Each time we go out it’s different; the weather, the currents, the winds and the waves, daytime, nighttime, always so exciting and never the same

The benefits of longe-cote are more holistic than a joyful dip with friends; like other cold-water activities, it’s great for mental health, and the sea water helps lower blood pressure and boosts the skin, immunity and the cardio-respiratory system, as well as working the muscles, particularly in the legs. Jean-Paul pointed me to scientific research that shows being immersed in the sea for an hour, two or three times a week, brings benefits to the immune system. You also get a huge montee d’endorphine when you plunge into the sea, he said, one that lasts for a long time after you get out.

I can’t disagree. It feels good to be a longecotienne – in fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s the most joie-de-vivre you’ll find on British shores right now.

Travel essentials

Longe-Cote UK meets from March to December three mornings a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday/Sunday depending on the weather) on Gylly beach. There are plans to set up an additional group, aimed more at holidaymakers, in Carbis Bay in 2021 (Covid permitting). Follow @longecoteuk on Facebook and Instagram for more details.