Start Bay Studio

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Start Bay Studio

Start Bay Studio - wellness by the sea

08/09/2026

Check out the evening news today (8th) on bbc spotlight on iplayer! We might be losing a couple hundred metres of beach but we still have another 3 miles or so along Slapton Sands. This place will always be so special.

01/09/2026

Heads up. Torcross Tank car park is closed from Monday 7th September so that Kier Group (contracted by the environment agency) can start preparing for the sea defence work. The toilets, the other parking areas (Ley car park and free triangle), and the South West Coast Path all remain open. You can still get through Tank carpark on foot (and I assume bike too!)

30/08/2026

Nick has spent months designing our new sauna. It is going to be a traditional Finnish sauna, with EVERY single detail considered very carefully. A proper Finnish sauna experience isn’t simply about making a small room extremely hot. It’s about the relationship between heat, air, steam, space and the body. There are some details that are very important to get exactly right.......

Not just hot. The right kind of hot.
A traditional Finnish sauna allows us to carefully control the temperature and löyly (steam), creating the high-heat sauna experience used in much of the research around cardiovascular health, recovery and wellbeing. Every time you step inside, the heat will be at the right level.

Sauna stove + stones made in Finland
Our stove is being made-to-order in Finland, with the right stone capacity and heat output for our sauna. Why does that matter? Because great Finnish sauna isn’t just about temperature. It’s about löyly — the soft, enveloping wave of heat and steam created when water hits properly heated stones.

Benches at the right height.
Yes, it really matters where you sit. Hot air rises, so our benches are positioned high in the room, putting your whole body where the heat is — not your head at 90°C and your toes somewhere considerably less exciting.

Carefully considered ventilation
One of the most important but lesser known features of a sauna - ventilation. Fresh air and good circulation are a huge part of how a sauna actually feels. We want hot and invigorating, not hot and stuffy. This means you can sit longer in the heat, while feeling more comfortable.

Natural timber
Warm, tactile and comfortable against bare skin — chosen for the environment rather than simply for how it looks. Thermo Alder, the perfect material.

Finnish heat. Devon coast.
We are quite excited and we hope you are too!!!

26/08/2026

Protein after a strength session, coconut water after the sauna, smoothie after yoga, or just the best coffee and chats with your buddies? Coming right up.

It might be all smiles in this photo but it felt VERY scary getting home from hols last night and seeing it all really start to come to life. It’s one thing having these crazy ideas but another thing entirely actually doing it. Feeling rather overwhelmed at the moment to say the least.

Weights room for strength, yoga studio for movement, sauna and plunge for recovery and a coffee lounge for healthy refreshments and community catch ups. Blimey we have A LOT of work still to do !

25/08/2026

Finally we are taking off ! And it’s reminded me that this what we train for.

Today has been a very normal reminder of why being strong and fit matters…..

Rushing for a flight.
Lifting bags.
Carrying luggage through airports.
Standing in a very long passport queue while everyone gets used to the new fingerprint system 🙃
Small seats.
Long days.
Lots of walking, standing, lifting and generally just… coping.

None of it is a workout. But all of it is easier when your body is strong, mobile and capable. Phew !

That’s why we come to class. Not just to get better at squats, planks or yoga poses — but to build a body that makes life easier.

Strength for carrying the bags.
Mobility for the cramped seats.
Stamina for the long days.
Balance and resilience for everything life throws at us.

Strong for life. That’s the point!

22/08/2026

Hi folks from Lake Annecy! Thanks to all of you that have been supporting my little studio while I have been on hols. Classes have been so well attended with the amazing Jojo, Jemima, Pippa and Tasha. Big thanks to them too. Pippa is covering the two Monday classes and then I am back from Tuesday. I arrive home Tuesday but will be there for the 6.15pm class :-)

It’s been a lovely trip, but with all the exciting changes coming to Start Bay Studio, Yoga Field & Sea and The Old Bakehouse it has been filled with work work work and not just play !

When can I have a rest? I need to practise what I preach!!!

02/08/2026

Looking forward to a little summer break from 7th–25th August - will be heading to France and Italy to spend time with family and friends ☀️🌊

The studio will still be open, and I'm so grateful to have such a brilliant team of teachers looking after everyone while I'm away.

You'll be in wonderful hands with Jemima, Pippa, Tasha and Jojo, and I'll still be teaching the Thursday morning online class as usual.

I've put together the timetable below so you can easily see who's covering each class while I'm away.

A huge thank you to everyone for your continued support, and to our fabulous cover teachers for keeping the Start Bay Studio community moving while I recharge.

See you all very soon! 💙

16/07/2026

After some amazing work by lots of people in slapton including wonderful Jane Abbey who is chair of the parish council, did you know that there is now a country bus to connect Slapton to Dartmouth?

After the loss of the A379 Slapton was cut off from public transport as the 93 bus no longer comes along the line. In fact, it only goes as far as Strete where it turns around!

Stagecoach, who run the 93 bus, told me (after many emails!) that there was no-where to turn around along the line or in Slapton and that they couldn’t fit Slapton into their new timetable. This left Slapton school age kids, non-drivers, elderly and camp site tourists without any public transport. Nick and I sent Stagecoach some pretty robust info proving they could turn a bus no problem, and even completely re-wrote their timetable to show an example of how, with a bit of effort, it was possible to bring the 93 as far as slapton turn.

Long story short, Devon County Council have now arranged the country bus (and tally ho on weekends) to run this service for the summer. We are awaiting what happens next !

So if you are Dartmouth direction, hop on the country bus to Slapton turn and then walk along the old road to Torcross for some yoga !! 🧘

15/07/2026

I’m not a good runner. I plod and have the odd burst of speed when I remember that interval training will make me fitter! But I do always try and run on trails not road whenever it’s possible/ feasible. Our 85 year old selves will be very grateful for this!

14/07/2026

Well that was exciting, quick chat with my hero Jude ;-)

Address

Start Bay Studio, Torcross
Kingsbridge
TQ72TG

Telephone

+447500032781

Website

http://Startbaystudio.co.uk/

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