Somewhere in the weeks before Reach on the Beach 2026, messages were flying between Sian and Mel…
“Double the Cornettos.”
“We’ll definitely need more cucumbers.”
“Have you checked the risk assessment?”
Normal event planning stuff.
By Friday afternoon, Mel and Sian were at Ty Borfa setting everything up, ready to welcome families for another unforgettable weekend together. There was the familiar hum of excitement as bags were unpacked, rooms claimed and snacks delivered to the kitchen in increasingly impressive quantities.
One family arrived carrying what can only be described as an alarming number of cucumbers. Twelve, to be exact. We popped them into the kitchen, along with the other cucumbers from the ‘big shop.’
As evening settled in, Ty Borfa quickly felt like home again. Parents gathered in the lounge catching up on life since the last trip, children spread themselves across the floor with card games and Twister, and the lounge became the social hub as always.
The final family arrived late into the evening, their children fast asleep in the car. In true Reach on the Beach style, everyone quietly sprang into action and we snook them around the back of the house and into bed without waking them. Teamwork at its finest.
Morning arrived with sunshine, coffee and the unmistakable sound of children already wide awake.
After breakfast, we were treated to an inspiring presentation from Ben Pritchard, the para rower, who shared stories of his journey, his audacious goals and the medals he had earned along the way. Everyone was captivated — especially when he showed us his gold medal from Paris, containing an actual piece of the Eiffel Tower.
Naturally, after such an inspiring talk, attention turned back to the cucumbers.
“What are we actually going to do with all the cucumber?” one mum asked.
“Pimms!” someone shouted.
“Spa eye masks!” suggested one of the children.
“No,” said Sian firmly. “This… is the Cucumber of Responsibility.”
And just like that, a legend was born.
Whoever held the cucumber was officially in charge and therefore entirely responsible for whatever chaos unfolded next.
The cucumber was ceremoniously passed to Daf and Tonya, of Gower Activities Centre, who bravely accepted responsibility for the day’s activities and all the enthusiastic participants.
First came fire lighting in the garden. There were marshmallows to toast over the fire pit, and somehow Daf managed the impossible: keeping an entire crowd of children completely still and silent while he mimed the fire safety instructions. It was genuinely one of the most extraordinary things witnessed all weekend.
Lunch came quickly afterwards, though tragedy nearly struck when the cucumber snapped in half. Thankfully, with quick thinking and a strategically placed stick, it was repaired and restored to full authority.
The afternoon continued with building play equipment in the garden — swings, seesaws and plenty of engineering advice from people with absolutely no engineering qualifications.
Then came the epic walk to Culver Hole.
Daf and Tonya were now attempting to hold responsibility for thirty people at once, which was clearly beyond the structural integrity of even a reinforced cucumber.
“Some adults are going to have to be responsible for themselves,” someone declared.
“We’ll call them cucumbers.”
And so, the Independent Cucumbers were formed.
As we walked, we heard tales of smugglers, salt merchants and hidden histories along the coastline. Spirits were high, legs were mostly functioning, and everyone was enjoying the adventure.
At one point, Tonya spotted two strangers standing rather too close to the cliff edge.
“Excuse me,” she asked seriously. “Are you cucumbers?”
They were not with our group, had absolutely no idea what was happening, and quietly moved away looking deeply concerned.
The descent to Culver Hole itself was steep and challenging in places, but our guides helped everyone safely down the path. Small groups took turns peeking into the dramatic limestone cave while others paused to take in the views and catch their breath.
The climb back up turned out to be far easier than anticipated, and there was a real sense of achievement as we made our way home already thinking about the chilli night waiting for us at Ty Borfa. The chaps made a little detour on the way back for a ‘wellbeing session’ at The Ship.
Back at the house, Sian worked absolute magic in the kitchen, whizzing up incredible soups to start the evening. Pea soup has now officially been renamed “Phoebe Pea Soup” in honour of Phoebe’s excellent work as sous chef.
Then came the feast: chilli, jacket potatoes, hot dogs, cheesecake, meringues and enough food to feed a small army.
We were completely stuffed.
The evening ended with Cheryl’s quiz, with the music round proving to be the clear favourite. There was singing, fierce competition and plenty of laughter echoing around the house late into the evening.
And somewhere amongst the chaos, the walking boots, the marshmallows and the cheesecake, the cucumber lay on the side.
The next morning at Ty Borfa started a little more quietly.
Some people clung tightly to their morning cuppa while others gathered around tables making raggy hearts from old Reach children’s clothes — the ultimate form of recycling. Tiny pieces of old t-shirts, pyjamas and baby grows from Reach weekends gone by were transformed into something new, carrying memories stitched into every thread.
Meanwhile, others headed down to the beach.
There was cricket, sunbathing, sea dipping and the annual task of creating the famous “Reach on the Beach 2026” sign out of stones. As always, enthusiasm for starting the sign was high, but enthusiasm for finishing it slowly disappeared as people wandered off to paddle, play cricket or investigate snacks.
Eventually Elis heroically completed the finishing touches while everyone else mysteriously vanished.
After a quick lunch back at Ty Borfa, it was time for the big event of the weekend: surfing.
By now, the physical cucumber had well and truly reached the end of its operational life, so responsibility was handed over metaphorically to Ben and the incredible Surfability team.
The younger group headed out first, followed by the older group. Somehow everything aligned perfectly this year — maybe the waves were better, maybe the sunshine helped, or maybe this being our third adventure with Surfability meant confidence was higher all round.
Whatever the reason, the surfing was absolutely amazing.
The girls — and one very committed lad — had their hair braided specially for surfing, instantly increasing both skill and style points.
Zak, meanwhile, made the whole thing look ridiculously easy, casually achieving the level of cool the rest of us could only dream of.
Wave after wave, people stood up, rode the surf back in and came flying onto the beach grinning from ear to ear. Every success was loudly celebrated by everyone else waiting on the shore.
Thankfully Louise captured all the action on her camera, preserving both the surfing triumphs and the spectacular wipeouts forever.
And you’ll never guess who we bumped into on the beach?! Only our Reach friend and Gardeners World presenter, Sue Kent. It was lovely to catch up and she too, was most impressed with the quality of the surfing.
Gower-bunga!
We had so much fun that time completely escaped us and we ended up running late heading back. Jamyn pushed back the chip order from The Captain’s Table while we attempted to extract tired, sandy and extremely happy people from the beach.
Eventually we returned to Ty Borfa for a well-earned chip supper before launching into the evening’s main event: the raffle and auction. But not before the ladies took their turn to indulge in a quick ‘wellbeing trip’ to The Ship.
This year the raffle had grown to such epic proportions that the prizes had to be spread across the floor in the middle of the sofas because no table was big enough.
Esmé and Owain absolutely smashed the ticket sales, helping us raise more money than any previous Reach on the Beach over the last three years.
Matilda and Leo took on the very serious responsibility of drawing the winning tickets, creating maximum suspense with every number called out.
The auction reached record-breaking levels too, especially for the beautiful pair of Iola Cari earrings made from Gower sea glass, which sparked a fiercely competitive bidding war.
Eventually the evening settled back into what Reach weekends do best: chats in the lounge, children playing games, henna tattoos that would stay with us for days to come, drinks appearing from nowhere and people trying very hard not to notice how late it had become.
Reluctantly, everyone admitted defeat and headed off to bed.
The final morning arrived far too quickly.
Some families headed out early for trips to the beachside sauna with Sauna Hut Wales, where teenagers and parents alike took turns becoming unbearably hot before running outside to dramatically throw cold water over themselves in the fresh morning air.
Back at the house, James took charge of bacon butties, restoring life and happiness to everyone one sandwich at a time.
As bags were packed and sand mysteriously continued to appear from every corner of the house, we reflected on another very special weekend together.
The adventures, the laughter, the sea air, the surfing, the conversations late into the night — and, of course, the cucumbers.
By the end of the weekend, the remaining cucumbers had all found homes with various families.
One was reportedly eaten whole in the car on the drive home.
Which somehow feels like the perfect ending to Reach on the Beach 2026