Sigrid Cragoe, co-owner of beachside boutique hotel The Gallivant in Camber Sands, shares how the wild English coast captured her heart
After two decades designing costumes in Los Angeles, it was the windswept stillness of Camber Sands that called to me. We first came to Rye Harbour as a family escape from London. The rhythm of coastal life was an instant balm: fishing for mackerel from the shore, cooking our catch as the tide rolled in, watching our children run wild through the dunes. The salty air, the seabirds, the silvery light – it just felt like I had come home.
We fell in love with Rye Harbour and transformed a weathered old Georgian building into a family home. Then we began to dream about creating a space where others could feel what we felt – a sense of deep exhale. That’s when we found what is now called The Gallivant: a former motel, sun-bleached and full of potential, right behind the dunes.
When designing the interiors, I leaned into the landscape: seagrass-inspired textures, driftwood tones, wide-open spaces that echo the beach beyond.The garden is planted like a dune system, all soft grasses and shingle, so you never feel far from the tide.
Inside are framed vintage swimsuits, old postcards of Camber’s heyday, and other pieces I’ve collected – each one nodding to the coast’s nostalgic soul. The place is designed to feel like the beach house you wish you owned.
Then there’s Harry’s, our restaurant. Local fish, Romney Marsh lamb grazing within sight of our terrace, foraged sea vegetables – it’s coastal abundance.
Now we’re creating the next Gallivant, in Littlestone-on-Sea, inspired by Art Deco curves and the endless sea. Different style, same promise: a joyful retreat where sand sticks to your toes and sea air clears your mind.
The coast changes you. It slows you down. It strips away the noise. And if you’re lucky, it shows you the life you didn’t know you were searching for.
For information on the hotel, visit thegallivant.co.uk and for the restaurant, visit harryscambersands.co.uk.
