Charity Churn Gets Forever Home at The Headland

A milk churn featuring Fistral beach painted by Newquay artist Diane Griffiths is on permanent display here at The Headland following an auction which raised nearly £50,000 for Cornwall Hospice Care.

Over the summer, we were one of a series of venues to take part in the  ‘Around Cornwall in 38 Churns’ art trail raising funds for the charity.

Last month the churns, which were each painted by a different Cornish artist, were auctioned off at Truro Cathedral.

As well as hosting a churn featuring an abstract design by St Ives based artist Anthony Frost as part of the trail, we also decided to bid on a second one, painted by local artist Diane Griffiths and featuring the hotel’s stunning location overlooking Fistral Bay.

“I am thrilled my churn has ended up at the Headland as the design was based on Fistral,” said Diane.

“Painting a milk churn created a new challenge for me; the circular shape meant that I needed to consider a subject which would work from all angles.

“I saw an opportunity to incorporate my ‘Beachscape’ style where the churn takes you from the beach up into the sea; from the RNLI truck and surf school through to swimmers and sunbathers all enjoying the seaside.

“It took around 35 hours to paint, using a combination of acrylic, oil and enamel, and my inspiration is to capture that holiday feeling within my art,” she added.

‘Around Cornwall in 38 Churns’ was devised by Sue Dennett of Newquay who also wanted to showcase the county’s talented artists and stunning locations.

It was supported by Rodda’s Creamery who donated the churns, as well as Visit Cornwall, The Bowgie Inn at Crantock, Blumen Brand and Digital and David Lay Auctions.

At The Headland we were absolutely thrilled to have been chosen as a location for the original art trail and to be able to support such a fantastic cause. When we saw Diane’s churn, we couldn’t resist putting in a bid for it to come back to The Headland permanently and we’re now extremely proud to have it on display here.

It’s a wonderful evocation of everything that makes this area so special and we’re very pleased it’s come back home. 

Cornwall Hospice Care is a 24/7 Cornish charity that provides specialist care for people with terminal illnesses. Its clinical teams support patients and their loved ones at Mount Edgcumbe Hospice, St Austell, St Julia's Hospice, Hayle and in the community.

“We’re overwhelmed at the generosity of the artists and the auction bidders and I’d particularly like to say a very big and heartfelt thank you to Sue Dennett for realising her dream and raising such a huge amount,” said Oli Hoare, Head of Fundraising at Cornwall Hospice Care.

“It costs around £600 a day to care for a hospice patient so this project has funded 80 patient days at our two Cornish hospices,” he added.