'I moved to the Yorkshire coast for work - and immediately discovered the place of my dreams'
Ana Cowie is the Marine Projects Manager at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, with responsibility for all of the county’s extensive coastline. Originally from South Wales, she and her husband, Owen, now live in Hunmanby.
Getting off the train, after an extraordinarily long journey from Wales, and realising that I was a very long way from home, but what was around me was very new, and totally magical.
I’d come up in response to an advertisement from Yorkshire Wildlife, and I really did not know what to expect. It was a trainee role, I was offered it, and I stayed.
I knew no-one, but was immediately made at home, and I discovered that Flamborough Head was the place of my dreams.
I stayed in an Airbnb for a few weeks, made friends, and…..that was the start of a completely new life.
What’s your favourite part of the county – and why?
People think that white chalk cliffs are only seen down south, but trust me, there are some spectacular ones here in Yorkshire, stretching for mile after mile.
I love every bit of our rocky shores, and their diverse and challenging environments – every time you go out, you see something different.
What’s your idea of a perfect day, or a perfect weekend, out in Yorkshire?
Going out and looking for nesting seabirds at North Landing, rock pooling – something I’ve loved ever since my dad took me out to look at the shoreline back home in Wales.
I think that it was that day which turned my life around in my early teens. And then finding somewhere nice for lunch – I love good food.
Do you have a favourite walk – or view?
The coastal path from Robin Hood’s Bay to Ravenscar takes a lot of beating, the views are sensational.
The birds are overhead; you can see grey seals basking below. It’s a glorious combination of things of which you never get tired.
Which Yorkshire sportsperson, past or present, would you like to take for lunch?
The Brownlee brothers always seem so connected to the countryside when they are out and about, either training or competing across a range of sports, I love that relationship with landscapes, and the natural world, and I’m sure that the lads would have a lot of stories to tell.
I’d love to ask them if they managed to relate to what they see around them, or do they have to focus purely on the sport? Does nature help them to achieve things.
Which Yorkshire stage or screen star, or past or present, would you like to take for dinner?
The big booming brassiness that is Brian Blessed. Everyone thinks of him as “that loud actor,” but in fact he’s a keen environmentalist, explorer and climber, he’s seen so many parts of the world, and he’s passionate about wildlife.
If you had to name your Yorkshire ‘hidden gem,’ what would it be?
The area around North Landing. Turquoise blue waters on a fair day, puffins galore and the rocks and the pools, all teeming with wildlife.
The tide goes out, and there you have things that you’ve never seen before. It comes back in, and changes everything, goes back out, and it’s another revelation.
If you could own one thing in Yorkshire for a day, what it be?
May I have the very first Yorkshire teleportation device, so that I can switch it on and visit Brimham Rocks for a few hours, press a button and be at the Spurn nature reserve, press again and be at Bempton Cliffs, and again to be at Filey at low tide, and so on? Is that possible? Or shall I be realistic and asked for a day’s “go anywhere” bus pass and hope for the best?
What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?
Well, it’s vast, for a start. And where on earth else do you get so much diversity? From the ever-changing coast, the landscapes of the Wolds, the Moors and the crags.
Then there are the lush woodlands. You can go from great drama to quiet contemplation in a few miles. Amazing.
Do you have a favourite restaurant, or pub?
We love Oxpasture Hall, near Scarborough, which has a wonderful chef called Tom Owen. He showcases a lot of fresh-as-fresh seafood. All local, none imported. I’ve never yet tried the oysters, but I will get around to them in time.
Do you have a favourite food shop?
There’s a little place near us in Hunmanby, called The Pantry, and it’s run by lovely people who provide some of the best sandwiches, cakes, lunches and sweet treats ever. They are a lovely – and incredibly talented – family.
How do you think that Yorkshire has changed, for better or for worse, in the time that you’ve known it?
We are slowly recognising and admitting to, the effects of climate change, and that’s really important – who would have thought that bottle-nosed dolphins would be seen off the Yorkshire coast.
People are realising that wildlife and its environments must be conserved, monitored and respected, and I am delighted that the new generations of schoolkids are seeing how important they will be to the world around us in the years to come.
Whenever I’m involved with some of those youngsters, I go home believing that yes, the world may well be in safer hands than we hitherto thought – but there is a long, long way to go.
Who is the Yorkshire person that you most admire?
Dame Judi Dench, because of her love for nature, her passion for the trees at her home, and her love for wildlife.
How can anyone not love a lady who is so prodigiously talented, but who also names trees for her lost family and friends, and who then goes and talks to them? That is just beautiful.
Has Yorkshire influenced your work?
Absolutely. Yorkshire is at the heart of everything I do, and a constant inspiration. The cliffs, the shores, the species are all a constant inspiration.
To think that my dad took me to a mussel bed in South Wales, and that just altered my life in every regard.
What a difference that day made, it triggered my whole trajectory, and propelled me into wonderful Yorkshire.
Name your favourite Yorkshire book/author/artist/CD/performer.
Absolutely anything recorded by Kate Rusby, who has such an empathy for the things around her, the joys of nature and the living world. She reflects the things that I love.
If a stranger to Yorkshire only had time to visit one place, it would be?
Spurn Point. Unique, fascinating, never the same two days in a row. The seascapes, the migrating birds, the grasses, the dynamic coastline. Unique, where the land meets the sea, and leaves you breathless. How could you not love it all, and totally?