Living well in Cornwall: A
phenomenology of
Wellbeing & Place
Culture Health & Wellbeing Conference.
25th June 2013
DR OONAGH P. CORRIGAN
EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH
TRURO, CORNWALL. UNIVERSITY OF EXETER MEDICAL SCHOOL.
What is the relationship between
wellbeing and place?
What is the relationship between
wellbeing and place?

People’s exposure to and interaction with
the natural environment can play a vital
role in enhancing wellbeing (Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare 2011).

Time spent by the sea in particular is
beneficial to health and a sense of
wellbeing (Depledge and Bird 2009).

Good health is more prevalent in
populations living near the coast
(Wheeler, White, Stahl-Timmins and
Depledge 2012).
Wellbeing: National Survey

People living in Cornwall reported
higher than average ratings for
questions to life satisfaction in
England

It is the only county in England
where people report both high
levels of life satisfaction and feelings
of worthwhileness.

Low levels of anxiety also reported.
Office of National Statistics (2012) First ONS Annual
Experimental Subjective Well-being Results
In search of wellbeing: a
demographic and societal Shift?

Cornwall has become a place
where people from others parts of
the UK have been moving to ‘in
search of a better quality of life’
(Cornwall Council 2012a).

Cornwall has the highest rates of
in-migration in England.

20-30,000 people per year and this
is predicted to increase by 25%
over the next thirty years (Cornwall
Council 2011). Total population
535,000
Meet the Cornblogger
http://cornblogger.com/pages/about.php

Do you dream about getting out
of the rat-race?

Does it seem that the world has
gone car crazy, shopping centre
silly and house price potty?

If so, then you’re not unlike
thousands of other people,
including us, who just want to slow
things down a little.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s
dDyqGQFAYY
Cornwall encompasses 1,376 square
miles with 300 miles of coastline.
Cornblogger’s 10 reasons to move
to Cornwall

1. The beaches around the
Cornish coast.

2. The deep blue sea

3. Very little traffic –’traffic don’t
you just hate it?’

4. Slower pace of life


‘The thought of less stress, less
hassle on the roads, relaxed
shopping, quieter towns and
villages, calm days on the beach
and rambles across the moors
was enough to convince us’.
5. Vibrant arts scene

6. Pride and a sense of place

The Cornish people are very proud
of their heritage and sense of
place. I think it’s because of their
unique cultural history and its
ability to bind them to the land
they live in.

7. Feeling of community

8. Nature

9. Cheaper housing –’if you’re
prepared to look around bargains
can be found’.

10. Sense of freedom
What are the implications of this
societal /demographic shift?


Implications for individuals and their families.

Has moving to Cornwall lived up to expectations?

What are their coping mechanisms for dealing with this change and
integrating into (and/or building) local work and leisure communities?

How they have managed to maintain a sense of wellbeing (or not) at work
and at home.

Are there/will there be jobs for their children?

What does wellbeing feel like in relation to place?
Implications for the local economy and local communities

‘The one thing I do know is that most of the ‘incomers’ like ourselves have
come here looking for something and that makes us special. We bring
optimism and hope, a sense of adventure and potential’.
How can we understand the
relationship between wellbeing and
place?

Survey data?

Provides an overall picture.

But ‘picture snap’ data what happens over time?

Correlates variables, but what about causation?

What about the lived experience? –explanation and understanding

Analysis of blogging posts?

Qualitative interviews?

A phenomenological approach?
A Phenomenological approach
combined with Sensory Ethnography:

Phenomenology is
concerned with the study of
experience from the
perspective of the individual.

The concept of the ‘lifeworld’ developed by
Husserl’s (1954 [1970]) is a key
focus of investigation for
phenomenology and consists
of the world of objects
around us as we perceive
them and our experience of
our self, body and
relationships.

This translates into the
gathering of ‘deep’
information and perceptions
through inductive, qualitative
methods such as interviews,
discussions and participant
observation, and
representing it from the
perspective of the research
participants.
Sensory Methodology
Sensory ethnography
Sensory ethnography
‘an innovative methodology for
studying the lived experience of place
and wellbeing that can illuminate not
only individuals’ lived experiences of
place … but also broader shared
patterns of experience in place
(cultures of place)’ (Sunderland et al
2012).
‘allows researchers and local residents
to reach beyond what is usually
observed and measured to identify
more subtle and invisible experiences
that shape health and wellbeing’
(Sunderland et al 2012: 1056).
Smell, taste, touch and vision are all
part of the human experience and
sensory ethnographers seek to identify
what it ‘‘feels’’ like including sensory,
emotional, and intellectual experiences
to inhabit certain places, and events
from the insider’s perspective (Harris
and Guillemin 2012) .
‘Walking with' ethnography (Sarah Pink
2007) provides a way of exploring sense
of place in direct interaction with the
place in which people live and engage
with others.
Sensory Methods
Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the
mystic
(Into the Mystic - Van Morrison).
Autobiographical Element
North, South West and East Cornwall,
wherever I go I am struck by its beauty.
My troubles get blown away in the
wind as North Cornwall’s waves crash
on the rocks breathing life into my soul.
South East Cornwall –the forgotten
secret part of the county is a magical
place, full of hidden treasures left by
pirates, fishermen and mermaids. My
grown up daughter calls it Narnia when
she comes to visit.
I love Cornwall. I look out on it every day
and live so close I feel I could reach out and
touch the soft green hills across the shore
and yet I have chosen to live on the other
side of the Tamar, clinging close to the safety
of a city.
Cornwall draws me like some enticing lover
but I hesitate to move there -Why? Would I
feel too isolated, too thrown in on myself?
Would the intensity of the place like the
near constant winter rain wash me away? I
now travel there to work…..still playing with
the idea of moving there …one day.
Thank you & and thanks too to
my colleagues:
Professor Paul Dieppe
Dr Debbie Marsden
Research Team
Professor Catherine Leyshon
Dr Michael Leyshon
Dr Ruth Garside
Professor Malcolm Williams
Jane Abraham