David Cameron began his 60th birthday celebrations with a bracing sea swim, taking a cold plunge in Cornwall after a night of festivities.
The former Prime Minister joined friends on the beach on Saturday morning as the group recovered from a wine-filled dinner held at his £2million holiday property the previous evening.
Lord Cameron, who reached the milestone on Friday, appeared at around 9am with five friends before making a beeline for the sea.
Despite powerful winds and temperatures of just 13C, he waded into the water and rode the waves as a small number of local residents watched from the shore.
Dressed in blue-and-white striped swimming shorts, Cameron spent several minutes in the sea before strolling along the beach and returning to his home, where more than 100 guests are expected for his milestone birthday party.
Not long afterwards, he was spotted welcoming guests at the St Moritz Hotel, an upscale spa charging around £500 a night where several members of the party are staying.
The celebrations are set to continue for three days, following the disruption to Cameron’s 50th birthday plans caused by the Brexit vote.
After hosting an elaborate dinner on Friday, Cameron is preparing for an even more ambitious event on Saturday. Michelin-starred chef Paul Ainsworth is catering the meal, which will be served inside huge marquees erected in the garden.
David Cameron appeared to be enjoying his 60th birthday celebrations during a swim in Cornwall
The former Prime Minister marked the start of his 60s with friends on a Cornish beach
Cameron spent several minutes in his blue-and-white striped shorts before walking back along the beach to his home
Celebrity guests reportedly expected at the gathering include Gordon Ramsay, who has a holiday home nearby, along with Jeremy Clarkson and Helena Bonham Carter.
For those still standing after the celebrations, a Sunday morning “surf-off” is also planned, offering guests a lively way to shake off the effects of the previous night.
On Friday afternoon, the former Conservative leader took time to unwind by the beach while preparations for his lavish birthday weekend continued around him.
Large marquees were assembled in the garden, with catering and drinks trucks arriving at the property ahead of the celebrations.
White flags and bunting decorated the structures, which were lit by strings of festoon lights as the party area took shape.
At about 5.30pm on Friday, during a brief pause in the day’s heavy rain, Cameron left the house for a birthday swim with two friends.
His original plan for turning 50 had been a major gathering at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s official country retreat, with hundreds of friends expected to attend in 2016.
However, the UK’s decision to leave the European Union just four months before the occasion led to his resignation as Prime Minister and Conservative leader.
The planned celebration was subsequently scaled back to a small private gathering at the home of a wealthy friend.
For his 60th, no expense has been spared.
Cameron’s holiday home, which overlooks the area’s striking cliffs, is tailored to hosting a bash like this.
Purchased in 2017 for £2million, it was, Cameron said at the time, one of his ‘bucket list’ items. It has since been remodelled to fit a ‘chillaxing’ vibe, in keeping with its owner’s famous love of a party.
Additions include a snooker room which was constructed with a flat Sedum roof – a green ‘living’ roof covered with vegetation – in 2019. There is also an £8,000 wood-burning luxury hot-tub and a shepherd’s hut.
Cameron famously installed a £25,000 hut, with walls lined in sheep’s wool and a wood-burning stove, in his Cotswolds garden, using it to write his memoirs, before adding a similar one to his Cornish property.
And locals this week told Our News Outlet the Camerons often visit, with one observing: ‘He keeps a low profile and tends to blend in. He and Samantha have been spotted on the coast path and you see him bodyboarding.’
Cameron (pictured alongside a friend) is hosting more than 100 friends at his holiday home to mark his milestone birthday
The former Conservative leader is putting on three days of celebrations after his 50th birthday was foiled by Brexit
Cameron is now a strategic adviser to the law firm DLA Piper, as well as being an adviser at US firm Scale AI and the private equity firm Finback Investment Partners.
He sits in the Lords as Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton. Married to Samantha, he has three children, Nancy, Florence and Arthur, who are now grown up. A fourth child, Ivan, died in 2009 aged six.
The family’s Cornish property has already made headlines for its parties. In 2019, it was reported that Cameron had to eject teenage friends of his then 15-year-old daughter after a gathering got a little out of hand.
Newspapers reported at the time: ‘While Nancy is adamant they weren’t drinking, David was joking to locals that he’s sure they were p***ed as newts.’
