Christening your boot camp after Beyonce Knowles's rear-end would not occur to everyone. Upgrading the calorie-controlled diet to gourmet level has, similarly, not been imagined by anyone else. The only boot camp in Cornwall, Bootylicious alone can offer you surfing and horse-riding too. It's rare to have a cottage to yourself - and one of such luxury, unheard of in the industry. Simply put, Denise Randle has created one of the best boot camps in England by daring to be different.

If you are beginning to suspect that I am a fan of Bootylicious Boot Camp, you would be absolutely right. Take the food, for example. What's not to like about eating all your meals in a C17th restaurant run by Michelin-starred master chef, Kevin Viner? Especially when you see what he's got in mind for dinner: Scallops with coriander, dill, mango & pineapple salsa; Roasted & poached chicken on a bed of walnut risotto with Cornish asparagus & truffle oil; Roasted peach & raspberries with a basil & apple sorbet. Factor in tomato juice, fruit juice, mineral water, tea or coffee, choice of starters & mains - and any foodies reading this will have passed out by now. Even boot camp veterans might be glazing over. I didn't miss at all having to sit down in yet another boot camp kitchen-diner with chicken, iceberg lettuce and plain water! And, by the way, I lost 2" off my waist in 4 days at Bootylicious - the only camp in the country to win a full 5-star rating for its food. If, like me, you are a bit of a foodie this is the only boot camp in England for you. No-one else does healthy, gourmet food.

The accommodation is, in national boot camp terms, second only to 5-star Fitstart - but considerably cheaper for singles; and arguably on a par, if you prefer 'all mod cons' over the awesome historical grandeur of Fitstart's Halswell House. Whether one or two-storey cottages, all are extremely spacious and generously equipped. Mine was an American-style bungalow, where I happily spread myself over two bedrooms, two sofas and a dining-room table. The kitchen had everything, including a fully-stacked fruit bowl; the laundry cupboard was piled high with warm towels; the Satellite TV didn't get much time off and the car sat smugly in its own driveway, just outside my door. More like a home from home, rather than a boot camp. And, whilst we're on the subject, by what logic does losing weight go with spartan surroundings anyway?

As for the training, although Sara & Anna come at you from separate tacks, carefully arranged before hand, and are both excellent in what they do, the guy I really enjoyed was 'Soldier X' : you never know when he's going to arrive, kick out the instructors and take over the class. Nor, like The Stig in Top Gear, will you ever get to know his name or see him properly: ' Soldier X'  is apparently welded into a pair of very large sunglasses. And no, I'm not going to tell you what he does with you, that's all part of the fun. Clue: it ain't too bad. Activities start at 7am and finish at 4.45pm, which is civilised and will lose you plenty enough weight in one week. Actually, these days only the very worst boot camps in the country run with barbically unnecesary hours like 5.30am - 9.30/10pm. What's more, you're not compelled to undertake any activity you don't like, so if you're allergic to horses something else will be substituted.

But do not miss The Camel Trail. I enjoyed this 25 mile, slow-burn endurance cycling more than any bike ride I've ever taken at boot camp. Unlike the rest of them, this wasn't a question of battling up a hill, nearly leaving your heart and lungs in the road, only to wear out your wrists on the brakes coming back down the other side of it. Repeat ad nauseam. The Camel Trail, however, is off-road, all flat and wide enough for two bikes at a time, so that you have the breath to chat away for hours with the cyclist next to you, which makes the time fly by, and you're relaxed enough to absorb the lovely scenery around the village bays and forest pathways of rural Cornwall. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that The Camel Trail is the one and only activity in my whole boot camp experience I can't wait to go back and do again. Starting and/or concluding your day with work in the swimming pool is also a luxury afforded by very few boot camps.

Evening events at Bootylicious are also a pleasure, and thoughtfully planned out too e.g. The Life Coach, sensibly and appropriately for his calling, has a word with you on night one; Masseurs agogo on Wednesday night, just at that mid-week point when you need them the most.

Finally, and of course vitally important, Bootylicious Boot Camp represents tremendous value for money; even better,if you book any camp before 31/12/09, a huge cottage is yours for £1345 and yours to share for £1165, to say nothingof the gorgeous haute-cuisine lying in wait for you. Camps that are way below Bootylicious in all-round quality look pretty silly now, charging more for vastly inferior products. Precisely because she has got her product  so agreeably right, it's hard to find any fault at BootyliciousBoot Camp, and I wish Denise Randle all the success she deserves, inevitably on its way once the word gets out. You read it here first, remember.

• Accommodation:  Above a panorama of the North Cornwall countryside, in the grounds of upmarket Carvynick Country Club, you have your own luxuriously spacious private cottage. Whether in bungalow or split-level style, all cottages come complete with fully-equipped kitchen, dining room& Satellite TV with DVD player in every lounge.                                                                                
• Capacity: 20. Camps for Women Only, Men Only & Mixed Camps.
• Duration:  6 nts. (1pm Sunday - Saturday 11am).
• Cost:  £1495 (Private cottage) & £1295 (Shared cottage/ separate bedrooms). For a non-boot-camping companion to share your cottage, mealtimes & use of all facilities, whilst investigating Cornwall, the price is £650. Introductory 10% off these prices on bookings placed before 30/12/09.
• Price includes:  All food, lodging & activities which typically include: gym-stylework-outs plus boxing, surfing, cycling, kayaking, horse-riding, pilates, callenetics, coastal & dune hiking, adventure playgrounding,aqua aerobics & acts unknown whenever Soldier X appears out of the blue, 1 Life Coaching Session, 2 Nutrition Seminars, 1 Style Consultancy Workshop, 1 Healthy Cooking Demo from master-chef,Kevin Viner, Water-bottle, T-shirt & Souvenir CD of your week.
• Evening Events: Life Coaching Seminar, Workshop with a Style Consultant, Massage Night, Healthy Cooking with Kevin & Farewell Dinner with Fine Wine. Plus nightly availability of pool, sauna, jacuzzi, Library of 200 DVD's & Satellite TV/DVD player in your lounge.
• Optional extras: Massage at £30/1hr. Selected Beauty Treatments e.g Luxury Facials at £30.

5 STAR RATINGS

• LOCATION: * * * *
• ACCOMMODATON:  * * * */*
• FOOD:  * * * * *
• STAFF& ACTIVITIES:  * * * *
• VALUE FOR MONEY:  * * * *
• LIFE CHANGING POTENTIAL:  * * *

Bootylicious Website.

Written by  Graeme Harwood.

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