[Closed] MTB and Surf in the UK

Southerndown in south Wales or Barmouth in North Wales.

North Devon Croyde area? Great surf and close enough to Dartmoor and Exmoor with loads of riding. Failing that maybe Cornwall and ride some of the local stuff like Grogley, Cardinham and Dartmoor / Bodmin moor?

Dingle Peninsula

Many apologies to any Irish folk. I know southern Ireland is not part of the UK but my brain didn't kick in.

Durness and along the North coast - Strathy, Melvich, Thurso etc.

Western Isles.

[url= https://surfsnowdonia.co.uk/ ]Surf Snowdonia[/url]

This might suit.

Then there are a few spots on the coast near by.

Saltburn ?

Southerndown/Barmouth/saltburn inconsisant for surf in summer. Also southerndown not great for mtb and (I used to live there) a bit of a chavvy beach in summer , personally not really a fan of the pub either. How much is surf important?
Think some nice natural riding in far west Cornwall, and most likely to be sure of surf in sw U.K.. The western isles would be a great idea, remote though so make sure good water awareness. If you can stretch to Southern Ireland I'd do that..

Gower is great but can't guarentee surf in summer,

North Yorkshire coast? Somewhere between Whitby and Saltburn on Sea? I'm near Saltburn on Sea and you find a lot of folk splitting their time between biking and surfing. Plenty great biking on the moors and good options steep techy stuff. Lots of things for kids and family to do.

Porthcawl / Rest Bay (afan and BPW not too far)
Pembrokeshire (good surf / poor mountain biking - Brechfa not too far, Preselis ok)
Gower
North Wales (Abersoch / Hells Mouth - Snowdon / CyB etc)

Anywhere apart from Hawaii may be a compromise.. as you arent guaranteed surf but can always hit some trails

Thanks for the replies so far. Some good options to look into. North Yorkshire coast sounds good. Being a southerner I dont know the north very much but it would be good to explore a bit more.

Southern Ireland sounds interesting. Any particular areas? Is there much riding there?

Generally the quality of the surf is about the kids messing about on body boards so decent but not the be all. Was in polzeath recently and my daughter loved the conditions there although it was pretty busy.

Mid Wales- Aberdovey / Twyn is also a great base
Ive stayed here before with the kids (was a little bit small but was great
http://www.theoldlifeboathouse.co.uk/

You have ClimachX not far and Dyfi region, CyB and Nant yr Arian too

North Devon. Good surf. Gulf stream warm water. Quantocks Exmoor on the doorstep, Dartmoor short drive. Haldon, Cardinham, Lanhydrock shortish drive.

This an excellent question. But it seems that there isn't a really good answer in my exprerience. I think the Gower is probably the best bet as there is surf and MTB routes close together.

I love North devon and Pembrokeshire but both are some distance from MTB routes

The North Sea isn't ideal in the summer as it can go flat for months

I think North Wales is also a good shout.

I would not describe north Devon to Dartmoor a short drive, especially in summer traffic. Nice is a better bet to drive to Dartmoor.

Tiree. No proper mountain biking, but plenty of nice quiet roads, or rough tracks across the machair, or just ride along the beach.

Cloudnine has already mentioned where I'd suggest, Aberdovey. It's half hour from CYB and Barmouth too. Alternatively, Harlech, granted it's a drive if you want a trail centre but loads of riding relatively close inc, around Betws if the family want a wander whilst you ride.

All the well-known MTB places in Ireland are on the east coast or Midlands,surfing all on the west coast. I don't know of any trails on the Dingle peninsula, not saying there aren't any though. I can't think of a surf spot close to trails. County Clare might be an option with surfing/accommodation in Lahinch and off road riding in the Burren - not really singletrack as far as I'm aware, might have to drive to Killaloe or Ballyhoura for proper trails.

Swanage / Purbecks in Dorset. Good natural riding, and Charlie the Bikemonger finds enough surf - I'm sure he'd point you in the right direction.

North Devon to Okehampton is a short drive and Dartmoor starts at Okehampton.

Tenerife, El Medano has fun size body board waves or better in the summer. World class windsurf and pretty decent trails.

My lad loves bodyboarding there, and I'm more than happy on the water, never actually got round to riding but if the wind drops its definitely there. Not a football shirt or English breakfast in sight either.

Gower isn't much cop for surf in the summer. It's notoriously flat that time of year, picking up again in September

North Devon to Okehampton is a short drive and Dartmoor starts at Okehampton

Ha. That's got to be the opinion of someone who's looked at a map and never actually done it...

I'll throw my part of the world, Coldingham / St Abbs in to the ring. There is a very nice family friendly beach at Coldingham which people definitely surf on. I'm not a surfer so couldn't comment on the quality of surfing but there is a surf shop & school as well as sea kayak rental. Lots of people seem to bodyboard as well.
Biking wise there are some interesting paths around St Abbs and you're only an hour or so from the Pentlands or Tweed Valley.

North Devon to Exmoor is 40-60 mins depending on how far in you go. There's actually some fairly fun riding much closer (overlooking in some cases) the beach if you know where to look

Just to mention I live in North Devon. Work in Okehampton and Plymouth so do the journey every day Monday to Friday

I stayed in Tenby with the g/f for New Year.
Manobier was superb for surf and Afan though was an hour away.

More recently I surfed Porthcawl in the morning and did Cwmcarn in the pm, in the summer. Worked well.

I stayed in a campsite near Llantwit Major (acorn camping) which worked really well for surf and isn't too far from MTB spots too.

I've been pondering this question very recently as in a few short years I'll have to option to head either to S Wales or near Devon....

Just to mention I live in North Devon. Work in Okehampton and Plymouth so do the journey every day Monday to Friday

Fair enough but I live in tavi and every time I've had to go to north Devon it seems like a complete ball ache. That road isn't straight for more than about 100yds.

North Devon, loads of riding on the doorstep of Braunton without getting in a car.

Barmouth/Tywyn ftw

Aberdovey. It's half hour from CYB and Barmouth too.

Maybe by helicopter!

I've recently moved from Cornwall to Gower.

Surf focus plus some biking is north Cornwall (grogly etc is steep fast and fun, llanhydrock/cardinham are easier trail centres)

Bike focus plus a bit of surfing/body boarding is south Wales.

New bike park being built in Cornwall at the moment. Not 100% where but from the pics I've seen looks good.

North Wales,Devil's mouth on the Llyn Peninsular.

Lotss of good options to consider with south Wales and north devon looking good.

Had a look at bike park Cornwall and it would be great if they get it up and running. Seems to still be in planning phase but near Bodmin.

This isn't bike park Cornwall. It's being built now.

Last December I windsurfed at Aberdovey till dark then drove to CYB to meet the guys for a couple of days riding. It took more than half an hour.
And Southerndown wasn't exactly the location I really meant. There's a nearly secret spot the next bay to the east with fantastic camping and a great pub. But I don't want the whole world to know.

I used to live in north Devon and found the lack of decent mountain biking to be enough motivation to move. You're looking at travelling for at least an hour to get to anything worthwhile. The riding around Okehampton is also crap, by the way.

How about the Plymouth area? Great doorstep riding plus easy access to places like Tavi woodlands and Dartmoor. Local beaches are also lovely and offer a lot of variety. Plymouth itself isn't particularly pretty though, but stay in the south hams or se Cornwall and you're sorted.

Don't look at Dorset, we get our good days of surf, but it's super infrequent, often crowded, and the best breaks are the reefs, and you don't want your kids out there. The bikeing is nice.

South Wales, Ireland, Biarritz area will awesome: great surf, sand beaches and the Pyrenees.

@BigJohn, so you post the location on a forum 🙄

The venue you refer to is not suitable for kids, has very strong currents, is incredibly tide dependant and mobbed by the locals when remotely good.

to the OP, I think you'll struggle to beat Gower for the balance of surf and MTB. Cornwall is more likely to have waves, and the water is prettier (if colder), but the mtb isn't as blatantly easy.

CTB

I can't get over how busy dorset's favourite reef break gets nowadays...!

@ Jam bo the bike park you are thinking of is near Par i believe.

Isle of Harris. Probably the best beaches in the UK, West coast surf and some fantastic trails. Wish I had my surf board when we were up there this summer.

ferrals - Member

@BigJohn, so you post the location on a forum

S****, s****!