MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Ok so Im off to cornwall on monday for a week of surfing ( never done it before) , dont have anywhere booked, just gonna turn up and see whats what, so can any of you surf guys n gals tell me where the good spots for a novice would be? will also need camping, tuition board hire, a bar and somewhere theres folks about for a game of pool and chill....whats yer recommendations?
Go package deal. Looked into it but never did it, seems to be lots of places to give it a go at.
North Devon, Woollacombe Bay, Surf-school, camping, slightly easier to get to. Big beach, not a little cove
We camped at Trenance holiday park, we like it because you can walk into Newquay from the site and can also walk to all the beaches. Fistral is a bit of a walk but we learned to surf on Great Western which is easy to walk to from the campsite plus the waves are a bit more learner friendly there is a surf school down there called Reef, they seemed to be one of the cheaper ones as well, we liked the campsite because you can park the car when you get there and never have to drive anywhere all weekend, so you can have a drink in the centre of Newquay and then just walk back.
I'd recommend Polzeath. Good wave to learn on, the wave is generally a slower wave , therefore has long rolling whitewater that is good to learn on. Good surf school there too. Few decent pubs/bars and campsites. If you can get into Tristram campsite then you have done very well!
Gwithian is a good place to camp and there's a surf school in the bay - think it's called Gwithian Acadamy of Surfing. Waves are nice friendly there too.
Tuition is fairly straighforeward, £25 gets you a couple of hours in a clas of ~8 or so. After that if your there all week just for surfing, look into buying a board, some of the smaller shops have second hand kit.
Avoid shopping for kit in towns, I made the mistake of going down whilst needing new rash vest, wrongly assuming that as everyone in cornwall surfs it would be as cheep as anywehre. I was duly parted with £25 for soemthing thats £5 from decathlon!
Got friends in the area? Get them to buy stuff for you and ask for local discount, failing that, haggle, a driving licence with a cornwall address on it was gettig us ~20% off or free wax, flip flops etc in loads of places.
Other things to do in Cornwall (its a quiet place)-
£1 a drink night in the Corn exchange, Cambourne (not recomended if you have a missus)
The Milk challenge (6 pints, 1 hour, lots of vomit)
The drowning game (involves a hosepipe and avoids sore throats after a days surfing, apparenly)
Removing the screws from anyones bed who appears to be about to get lucky.
I stayed in Newquay overlooking Fistral Beach last April and just chose the most likely looking school (of which there were loads). It was also MUCH cheaper than I thought it would be.
One word of warning though - a full week as a novice will leave you VERY tired - I was goosed after a morning. Perhaps consider half days to start with?
Having a look [url= http://www.surfinghandbook.com/knowledge/surfing-etiquette/ ]HERE[/url] before you go will be appreciated by the locals at whatever beach you decide upon.
Have fun.
P.s. surfing at night is simoultaneously very cool and very dangerous, especialy when its breaking over rocks!
Nice Sponging Machine! That should be posted up at every beach!
I'd second Gwithian - stayed at Gwithian Farm. Nice site, good showers ect, the beach has some good sets if you are learning. Two surf schools nearby.
dave
Nice Sponging Machine! That should be posted up at every beach!
There are four posters highlighting this at Saunton, yet it's tourist slalom every Summer. 🙄
Firstly - find places with plenty of surfboard and wetsuit hire - Polzeath is brilliant but gets busy, Fistral is the same. Gwithian is good but they don't have much hire kit (Sunset Cafe - not all that easy to find first time).
I reckon Polzeath is a great bet having grown up there. Plenty of camping, wall to wall posh totty (if that's of interest...!), two nice pubs and some stunning scenery if the surf is too big/flat.
Surfing is tiring and learning is actually worse than being competent because you are in the white water so constantly pushing through waves (once you're a bit better you sit "outback" a lot) - but unless you have zero balance, you WILL get up on your first session and you will love it!
Shout if you need numbers for surf hire/campsites - I know loads of people that do both in Polzeath.
Surf looking rather good for tomorrow (had a nice one yesterday too) - woo hoo!
I'm off to Polzeath tomorrow for a week, and the weather looks promising! I'm going with the family so I don't know whether I'll get the chance to have a go at any surfing. Although I tried it in Australia and I was crap!
Surf-Mat, what would you recommend pub wise? Also what about restaurants?
Cheers
If you're anywhere near Bude/Widemouth Bay then book some lessons with Mike Raven. Awesome tutor. Had a weekends lessons with him and that got me started... Off down to Barnstaple tomorrow with the board strapped to the car for a week and can't wait to grab a few hours in the sea as and when I get a chance.
thats - Oystercatcher up the hill is pretty good, the Doom Bar (new Polzeath) has great views and the Waterfront restaurant (above the Post Office) does nice food. Also check out the Mariners in Rock - full of yups but good and well priced food!
Hi Surf-Mat I am going to Polzeath 1st week in July - I will be camping and hopefully learning to surf/kayaking etc - do you have any recommendations on where to stay or who get tuition from?
ta
meh. surfing etiquette doesnt exist anymore unless its big.
summer rules apply and its dog eat dog...
Moses - MemberNorth Devon, Woollacombe Bay, Surf-school, camping, [s]slightly[/s] [b]MUCH[/b] easier to get to.
fixed it for you, it's about 3 hours closer than cornwall.
Good luck, surfing is the hardest thing i've ever tried to learn, but feels super-trippy when it finally clicks.
Nonsense. Cornwall is much easier to get to. Everyone knows that North Devon never gets surf anyway. Don't bother coming here. 😉
DaveyBoyWonder, are you also gonna be bringing a bike on your Barnstaple trip? I'll be off to Exmoor one evening this week if you fancy it?
summer rules apply and its dog eat dog...
Party wave!
just got back from cornwall - had some pretty decent waves most of the week. Best were at Northcote on Thursday - but be warned its fairly rocky so not recommended for novices.
Check out Crantock near Fistral - taught my sons to surf there a few years back (didn't bother with surf school)
The weather has been fantastic too - bar b q on the beach most nights.
wish i lived on the coast.
Hi Surf-Mat I am going to Polzeath 1st week in July - I will be camping and hopefully learning to surf/kayaking etc - do you have any recommendations on where to stay or who get tuition from?ta
What sort of group? If family, stay in Lundynant campsite or Southwinds. If in a big group, stay at Robbie Loves (all Googleable).
A few surf schools there but I rate Pete Craskes Surf's Up - http://www.surfsupsurfschool.com
doesn't look like the promised swell has got here yet. hoping for a dawny tomorrow.
Bude is good for surfing... and the town Bude itself has lots of body boards for sale or hire... Sandymouth beach is ace as is.....
take a look at this...
http://www.bigbluesurfschool.co.uk/bude_guide/