Surfing In Cornwall
Cornwall is hands down the best known place for surfing in the UK and if you’re looking for a guide to surfing in Cornwall you’ve come to the right place. Here we bring you a solid overview of the top surf locations in Cornwall with links through to detailed guides on each beach. In the guides you’ll be able to find directions, surf forecasts and details on surf schools, parking, accommodation and other facilities available.
So you might be wondering why is surfing in Cornwall so popular? Well it’s largely due to it’s location that Cornwall is known as the capital of surfing in England. Cornwall is right down on the south west tip of the UK, with it’s west coast facing out into the Atlantic ocean and clear seas all the way until you hit the USA. This means that waves have all that space to build up and form before coming in as sets on Cornwall’s beaches. It’s so good that people travel from all over Europe for the surfing in Cornwall and it’s where the National Surf Championship and the Boardmasters Surf Festival is held.
Ok, so lets get into specifics about the best locations for surfing in Cornwall.
Surfing Beaches In Cornwall
Fistral beach in Newquay is the first place that most will mention when asked about surfing in Cornwall. It’s the most popular spot and plays host to many of the key surfing events throughout the year including the Boardmasters festival and is home to the British surfing association national surfing centre.
The beach is west facing, 750 meters long and made up of beautiful golden sand. It has one of the best beach breaks which produce really strong hollow waves that can regularly reach 6+ foot, although usually a bit smaller towards the northern end of the beach.
There are a couple of big surf schools by the beach where you can book in for surf lessons and surf weekends or just hire boards and wetsuits to do it yourself.
One thing to be aware of at Fistral beach is that it can get very crowded during the summer months and holiday periods.
Check out the full guide to the beach here
Praa Sands beach is another top, well known, surfing destination in Cornwall. It’s located on the counties south coast so works when the wind and waves are coming in from a different direction to others such as Fistral beach, making it a good option on those days.
The beach is again made of beautiful golden sand, is about a mile long, and has plenty of facilities available to make it a great day out. This includes a cafe right on the beach front and public toilets. Just off the beach there is loads of accommodation available if you want to stay a little longer such as holiday parks and nice campsites.
The beach is very well set up for surfing with a school that offers beginner and improver lessons as well as hiring surf equipment. They even have a board hire delivery service!
Check out all the information in our guide for Praa Sands.
Sennen Beach is another location on the west coast (in fact it’s the most westerly surf spot in the country) that enjoys the full force of the Atlantic Ocean, bringing with it some of the best surfing in Cornwall.
The beach is about a mile long, made of lovely white sand and has easy access directly from the car park. There is also a takeaway cafe for all your snacking needs throughout the day and a beach bar with food and music for when your done in the water.
The waves at Sennen Beach change throughout the year with the summer bringing fun waves for all abilities and Autumn producing clean hollow waves mostly enjoyed by the locals.
If you’re wanting to learn to surf in Cornwall then Sennen Beach has one of the oldest and longest running surf schools in the UK offering group and private lessons throughout the year.
Check out more about surfing at Sennen beach in the full guide.
Gwithian Beach is found just up the coast from the famous village of St Ives and is known for its year round consistent good quality waves. This makes it a fantastic option for beginners as well as experienced surfers when surfing in Cornwall. It also has a car park, cafe and a local surf school that teaches from the beach and rents out surfing gear.
This is another lovely sandy beach that stretches for 3 miles and is popular throughout the year with surfers as well as kite surfers and wind surfers.
The waves are suitable for all abilities and gradually get bigger the further north you head along the beach. Using this rule of thumb you should be able to find a spot that suits your surfing ability.
The best waves are when there is a north coast swell with south easterly winds which creates long walling waves and higher chances of barrels around low tide.
Read the full guide here.
Perranporth Beach is another hugely popular spot for surfing in Cornwall and is found further up the coast towards Newquay. It’s a 3 mile stretch of sand which means that even on the busiest days it has enough room for all the surfers.
The beach picks up plenty of swell and is consistent enough to be surfed all year round and you’ll find the best conditions either side of low tide.
It’s best suited to beginners and intermediate surfers as the gentle slope produces some mid size waves however it doesn’t always hold the swell for larger waves. This has made it a popular place to learn to surf in Cornwall with at least 3 surf schools operating here offering lessons and board hire.
When you’re finished with surfing for the day you’ll want to visit ‘The Watering Hole’ – the only bar in the UK that is actually on the beach!
For more details check out our guide to surfing at Perranporth Beach.
Map Of Surfing Locations In Cornwall
Other Places For Surfing In The UK
Interested in other places that you can surf in the UK? Check out our guide with an interactive map showing all the surfing locations across the UK with links to guides for each place. And if you have any questions feel free to send us a message.