Surf Spots: Cornwall, the mecca of British surfing?

Surf Vacation at Cornwall

This morning I came accross and article that was very apt for me right about now in regards to a surf spot that I never really heard of Cornwall? I am leaving Australia on an extended, well there is no deadline to return, holiday/adventure through UK and Europe. I am extremely fortunate that I currently live extremely close to the beach so the choice of driving or walking to my favourite surf spot often comes to mind when I decide to hit the waves… and the winning choice usually depends on how lazy I feel.

The one thing that I am going to miss the most is the ability to have full access to my surfing within, at most, a 15minute drive to all my favourite surf spots. My starting location will be London, UK. I have already been warned that the closest to surfing I will get there is if the street ices over and I fall on my ass. Nonetheless I want to start my UK/European adventure in the big smoke.

I have been researching surf spots in the UK initially and came accross an article from Extreme Horizons Blog about the annual surfing pilgrimage to Cornwall.

The Cornwall Surfing Crush

Cornwall isn’t your Jeffreys Bay but is apparently one of the better surf locations in the UK which picks up considerable swell on both coasts. The beach at Cornwall likened to an overcrowded Tokyo subway at rush hour.. But yet the Brits still make their way down in the masses. There can be up to twenty surf school each with twenty plus students taking their first surf lesson vying for a piece of the action, and I haven’t even started to talk about the sub arctic water temperatures. You have to be half seal or have a very very good wetsuit to even get your toes in.

There are also the myriad of  beginner surfers whose first experience is likely to be that of being run over by a surfer after they unknowingly drop in on them. The prevailing north coast winds are westerly which means alot of offshore. You do get the odd day when the conditions are perfect with  onshore winds and great swell. This culminates in a few reef breaks, the odd point break plus some barrelling sandbars.

Surf Pilgrimage to Cornwall

I know I havent painted a fantastic picture of the place but its more than just a surf location. Its a pilgrimage. When you get back its not so much about the location but about the journey. Its the ability to recap the crowds, the traffic jams, the 12 year old on a softboard that you ran over while catching your first barrel. Its these memories that will last you the whole winter of dinner time discussions.

There still are uncrowded locations to surf at although you will have to search and get off the beaten track to find. There is much to do in the form of nightlife if your under 25 at Newquay and the water can be a beautiful green crystal colour.

Noone questions religious travels abroad to walk along some sandy tracks and hang out with thousands of other people in the overwroded blistering heat and neither should anyone judge yours if your that way inclined.

I’ll see you there.

Here is an article that you might enjoy:

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