Surfing in Cornwall
Cornwall's surfing beaches
are the best in the UK.
Cornwall's north coast provides ideal conditions for great surfing from Bude in North Cornwall to Sennen near Land's End. The south coast of Cornwall has many surfing beaches including Praa Sands, Church Cove Gunwalloe and Kennack Sands. Whether you are an experienced surfer or a beginner, Cornwall has surfing beaches to suit all abilities.
Newquay is famous for Fistral Beach, the best surfing beach in Cornwall and the UK.
Many surf championships are hosted in Cornwall every year including National, European and International events such as the British Bodyboard Championships and UK Pro Surf Tour. Perranporth, Porthtowan, Watergate Bay, St Agnes, Trevaunance Cove are regular venues for prominent surfing events.
Surfers at Holywell Bay in a Sunny February
This photo courtesy of Nineplus Ltd
East coast beaches in Cornwall such as Whitsand Bay and Pentewan provide excellent surfing conditions.
See the map below for surfing beaches around Cornwall and click on the links below the map to view surfing locations with surf reports and information for all the main surfing baches in Cornwall.
Cornwall has a great reputation for surfing so why not check it out for yourself and find out what makes it the first choice for European surfing.
Surf schools and surfing academies at beaches around Cornwall provide full tuition and training with instruction from professionally qualified B.S.A. coaches for all levels of training from the beginner to expert.
Most beaches around Cornwall, well known for surfing, will have a surfing school on site or nearby.
View a list of Surf Schools in Cornwall
Please follow the Cornwall Marine and Coastal Code
Advice for Encounters with Seals at Sea published by the Cornwall Seal Group.
Surfing Photo Gallery - view more surfing photos
SURFING LANGUAGE
Surfing Terms and Surf Slang
360 – a surfing manoeuvre consisting of turning the surfboard at a 360-degree angle while on a wave
A-frame – a wave peak that breaks both left and right equally, creating the perfect shape
Ankle busters – waves that are too small to ride
Barrel - as the wave curls, the hollow part of a wave when it is breaking is the barrel. Also known as a tube. One of the most sought-after things in surfing.
Beach break – a wave suitable for surfing created where the wave breaks over a sand bar, or where the wave forms against the shore.
Bomb – a massive wave.
Bottom turn – a turn that is made at the bottom of the wave when coming down off the face.
Break – a permanent obstruction such as a reef or headland that causes a wave to break turning the wave into white water which can be surfed.
Carve – a sharp turn on the face of a wave.
Closeout – when a wave breaks all at once.
Cutback – a turn done sharply in the shoulder of the wave or on its flats to get back on the surf line.
Double up/Humpback – when two waves combine with a large wave closely followed by a smaller one.
Drop – when the surfer drops down onto the face of the wave.
Duck diving – diving under an oncoming breaking wave with your shortboard when paddling out.
Eskimo roll – a manoeuvre to get the surfer and their longboard through large or broken waves without being washed back to shore.
Face – the unbroken part of the wave.
Fade – when a surfer moves themself back into the most powerful part of the wave.
Floater – a manoeuvre where the surfer rides the top of the wave, then drops back into the main part of the wave.
Foamies – waves made of whitewater.
Forehand/ Frontside – surfing with your face to the wave and with your back to the beach.
Goofy foot – when a surfer’s right foot is forward while on the surfboard.
Green room – the inside of a barrel or tube.
Grom/Grommet – a young surfer.
Hang five – riding a surfboard with five toes draped over the nose of the board.
Hang ten – riding a surfboard with both feet draped over the nose of the board.
Helicopter – a surf manoeuvre where the surfer spins the surfboard around from its nose.
Hit the lip – when a surfer turns up their surfboard, after a bottom turn, to hit the peak of the wave, or the area above the face of the wave.
Hollow – barrels, tubes, a-frames.
Impact zone – the area where the waves are breaking the hardest.
Jacking – when the wave swells rapidly, from deep waters to shallow ones.
Kick out – a manoeuvre used to finish a ride by going over the back or through the wave to exit it.
Kickflip – rotating the surfboard 360 degrees, while in the air and landing back on the board.
Layback – a surfing manoeuvre where the surfer lays backwards on the wave.
Left – a wave that breaks on the left of the surfer, from the peak, when facing the shore.
Line-up – the area in the water, away from the swell and breaking waves, where surfers wait to catch a wave.
Lip – the upper-most tip of the wave, immediately before it breaks.
Locked in – when a surfer is caught inside a crashing wave.
Macking – large waves breaking.
Making the drop – catching a wave then sitting on the lower part of the wave’s shoulder.
Maxed out – Un-surfable waves that are too large to break without closing out.
Men in grey suits – sharks.
Mullering – a major wipe-out.
Mush/Mushburger – non-powerful waves which are unsuitable for surfing.
Nose riding – a longboarding manoeuvre where the surfer surfs on the nose of the board.
Nug – a good wave.
Offshore – when the wind at a surf break is blowing from the shore towards the ocean. Ideal wind condition for surfing.
Onshore – when the wind is blowing from the ocean towards the shore. Bad wind condition for surfing.
Out back – beyond the area where the waves are breaking.
Outside – the area beyond the lineup, beyond the area where the waves are breaking.
Outside break – the furthest area from the shore where the waves are still breaking.
Over the falls – a type of wipeout where a surfer falls off the board and is sucked up by the wave, over and back down into the water by the circular breaking motion of the wave similar to the action of a washing machine.
Party wave – a wave that several people are surfing at the same time.
Pearl – when a surfer buries the nose of their surfboard into the wave.
Pigdog – a specialised manoeuvre which allows the surfer to tuck into the eye of a barrel wave while grabbing onto the rails.
Pocket – the most powerful and steepest part of a wave, just ahead of the wave’s breaking point.
Point break – area of water around a headland or underwater rocky point where waves are created that are good for surfing.
Pop up – when a surfer goes from lying on the surfboard to standing up to surf, in one action.
Pull in – when a surfer turns a surfboard up to enter a barrel.
Raked over – being pounded by strong, incoming waves when paddling out to catch a wave.
Re-entry – when a surfer moves from the bottom of a wave up to the highest point of the wave, or the lip, and then steers back in on the face of the wave.
Regular footed – a surfer who surfs with their left foot forward.
Right – a wave that breaks on the right of the surfer, from the peak.
Riptide – a narrow, powerful current which flows away from the beach, pulling you out to sea. Dangerous to surfers.
Shacked – riding a great, big barrel.
Shore break – waves that break very close to the beach which are mostly unsuitable for surfing.
Shove-it – a manoeuvre involving shoving the surfboard (180 or 360 degrees) under the feet of the surfer, while riding a wave.
Shredding – advanced surfing, riding waves skilfully.
Spat out – the action when a surfer exits a barrel alongside foamy water and air.
Spit – the water that sprays out from the end of a barrel.
Stall – a move allowing a surfer to slow down the speed of the surfboard.
Sucking dry – when powerful breaking waves expose the sea bed.
Surfer’s knots – soft tissue swellings below the knee caused by kneeling on the surfboard waiting for a wave.
Tombstone – when a surfer is wiped out, held underwater and they try to climb up their leash.
Tube – the hollow of the wave where it’s breaking. Also known as a barrel, pit or keg.
Turtle roll – a technique to move the surfboard through a breaking wave, hanging on to the rails, turning over so that the surfer is fully submerged and the fins of the surfboard become visible.
Wall – a face of the wave where there is no area to ride.
Washing machine – being spun and rolled around underwater by a breaking wave.
Whitewater – the broken, foamy, turbulent part of a wave. Usually used when learning how to surf.
Wipeout – falling off your surfboard while surfing a wave.
Worked – getting knocked off your surfboard by a wave (wipe out) and then being spun around in the water while being held under by a wave.
Books:
Books can be purchased online by clicking on the links below :
- Surfing Britain (Footprint Surfing Guide) (Footprint Activity Guide)
- The Stormrider Guide Europe (Stormrider Guides)
- Surfing A Beginner's Guide
- Surf UK
- The History of Surfing
- Learn to Surf Guide
- Surfing Manual The Essential Guide to Surfing in the UK and Abroad
For other books of surfing interest please click on the following link to buy books online:
Praa Sands
More Surfing Information:
Surfing Archive :
BPSA UK Tour 2004 Newquay.
View surfing conditions at Summerleaze Beach, Bude
Websites:
- Porthtowan SLSC
- Portreath Surf Life Saving Club
- Gyllyngvase Surf Life Saving Club
- Hayle Surf Life Saving Club
- Perranporth Surf Life Saving Club
- St Agnes Surf Life Saving Club
- Bude Surf Life Saving Club
- Cornwall Surf Life Saving
- Surfers Against Sewage - Protecting Oceans and Beaches
- RNLI Lifeguards
- Surfing England
Praa Sands
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Map of Surfing locations in Cornwall Use the + scale on the left of the map to zoom in on an area. Click on a marker to see the name of the location and click the box to go to the information about that place. To zoom out click - on the scale. (Map integration by www.choughmountain.design) |
