Hello all! Moving to England... hook me some local knowledge

[Threeo]

Hi everyone!

I stumbled upon this forum a few years ago but never really got into it as I found that most people were in England (of all surfing places:) ).

But now it turns out that I'm moving to England for work soon. I've done some initial research on spots etc, but I'd love to hear some information from real surfers and locals!!

I'll be near Bristol and have been looking into breaks like Landwit major just over the border in Wales.

Some questions:
What's the reality of waves in this area? Can you surf every weekend?
Average size/consistency?
Is the majority stormy mush sessions, or are clean sessions common?
How polluted is the water?
How thick wetsuits do you need?

I've done alot of youtubing and it looks like a fish is probably the go. Many surf shops in the area?

Any local knowledge appreciated!

[jaffa1949]

What a shift Threeo but at least Middleton will be a training ground for a lot of the spots, head out in winter when southerly season is upon it.
Will give you an idea of the cold conditioning.

Working from Bristol if I was there I'd hope to hook into 3 spots that are on my bucket list,
Bucks Mill, Lynmouth and of course the Severn Bore, but then I'd hit far and wide in Wales That's my wishes the local crew will probably give you the real advice.
Check the guide on this site and a couple of other sites. You'll miss the Yorkes and Eyre Peninsula trips but no great whites.

You won't have the rock at Maslins with its scenic beach where the pink pointers lurk.
When I've been in the UK the crew are rabidly enthusiatic to withstand the weather. I'd take my beanie off to them except my bald head would freeze.

Have fun!

BTW hook up with Themathteacher, he seems to have a useful supply of slightly secondhand boards.
KS if you feel the need for Mead.
But I guess it their call.

[kitesurfer]

Hi everyone!

I found that most people were in England (of all surfing places:) ).

I'll be near Bristol and have been looking into breaks like Landwit major just over the border in Wales.

Some questions:
What's the reality of waves in this area? Can you surf every weekend?
Average size/consistency?
Is the majority stormy mush sessions, or are clean sessions common?
How polluted is the water?
How thick wetsuits do you need?

I've done alot of youtubing and it looks like a fish is probably the go. Many surf shops in the area?

Hi. Plenty of good breaks within 1-2hours drive of bristol. Closest half descent well known break i would say is croyde, there are some others which work well when it gets big at croyde but less said the better. Croyde can hold a solid swell the winter months are best, low tide its a hollow fast sandy beach break and if your better than me then there's reef breaks in the area too.
Summer months can be frustrating though as surf is not consistent, one of the reasons why i kitesurf.
Water quality is good in devon but not so good around the swansea port talbot area.
Clean sessions are common but if your keen to maximise water time then you will have to do some travelling around to find more sheltered breaks when the storms come.
Big/deep low pressure off west coast of ireland will produce the goods for west/north coast of devon and cornwall.
Low pressure in bay of biscay will send swell up the english channel but this is more rare.
Winter wetsuit is 5/3 boots, gloves and hoodies. Summer can be a shortie but usually a 3/2.
Retro fish are well suited to our swell conditions.



I took this shot at woolacombe(just round the corner from croyde) one october.
So best months are spetember through to may but there are no real trade winds so you need to match wind conditions with swell to find the breaks that will produce the cleanest waves.

KS

[Threeo]

Thanks guys!

Interesting you knew where I 'm from Jaffa . Oh don't worry... I have plenty of hours at middleton (it's actually #8 on ASL's top 10 WORST breaks in the country haha). The most surfed and most hated break in SA.

South south NSW hey... I've done some trips to Moruya area. Such nice water there, On par with the Maldives. Had some good waves near the breakwall.

Thanks Kitesurfer for the insights, really awesome. Interesting how you guys move in a 5/3 boots gloves and hood .

I've been thinking I'll get a H-bomb so I'm in a bit less rubber than a 5/3. Booties are ok but I'm not sure i can do gloves and hoods.
Anyone tried out the H-bomb in england??? I'm trying to decide between 3/2 or 4/3.

Any other random tips? What are the roads like bristol to devon? highways? country roads? Any tolls???

T

[jaffa1949]

Thanks guys!

Interesting you knew where I 'm from Jaffa . Oh don't worry... I have plenty of hours at middleton (it's actually #8 on ASL's top 10 WORST breaks in the country haha). The most surfed and most hated break in SA.

South south NSW hey... I've done some trips to Moruya area. Such nice water there, On par with the Maldives. Had some good waves near the breakwall.

Threeo I had a long almost surfless stint in South Aus when I was studying Chiropractic in the 70s only decent surfs I got in 5 years was either by going to Yorkes, Cactus or coming back to NSW during Uni holidays, lived in the Adelaide hill and also made many fruitless trips to Middleton and that stretch.

My SS NSW area is south of Moruya = Merimbula. happy old goofyfooterland = 2hours from the ski fields.

[surf patrol]

Booties are ok but I'm not sure i can do gloves and hoods.

You'll soon learn to get used to wearing them if you want to surf mid-winter.

Anyone tried out the H-bomb in england??? I'm trying to decide between 3/2 or 4/3.

Nope, but I'd also like to hear from anyone with experience. I've got an old Snugg custom 5/3, which really needs replacing.

What are the roads like bristol to devon? highways? country roads? Any tolls???

It's the M5 (motorway) out of Bristol for a while, but then it's single lane A/B (country) roads for the rest of the trip. Usually it's not too bad, but summer / weekends / bank holidays can be hell.
Good news, no tolls.

[Katsura]

Wow OP, you are moving to England? Feel bad for you to be surrounded by whinging poms (hush, I can say that because I AM a whinging pom).

Joke aside, hope you enjoy it up north. You are my opposite number, I literally escaped the cold water there to Australia the first chance I got... 5mm wetsuit makes me feel like a penguin.

[drowningbitbybit]

^^^^^
Yeah, me too

5mm wetsuit makes me feel like a penguin.

A morbidly obese penguin at that.

[Threeo]

Thanks for the info guys.

hahah Katsura, yeah... if only australia had jobs.

Jaffa I just google mapped Merimbula. Looks like typical NSW coast with bay after bay after bay... which means point break after point break after point break. Nice one.

Just had some unusual easter swell at my home break and had some great times on my go-to board. Definitely packing it with me and can't wait to smash some waves OS.

[Threeo]

Jaffa... Just did a trip to brou on the long weekend! Got some great waves at the breakwall. It's amazing how 1-2ft in NSW is equal to head high over here. I had 2 great sessions in pretty small waves but awesome nonetheless. I don't know how you guys call it winter over there.... Sunny and warm compared to here!

Shittest Thai restaurant ever in Moruya, but great pizza in Batemans though .

[Rickyroughneck]

Personally, if it is a choice between freezing my balls off or wearing more rubber then I always choose the latter. I am not sure how people DON'T wear more for the British winter, I chomp through the coldest months in a 6/5/4 with 5mm mitts and boots. I don't get the macho nonsense about wearing as little wetsuit as humanly possible "it's just turned March - summersuit time!"

Definitely invest in a good 5-4 at least, I always find that I surf better when I am warm anyway.


I think Croyde/ Saunton are your best bet, you could hit Wales- Porthcawl etc but be prepared to surf in VERY cloudy water unless you go the extra mile to the Gower.

[surf patrol]

Personally, if it is a choice between freezing my balls off or wearing more rubber then I always choose the latter. I am not sure how people DON'T wear more for the British winter

I'm with you on this 100%. I'd rather be way too hot that slightly chilly

[Threeo]

Yeah I totally agree temperature wise. But I'd rather a shorter time in the water and being able to do more with it. I personally surf a lot worse in a 4/3, so I couldn't imagine a 5mm!!

[Threeo]

wow... so 10 years on, I found this forum again (while searching for french surf spots) and I find myself reflecting on the decade that's been.

for what it's worth...
Spent 9 years in Bristol and mainly surfed in Porthcawl (yes, i know, but you cant beat the proximity. this is pre-Wave mind you).
I found a particularly fickle but super nice point break in Wales and just stuck to that, making friends with the locals, goldmine!! Turns out the Welsh like Aussies much more than the English do (oh lord, the stories of nationalism I could tell you).

I think the first time I surfed in UK was in Wales at a place called Sker (or so) where you hiked through moors (spelling?) to get to the wave. To my surprise it was 3ft overhead. I was hella scared, and hella cold.

Took me a while to realise that the UK has half the power of back home in australia. So a scary looking 3ft overhead, was really like a shoulder high home wave.

Still... took a long time to redo that mental conditioning, if ever.

Did the mission to croyde and saunton... and soon got very tired of the drive. Especially the 5 hour motorway jams in summer. Horrible! Oh how lucky I was back in little old Australia. Live and learn.

The surf culture in england was something astonishing and unexpected. Much more affluent than back home. I couldn't believe how tenacious UK surfers are. Most of them surfed with an ability about 1/10th of what they constantly, constantly spoke of. But, 100 points for their tenacity. Spending more time in the car than in the water ....eek.

I think I got my best UK surf at Gwithian, in Cornwall. Clean waves, blue water, with multiple turns and it felt like my old south NSW trips.

Hands down my all time favourite uk wave was Lynmouth, such a beautiful valley, with a cracking LH point break that works once a year .

After yearly xmas trips home I realised just how much, the (mostly) shitbag waves in UK, made me a much much better surfer. And also one who now appreciates were i grew up. I mean, I did before, but now on a different level.

Now on to a new adventure.

T

[BaNZ]

haha thanks for sharing. Definitely don't miss the surf spots in UK. I mean yeah it has some good days but the water is too cold and there are so much better surf spots in other parts of the world. These days wearing a 3/2mm is my limit, anything colder and I'm no longer interested.

Good luck in your search for french surf spots. Please keep us updated and hopefully it won't be another 10 years.