North Coast

Bude | Newquay | Gwithian

Crackington Haven: This needs a big swell to work but when it does, can be classic. It gives rocky lefts and rights at low to mid tide and is sheltered from N. winds. There's usually a good rip on the left hand side as you look out to sea. The bay is pretty thin and there are numerous rocks scattered around the beach - you can get a good idea where they are if you go down at low tide and then surf it at mid to high tide.

Trebarwith Strand: Average beach break which gives right handers at low to mid tide but is rocky at high. Needs a NE-SE wind and works with 2-3ft swell.

Polzeath: The bay has some excellent waves when the banks are good. Holds a big swell but watch out for bad rip currents on big days. SE winds are offshore and it is sheltered at higher stages of tide.

Daymer Bay: Is tucked in the mouth of the Camel Estuary and on a big swell produces a long walling right hander when sand bars are good. Best when 5-8ft with winds from N-SE. Popular with windsurfers.

Harlyn Bay: When big swells move up the North coast and the wind is SW check out Harlyn. A fast right breaks off the rocks on the north end of the beach at high to mid tide. Best at 6- 8ft.

Boobies Bay: Positioned at the N end of Constantine it picks up large amount of swell and can produce a powerful, hollow right hander at low tide which start to back off two hours after low. SE winds are best.

Constantine Bay: Constantine has several small reefs which can produce great waves when conditions are good.

Treyarnon: This is a very small, rocky cove with wicked currents and hardly ever rideable wave.

Porthcothan: Small sandy cove which rarely gets a rideable wave. May be worth a quick look when passing by at high tide during big swells because the coast road almost crosses the beach.

Holywell Bay: Good to average beach break, sand banks shift around frequently. Wreck in middle of beach usually produces a good wave at low tide. northern end of beach is sheltered from N winds. Good when 3-4ft and SE wind.

Perranporth Bay: 3 miles of good quality beach breaks. At the southern end Droskyn point gives a good left working best at 4-8ft. Just take your pick of the banks which work from low to high tide. Penhale corner can be very good on occasions at low tide. SE winds are best for the main beach, but Penhale is also sheltered from northerly winds. No surf here means the rest are flat.

St. Agnes or Trevaunance Cove: Sheltered from southerly winds, good from low to 3/4 high tide. Good right hand break over rocks, hollow at low tide. Works on any wind from E to SW best at 3-8ft. Needs a good size swell to pick up a wave.

Chapel Porth: Quality beach break, SE winds are offshore and low to half tide is best. Banks may shift from time to time but usually produce fast hollow waves. Old ships boiler on left hand side of beach gives a good wave.

Porthtowan: Variable quality beach break depending on sand banks. Picks up plenty of swell but requires easterly winds to work. Surf usually drops off when tide reaches high tide bank.

Portreath: The harbour wall at Portreath produces the best wave. A nice shaped pitching wave that breaks down the side of the harbour wall at half to full tide. Beach break tends to be fast and snappy working on any wind from S to NE.

Godrevy: Picks up a fair amount of swell but as a quick check look seaward towards the lighthouse where any swell will be indicated by waves crashing over Godrevy reef. Good, peaky lefts and rights can be had but look out for strong rips especially around the Red River. A SE wind is offshore here.

Carbis Bay: A very sheltered bay in St. Ives needs a big swell from the North to work. It's an average quality beach break but rarely gets a wave. SW is offshore.

St. Ives Harbour Wall: A quality left hander breaks here at low tide over rocks behind the harbour wall. It needs a large swell from a NW direction to work, but even then it never gets very big. A S-SE wind is offshore and when the rest of the North Coast is massive and blown out the breakwater will have a wave.

Porthmeor: Good quality beach break which is sheltered from the prevailing SW winds. It picks up a reasonable amount of swell and can give a good right hander at the N. end of the beach. Half tide can get really hollow close to the rocks, but take care. Waves tend to close out over 6ft but when the swell is big it will still work at high tide.

Foxhole: Situated at the Southern end of Porthmeor beach this is a left hander which breaks only at low tide. Dependent on conditions it can produce a long walling left which is best at 4-6ft with a S-SW wind. Paddle around from Porthmeor or take the coastal foot path. It will be a couple of feet smaller than Porthmeor and so requires a big swell to produce a quality wave.

Sennen Bay: Sunny Corner is situated at the Northern end of this horseshoe shaped bay and tends to pick up a majority of the swell. A good right hander breaks in front of rocks and shifting sand banks can produce quality surf. When Fistral, Perranporth and Watergate are 10ft, Sunny Corner will be 2-3ft bigger! Turn off the A30 for Escals and continue to the end of the road to Peace and Plenty, where there is a cheap car park (and free parking) with views over the whole bay. S-SE winds are best along with a SW swell. Watch out for strong rip currents on big days.

Sennen Beach: As the bay sweeps around to the village it becomes more sheltered from the swell. On big SW swells, the beach break at Sennen can be very rewarding. 4 hrs. either side of low tide with a SW-SE wind is best. Gets busy in mid summer.

Portwrinkle: A rocky little cove which occasionally produces a half decent wave. It needs the same wind, tide and swell conditions as Whitsands to work.

South Coast

Newlyn Harbour Wall: Needs a big southerly swell to wrap in around and break along the harbour wall. Only breaks a few times a year and very rarely in the summer months. W'rly wind is best.

Penzance Harbour Wall: Needs the same swell as Harlyn to give a right hander which breaks along the wall. Can produce a good quality wave with a W-SW wind.

Marazion:A popular beach with windsurfers with the prevailing SW wind being cross to offshore. Gives fast snappy waves which break in various areas of the beach due to scattered rock formations.

Perranuthanoe: Good quality waves are produced on sand banks which tend to be consistent from season to season. Picks up swells from N & S. with the point on the southern end of the beach giving a consistent right which holds up to 8ft A N wind is best.

Prussia Cove: A very scenic bay which can only be accessed by a 400m walk from the National Trust car park. Works best at low tide with a big swell to give fast, snappy waves. Anything over 4ft tends to close out.

Praa Sands: The most popular beach break on the South coast which can give fast quality waves. A small reef at the southern end produces good right handers at times. A N wind is offshore and it gets very dumpy at high tide.

Porthleven: The most popular reef break in Cornwall which gets very crowded except when over 8ft. A fast tubing right hander and a sucking top to bottom left. Mid to high tide is best because low tide gets very shallow and can leave you without a seat in your pants. There have been some very nasty accidents here due to people dropping in, so don't! A NW wind is best and with a southerly swell it produces top quality waves.

Poldu: A sandy cove which gives an average wave at 2-5ft but closes out when bigger.

Gunwalloe:Church Cove is an average quality beach break which works best with an E-NW wind. High tide produces a heavy shore dump.

Lizard Peninsular: There are no notable surf spots in this area, but Kynance Cove which is owned by the National Trust has been known to produce left hand wave at low tide, with a N-NE wind. Well worth a trip to take in the breathtaking scenery.

Kennack Sands: Excellent south coast surf spot which needs plenty of swell to wrap around the Lizard peninsula. The beach is split into two by a rocky outcrop which gives a fast right hand beach break on one side and a quality left breaking over rocks on the other. The rock break can get very good with the right conditions. A W-NW wind is best and can work at all states of tide.

Falmouth: These beaches need a rare NE swell to give any waves. Maenporth can be surfable in the winter months when swells roll down the Channel. There is a reef between Gyllynguase and the main beach which will sometimes work on a SW'ly.

Pentewan: An inconsistent beach break which like all of the breaks in this area, usually only works during the winter months. Any westerly wind will do and from low to mid tide it has been known to be excellent.

Looe: This beach requires a huge swell to work, but it can produce a fair quality wave when conditions are right. It is a beach break which is best when 4ft. at mid tide to low tide. Left handers break off the rocks and a right can be caught off the pier with a SW wind being offshore.

Seaton: Unreliable beach break which is steeply shelving and dumps at high tide. A last resort wave which is offshore on a N-E wind.

Whitsands: An average quality beach break which is surfable at any state of the tide except high and could be described as a good learner wave. It picks up plenty of swell but tends to close- out over 5ft. The wind is offshore on anything from N-E.

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