Do you need a wetsuit to surf in Cornwall?

The water temperature in Cornwall can reach up to 18-20°C, so a 3/2mm wetsuit will prevent you melting.



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Winter brings massive almost continuous swells from the North Atlantic, whilst spring and summer has smaller waves but much much better weather. The best times though can be split into two. September and October benefit from the water being still warm, and some early winter swells.

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Huge Atlantic swells and the infamous Cribbar, a reef off Towan Headland, can create waves in excess of 9 metres high. The beach can become quite crowded in the summer, but the surf is usually good year-round, so worth a trip at any time of year.

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Just to the east is the harbour town of Porthleven, which is where all of the storm-watchers and photographers go when huge winter storms send enormous waves crashing up over the clock tower.

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But when it comes to epic waves, there's only one place on earth known as the “surf capital of the world.” The epic beach we're talking about is Pichilemu. Pichilemu is located in the center of Chile, right by the coast. It is a rough three-hour drive from Chile's capital, Santiago, to Pichilemu.

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South Cornwall is less well known for its surfing conditions than the more exposed North coast. However, on its day it can produce some of the best waves in the UK. Surfing the south coast requires completely different weather conditions than those that light up the famous surfing beaches of North Cornwall.

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Cornwall Top 10 surfing beaches
  • Fistral Beach, Newquay. Perhaps the best known surfing beach in the UK, and consequently in summer perhaps the most crowded! ...
  • Gwithian Beach, near Hayle. ...
  • Perranporth Beach, Perranporth. ...
  • Polzeath Beach, Padstow. ...
  • Porthmeor Beach, St Ives. ...
  • Porthtowan Beach. ...
  • Praa Sands Beach, Helston. ...
  • Sennen Beach.


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Generally the water quality is good in Cornwall. After periods of high rainfall, seawater can become contaminated with farmland or urban runoff. There is also the risk of sewage overflows releasing raw, untreated human waste into the ocean.

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Newquay is the surf capital of Great Britain with Fistral and Towan beaches being some of the best surfing beaches you'll find in Cornwall. This is also the best place for beginners to take surf lessons in Cornwall as there are lots of great surf schools close by.

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Huntington Beach officially adopted the Surf City USA nickname in 1991.

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Huntington Beach officially adopted the Surf City USA nickname in 1991.

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According to surf historians, Huntington Beach was first surfed in 1907 by Hawaiian waterman and surfing pioneer George Freeth. Huntington Beach officially adopted the Surf City USA nickname in January 2008 after a long and tense trademark dispute between the Southern California city and Santa Cruz.

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Hannah continues: “The clarity and turquoise colour in west Cornwall compared to say the North Sea or Bristol Channel is also because of the heavy sand particles which sit on the seabed, and lack of sediment swirling around in the water column.”

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Fistral Beach, Newquay For many, it's not just the best beach to surf in Cornwall but the best in the UK – so you can expect it to be fairly busy. In the winter months, the Atlantic swells can get pretty big. Check out the Cribbar for one of the best big wave spots in the country.

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