Hello everyone,

Off to Newquay for the next week and looking for somewhere different to surf. I always seem to end up in the bay and I'm getting tired of short rides ending in closeouts.

Looking on the web and talking to friends I see that Perranporth is supposed to be better. I also read that Crantock can be good as it is sheltered and fairly mellow.

Has anyone out there surfed/ bodyboarded either of these beaches and able to offer some advice? Any other break suggestions in that area also welcome!

Cheers

I'd try Perranporth. The few times I've been there on holiday, in the summer months, there were decent waves, even if there was next to nothing elsewhere like Hayle or Gwithian.

Also try St Agnes, Chapel Porth the National trust car park. When the tide drops this can be an awesome spot. Now wonder Surfers Against Sewage are based nearby. Also try the ice cream from the take away, (they call it a Hegehog, I think?) covered in clotted cream and hazelnuts !!! Don't eat one before going in though...

Theres absolutely loads of places to try. In Newquay itself there is Fistral, Town Beach, Tolcarne, Great Western and Lusty Glaze.

I've only ever surfed Fistral a few times, but had Great Western absolutely firing every morning for a week whilst I was staying in the Great Western Hotel on a geology field trip!!

Watergate Bay just to the North is good too. It gets a little busy but is big enough to handle the crowds. It does get pretty difficult to paddle out once it gets to 6ft or so though, but I had a memorable session there once where it started off at about 3 foot and just kept building to about 8-10 foot. As I was already out the back, it was OK and Me and a few others pretty much had the waves to ourselves.

Theres also Crantock of course, and Perranporth. Perranporth does catch quite a bit of swell, and can be nice. I pulled into my first ever barrel here, so it has a special memory for me. The bacon buns from the cafe on the beach were nice too. I always used to park in the little car park on top of the cliffs at the southern end of the beach and then climb down the steep cliff path to the beach.

Basically, just get your mao out and the Stormrider Guide, drive along the coast road and surf all the beaches!! If theres a swell then almost all of them will be working anyway.

Hope you have a good time... we'll be expecting a high stoke factor for you in the diaries next week!!

Al.