Welcome to our top Cornwall surf beaches article. Cornwall has some of the best beaches, coves, bays, coast paths and fishing villages to be found in the UK. Atlantic rollers hit the north Cornwall coast and in turn provide good reliable surf even in good weather. Cornwall beaches provide conditions for all levels of experience from bodyboarders to surfers looking to start out or the top pro surfers.
Here we are going to scan over some (definitely not all) of the top beaches for surfing in Cornwall.
Bude
Bude is a popular surfing town due to a selection of beaches that provide surf for all levels, from beginner to advanced and in all weathers.
Summerleaze – this is the town beach of Bude and a breakwater provides some shelter. This is the main family beach and many surf schools provide good beginner courses making this ideal for families who want to give surfing a go.
Crooklets Beach – a smaller west-facing beach to the north of the main town beach and home to the Bude Surf Life Saving Club. Tends to have some larger swells than Summerleaze.
Widemouth Bay
Some 4 miles to the south of Bude this is a long family beach that provides surfing for all levels and due to gently shelving beaches provides great conditions for beginners and bodyboarders. Also as it is so big you should always find space on the waves, although do be careful of the rocks in the middle of the beach.
Newquay
Newquay showcases the beauty of Cornwall in that you have multiple beaches that offer excellent surf conditions for all levels. The most well known is Fistral Beach that can be very busy when the surf is good providing conditions for all abilities as you have varying wave heights at different points.
The other worth a specific call-out is Watergate Bay that sits to the North of Newquay but is a 2-mile sandy beach providing excellent surfing for all levels. Due to the size, Watergate Bay is also popular with Kitesurfers.
Polzeath
This West facing beach within Hayle Bay can get very busy and is a great location for all abilities as everything sits around the seafront. This is one of the UK, if not Worlds most renowned surfing locations and no trip to Cornwall should miss out on a trip to Polzeath.
St Ives
St Ives is a town that provides a selection of beaches all with slightly different aspects and conditions. This means in the rough winter months you don’t have to travel far to find perfect conditions. The two main ones to mention are:
Porthmeor Beach – Can be more sheltered than the other beaches so when the conditions are too big at other beaches head to this one. In the summer one of the best family beaches where you can learn the basics.
Gwithian and Godrevy Beach – A more exposed beach and is also popular with kitesurfers and windsurfers. In the summer this is a great beach to learn but if the conditions get bigger then beginners head south to the other St Ives beaches and this becomes a great intermediate/advanced beach.
Sennen Cove
This beach is just to the East of Lands End as is the furthest south where you will get the Atlantic rollers. A long sandy beach with rock pools makes this ideal for families and surfers.
This has some of the most consistent surfing conditions in the UK and a spot that should never disappoint you. Beginners tend to head to the south of the bay where the breakwater and headland provide some protection and the more experienced head further north to catch the main unbroken waves.
Perranporth
You have nearly 3 miles of sand at Perranporth and this makes it a very popular family beach. On good weather days in the summer it can be hard to surf as areas are restricted making it very busy. Good conditions for beginners and intermediates.