Cornwall, United Kingdom
Fistral Beach
Also known as Fistral, Newquay, Fistral North, The Cribbar
Intermediate
Beach break
Sand bottom
Peels both
0.6–3.5 m
Mid tide
Britain's best-known surf beach: a west-facing crescent of sand backed by the headland, picking up Atlantic swell and producing punchy, contest-worthy beach break peaks along its length. It is the venue for the Boardmasters WSL qualifier and the centre of UK surfing. On a big day the offshore reef, the Cribbar, breaks a long paddle out and is a tow-in wave for experts only.
Hazards
RipCrowdsStrong CurrentCold Water
Conditions
- Best swell
- W, WNW, SW
- Best wind
- E, SE, NE
- Season
- Sep, Oct, Nov, Mar, Apr, May
- Wave size
- 0.6–3.5 m
- Wave quality
- Consistency
- Crowd
- Coordinates
- 50.4160, -5.0990
Facilities
ParkingToiletsShowersSurf SchoolBoard RentalCafeLifeguard
Getting there
Large car park at the South Fistral headland (Surf Centre) and another at North Fistral. Lifeguarded in season; swim between the flags.