Surfers’ paradise
Forget California… it’s Scotland’s coastline that’s making waves
Serious surfers should head to the balmy waters of Australia or California, right? Wrong. A recent poll has rated Scottish waves among the best in the world. Just don’t forget the wetsuit
Words: Demi Taylor
SURFERS HAVE TRADITIONALLY been drawn to warm climes. Like a migratory instinct triggered when temperatures drop, Californians habitually seek refuge in weekend excursions to the desert coastline of Baja, Europeans plan trips to the sun-baked point breaks of Morocco and Australians abandon the chill of Bells Beach for the balmy waters of Indonesia’s world-class reefs. Over the last few years, however, a new route has been laid. Those who pioneered the search for the “perfect ride” are seeking out new destinations, away from the crowds. For those in the know, Scotland is the new surfers’ paradise.
But surfing in Scotland is no new fad. When this exciting lifestyle exploded onto the California psyche in the 1960s, surfing (or waveriding) found converts visiting from all corners of the globe, including the UK, who happily exported this free and easy existence back home to their native lands. As a result, isolated pockets of hardy Scottish surfers have existed since the late 1960s, even if the local residents found their existence hard to fathom. According to former Scottish national surf team member Chris Gregory: “You’d be coming out of the water having enjoyed perfect 6ft barrels [the tunnel caused by a rising wave] and you’d meet someone on the beach who’d say: ‘You’re not surfing are you? There’s no surf around here.’ It used to drive me mad!”
The late 1990s saw a global boom in the popularity of surfing, bolstered in no small way by the massive influx of women into the sport. This coincided with a revolution in wetsuit design, resulting in warmer, more flexible suits. In the UK at least, this means that the cold is no longer a barrier to where and when surfers can hit the waves. Surfing is more popular than ever and, according to figures from the British Surfing Association, the number of British waveriders is currently over the 250,000 mark.
What is it that draws increasing numbers of surfers north of the border? “There’s the amazing scenery, the pristine beaches and the clean, clear waters,” says Mark Lumsden, owner of Lewis Surf Trek, a company specialising in surf tours around the Outer Hebrides. Scotland and her islands are one of the few places left in the UK where you can walk across a vast empty beach devoid of any human footprints. Seals play in the seaweed-rich water’s edge, while dolphins and porpoises swim just out beyond the surf line. “You can get away from the crowds of Devon and Cornwall,” continues Lumsden. “Plus the Gulf Stream means that the water is actually quite mild during the summer and autumn.” Chris Nelson, co-author of Surfing the World and an authority on surfing in the British Isles, rates Scottish waves among the best on offer anywhere. “We canvassed surfers, magazine editors and professionals from across the globe to compile a list of the top 80 waves in the world and Thurso East in Caithness ranked up there with elite breaks from Hawaii, Australia and Indonesia.”
BUT SCOTLAND ISN’T just the preserve of hardy locals. It’s also a great place to take your first steps on a board. There are plenty of sheltered beginner-friendly beaches plus the lack of crowds means there aren’t people fighting over every wave. “Surf schools and camps can guide budding surfers through those first few lessons, when even getting out into the white water can seem a daunting experience,” says Lumsden. “Scotland offers consistent surf in a beautiful setting – what more could you want?”
So where are the best places to test the waters for yourself? Just a 30-minute drive from the hustle and bustle of Edinburgh’s hip shopping district lies the cool, calm of Scotland’s east coast and the North Sea breaks of Belhaven and Pease Bay. “These open sandy beaches provide excellent conditions for beginners and improvers,” says Sam Christopherson of Coast to Coast surf school, based in nearby Dunbar. For those coming from Glasgow, the roads west lead to the beautiful peninsular of Kintyre where the mellow waves of Machrihanish await.
Those who have mastered the basics soon find themselves drawn to the more challenging surf further north. The area around Aberdeen is home to some of the UK’s most hardy surfers. Without the precious warmth from the remnants of the Gulf Stream enjoyed by the west and north coasts, winter water temperatures here can dip as low as 4°C, while summer water temperatures hover around a more respectable 10°C. North of the River Dee, on Aberdeen’s three-mile stretch of beach, local surfers enjoy the consistent surf in conditions that range from balmy sunshine through to driving snow
showers. Further up the coast there waits a more challenging series of point and reef break where experience is essential.
While Hawaii has the famous North Shore, Inverness is the gateway to Scotland’s very own “Norse Shore”. The pristine beaches of Sutherland and the reef breaks of Caithness are a surfer’s dream, the crowning glory of which is Thurso East. At the mouth of Thor’s River, peaty, brown water breaks over a flat, slabstone reef to produce huge, hollow right-hand waves that draw expert surfers from across the globe. From autumn through to spring, this stretch of coastline is bombarded by powerful Atlantic swells but if grinding reefs sound a little daunting, there are an abundance of quiet, dune-backed beaches nearby.
The sheltered bay at Thurso has seen many travellers come and go over the centuries, from the marauding Vikings’ longboats to the ferries that are a lifeline to nearby Orkney and Shetland. From 24 April to 1 May, the beach below the weathered battlements of Thurso Castle will ring out with a rainbow of accents as elite surfers of all nations congregate to compete for a prize purse of $125,000. The O’Neill Highland Pro is a highlight on surfing’s world tour, the lucrative equivalent of motor racing’s Grand Prix circuit. But what attracted O’Neill to this quiet highland town? “This event tests riders in the true cold harsh conditions of surfing – showing the sport as it really is for many surfers,” says Keeley Wilkie-Smith, Marketing Manager of O’Neill UK. South Africans, Hawaiians, Australians and Tahitians, as well as a sprinkling of Brits, will revel in the stunning backdrop and the pristine waters, but secretly bless the wonders of modern wetsuit technology that now allows them to enjoy these pleasures without the pain. And if the cold does creep in, it’s nothing that a little drop of whisky won’t cure!
Demi Taylor is co-author of the Footprint Surf Series, available from www.footprintbooks.com
READER OFFER
We have five copies of Demi Taylor and Chris Nelson’s Surfing Britain to give away. For a chance to win a copy, email your name, address and daytime telephone number to voyagercomp@ink-publishing.com by 30 April*.
SURFING THE CELTIC FRINGE
OUR PICK OF THE BEST BSA-QUALIFIED SURF SCHOOLS IN SCOTLAND
GETTING WET
If you want to find your feet in surfing, the best and safest way to get started is with lessons from a BSA-qualified surf instructor. Here are a few of the best Scottish surf schools to check out:
– Coast to Coast Surf School is based in Dunbar, close to Edinburgh. It offers year-round beginners and improvers lessons and guided tours for advanced surfers, all a 30-minute drive from Edinburgh.
+44 (0)7971 990361; www.c2cadventure.com
– Lewis Surf Trek is based on the Outer Hebrides and offers beginner instruction plus guided trips across the islands for the more experienced rider, all a 50-minute drive from Inverness to the ferry at Ullapool.
+44 (0)7939 194880; www.lewissurftrek.com
– Instructors from the Granite Reef Surf School can be found helping new converts in the cool waters around Aberdeen.
+44 (0)1224 252752; www.granitereef.com
– The Thurso Surf School runs lessons for beginners among some of the many sheltered beaches found nestling on the north shore. It also offers guidance for improvers.
+44 (0)1847 831866; www.thursosurf.com
– Clan Surf School run trips from Glasgow to both the east and west coasts as well as lessons for beginners and improvers.
+44 (0)141 3396523 www.clanskates.co.uk
