South West Wales has some of the finest surfing opportunities in the UK, and the surfers to prove it. Former European surfing champions Carwyn Williams and Chris 'Guts' Griffiths are local boys, Tracy Boxall 7 times British woman’s champion can be seen catching the waves in the Gower. There's a host of hot young pros such as Nathan Phillips and Chris Griffiths own daughter is proving to be a chip of the old block in Welsh and National Championships. But you don't have to be as good as them to enjoy the waves of South West Wales.
Gower and Pembrokeshire have a fantastic range of surf breaks to suit everyone from beginner to expert. Beginners and intermediates are especially well catered for, with plenty of user-friendly beaches such as Llangennith, Newgale and Whitesands, which have consistent, small waves ideal for learning on or developing your technique.
Wakeboarding is a lot like snowboarding but with the added exhilaration of creating a big splash. Watch Orlando's spectacular attempts to master the sport while Aline gets her first taste of surfing with SurfGSD on Gower.
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South West Wales offers more experienced surfers the chance to test their skills. If you feel up to the challenge head for the Gower reefs or Freshwater West, which can have solid, powerful waves. And if you're prepared to explore, you can find at least one wave that 'Guts' Griffiths has compared to Pipeline in Hawaii and Carwyn Williams regards as being one of the best breaks in Europe, let alone the UK.
The great thing about surfing in South West Wales is that, whether you're a complete beginner or a salty old sea dog, there's no such thing as a 'bad' surf session. It's always worth paddling out, and South West Wales is amongst the best locations in the UK to paddle out from.
How & where
There are Visit Wales accredited surfing schools at many of South West Wales surf beaches, where fully qualified instructors will kit you out with wetsuits and state-of-the-art beginner's boards and have you up and surfing on your first day.
Surfing is a sport that anyone of any age can get into and enjoy, and unlike the old days there are almost as many women as men learning now. In fact some surf schools hold 'women only' courses. As long as you can swim with confidence, you'll enjoy surfing in South West Wales.
For more experienced surfers, get hold of a map of South West Wales, a surfing guide and a weather chart and you'll find a vast array of potential breaks to explore all the way along the Gower and Pembrokeshire coasts.
There's a whole range of surfing courses in South West Wales. Take a look at the operators listed on the right hand side to find lessons to suit you.
Top Tips
Surfing in UK locations can be a bit cold so plan your surfing trip to South West Wales during late summer and early autumn, - the waves tend to be more consistent then too.
The huge tidal ranges in South West Wales can affect the surf enormously, so make sure when you're surfing in Wales to check on when a particular beach 'works' at its best. It may be flat at some stages of the tide.
More info
For more details on where to surf in Wales take a look at the British Surfing Association website. The BBC has a dedicated surfing page (http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/sites/surfing/) for South West Wales where you can download and check out the latest tide reports, weather conditions and tips from local surfers of what hot right this minute