Gwithian

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Gwithian-00h

Gwithian / Godrevy:

This place is a real funpark. The wide bay is embedded in a beautiful landscape with green rolling hills, some cliffs and the mouth of the river Hayle. Tourist magnet St. Ives lies at the south end of the large bay.

The bay´s a multi outdoor activities arena. Beeing a swell magnet it´s first of all a playground for all wave-loving creatures. You can surf, windsurf, kite, kayak and whatever else you use for riding those liquid mountains. And in the rare case, when the ocean has to offer nothing at all, you can ride your mountainbike on really nice trails arround the bay.

Access to the beach is easy. Depending on wind and wave conditions you can choose from Hayle´s towan beaches, Gwithian and Godrevy, all of them having decent parking lots. Gwithian has the Sunset Surf Cafe as goodie, where you can take breakfast, sip an afternoon tea, check the newest weather forecasts via internet or buy some stuff in the surf shop.

At low tide you reach the waves over a wide sand beach. At high tide the bays get separated by the cliffs and there are a couple of smaller beaches left, again with sand bottom.

For the next pub head to Hayle or St. Ives.

Surfing: There´s a couple of spots, mostly beachbreaks. When it gets crowded in summer there is still the option to move a bit and find a less populated peak. Best swell direktion is southwest to west. Waves can get pretty big in winter but rarely get brutal. Works on all tides depending on which peak you choose. Wind should come from southerly or easterly directions. The locals are very cool and relaxed. Do your best to keep it like that!

Windsurfing: With winds from south to southwest and northwest to west you´ll find classic wavesailing conditions. With one of the numerous passing lows in the main season from October to May it´ll start with sideshore conditions and the wind coming from your left side. Then follows a day with onshore conditions which might be side-on at the south side of the bay. It ends again with sideshore conditions, this time from the right and if you are really lucky there is waves left when the wind turns north to northeast and comes sideoffshore. Depending on the season you´ll find fun to hardcore wavesailing conditions. In summertime you might come and do a little bit of cruisin´ in the bay.

Kiteboarding: Especialy at low tide there is plenty of room for starting your kite. Summertime has the best options as winds are lighter and there kicks in a sea breaze in the afternoon that is strong enough for a fun session when the winds have otherwise been too weak during the day.

Bike: there is a lot of small roads and trails throug beautifull scenery around the bay. It´s not high but a constant up and down and if you go far enough you might find a secluded beach with good waves.

Check the galleries for more images  (2017-04, 2014, 2012, 2008, 2006-2008, 1999)

Related stories: 5 Friends, Fall, Cornish Tales

local forecast:

usefull things and helpfull links:

local surf information, webcams, pics, videos at:

sunset surf shop

supertubes surf shop

Gwithian Lines

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