HAYLING ISLAND FORECAST

Gwithian Gallery

Gwithian is one of North Cornwall's most consistent and versatile beaches. It's a popular venue for windsurfing and surfing and manages to catch the lion's share of swell. As the gallery suggests, things can get a little out of control when the swell gets too big but it is also a great place for small to mid-size wave riding and handles that far better.

The beach faces NW, and provides great down the line conditions in S-SW and NE winds. You can get reasonably long empty rides and punchy sections. The water here is beautifully clear too and the whole experience priovides a memorable day.

Windsurfing is probably preferable at low tide on the push, where the wind has a clear path across the beach and you can windsurf anywhere along the sandy bay. The versatility of this beach is partly what has attracted the UKWA national wave sailing championships down here repeatedly in the past.

Features

If the wind has too much west in it to be sufficiently cross shore, it may well be worth heading west to the Bluff to get more side shore conditions.

An alternative to SW port tack here is SW starboard tack at Marazion, which will also provide much more shelter in W swells if Gwithian is looking like too much to handle.

Considerations

A few things to bear in mind when getting out on the water here.... It is a good idea to be very careful walking down the goat track to the beach or avoid it altogether by walking the long way round. The goat track is steep and the wind is gusty – be warned!

As the tide pulls in, always keep an eye on the rocks near the cliff to check you aren't going to end of making an aerial in to a rock pool.

Google Map of the location