Surfing at Cayton Bay, North Yorkshire

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by
Tristan Bawn

Surfing on the North Yorkshire coast.

Living in the south west, the talk on surfing normally channels towards Devon, Cornwall and occasionally Wales, so I hadn’t ever heard about or considered surfing the North Yorkshire coastline. However, whilst staying on the Yorkshire coast I was told by the locals that I should give Cayton Bay a go. With the wetsuit I always leave in my car for such occasions ready to go, I headed down to the bay in search of a hire board and a few pointers.

I arrived at the bay about two hours before high tide as I had heard the reef appears at low tide, which might cause a few problems! Cayton Bay surf shop was hard to miss as apart from a few bungalows it was the only building there and was handily situated right next to the car park.

After a brief chat with the guys in the surf shop, I found myself heading down the steep sloping path to the beach with a 10’ Bic longboard. The beach itself is a mix of sand and pebbles and safe for beginners to have a go.

The surf was fairly small that day, but nice and clean and breaking both left and right in the centre of the beach. Further down the beach a nice hollow left hander was breaking across the reef.

Paddling out through the surf I spotted a seal having a look around, probably wondering what the hell I was doing in the sea!

There were some fairly constant sets coming in that day, allowing an easy paddle out and time to pick my wave. The waves were still fairly small but loads of fun and the breaks in sets allowed me to take in the stunning cliffs surrounding this bay!

Cayton Bay didn’t provide the biggest surf I have ever experienced, but it certainly was one of the most atmospheric places I have surfed. With storm clouds rolling over against the white cliffs the scene was perfect.

It turns out that North Yorkshire is a cool place to surf when conditions are right!

For all your best guides to surfing the North Yorkshire coast, check out the links below: