Fistral Beach

Fistral faces west-north-west into the Atlantic on the seaward side of Newquay’s Pentire peninsula, a broad sweep of sand framed by Towan Head to the north and Pentire Point East to the south. Those two headlands, together with the offshore reef known as the Cribbar, help funnel and shape the swell, which is much of why the beach is so reliably good for surf.

It was here, from the 1960s onwards, that British surf culture took root, and Newquay grew into the unofficial capital of the sport. That heritage is still woven through the beach: it has hosted national and international competitions for decades, and the big summer festival now staged on and around the sand has become one of the highlights of the British surfing calendar. The dunes and the headland give the bay a natural amphitheatre feel that suits a crowd as well as a quiet morning paddle.