Surfing Waves

So, planning a trip down to the brighton area this summer to visit family. Hoping to get some surf in while i'm there. Scored some wheels so i can travel a little. Never surfed down there before - i'll be taking my 7'2 mini mal....anyone know of any nice little beach breaks?? Looking for something mellow, easy to paddle out, not overcrowded etc etc (dreaming!??!)

Brighton in summer? Almost no chance of a wave.

The south east only works with any hint of consistency in deepest darkest winter. And as for beach breaks? Forget it. Or at least forget a nice sandy beach break - pebbles and groynes is pretty much all you'll find.

Mini-mal is, at least, the right choice

Can't think why you moved to Australia Matt

Ok ok....pebbles and groynes i'll settle for. Seriously, if pushed i'll settle for anywhere. Is there really nothing!!?? Nowhere further west??

we've actually got waves at the moment! about 2ft, if your looking for a mellow beach break then the witterings will work for you, not great but worth a shot if there's a strong s'westerly same as the hot pipes and new beach in hove/shoreham, check forecasts on www.filf.co.uk www.sharkbait.co.uk and www.mellowwave.co.uk hope this helps

ChasingDaylight wrote:Ok ok....pebbles and groynes i'll settle for. Seriously, if pushed i'll settle for anywhere. Is there really nothing!!?? Nowhere further west??

As ^^^^ said, the witterings.
Its the first spot with a 'proper' sandy beach break (still got groynes and pebbles though...) at low tide.

There are spots all along the brighton coast, but they so rarely work in summer its hardly worth the effort of typing them in
A lot of them are secret spots and/or have a ridiculously sensitive local crew so best to stick to the ovbvious spots.

So that'll be...
Shoreham, Wittering, Bournemouth.

Wittering/Bracklesham is probably your best bet - it picks up more swell than the brighton breaks, but doesnt involve. the long drive to bournemouth.

The main beach break at Wittering is unsurfable at high tide (damn those pebbles and groynes) so stick to the low, incoming tide for your best chance of a wave.


I cant believe Im still singing Wittering's virtues

just got back from the south coast woop woop

I'm going to Brighton for a couple of weeks next August, wondering if I can be arsed to lug a board half way round the world on the off chance of a wave somewhere. Probably won't bother, but it would be nice to go for a surf in brown water.

plenty of spots in the brighton/hove area. its always crowded in the water when there are waves though. The main spots are usually pretty sheltered as the majority of the swell is just wind blown slop.
as for spots in the brighton area-
(from esat to west)

The marina- fast wave breaking over a chalk reef. always busy when there is swell, bit of a hassle to get to.
Wedge- breaks off of the 'doughnut' by the pier. good for sponging in a storm and having chavs throw rocks at you.
West Pier- Decent beachie on a low tide and clean swell.
various groynes and that along the seafront can be surfable at low to mid. At hightide it is a shoredump, good for boogers though.
Hotpipes- shoreham power station (access from hove) a water outlet from the industrial yard. High tide the wave breaks directly over it and is fast and very shallow. Low to mid is best, with a decent wave breaking to the right of the pipe (looking out to sea) and the left side offering a bit of shelter.
Further on is shoreham harbour- decent sheltered rocky peak between the harbour and hotpipe. In the harbour itself is hollows (inside the eastern arm) and soldiers (in the main harbour, off of the western wall), both a good longboarding wave and offer lots of shelter at low tide. the drop to sea level off of the harbour wall is pretty good at low tide too!

further on is worthing, littlehampton and the witterings, i know sod all about these, never got that far! there is a large longboard crew in the brighton and hove area so pretty much all the waves are mushy and sloppy, perfect for a mal- just maybe not at high tide.

Feel free to contribute some local knowledge:
https://surfing-waves.com/atlas/europe/england.html