Watergate Bay is on the Atlantic Coast between Newquay and Padstow.

If coming from the North on the A30 take the second right off the A30 after the Victoria Inn onto the A3059 signposted St Mawgan, St Columb and Newquay Airport. When you reach the roundabout (A39 junction) carry straight on, following signs to Newquay and the Airport. Take the second right to the Airport.   Continue until you reach a T Junction, take a left and follow it  down to Watergate bay.

It is 2 Miles from Newquay Airport and has regular flights daily from most parts of the Uk: London, Leeds/ Bradford, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Teeside and Dublin.

 
Perranporth and Penhale

Over two miles long and a quarter of a mile wide at low tide, is one of Cornwall's finest expansive beaches. It has sand dunes at the top and with acres of flat sand, it makes it an ideal and safe place to learn. With a Pub on the beach as well what else do you need!

As it is very exposed, it allows you to kitesurf on a SW, W, NW and N. There are two ends you can park, the main sea front car park in Perranporth or the Perran Sands car park at the back of the campsite, just outside the town, on top of the hill on the Newquay Rd. There are no facilities at the Perran Sands end but as there are sand dunes at the top and not cliffs, it means that you can often get a bit more time on the water before the tide comes in and it is much quieter in the summer. Although the hike back up the dunes is a bit of a killer with all your kit, it is still worth it! At the town end there are restricted zones marked on the lifeguard signs. These restrictions are in place all year round so even if the beach is dead please stay in the right area.

Hayle - the Bluff

Located in St Ives bay and like Daymer bay is another river estuary providing flat shallow water as well as some swell where the water deepens. This is regarded by some people as the best place to kitesurf in Cornwall, but you can only go there when the wind is N, NW or NE.  Again, as with all river mouths, there are strong currents so keep in the shallows where you can stand up to launch your kite and retrieve your board.  Often boards are lost here, so a retractable leash is advisable as well as being courteous by helping pick up run-a-ways.  The river changes course and depths frequently as the sand banks relocate so keep in the water where your fins don’t bottom-out or you will be eating sand!  You will see a line of telegraph posts down the other side that marks a boats passageway and no kitesurfing is permitted in this channel when the water is above knee depth or boats are present.   Once the tide fills all the lagoons the water also becomes choppier as it is no longer sheltered by sand, it is then time to pack up and go for a pint in the bluff inn (where you get your car park money back if you produce your ticket when you buy a drink).

Tide:		never go 2 hours either side of high tide
Hazards:		strong current in river, passing boats and a few telegraph posts!
Wind direction:		NE, N, and NW (not good on W so please don’t go there then!)
Restrictions:		no kitesurfing in the river when boats are present, even if in the distance (fishermen make complaints and this is jeopardising the future of kitesurfing at Hayle)
Getting there:		Use this link to take you straight to multimap

 

Home to the historic island of St Michael’s Mount, making it a nice backdrop for pictures.  You will pull up right next to a small wall that separates the beach from the tarmac – obviously concrete being at the top of the beach has dangerous consequences as well as the positives of not having to walk to far.  Always pick the clearest area to pump-up, and you may want to wear booties when walking down over the coarse sand to where the beach levels out.  Swell tends to be smaller here than on the North coast but the S, SW or SE winds can still generate messy breaks for you to contend with.  Mobius tend to teach their students a little way down the beach towards Marazion but recreational kitesurfers stay well out in front of the seawall.  Further up the beach towards Penzance is an outlet pipe and also Longrock beach.  Some kitesurfers will head over there for flatter conditions but there is the odd small rock and thick kelp so local knowledge should be sought.  Getting the tide right here is the most important factor as once the waves hit the steeper bank it creates a lovely shore break that destroys kites!  If you are unlucky and do not find a free parking space along the wall then there is a pay and display car park that has a pub, toilets and a café where you can buy tasty panninis!

Tide:		never go 2 hours plus either side of high-tide or when the water is on the steep bank
Hazards:		road and seawall at the top of beach, coarse sand so booties recommended and big shore dump if good swell and near high tide!
Wind direction:		SE, S, and SW
Restrictions:		restrictions coming into place to stop people kiting above Red River near the town end of Marazion and to prevent any kiting activity near to the road and sea wall.
Getting there:		Use this link to take you straight to multimap