Torrington Surfers
Native surfers have access to some of the best surf beaches in the country. Just 25 miles north of the town, the awsome breaks of Croyde Bay offer world class surfing for the seriously deranged.
Woolacombe Bay offers more quality beachbreak waves than Croyde, but doesn't have the biggies thay you get down there on the most rugged stretch of the Atlantic coast.
Just south of Croyde at Saunton Sands the longboarders play in lovely lazy slow breakers.
Closest to Torrington, just by the Torridge Estuary, lies Westward Ho!, the only village in the country with an exclaimation mark in its name. Because the gentle gradient of the beach , Westward Ho! is naturally ideal for beginners and longboard riders who can enjoy runs that seem to last forever. There are a bunch of rock outcrops at the sourthern end offering harder faster surfing waves when the offshore easterlies blow. Westward Ho! is perfect for beginners because the fewer numbers of surfers mean that you can fall off your board and generally looking pretty stupid without the needless added pressure of surf gods carving it up and stealing your waves from underneath you.
When the wind runs from the north, short choppy 2 footers are thrown up. Whatever the weather, head for Northam car park (about a mile north of Westward Ho!) which is cheaper and far bigger than the Westward Ho! town car park.
The beach goes out a long way at low tide so unless you want a long walk to the surf, check the tide tables. Also, beware of landboarding and kite buggying types who have been known to take out an unwary surfer heading back to the veedub.
A complete surfing infrastructure supports the sport with equipment shops, instructors, surf reports, surfing holidays and clubs all readily available. Brands such as Body Glove, Animal, Quicksilver, Reef, and Billabong are all available in local surf shops, along with smaller and sometimes more interesting brands.
Woolacome and Croyde seem to have the best prices for wetsuits, anything from a 3 mm shortie to full 9 mill winter wetsuit. If you are looking for boards, then we reckon Croyde has the edge. Longboards, shortboards, Mini Mals, skimboards, spare fins, deck grips, wax, leashes and so on are all available, plus there are a number of good guys and girls who will either sell you some epoxy, or fix a board good as new for a good price.
Torrington is a good base for exploring beaches both north and south of Barnstaple. A new bypass around Barnstaple town centre will speed up journeys to the north Devon beaches from later summer 2006.
