We just got back from one of our weekends away to Cornwall – there was 28 of us! A bigger crew than normal, I think due to the fact it was May bank holiday and the campsite we stay at hosted the Chill at the Mill festival. Frankly it was epic.

Our normal surf weekends don’t have festivals attached, but there is often live music, an almost essential element to a weekend of learning to master the surf.

Most of our guests that come away on these trips have either never done it before or are completely rubbish at it (I mean that in a nice way!). The majority of them are travelling solo and escaping the city for the weekend, because we leave after work on a Friday and come back Sunday evening, no ‘holiday days’ are required!

You don’t need to be a strong swimmer, but the better you can swim the more confident you’ll be in the water and the easier you will find it to progress. In the beginning you’ll spend most of your time in water that is just waist deep (and less) and learning the basics in the frothy whitewater is so much fun… swimming is hardly an issue.

We work with an awesome little surf school called KingSurf. They are a really laid-back fun group of instructors – striking the right balance between goofing around on the beach to giving great tips and pointers to get you standing up and ‘hanging 10’ in no time at all.

They provide all the kit; wetsuit, board, banter…

On the beach we get split into groups of about 10 people depending on ability and then spend 15 minutes or so going through the basics, the theory of ‘the pop’, the paddle, choosing a wave etc. For those who are a bit more experienced the lessons get a bit more technical. Then they’ll have us springing up and popping away, before warming up with possibly some cliff top stretches / yoga.

In the water the instructors work their way around the group giving each of us a little bit of individual attention and make sure we all are working on the next step – whether that be standing up, catching green waves or heading out back.

We go surfing once a month throughout the summer – the trips are a mix of surfing, relaxing, hiking, unwinding. Each time we go it’s different depending who comes along with us, but each time we have a blast.

Read more about our trips here and come join us real soon to get your fill of vitamin sea…