Go to Newquay and discover surfing

Newquay, Cornwall, England South West

Recommendation added: 21/01/2006 21:14
By: lynsey (YSUK rating +54)

lynsey has been thanked 2 times for this contribution

"Being a local to Newquay I decided to be a good friend and invite my friend from London down to experience some of the local culture and to escape the big smoke.
The North Cornish Coast is now just one hour and a bargain fare of as little as £19 away from Stansted Airport and other London airports so it wasn't much of an effort for him to make his way down to sunny Newquay.
My friend had never been to Newquay before and I was amused to see his initial reaction, I mean where else in Britain do you find a surf shack every few yards, amusement arcades rubbing shoulders with body-piercing booths, bronzing parlours, boutiques that sell toe rings, diamante bikini chains, Hawaiian shirts and fluorescent Bermudas? And where else can you buy larger and lime rock and pasties filled with anything you can imagine?
Newquay is the place where you can dial Surfcall for a daily forecast, with suggested surf spots and wind conditions while you are tucking into a clotted-cream tea or your morning fry up at the many surfer orientated cafes.
Newquay has 11 brilliant sandy beaches which had made the resort into surfers' heaven, and even in all weather conditions you will find surfers in the water.
My friend hired a soft foam surfboard and a wetsuit and I took him out for a beginners guide in surfing, five minuets later he was face down in the surf, shiny, bloated looking like a beach whale… fond memories.
After a surf session I treated him to a walk down the main street which is full of young-at-heart munching pasties and saffron buns and getting themselves black henna tattoos (£5, washes off after two weeks).
That night we ventured to a couple of pubs, all which have tv screens showing extreme sports videos and then ended up in Sailors – where there were lots of young girls more than happy to talk to my London friend ;-)
My friend had a great couple of days, he returned home with some surf merchandise, some larger and lime rock and of course a splitting head ache from the copious amount of alcohol I apparently made him drink.
Newquay is a great place and I loved living there, but getting chance to be on the tourist side of it is brilliant! I recommend it to anyone.
Just remember to discover the surf bum within you – as i'm sure its there!"