East Coast of England

[Shaunm]

Can anyone suggest spots near East London UK where it might be worth a surf, and can hire a Mal and wetsuit (June / July)
Pier @ Brighton had been suggested but can't find a hire place as yet.
I know being summer SW Coast or Cornwall etc would be a better option but I'm being driven by an old bloke who won't drive too far
Cheers

[godsavetheking]

sorry mate, I think you're going to have to brave the inanity of the magicseaweed forums to get an answer. At that time of year, Cornwall, Devon or South Wales are likely to be better bets as you rightly say. There's quite often people advertising lift shares on the magicseaweed forums, which might be a solution if your driver won't go that far. Or you could get the train. It's about 6 hours down to Cornwall in the day or a bit longer if you do the sleeper. Could be an option if you wanted to make a weekend of it - plenty of hire places, camp sites etc etc.

[Shaunm]

Cheers thanks for the advice

[philw]

East of London means Joss Bay. It does get waves, very cold. Needs a strong blow down the North Sea, small swell window, doesn't sound like yr in a position to try and get it ( and honestly it's not worth it ).

Wales is nearer than Cornwall / Devon to London. And has many good options..

[godsavetheking]

that'll do thanks phil

[godsavetheking]

but yeah he's right. it's 3hrs on the train to swansea and there's 30+ breaks within easyish reach, although it being summer narrows your options down to 10 or so really

[philw]

Ha! Gtsq, are you worried about tightly held uk surf spots getting exposed and all 23 regular realsurf readers packing their bags and crowding out the uk's pristine, virgin surf zones??

I'll throw in broadstairs as well as joss bay. And yes I have surfed there, if u can call it that

[steve shearer]

boscombe pier matey.

[godsavetheking]

Just being silly Phil

[Morgan The Moon]

South Wales is a good option, but you still need a car to make the most of it.

I was living in Swansea and I'd catch a bus to Langland Bay, which was the most accessible by public transport, and can be a fun wave on it's day. It gets very crowded because of it's proximity to the city.

The Gower peninsula is all kinds of beautiful and well worth exploring, spend more than a weekend if you can. Loads of breaks....loads of walks, great pubs.

Porthcawl has a couple of well known breaks and is only 20 minutes away from Swansea by car, a lot longer by public transport. It's closer to London than Swansea and I met a couple of guys from Bristol there - quite a few drive down across the border.

Also had my car stolen whilst surfing at Coney, Porthcawl. Must be a regular occurrence since the Police didn't bat an eyelid when I rocked up in a wetsuit and board. They gave me a "Report Crime to the South Wales police" fridge magnet as a keepsake.