Surfing on Lewis

October 5, 2007 on 3:20 pm | In Surfing | 2 Comments

I spent all of last week chasing the surf on Lewis. It was my first proper surfing trip and it was a great experience. I had read all about how remote the beaches are and how dangerous that currents can be - and I do agree with both of those!

So I thought I’d quickly run through the beaches I went to and give you my beginner opinion! I’ll start north east and work my way around.

TOLSTA
Very friendly, long, sandy break.  We never found it in great condition though, it seems quite hard for it to get some strong bigger waves (like even 3-4 foot). Even when the east coast had off-shore winds it just wasn’t quite right. One day it had very weird under currents going on and it took me out in a strong rip. But I would go again just to get used to the waters on Lewis! It is very remote but has a toilet in the parking lot.

BACK
My favourite! Not as big a beach as Tolsta, but ceratinly not a small place. The left part (north) is great and breaks on sand and to the right it has a reef break with a very nice tube break. We were lucky to get a superb westerly wind and the tide just coming on so had a great session. Close to houses, no toilet.

BARVAS
On our first day one of the locals told us he hadn’t seen Barvas this big in like five years. So we just had to go and see for ourselves. To be honest I got intimated by just looking at it! I don’t know what qualifies for a big wave but this could not have been far of. It was like watching ‘riding giants’. So I asked Stevie what the crux was, cause there must be one, and it breaks on rock. Looked great though but I’d need to surf for another lifetime before I get in there. Not far from a village but feels very remote. No toilet.

DALBEG
Don’t even get me started on BIG WAVES. This is a very small cave like beach which seem to get an absolute massive swell. The wind was a great off-shore south-east on the day we were there and it was way too big for me. Houses nearby.

DALMORE
Looked very friendly, although quite big. I was interested untila local told us about the under currents and as he did I could see how they were stirring up sand all over! He then said, ‘ I love this place but I wouldn’t go in without a life vest today’ and then he pointed to his arm in plaster. I never got in. Very remote, no toilet.

EOROPIE
The star of the north west! Very lovely and friendly beach, close to a village and a cafe. During our week it was always very messy when we got there so I am sure I never got to see its best behaviour. Waves all over the place, very strong swell.

And finally we made a short trip to harris and it is just so beautiful, here’s an example:

When we got to Harris the surf was gone  -so maybe next time!

Finally I’d like to say that I will go back to the Western Isles in a heartbeat. I loved it. But I must say when we had the most superb wind and swell it was also freezing cold! I did appreciate my insulated hood and 5.3 wet suit a lot. Cheers, Jenny

Jenny Glumoff
http://www.visitscotland.com/adventure
Main activity sport climbing but love all types of climbing, surfing, mountain biking and hill walking!

Deserted Beaches

August 12, 2007 on 10:12 pm | In Surfing, Kayak Surfing, Body Boarding | 1 Comment

The end of another week and the pace hasn’t slacked. Anna was playing at Piping Live in Glasgow this week so I have been playing with the kids and having adventures. It does mean I didn’t do much work.

We spent Friday at the Cliff Beach on the Valtos penisula. Tooled up with wet suits, boogie boards and a sit on kayak we hit the surf. If you were in the south of England there would have been hundreds if not thousands of people fighting for a piece of the sand. We were on the beach on our own. Surf, sun and solitude

Using a sit on was great for the kids in the small surf and gave a very forgiving platform for them to experiment with paddling on waves. These make getting on the water very accessable but this comes with inherent dangers - ‘the sea in a fickle mistress’, the surf is very powerful.

If you are using a sit on top in surf then you need to be aware if you fall off the surf will take the craft and hurtle it at the beach squashing everything in the way. If you are going to be in anything deeper than your waist a bouyancy aid is a must and you should be asking if you need one even if you are just going for a little paddle.

It was Koren’s first trip out in her new wet suit and armed with her new boogie board. I stood on the beach and remembered the first time I used a board, it was plywood and I used it on a beach in Devon (rather longer ago than I care to admit). I still remember the cold but the rush … Koren’s face was picture the first wave she caught and I suspect we have another adict in the family.

We are very spoilt here in Lewis and Harris with breaks facing in all directions of compass and the gulf stream servicing us with warm waters. The surf here is world class, Mark Lumsden who runs Lewis Surf Trek has some great pictures and as a professional film maker he made a dvd called Cold Rush featuring footage shot round the north coast of Scotland.

Catching your first wave.

Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
Living in the world's biggest adventure playground - The Outer Hebrides CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire