HI, my hubby is a very keen former surfer and I would love to find a good spot to watch some of the bigger wave surfing in Scotland. I know Thurso is a pretty decent spot for reliably bigger waves. Does anyone have any info on where to go to watch there? Or if there is a better place with a spectator situation for some big waves? We plan to go to Orkney anyway so I thought Thurso would be a good place to stay a couple of days. Any tips are very welcome!
Posted by
London
1656 posts
What an interesting question!
I can't really give you any decent information, other than what we could both gather from Google. What I can tell you is someone who would know all there is to know about surfing in Scotland is Jamie Blair, proprietor of Clan Skates in Glasgow. I used to go to his shop well over 30 years ago and he was a pro skater and very accomplished surfer back then. I'm sure he'd be happy to chat to you. If you tell him you got his info from someone online who remembers when he used to rip the bowl at Livi with Davie and Chimp, he'll know you're legit :)
If you want to avoid an international phone call, Clan Skates have a presence on Facebook. You'd get in touch with Jamie there.
Posted by
London
1656 posts
Is that info in any way useful to you? I'm so happy Clan Skates is still in business all these years later. A little gem of a shop that's been in that west end location serving Glasgow a long time now. Jamie is a few years older than me too.
Posted by
OP
LA
10 posts
Yes, Gerry, thank you so much!! Sorry it took me a while to get back to this site and reply. We will definitely look him up!
Posted by
London
1656 posts
I'm sorry I don't know more about it than I do. I'd associate big surf with low pressure systems in Scotland, so wrap up warm if you're going down to stand on the beach! I think people surf in wetsuits all year round generally. The water doesn't get particularly warm in the summer either.
Posted by
Lake District, England
9436 posts
I'm not a surfer, but the Isle of Tiree is supposed to be a good place for surfing. Twice daily flights on Loganair Turbo Prop aircraft from Glasgow, a daily ferry from Oban, and a weekly ferry from Castlebay, Isle of Barra.
There is car rental on the island and a dial a ride bus service.
On a good day the flights are great for sight seeing.
Wonderful beaches there, and apparently there is a surf school- Blackhouse Watersports.
Posted by
London
1656 posts
Tiree is somewhere I'd associate with the big air windsurfers, now you mention it.
Posted by
OP
LA
10 posts
Very interesting! Thanks for the tip about Three. I messaged the Skate Shop guy on FB but no reply yet. We will definitely drop by when we are in Glasgow though!
Posted by
London
1656 posts
I ended up watching a few Scottish surf videos and I've saved some into a Youtube playlist -
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL6Otyz4YbXo866Mqj-XlIHipGh4RZqwS&si=BOQdqTaZH4tb87XE
It's mostly Thurso and the north coast, but with some coverage of Tiree Wave Classic from 2024, the big windsurfing event that I was thinking of.
Posted by
OP
LA
10 posts
How thoughtful, Gerry! Thank you!
Posted by
London
1656 posts
No worries. When is your visit planned for?
Posted by
OP
LA
10 posts
September into October
Posted by
London
1656 posts
Ah good! Well you might have the chance to see some big surf then. I notice that most of the really big waves in the videos I was watching are in the winter. Some of the surfing they were doing off the rocks around Thurso looked very scary indeed!
Tiree's definitely worth thinking about adding. It would be great to take the flight Stuart talked about. You're getting into the season where you're a little bit at the mercy of the weather for the small island-hopping flights and ferries, so you might need to be flexible