Fistral Beach

Fistral Beach is where British surfing learned to walk—the birthplace of UK surf culture and home to Boardmasters, Europe's largest surf festival. This Cornish beach break picks up every scrap of Atlantic swell, producing reliable waves that range from mellow longboard glides to punchy, hollow peaks when conditions align. The north and south ends offer different characters, while the middle sections shift with the sandbars. It gets crowded—sometimes absurdly so—but Fistral's consistent delivery of surfable waves has made it the undisputed hub of British wave riding for over six decades.