Portrush: Several Beaches, One Of Them Is Usually Working

Portrush sits on a small headland on the Antrim coast, and most of the town's surfing happens on the beaches either side of it. That's the whole trick. Surf towns on this side of the Irish Sea tend to have one beach, and when it's wrong you go home. Portrush has a handful within a few minutes of each other, facing slightly different ways, so there's a decent chance one of them is doing something.

The wave

Mostly beach break: sand-bottomed peaks that break left and right, with a long, wide beach at East Strand and the cliff-backed sweep of Whiterocks to the west of town. West Strand sits on the other side of the harbour, and Portstewart Strand and Portballintrae are a short drive along the coast if the town beaches aren't playing.

It's friendlier than most of the north coast. Sand rather than reef, room to spread out on a big beach, and no single peak that everyone is fighting over. That makes it a sensible place for improvers, and for anyone who's been warned off the heavier reefs further along the coast. It's still the Atlantic. When the swell is up the beach breaks get powerful and the rips get strong, so watch a few sets before you paddle out.

When to go

• Swell: Northwest is the one it likes. The coast is exposed to Atlantic lows, so autumn and winter are the season. Summer goes flat for long spells.
• Wind: The beaches face north, so anything with south in it is offshore and tidies things up. Northerlies and north-westerlies blow it out. East Strand picks up some shelter from the headland in easterlies.
• Tide: Works on most of the tide. As ever on a beach break, the shape changes as it fills and drains, so give it twenty minutes before you decide it's rubbish.
• Daylight: Around seven hours in mid-December. Plan the session around the light.

What it'll cost you

Roughly 8–9°C from February to March, and the mid-teens at the end of summer. A 5/4 hooded suit, 5mm boots and gloves is the winter answer, and a 4/3 will do until about November. Month-by-month numbers for the rest of the country are in UK Sea Temperatures By Month.

The bit after is where it really bites. The beaches are open to the weather and there's not much shelter at the car park. A Fisherman Beanie goes on first, a Core Hood goes on over wet hair, and a changing mat keeps your feet off the tarmac while you wrestle a wetsuit off.

The honest bit

It's a popular beach in a popular seaside town, and it gets busy when a good swell lands on a weekend. That's the same story as everywhere with a car park and a decent wave, so be early or be somewhere else. On a big day the paddle out looks easy and isn't. Beginners should pick the smaller, softer days or stick to the whitewater, and stay close to other people.

If the town beaches are blown out, look at Portstewart Strand or Portballintrae, both of which face a slightly different direction. Parking is paid in places and the rules change, so check before you leave the car for three hours.

Changing happens in the car park, in whatever the wind is doing. We're building something for exactly that bit.

More UK breaks in the Guide to Spots. For another stretch of exposed north coast, and a very different wave, see Thurso East.

Kit built for exactly these conditions, not the brochure version. svrf.uk

Header photo: surfer at Portrush by neico via Pixabay.