The Yorkshire Coast- A Surfer’s Dream

Forget Cornwall, move over Newquay- surfers paradise has relocated North-wards. Cayton Bay near Scarborough may not be the first name that slips off the tongue for board enthusiasts, but as the Guardian reports, it’s set to be the next big thing.

But surfing in the shivering North Sea over the English Channel? Surely the former is the worst of two (particularly chilly) evils? Not according to Scarborough Surf School, who argue that with modern wet suits the cold isn’t a factor, and the waves are in a league of their own.

And it’s not just surfing, but paddleboarding and all the other joys of the beach that the English East coast has to offer, including fishing and scenery.

Once upon a time fishing was actually big business in this seaside town- big game fish like tuna had their heyday in the 1930’s. Explains local wildlife trust head Rob Stoneman of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, “We’ve lost 98% of the original biomass of the North Sea. Bottom trawling has been an unmitigated disaster. But there is a chance that we can rejuvenate things – bring back some of the world’s richest fishing grounds, and maybe even some of the great megafauna we once had: the sharks, turtles, dolphins and so on.”

While Scarborough is undergoing regeneration, it’s the sea that is part of the area’s long term future. Wildlife Trusts along the coast line have teamed up to collaborate on the Living Seas project, which seeks to conserve and protect the seas of Britain and Ireland, with the North Sea project focusing on the seas from Northumberland down to Suffolk and 200 nautical miles out to sea to make Living Seas a reality.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has received over £78,000 in funding from the People’s Postcode Lottery. Find out more about the partnership from the People’s Postcode Lottery website.