The Beach Watergate Bay

Watergate Bay, Atlantic Coast, Cornwall

Grid ref: SW832648

Watergate Bay once stood as the jewel of the UK kite scene, the spiritual home of kiting they said. Now, some may say this beauty's glow has dimmed, and the spotlight now shines brighter on the kiting Mecca's of Blackrock and Westward Ho! Watergate Bay still remains a big wind spot, but recently it seems kiters are going home with mixed experiences…turbulent winds, bomb holes in the sand, crowds…so what's the truth about Watergate Bay – was there every anything there before the hype? Read on fellow kiters – it's time to explode a few myths…

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How to get there

Watergate Bay is located on the coast road between Newquay and Padstow – on the B3276. The road leading in (and out) of the bay is typical Cornish B road – beautiful, steep and twisting by turn. Approaching from the north or the south on the high cliff road, you are greeted by the awesome panorama of the mighty blue Atlantic Ocean.

Parking

During winter months, it is possible to park for free in the Watergate ‘hamlet'. The council car park – the muddy one about 300m walk from the beach – is unmanned out of season. From May to October, the council will want £3 for 2hrs and £5 per day per vehicle. The Extreme Academy car park is located right above the beach, that costs £1 per hr, and £5 full day, all year round. In the peak summertime, an overflow car park high up on the cliffs holds a lot of cars – it's a bit of a walk down to the beach from there (10 mins or so).

Lifeguards

The area of beach infront of the beach complex is lifeguarded by the RNLI between May and October, as well as Easter weekend. The lifeguards are paid for by the Restormel Borough Council. The RNLI do not patrol the long stretch of beach past the big rock cluster (the North End) as they are not paid to.

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Facilities

Watergate Bay is home to the fantastic Phoenix Pub. You can't miss it as you descend the windy road in from Newquay. Here, you can refuel on gut busting ‘surfer special' meals washed down with local ales. The sun terrace has views over the ocean – great for keeping an eye on the surf / kites. On the beach itself, the Watergate Bay Hotel and the XA hold court. The hotel is a posh affair, and the XA boats a café bar and upstairs restaurant with direct views on to the beach. Peak season sees the XA takeaway peddling overpriced, tasteless food. A good surf shop (sells a few kiting bits) and surf hire restore the extreme image integrity. Between the Phoenix, hotel, XA and the council loo's it's possible to answer natures call all year round.

Beach Size and Kiting Area

Although the beach appears huge on the map, the usable kiting area stretches for about 2km. At low tide, the beach is up to 300m wide. Watergate is backed by huge, towering granite cliffs along its length, so the usable beach width is more like 200m if you want to stay out of the updrafts and soft sand. Although the ‘South End' looks tempting, avoid kiting there as you will be too close to the cliffs and that end is rock strewn.

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Restrictions

No bylaw restrictions at Watergate, though a common sense rule of no kiting 2 hrs either side of high tide should be adhered too. Flouting this rule puts you too close to the cliffs, and leaves no space for others as the beach gets tiny as the tide comes in (the whole North and South End can submerge). During the peak season, the main beach is too busy to kite on, so just head to the North End. No launching kites between lifeguard beach flags.

Tides

Watergate like all North Cornish beaches has a huge tide – up to 7m difference between high and low water. Get a look at the tides before kiting here. A simple rule to follow is – spring tides (the biggest) have a low tide midday, with high tide around 6pm. Neap tides (not so high, not so low) have a low tide in the evening, meaning that in winter, you cant get a session in on a neap day as its too dark. Neap tides will hardly seem to move, but a spring rattles in very quickly – keep an eye on your kit lest it may be swallowed and sent to the mermaids…

Sand State

The sand at Watergate ranges between hard packed billiard table and the waterlogged surface of the moon. This is due to the swell. Big, thumping swells and onshore winds empower the ocean to pick up the sand and deposit it in hard, smooth layers as the tide recedes. Small waves lack the helicoidal power to pick up the sand, and thus just chip away at the beach, so when the tide drops the beach is left pitted and unridable.

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Human Traffic

In the winter, there aren't many people around save the odd hardcore surfer and token dog walker, it's likely you' get the whole beach to yourself, day in day out. Shoulder season busy time such as Easter, Maybank, October half term and even Christmas see all sorts of occasional beach users flocking to the beach. You'll get walkers, runners, short tennis and football matches, drama groups…it's all very cosmopolitan, but shouldn't present a problem to courteous kiters. In peak summer time thousands flock here. Somedays it's just too busy to kite. The solution? Go at night – or during the evening (see note on neap tides).

Other Kiters

There are a few regular Kitesurfers at Watergate, but land based riders are thin on the ground Apart from myself and a few that work in the XA, there aren't many locals to meet. Winter time, unless we're out, you're on your own. As the season builds, so to do the number of kites in the sky. The vibe at Watergate is very laid back, the only stress would come from the number of kites in the sky during peak season.

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Best Wind Direction

First thing to know about Watergate wind – when it's offshore, go surfing! Those cliffs are just too high and create the worst wind conditions I have ever experienced – nothing works in those winds, take my word for it and save the pain. Otherwise, anything with a W in it is good – this will be coming from the sea, with WNW – NW pretty much bang onshore. Luckily the prevailing wind in Cornwall is West (it's SW by the time it gets to ‘England') making Watergate a fairly consistent location despite not having the biggest wind exposure window.

Swell

Swell is important for flattening the sand and also for surfing, and will have an impact on your kite surfing experience. The sea state can range from totally flat (rare) to triple overhead monster waves – though these break a long way from the shore. This is dependant on storms way out to sea. To simplify, there are two types of swell – ground swell and wind swell. Ground swell is the organised, spaced sets of waves that surfers love, and is generated from storms way out around Greenland. Wind swell is much more messy looking, and occurs when the storm is too close to the beach and the waves don't have time to get organised. Ground swells have an open ocean wave period of over 10seconds if you are checking a buoy report. Both types of swell if over 2m will usually pack the sand down and give you a right hiding if you fall of your surfboard!

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Hazards

Land - Updrafts near to the towering cliffs; soft sand near to the cliffs and after small swells; swarming crowds in summer; rocks at ends of the beach and near cliffs.

Water – Huge swells, jelly fish, weaver fish (Google it), surfboards; rips. A note about rips – a rip is where the water that is pushed in by the waves finds its way back out to sea, like an underwater river. If you are caught in a rip, you will be sucked out to sea – swimming against rips is the number one cause of drowning in Cornwall. Swim across the ‘river' and the waves will push you back to shore. Identify rips :

* Sandy patches of water as you observe the beach from the cliffs

* Choppy, small waves that cant break due to the increase in depth

* Rips occur near headlands and cliffs

* So once you've negotiated and planned your trip around all of the above, you'll finally get to…

The kiting experience

Watergate is a magical, mystical place to kite – the sun sets over the sea and the warm breezes carry the scent of an ocean that remains as pure today as ever. Conditions often conspire to produce giddying, blissful sessions that leave the body in tatters and the mind blown. The winds here come roaring unobstructed out of the Atlantic and straight into the cells of your kite. Peregrine Falcons wheal and call in the thermals overhead while the vaulting granite cliffs light up in the golden Cornish sunshine, and you - you power across the golden sands just soaking up every ion thrown up in the spume of the crashing surf. The huge swells boom thunderously and the noise is intense and you are charged with the energy that reverberates in this natural amphitheatre.

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Later, locals, surfers, those that know the sea, acknowledge you with a wry smile as you sup on a well earned local ale in the cosy pub. "Looks like you had the best of it out there mate" one might say. You may think he's referring to the fact that you and your kite got good conditions while all the surfers are hunkered down waiting for a calmer day…but hold on to his comment a little longer and you'll realise what he really means for you to hear. You, out there, with your kite and your buggy with the skills you earned the hard way, took the best of what the Atlantic could throw at you...and for a few seconds on that last run, holding your breath, Watergate drew back the veil and let you in on the biggest secret in kiting locations…Watergate rocks!

Author : Skyhooked