Surf and Wild Swim Retreat 2024

Immerse yourself in all things surf, learn for the first time or develop your skills with our expert instructors. You will get 3 surf lessons that are structured, progressive and tailored to your individual needs and goals (a combination of in water coaching, on land drills and surf skate). In one of these surf lessons we will do a mini workshop in body surfing/womping – body surfing is an amazing way to make a sea dip even more exhilarating and a fantastic way to gain confidence in the surf and learn to read the waves. As well as the lessons there is also a guided free surf – these are a more relaxed style of coaching, where your coach is in the water surfing with you, giving tips, actionable feedback and space to practice what you learnt in the morning’s lesson. We will do one video analysis session and there will be lots of surf theory over the weekend.

Your coach will be with you throughout the weekend so you’ll have plenty of opportunity to pick their brains on absolutely anything surf related. At the end of the camp you will receive a progression form giving you a plan for improving your surfing independently.

Our coached open water swim session will be led by Juliette, a qualified swimming teacher and open water swim coach mentored by non other than Keri-Anne Payne (Britains number 1 open water swimmer and Olympic silver medalist). Juliette is somewhat of a legend and surfspiration here in North Northumberland – if you’ve ever been to Bamburgh the laws of probability would suggest that you’ve probably seen her out surfing! Although she only got hooked on the surf around 5 years ago, she clocks up more water time than anyone we know – her immense progress in such a short time is testament to her open water swim ability and serious amounts of stoke.

The swim element of this retreat will be both fun and informative, and you can approach it as you wish. Whether you want to hone your swim technique, gain confidence in the water or just have loads of fun and see the coastline from a different perspective, we’ve got you!

Our breakfast consists of overnight oats and yummy home made fruit compots. Our lunches and dinners are a combination of healthy, hearty home-cooked meals and a selection of meals from our favourite local food businesses.

Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements and we will cater to these.

Joiners Bunkhouse
We’ll be staying at The Joiners Bunkhouse in the quiet hamlet of Preston. This is very much a traditional, get away from it all, bunkhouse. It’s all thrills and no frills! It’s not shiny and modern but rustic, cosy and wholesome. The downstairs is an open plan kitchen and living area where we will be conducting our theory and video analysis sessions, as well as eating breakfast and evening meals and hanging out/warming up post surf. The bunkhouse sleeping area consists of bunk beds, there are 5 partitioned areas of bunks within one room and these are shared sleeping areas. If you prefer a same sex sleeping area then please let us know. We will be doing our stretch sessions in the on site barn which has a super cool and rustic feel to it. For more info on the bunkhouse please visit www.bunkhousenorthumberland.co.uk. 

Transport

Having a vehicle or sharing with another guest is necessary to drive to the chosen surf spot, depending on the surf and weather conditions. If you don’t have a car please let us know and we will try and link you up with another guest. Should you need a transfer from a nearby train station (Chathill, Berwick or Alnwick) please let us know.

Alcohol

There is a welcome drink included on the Friday night, otherwise alcohol is not included, but feel free to bring some if you would like!

Drinks and snacks

Drinks and snacks outside of the meals are not included, so please bring a refillable water bottle and snacks as required!

Flat conditions

As we are dealing with the weather we can never guarantee that there will be waves. However, we know the coastline like the back of our hand, so will find any surfable wave on offer. We are lucky that our little corner of Northumberland is perfectly situated to pick up little northerly swells thanks to north facing Bamburgh, while also maximising south easterly wind swells that don’t hit further down on the North East coast so it is rare for it to be completely flat for 3 whole days, particularly outside of the summer months, and we have never experienced that on a camp or retreat. We put a lot of time and effort into ensuring that our camps and retreats are enjoyable, informative and beneficial for all our guests, and rest assured if it’s flat we do the same. We have a number of fun and useful flat water sessions planned, as well as land based simulation training in the form of surf skates and balance boards. You will still enjoy awesome surf specific fitness, learn loads about surfing and get plenty of time in the sea!

What happens in the case of bad conditions

We know all the nooks and crannies of the coastline so can find protected sports in most conditions, but we may juggle the structure of the event and focus more heavily on surfing one day and yoga the other, if this works better with the conditions.

In the event of extreme weather (very high winds) we reserve the right to cancel or postpone the retreat. In the unlikely event that this happens we will provide alternative dates and a voucher for the full amount if the alternative date is not suitable.