An All-boys’ Surfing and Sightseeing Holiday in Cornwall

Last summer, my dad, two younger brothers and I went on an all-boys holiday to the north coast of Cornwall, hoping to graduate as surfer dudes by the end of the week. We stayed in an amazing campsite near Mawgan Porth, with a pool, a playground and live music every night, although Ken and Larry were not really the highlights of the holiday…

About 10 minutes drive away lay the incredible beach of Mawgan Porth itself, with amazing cliffs on each side that act as a huge windbreak, making it ideal for beginner surfers. Just off the beach was a small surf school, Kingsurf, run by a group of twenty-somethings who all live in a small house behind the surf school. They had come Mawgan Porth on their gap year and got hooked.

It’s impossible to imagine more perfect surfer dudes. From the moment I saw them, I knew that by the end of our three two-hour lessons I’d have adopted their flicky blonde hair and tanned six-packs and I too would be a surf king, able to catch the gnarliest waves this side of Costa Rica (where King Surf also run a winter surf school).

After three days in Mawgan Porth, by which time even my seven-year-old brother was standing confidently on his board, we moved on to a nice hotel further east down the coast, also with a pool. We went on a day trip to the Eden Project, which apart from the famous greenhouses has a big zipwire crossing the whole project. There was also a den-building competition – we built an awesome one. We also went on day-trips to St Ives, a lovely seaside town, and Land’s End, where we saw fireworks and discovered that our small Kent town was 345 miles away…

See more on family holidays and breaks in Cornwall in our child-friendly destination guide, including our hand-picked recommendations for places to stay with kids.