Cullen Beach – A First Go on a Surfboard
A few hours.
The route
Cullen Beach curves along the Moray Firth below the town and its old railway viaduct, and its gentle waves and long rolling white water make it a kind place to stand up on a board for the first time.
Blue Coast runs two-hour group lessons from a surf shack on the sand, with every bit of kit, down to hoods and gloves, included. A fine morning for families with older children, or couples.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book a group surf lesson on Blue Coast's website before you go: lessons run every day in summer, and from autumn to spring when booked and the conditions are good, at a time set by the tide.
The day
Cullen
Two hours in the sea with an instructor beside you, catching broken waves in to the sand. Bring a towel and come with swimwear on.
About three hours
Blue Coast
Blue Coast's surf shack stands on Cullen Beach, just off the A98, behind the golf club building and in front of the Three Kings rocks; for a sat nav, use AB56 4WB. Park free by the beach, but not in the golf club's members' car park. A group lesson lasts two hours once everyone is changed, with no more than eight to an instructor, and the instructors are qualified beach lifeguards in the water with you. Everything is included, from 5mm winter wetsuits to boots, gloves and hoods. Come with swimwear on underneath and bring a towel: there are no changing rooms or showers, though there are public toilets at the beach. Everyone must be able to swim unaided, and under-8s surf with an adult. The sea here runs from 7 to 15°C through the year. From autumn to spring, lessons run when they are booked and the conditions are good, at times set by the tide. A lesson is £40 an adult and £30 a child, £75 for a couple, or £125 for a family of up to two adults and two children, with a 6% booking fee on top. Dogs are welcome on the beach, but someone not surfing needs to stay with them.
If it rains
Rain makes little odds once you're in a wetsuit; a lesson goes ahead when the sea suits it, and the time is set when you book.
Rockpool Café, a restaurant in Cullen.
Portknockie Fish and Chips, a restaurant in Portknockie.