Surf and wild swim retreat

This is the deposit to secure your place on our surf and wild swim retreat.

The full price is £390 and the remainder is payable 6 weeks prior to the retreat date.

Enjoy the very best of the Northumberland Coast with a fun, immersive and informative 3 day surf and wild swim retreat between Beadnell and Bamburgh. Think sunrise dips (wetsuits optional!), body surfing, coached open water swimming and lots of surfing! 

As with every NE Surf retreat, quality surf coaching is at the heart of everything we do. Progress or start your surfing journey with a combination of surf coaching, theory, video analysis and countless hours of surf chat and stoke delivered by NE Surf’s passionate and attentive coaches. This retreat is open to all experience levels of surfing. We are excited to add wild swimming to this retreat - not only will it be mega fun, but from a surfing perspective there are huge benefits to building confidence in the water without a board. It’s so much easier to feel calm and confident in the surf if you know that you are able to swim in should your leash snap. A basic level of swimming ability is necessary (must be able to swim 50m unaided). 

There will be a maximum of 4 surfers per 1 surf coach. We will split the group as necessary to cater to differing experience levels, so that everyone receives attentive and appropriate coaching. Prior to the retreat you will receive a telephone consultation with one of your coaches so that we can understand where you are in your surfing journey, and where you want to be. This allows us to plan our coaching around you.

Cost

£390pp

Deposit £95

To secure your spot you can give us a call on 07962166486 or pay online.

Location

We operate our surf lessons and swim sessions between Beadnell and Bamburgh on the Northumberland coast. This stretch of coastline offers a great variety of spots which optimise different swell conditions. We will discuss this in a theory session and choose the best surf spots dependent on the conditions. We will be staying at The Joiners Bunkhouse, located just outside of Beadnell.

Inclusions

1. Welcome drink
2. 2 nights accommodation 
3. Dinner on Friday
4. 3 main meals on Saturday
5. Breakfast and lunch on Sunday 
6. 4 surf focussed sessions including a body surf/‘womping’ workshop
7. 1 coached open water swim session
8. Sunset dip
9. Video analysis and feedback session
10. Beautiful in water photos of a surf session (if conditions are appropriate)
11. Forecasting and swim safety workshop  
12. Board and wetsuit hire if needed 

Surf

Immerse yourself in all things surf, learn for the first time or develop your skills with our expert instructors. You will get 4 surf lessons that are structured, progressive and tailored to your individual needs and goals (a combination of in water coaching, on land drills, theory 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. 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.

Wild swim

Our coached 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!

Rough itinerary 

On Friday we start at 1pm and will finish by around 4pm on Sunday. We keep the exact itinerary flexible so that we can maximise the weekends surf conditions. There is no obligation to surf in each session or partake in each swim session, so if you want some extra chill time or a chance to explore we totally support you with that! With that in mind, here’s what to expect:

Friday - arrival at 1.30pm

1. Introductions
2. Body surf and Surf lesson  
3. Dinner and welcome drinks
4. Surf forecasting and swim safety session 

Saturday -

1.  
2. Breakfast 
3. Surf lesson 
4. Lunch 
5. Coached open water swim session
6. Dinner
7. Sunset dip

Sunday - 

1. Video analysis feedback
2. Breakfast 
3. Surf lesson
4. Lunch
5. Final surf lesson
6. See you later’s

Food

We start each day with delicious, plant based overnight oats, homemade fruit compote and teas/coffees. Our lunches and dinners are a combination of healthy, hearty home-cooked meals and a selection of meals from our favourite local food businesses.

Optional extras 

Private surf lesson - £65. A private surf lesson on the Friday morning is a great way to kick off the retreat, level up your surfing and set some individual goals.

Please message us to secure an optional extra or enquire on the day, but we do have limited spaces available.

Accommodation

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 

Not included

1. 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.
2. Alcohol not included other than friday’s welcome drink, although feel free to bring some if you wish!
3. Drinks and snacks outside of the meals are not included, so please bring a refillable water bottle and snacks as required!

What happens if it’s flat?

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 if it’s stormy?

We know all the nooks and crannies of the coastline so can find protected spots in most conditions. We may juggle the structure of the retreat 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.

Deposit

A deposit of £95 is required up front to secure your booking, this can be done online through our booking system or over the phone. The remainder will be required 6 weeks before the retreat date. The deposit is non-refundable so make sure you’re definitely available before booking. Should you need to cancel you will be eligible for a refund of the remainder only if we can find a replacement or if it is cancelled at least 6 weeks prior to the retreat.

Water bottle, snacks (we provide all meals from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch time, but you may want snacks too!), a pen, clothes for all weather eventualities, a towel (for the bunkhouse too), swimmers and a yoga mat (let us know if you don't have one as we have a few spares). We have plenty of foam boards and wetsuits which you are welcome to use, but feel free to bring your own.

Inclusions

1. Welcome drink
2. 2 nights accommodation 
3. Dinner on Friday
4. 3 main meals on Saturday
5. Breakfast and lunch on Sunday 
6. 4 surf focussed sessions including a body surf/‘womping’ workshop
7. 1 coached open water swim session
8. Sunset dip
9. Video analysis and feedback session
10. Beautiful in water photos of a surf session (if conditions are appropriate)
11. Forecasting and swim safety workshop  
12. Board and wetsuit hire if needed

Rough itinerary 

On Friday we start at 1pm and will finish by around 4pm on Sunday. We keep the exact itinerary flexible so that we can maximise the weekends surf conditions. There is no obligation to surf in each session or partake in each swim session, so if you want some extra chill time or a chance to explore we totally support you with that! With that in mind, here’s what to expect:

Friday - arrival at 1.30pm

1. Introductions
2. Body surf and Surf lesson  
3. Dinner and welcome drinks
4. Surf forecasting and swim safety session 

Saturday -

1.  
2. Breakfast 
3. Surf lesson 
4. Lunch 
5. Coached open water swim session
6. Dinner
7. Sunset dip

Sunday - 

1. Video analysis feedback
2. Breakfast 
3. Surf lesson
4. Lunch
5. Final surf lesson
6. See you later’s