Longboard surf camp

This is the deposit for our longboard surf camp. The full price is £390 and the remainder is payable 6 weeks prior to the camp.

If you live in the North East, a longboard is a must if you want to make the most of all surf conditions. The true beauty of being a longboarder in Northumberland - we can find log waves in anything from a sloppy 1ft swell all the way up to a macking wintery swell - you just need to know where to look! 

Dive deeper into the captivating art of longboard surfing with our intensive longboard specific surf camp around the beaches of North Northumberland. At NE Surf School, we are passionate about utilising the diverse conditions of our North East coastline to revolutionise your surfing experience with a longboard. Whether you're an experienced longboarder keen on developing your skills or you have never felt the glide of a longboard before and are keen to add a new string to your surfing bow, this surf camp will broaden your understanding of longboarding and finding flow with the waves. Our passionate longboard coaches will guide you on the art of gliding elegantly across the waves on our 9ft+ logs, helping you capitalise on overlooked conditions and empty lineups. Let us share with you what we love about longboarding in our diverse and quiet stretch of coastline.

This camp is suitable both for surfers with longboard experience who are looking to refine their technique; anything from positioning, turning, cross stepping or nose riding and for surfers who are longboard curious but have never tried it before! Skill wise - this camp is not for complete beginners, you should have some understanding/experience of surfing unbroken waves left and right - you certainly don’t need to be a ‘ripper’ though, so please don’t be put off and do enquire if you are interested but worried about whether this is right for you. Bring your own longboard or hire one from us (we have 5 longboards available for hire).

All of our surf camps are a max ratio of 4 surfers to each surf coach - so the coaching is super personalised and designed around you.

Inclusions:

1. 2 nights accommodation
2. 2 breakfasts and lunches (Sat and sun) and 1 evening meal (Fri or sat) – the other evening we will make a group reservation at our favourite local eatery, but you are also welcome to do your own thing or use the cooking facilities at the bunkhouse if you don’t fancy eating out
3. welcome drink
4. Pre camp phone call to understand your goals and design coaching around you
5. 10hrs of surf coaching (usually 5 lessons, a combination of in water coaching, on land drills and theory, with potential for surf skate in certain conditions).
6. Video analysis sessions
7. Beautiful in water photos of a surf session (if conditions are appropriate for the in water camera)
8. Forecasting workshop and surf diary
9. Surf specific mobility based warm ups
10. Individual goal setting to keep you improving after the camp
11. Ample time with your coaches in between sessions to ask any individual questions and soak up their knowledge
12. Wetsuit hire – a longboard can be hired for an additional £50 for the weekend (we have 5 available for hire in total).

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 large room and these are shared sleeping areas (max 2 people per sleeping area). We will do any stretch/yoga/surf fitness sessions in the on site barn which has a super cool and rustic feel to it. Bedding will be provided, but please bring a towel. There is a small additional charge for the fuel used in the fire and the electricity is operated by a coin meter (budget between £2-£5pp for the weekend). For more info on the bunkhouse please visit www.bunkhousenorthumberland.co.uk. 

Food

Our breakfast consists of overnight oats and yummy home made fruit compots. Our lunches and dinner are a combination of healthy, hearty home-cooked meals and a selection of meals from our favourite local food businesses. Lunches are generally provided by Carnaby’s which is an awesome local cafe which does delicious salads, pastries and sandwiches.

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

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

Transport

If you need transport between the surf spots or a collection from a local train station (Alnmouth or Chathill) this can be arranged but must be organised in advance - so please let us know if you do not have your own transport.

Sample itinerary 

On Friday we start at 1pm, and you will finish by around 3pm on Sunday. We keep the exact itinerary flexible so that we can maximise the weekends surf conditions.

Friday – arrival at 1pm

1. Introductions
2. Surf lesson 1
3. Check in to bunkhouse
4. Forecasting workshop and choosing surf spots based on the forecast
5. Dinner

Saturday – 

1. Breakfast
2. Surf lesson 2
3. Lunch and video analysis feedback
4. Surf lesson 3
5. Dinner reservation

Sunday – 

1. Breakfast
2. Surf lesson
3. Lunch and video analysis/goal setting
4. Final surf lesson
5. See you later’s

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, 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 learn loads about longboarding and get plenty of time in the sea!

What happens in the case of stormy conditions

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

In the event of extreme weather which would put guests safety at risk then we reserve the right to cancel or postpone the retreat. In the unlikely event that this happens we will provide alternative dates or a voucher for the full amount.

Price 

£390pp 

A deposit of £150 is required up front to secure your booking. This can be done online through our booking system or via invoice and bank transfer.

The balance 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, a pen, clothes for all weather eventualities, a towel (for changing at the beach and the bunkhouse too) and swimmers. We have plenty of foam boards and wetsuits which you are welcome to use, and you can hire a longboard for an additional charge. Please bring your own longboard if you have one and are not hiring one of ours!

Inclusions:

1. 2 nights accommodation
2. 2 breakfasts and lunches (Sat and sun) and 1 evening meal (Fri or sat) – the other evening we will make a group reservation at our favourite local eatery, but you are also welcome to do your own thing or use the cooking facilities at the bunkhouse if you don’t fancy eating out
3. welcome drink
4. Pre camp phone call to understand your goals and design coaching around you
5. 10hrs of surf coaching (usually 5 lessons, a combination of in water coaching, on land drills and theory, with potential for surf skate in certain conditions).
6. Video analysis sessions
7. Beautiful in water photos of a surf session (if conditions are appropriate for the in water camera)
8. Forecasting workshop and surf diary
9. Surf specific mobility based warm ups
10. Individual goal setting to keep you improving after the camp
11. Ample time with your coaches in between sessions to ask any individual questions and soak up their knowledge
12. Wetsuit hire – a longboard can be hired for an additional £50 for the weekend (we have 5 available for hire in total).

Sample itinerary 

On Friday we start at 1pm, and you will finish by around 3pm on Sunday. We keep the exact itinerary flexible so that we can maximise the weekends surf conditions.

Friday – arrival at 1pm

1. Introductions
2. Surf lesson 1
3. Check in to bunkhouse
4. Forecasting workshop and choosing surf spots based on the forecast
5. Dinner

Saturday – 

1. Breakfast
2. Surf lesson 2
3. Lunch and video analysis feedback
4. Surf lesson 3
5. Dinner reservation

Sunday – 

1. Breakfast
2. Surf lesson
3. Lunch and video analysis/goal setting
4. Final surf lesson
5. See you later’s