Fistral Beach is in Fistral Bay ( kw, Porth an Vystel, meaning ''cove of the foul water'') on the north coast of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

, England, United Kingdom. It is situated half-a-mile west of Newquay at . Fistral Bay is bounded by two promontories, Towan Head to the north and Pentire Point East (''not to be confused with Pentire Head'') to the south. The straight sandy beach faces west-northwest onto the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and is approximately long. It is backed by steep

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

and is overlooked by the ''

Headland Hotel The Headland Hotel is a Grade II listed building located in Newquay, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It was opened in June 1900 and is built on a prominent position overlooking Fistral Beach and Towan Head. History Silvanus Trevail’s G ...

''. The name "Fistral" is recorded as ''Fistal'' in 1813, coming from the Cornish ''bystel'' meaning "foul water, bile or gall" (compare Welsh ''bustl'') probably in reference to the waves making it an unsuitable landing site.

Surfing

Fistral Beach is best known for

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...

. Its west-facing aspect exposes it to Atlantic swells ensuring consistent waves suitable for surfing. The beach is the venue for major international surfing competitions and a competition suite for judges and competitors has been built at North Fistral along with a surf museum. The

British Surfing Association British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Newquay Surf Life Saving Club Newquay ( ; kw, Tewynblustri) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, in the south west of England. It is a civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries, spaceport and a fishing port on the North Atlantic coast o ...

and the

Newquay Boardrider Club Newquay ( ; kw, Tewynblustri) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, in the south west of England. It is a civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries, spaceport and a fishing port on the North Atlantic coast o ...

are all based at Fistral Beach.Surf Newquay website. Retrieved April 2010
/ref> The

Cribbar The Cribbar ( Cornish - ''kribow'': reefs), also known as the Widow Maker, is a reef off the Towan Headland in Newquay, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the U ...

, a reef at the north end of the beach, causes waves to break when the swell is high. It is considered to be Cornwall's premier "big wave" location with wave faces as high as . On 21 September 2006 Fistral Beach hosted the British Surfing Association's invitational ''Gold Rush'' Big Wave Competition. During the competition the surf was over high because of the effect of

Hurricane Gordon Hurricane Gordon was a long-lived and catastrophic late-season hurricane of the 1994 Atlantic hurricane season. The twelfth and final tropical cyclone of the season, Gordon formed as a tropical depression in the southwestern Caribbean on Novembe ...

. The winner was 28-year-old Scott Eastwood of the Channel Islands who scored a perfect 10 in the final. The Boardmasters Festival is also held at Fistral Beach.

References

* {{Cornwall, state=collapsed Newquay Surfing locations in Cornwall Tourist attractions in Cornwall Beaches of Cornwall