Fistral Beach facts for kids
Fistral Beach is a well-known beach located in Fistral Bay (called Porth an Vystel in Cornish, meaning 'cove of the foul water'). You can find it on the north coast of Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It's about half a mile west of the town of Newquay.
Fistral Bay is surrounded by two pieces of land that stick out into the sea. These are Towan Head to the north and Pentire Point East to the south. The beach itself is straight and sandy. It faces the Atlantic Ocean and is about 750 meters (or 2,460 feet) long. Behind the beach, you'll see tall sand dunes and the famous Headland Hotel.
The name "Fistral" comes from the Cornish word bystel. This word means 'foul water'. It might have been named this because the strong waves made it a tricky place for boats to land a long time ago.
Surfing at Fistral Beach
Fistral Beach is super famous for surfing. Because it faces west, it gets lots of big waves from the Atlantic Ocean. This makes it a perfect spot for surfers. Many big international surfing competitions happen here. There's even a special building at North Fistral for judges and competitors. It also has a surf museum where you can learn about surfing history.
Several important surfing groups are based at Fistral Beach. These include the British Surfing Association, the Newquay Surf Life Saving Club, and the Newquay Boardrider Club.
The Cribbar: Big Waves
At the north end of Fistral Beach, there's a special reef called The Cribbar. When the ocean waves are really big, this reef makes them break even higher. It's known as Cornwall's top spot for "big wave" surfing. Waves here can reach up to 30 feet (about 9 meters) high!
On September 21, 2006, Fistral Beach hosted a special surfing event. It was called the British Surfing Association's Gold Rush Big Wave Competition. The waves were over 8 feet (about 2.4 meters) high that day. This was because of a big storm called Hurricane Gordon. A surfer named Scott Eastwood won the competition. He was 28 years old and scored a perfect 10 in the final round.
The exciting Boardmasters Festival also takes place at Fistral Beach every year. It's a big event with surfing, music, and lots of fun.
