Fistral Beach is in Fistral Bay (, meaning ''cove of the foul water'') on the

north coast North Coast or Northcoast may refer to : Antigua and Barbuda * Major Division of North Coast, an urban area and major division in the parish of Saint John * North Coast, Barbuda, an administrative district of Barbuda Australia * New South Wa ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England, United Kingdom. It is situated half a mile west of

Newquay Newquay ( ; ) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is a civil parishes in England, civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries with an airport and a spaceport, and a fishing port on t ...

at . Fistral Bay is bounded by two promontories,

Towan Head Towan Head () is a headland one mile west of Newquay on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey Landranger 2000: Newquay, Bodmin & surrounding area, 1:50 000 It is at the western end of Newquay Bay. The headland points ...

to the north and Pentire Point East (''not to be confused with

Pentire Head Pentire Head (, meaning "headland") is a headland and peninsula on the Atlantic coast in North Cornwall, England, and is about one mile square. The headland projects north-west with Pentire Point at its north-west corner and The Rumps promontory ...

'') 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 oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

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, flat ...

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 Gre ...

''. 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 suita ...

. 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, Newquay Surf Life Saving Club and the Newquay Boardrider Club are all based at Fistral Beach.Surf Newquay website. Retrieved April 2010
/ref> The Cribbar, 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. The winner was 28-year-old Scott Eastwood of the Channel Islands who scored a perfect 10 in the final. The

Boardmasters Festival Boardmasters Festival is an annual event held in Cornwall, United Kingdom, usually spanning five days on the second weekend of August. The event is a combination of live music and surfing/skateboarding competitions in and around the town of New ...

is also held at Fistral Beach.

References

* Newquay Surfing locations in Cornwall Tourist attractions in Cornwall Beaches of Cornwall