We might not always have luscious blue waters or beaming golden sun, but the UK has still managed to build a thriving surf culture over the past six decades. The south coast is particularly popular location for surfers, and now the world-renowned waves of north Devon have been awarded official protection.
Non-profit Save the Waves has named 18 miles of Devonshire coastline the UK’s first World Surfing Reserve. The designation aims to promote the area’s surfing heritage and to get more people on a surfboard with the involvement of groups including Wave Wahines, a surfing club for women, and Wave Project, a surf therapy organisation. It also means the coastline should get more protection from overdevelopment, dredging, erosion and pollution.
North Devon was first recognised as a World Surfing Reserve back in April 2022, but is only receiving formal designation this weekend. A three-day inauguration ceremony will kick off on Friday, May 12, including a plaque unveiling, guest speakers, live music, film screenings and surf heritage tours.
Only 11 other World Surfing Reserves exist. They include Malibu in California, Gold Coast in Australia, Playa Hermosa in Costa Rica and Ericeira in Portugal. The initiative was established in 2009 with the aim ‘protecting surf ecosystems around the globe’.
Kevin Cook, chair of the Museum of British Surfing, was the one who proposed making the area a surfing reserve. He told The Guardian: ‘North Devon is our own little piece of heaven and we have to do our damndest to ensure what we’ve been so fortunate to enjoy is there for future generations – waves for all, for ever.’
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