Intro to Wild Swimming, Surfing & Yoga in Cornwall
Swim in secluded spots, catch some waves and enjoy relaxing restorative yoga in the Cornish woodland
Intro to Wild Swimming, Surfing & Yoga in Cornwall
Swim in secluded spots, catch some waves and enjoy relaxing restorative yoga in the Cornish woodland
DURATION
1 night
LOCATION
United Kingdom
ANNUAL LEAVE
0 days off work
SEASON
May—Sep
GROUP SIZE
Up to 10 people
MEETING POINT
Newquay
ACCOMMODATION
Wild camping
DIFFICULTY
Easy
No sea swimming, surfing or yoga experience is needed, but you should be able to swim front crawl comfortably for 50m in a pool.
Enjoy two professionally guided wild swimming sessions in Cornwall’s sheltered bays and coves
Grab your board for a chilled surf lesson and unwind with some restorative yoga in a woodland yoga barn
Stay in a private surf camp deep in the woods and kick back beneath the stars in your shared bell tent
All our reviews are verified
— Sally, September 2021
I booked this trip as I was hoping to overcome my fear of the sea and it didn't disappoint. Having Shona go through all the safety aspects before the wild swimming instilled the confidence in me to just get on with it. The bracing water was exhilarating and the swim along the coastline, even seeing Sammy the Seal was just great. No fears at all. Swimming in a group, with a certified swim instructor and additional safety person along side. It was a real highlight. The surf lesson was fun, this was hosted by Willow and I really enjoyed it. The restorative yoga with Aimee set at sunset in a field overlooking the Cornish countryside was a real highlight for me. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and felt all the team really put their "all" into making it a great experience.
— Louise, August 2021
A great trip! So much fun! The weather was sadly not on our side and so our wild swimming didn’t quite go to plan. A good sea swimming alternative was provided on day 1 (tidal river) and although challenging was a good introduction to open water conditions. On the second day we couldn’t swim so had another surf lesson instead. All the staff were so friendly and inclusive, the accommodation was basic (as described) but really lovely - a great night in the woods! The yoga sessions were relaxed and informal, suitable for beginners and regular yogis. Everything was easy to opt in and out of with no fuss or judgement. I loved this trip and would recommend it! I might even go again next year!
— Yana, September 2021
The adventure was outstanding. The staff were extremely friendly and knowledgeable. Ensured everyone is safe and happy at all times. We were carrying heavy bags and the group was given the privilege to store them with the crew. Very safe and friendly environment. The owners were there at all times ensuring everyone is where they are supposed to be. Overall, a great atmosphere. Will be back!
— Nina, August 2021
Absolutely faultless, had such an amazing time and would highly recommend to anyone. The wild swimming was the highlight for me, Shona and Max instilled confidence and were really lovely to spend time with. I was a solo traveller and could not have asked for a better group. Yoga in a meadow with an amazing view was pretty awesome too and even though I didn’t stand up, surfing was so much fun. The campsite was truly beautiful and we didn’t want for anything. I’d do it again in a heartbeat!!!
— Kate, August 2021
I had such a brilliant time on the trip! All the instructors were super friendly and the equipment/camp were top notch
— Kathryn, August 2021
The activities were great fun and the wild camp was lovely. You get to meet great people and is great for beginners like me. A little expensive considering you have to pay for food on top and parking. Would be nice if food was included and/or get reimburssed for parking and petrol as the camp was a 20 minute drive and parking is expensive.
— Elaine, August 2021
Great fun! Great value for money! The Wild Camping was a fantastic experience and surfing/ wild swimming instructors were friendly and helpful.
— Lucy, August 2021
Absolutely fantastic. The instructors were really fun, patient and encouraging. You can tell they take safety really seriously whilst also making sure you’re getting the best out of your experience. The emails and info before the trip covered everything too; it’s super organised so you can relax and focus on having fun! I loved this trip, made some great memories. Thank you!!
— alistair, August 2021
Great trip. Friendly and helpful. The camp site we went to is really cute and the tents lovely and spacious. If you stay in Newquay before or after book places for dinner, we could not get in anywhere and ended up ordering takeaway pizza and eating it on a bench.
— Georgina, July 2021
Trip was great, good guides and instructors who knew what they were doing. We also loved staying next to the dairy farm at the wild camping spot! Apart from some better charcoal for the bbq, nothing we would change
Included
Guides
Experienced and certified swimming, surf and yoga instructors
Accommodation
1 night of woodland camping in shared bell tents
Equipment
All your surfing and camping equipment
Meals
A basic camp breakfast
Not Included
Travel to and from the start point
Some meals as described
Personal expenses
Travel insurance
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Host's Base, Central Newquay
08:00 on Day 1
Ends
Host's Base, Central Newquay
13:00 on Day 2
Transfers
Your adventure begins at your host's base in central Newquay which is easily accessible by car or train. If you arrive by train it’s only a 15-minute walk (1.2km) from the station to the start point. Alternatively, you can also travel by air to Newquay Airport and get a 20-minute taxi to the start point. If you're arriving early or staying on after your trip feel free to ask your local host for accommodation suggestions in Newquay.
Your adventure ends in at your host's base in central Newquay at 13:00.
Travel options
There are regular trains and flights to Newquay from across the UK.
Day 1
Wild camping · Mixed dorm
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2
Departure day
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
What is the food like?
Newquay has a range of restaurants for any budget, as well as a supermarket across the street from the surf shop. You'll need to buy ingredients for dinner at the camp - simple is best as you will be BBQ’ing and cooking over the camp fire. Given the diversity of food available in town, all dietary requirements can be accommodated including vegetarian and vegan diets. You will be provided with a basic camp breakfast of cereals, fruit, tea and coffee that should be enough to keep you going but please bring some extra snacks if you're an extra hungry morning person.
What is the accommodation like?
Wild Camp
You’ll wild camp on untouched private land 11 miles outside of Newquay. Luxurious bell tents are arranged in woodland connected by festive banners and twinkle lights. Each bell tent sleeps 4 people. Air mattresses, clean sheets and pillows are provided: all you have to bring is a sleeping bag. There’s a composting toilet on site, and fresh water is provided for washing up, but otherwise, you’ll be without facilities in the peaceful countryside.
Covid Update: Anyone wishing to stay in their own 2 man tent equipped with an air bed can request this after booking. Alternatively, you can bring your own tent with you.
Day 1
Wild swim, surf, yoga - all in one day
Wild Swimming
1-2 hrs
Surfing
2 hrs
Yoga
1 hour
Head straight to the beach for your guided introduction to wild swimming. Newquay is packed with sheltered areas to choose from so whatever the weather, you'll be jumping in the water. You'll learn new techniques as you go - from understanding the tidal movement to working out which conditions make for a safe swim.
After some hot drinks, it's back into the ocean for an intro to surfing. You’ll learn beach and surf safety, how to catch waves on your stomach and (hopefully!) how to pop up and surf a wave back to the beach. The lesson can be tailored to your level - whether you’re a first-timer or looking to build your skills, either way, your coach will make sure you get the most from your time on the water.
You'll then grab lunch in Newquay and gather your BBQ essentials for dinner before heading off to the wild campsite for your first yoga session. The campsite is a 15-minute drive from Newquay based on a working dairy farm. Once settled in it's time to enjoy a yoga lesson in the open-sided barn, listening to nature as you relax after your busy day. The evening is yours to explore the woodland, chill out with a beer, play some games or get cooking on the BBQ.
Day 2
Practice makes perfect
Yoga
1 hour
Wild Swimming
1-2 hrs
The day starts with a morning yoga session designed to slowly energise and invigorate the mind and body before saying a fond farewell to the wild camp and making your way back to Newquay for your final wild swim in Cornwall. The focus will be to build on the previous day's introduction. With a new location, the aim is to cover a small distance and to feel confident in your new-found knowledge of wild sea swimming. You'll finish around 1pm with time left to relax on the beach before heading home.
15% Off Outdoor Gear
What's included?
- All equipment for swimming, surfing, yoga are provided - including wetsuits. For the camping: your canvas bell tent comes with a sleeping mat only. Please pack a sleeping bag and also a sleeping bag liner and pillow if you fancy one. Your host has everything you need for you to cook or bbq your food.
What do I need to bring?
- Sleeping bag
- Pillow
- Swimwear
- Flip flops / shoes for the beach
- Towel
- Sun protection (hat, sunglasses, sunblock)
- 1 litre of water per person
- Warm stretchy thermal top & bottoms for yoga
- Rain jacket
- Spare warm clothing and a hat
- Sleeping bag, warm hat, torch
- Suitable footwear for a night in the outdoors (the farm entrance can be very muddy - wellies can be hired on site)
- Toiletries, toothbrush and toothpaste
- BBQ food and drinks for dinner (this can all be picked up after your surf session from the supermarket across the road)
No optional extras are available for this trip.
We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 17kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2022 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
- Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
- A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
- 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
As a mixed ability group, you'll swim as far as the group is comfortable with, learning lots of skills and developing techniques as you go. You should be able to swim basic front crawl comfortably for 50m in a pool. The wild swimming sessions are not suitable for beginner swimmers but are perfect for beginner sea / wild swimmers.
Sea swimming inherently carries some risk, but every care is taken to make sure you have a safe swim. There will be a qualified open water coach in the water, as well as a safety paddleboarder. Your host will monitor the conditions of the sea to make sure that every session takes place in the safest spot for the conditions.
If you're new to open water/cold water swimming then we recommend wearing a wetsuit. They are also mandatory if the temperature is below 18 degrees. Wetsuits and swim hats will be provided but feel free to bring your own if you would like.
The yoga takes place in the open-sided yoga barn set in private woodland. Your host will provide yoga mats but you are of course welcome to bring your own. Make sure you have some warm thermals or leggings to practice in.
You’ll learn the basics of surfing starting with safety, then paddling, catching waves and steering the board. When you’re ready, your instructor will teach you how to pop up and ride back into shore.
No yoga or surfing experience is needed, just a basic level of fitness. You should be able to swim basic front crawl comfortably for 50m in a pool. The wild swimming sessions are not suitable for beginner swimmers, but are perfect those new to wild / sea swimming.
Sure can! Over 50% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
The surf camp is the perfect place to immerse yourself in the tranquillity of an untouched forest or just to have a good chat around the campfire. Hone your campfire BBQ skills, challenge your friends to an axe-throwing contest and practice your balance on the slack line. You’re welcome to do as much or as little at you want. Relaxing in your bell tent with a good book is always an option. Your camp has a large covered BBQ area suitable for cooking in all weathers. There’s also a basic camp cooker and all the utensils, plates, cups etc.
Summers in Newquay are cool and sunny. From May to October temperatures range from 16 – 21°C during the day, and cool off to 10 – 14°C at night. Days are usually sunny and clear. Full-length winter wetsuits are provided even in the summer to ensure you stay nice and warm while in the water.
If you struggle to see without your glasses then please do wear them. We suggest securing them to yourself with a piece of string so as not to lose them in the water. Daily throwaway contact lenses are the best option for surfing.
Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.
Travel insurance is compulsory on all of our adventures. Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure.
Your insurance policy should also include specific Covid-19 cover, including cancellation and curtailment cover if you, your travel companion or a close relative are diagnosed with Covid-19.
We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.
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