by Emily Wilkins
SurfGirl’s festival guide for summer 2015
Chill at the Mill ∙ 22nd – 24th May ∙ Mawgan Porth
The Retorrick Mill is situated over looking the beautiful beach at Mawgan Porth, just outside Newquay. There’s a great Funk and Reggae line up, an emphasis on food and a connection to the surf. Supported by King Surf, there will be lessons available and a weekend of sun, waves, fishing, music and booze. Can’t wait!
https://www.facebook.com/chillatthemill?fref=ts
Tunes in the Dunes ∙ 22nd – 24th May ∙ Perranporth
The Dunes at Perranporth are boasting a stacked music line up of local favorites Willie And The Bandits, Mad Dog Mcrea, BackBeat SoundSystem and Ruarri Joseph as well as the big headliners Scouting for Girls, Status Quo and Tom Odell. This festival is a first time event but has grown out of a long line of stompings at The Watering Hole, and if that’s anything to by we can expect a great mix of the chilled out surf vibe with a great party from this one.
http://www.tunesinthedunes.co.uk
Electric Beach ∙ 12th and 13th June ∙ Newquay
Can you imagine dancing in the sun at a beach festival to anything better than Cat Empire?! These guys are heading Newquay’s other fantastic festival, Electric beach. Coupled with lapping up Newquay’s surf culture by day and after parties at The Koola and Chy Bar with the likes of Jelly Jazz and Hong Kong Ping Pong it’s time to get your dancing feet a-hopping.
http://www.electricbeachfestival.co.uk
Gold Coast Ocean Fest ∙ 19th – 21st June ∙ Croyde N. Devon
You can get down to Roots Manuva, Gaz Coombes and Ghostpoet, set amongst the rolling hills of Devon and overlooking Croyde Bay at the Gold Coast Ocean Fest. There’s a super chilled and surfey vibe at this long standing festival, the little towns nearby are beautiful and nearby campsites rustic. A great weekend to be had by all.
Tropical Pressure ∙ 17th – 19th July ∙ Porthtowan
This is a cool, local and relatively new festival with something for the whole family by day and running late into the night for the fiesta fandangos. With an all but compulsory tropical fancy-dress code and 360˙ view of our beautiful rugged coast line this festival is a must.
http://tropicalpressure.co.uk
Somersault · 23rd – 27th July · Castle Hill, North Devon
Last year we attended this first time festival, and we loved it! Bigger than we expected, there was a great mix of music, food and boutique stall with a presence from the likes of O’Neill and the SAS team leading that cool surf vibe. Set in the beautiful grounds of a country house, complete with a little river and humped-back-bridge, this baking weekend saw everyone enjoying what this festival had to offer and this year the line up is looking just as lovely.
http://somersaultfestival.com
Boardmasters ∙ 5th – 9th August ∙ Newquay
This is the big one for us on the UK surf scene. With a great line up topped by the massive Faithless, Rudimental and Bastille with other favorites Arrested Development, Nick Mulvey, and Catfish and the Bottlemen to name but a few – the music side is sounding pretty exciting all on it’s own!
Then of course there’s the surfing, including the Women’s Longboard Competition that SurfGirl will be proudly presenting. At Fistral there’s skating, Bmxing, the beach sessions… even more live music right on the beach, with the Beach Bar and BBQ to keep you well fed and watered throughout. This festival’s got it covered, all you have to do is turn up in the town and it’ll be going off all around you!
http://boardmasters.co.uk
Is the wilderness of Wales or the cold water legends of Northern Ireland your thing? Check out these three, they look and sound super impressive. We’d jump at the chance to go to any of them here at SurfGirl:
Sea Sessions ∙ 19th – 21st June ∙ Bundoran, Donnigal, N. Ireland
Irish festival’s tend to be in a class of their own at the best of times with good craic seeping in at every angle. This one’s by the sea, it offers the biggest prize in Irish surf competitions and rewards competitors for singular biggest move, making it pretty cheer-worthy for spectators and has all the music you could possibly want. Would Example float your festival boat? How about the legendary Seasick Steve, Maverick Sabre and Sigma, to name but a few.
Wakestock ∙ 11th – 13th July ∙ Llyn Peninsula, North Wales
This is home to one of the original and biggest wakeboarding competitions in the world, so it draws quite a crowd, already has a huge lineup of bands already announced and is set in one of those beautiful less-visited corners of the British Isles. You could even have a go at wakeboarding and pick up some new board skills!
http://www.wakestock.co.uk
Glass Button Beach ∙ 12th – 15th August ∙ Abersock, North Wales
This festival looks so fun! There’s surfing, skating, flyboards, SUP’s, wakeboarding, and a paint fight!!! Which if the pictures are anything to go by looks like Welsh highland dwellers meet India’s Holi Festival of Colours. Oh and the line up’s endless. Professor Green or Less Than Jake ring any bells? They’ll be there, so should you!
http://www.glassbutterbeach.com
…Now who’s feeling excited?!
