Name:

Fraisthorpe Beach

Beach description:

Fraisthorpe beach is just South of the seaside town of Bridlington. Though kite surfers ride at Bridlington and Fraisthorpe, it is the latter that is the more popular with the kite crowd. Fraisthorpe is a quieter beach and as such tends to be better suited to kite surfing, avoiding conflict with other beach users. Fraisthorpe will work on anything from a Northerly, clockwise around to a Southerly, though it can be gusty on a pure Northerly as the wind comes over the town of Bridlington. The more easterly winds are usually the cleanest.

Beach Access

Fraisthorpe beach is accessed via a single track road leading out of tiny, Fraisthorpe Village, just South of Bridlington. See map below for location/postcode. Parking is just £2 for the full day, if the farmer who managed the area is about. If it’s out of hours, it’s £1 which you put into an honesty box. If it’s busy, kite surfers usually head for the far north end of the parking area (down a narrow dirt track). If it’s on, there’s usually a few friendly faces around to help you launch, tell you what to watch out for. I’m one of them.

Code of Conduct

Wind Direction

North, North-East, East, South-East, South

Water Type

The ideal is to avoid 1-2 hours either side of high tide because high tide brings you among the various WW2 concrete bunkers which are potential crash hazards. If you walk 100 metres towards bridlington there’s usually enough room to launch and land even at high tide, and if you stay towards Bridlington away from the bunkers, it’s relatively safe. Fraisthorpe is a shore break with usually mushy waves so it's not a great wave venue, though with strong winds it does sometimes have pretty large waves. Unfortunately you never get a wave that breaks in one direction. Occasionally, at certain tide states, Fraisthorpe does develop some small, flat-water lagoons - perfect for freestyle/wake-style riding. However these sweet spots rarely last long, and you inevitably find yourself back in the messy waves.

Hazards

The public: kids, dog walkers etc. While Fraisthorpe Beach is quiet, it does have a small campsite and as such you’ll often find a few people about. Watch out for the second world war bunkers. Right in front of them are some sharp obstacles which can be hidden as high tide approaches.