Sandwood Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports
(Scotland – North Coast, UK)
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- Weather State
- Spot Information
Sandwood Bay Surf Guide
Sandwood Bay on the West Coast is an exposed beach and reef break that has quite reliable surf and can work at any time of the year. The best wind direction is from the southeast with some shelter here from north winds. Tends to receive a mix of groundswells and windswells and the ideal swell direction is from the northwest. The beach break provides left and right handers. Good surf at all stages of the tide. Unlikely to be too crowded, even when the surf is up. Surfing here means negotiating dangerous rips.
Sandwood Bay Spot Info
Type: | Rating: |
---|---|
Beach and reef | 3 |
Reliability: | Todays Sea Temp*: |
fairly consistent | 49°F*ocean temperature recorded from satellite |
Surfing Sandwood Bay:
The best conditions reported for surf at Sandwood Bay occur when a Northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Southeast.
What's the best time of year to surf Sandwood Bay (for consistent clean waves)?
Explore Sandwood Bay Location Map
Interactive Sandwood Bay surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Sandwood Bay is Stornoway Airport (SYY) in U.k., 83 km (52 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Sandwood Bay is Wick Airport (WIC), also in U.k., 114 km (71 miles) away.
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- Break
- Live Wave Height (ft)
- Live Wind Speed (mph)
- Surf Rating (10 Max)
- Ocean Swells (ft)
- Wind Speed (mph)
Sunday, 5 January 2025, 21:21 Local Time
Sun | Monday 06 | |||
9PM | 0AM | 3AM | 6AM | |
Wave (ft) | ||||
Period (s) | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 |
Wind (mph) | ||||
Wind State | cross- off |
cross- off |
cross- off |
cross |
Tides at Sandwood Bay
NEXT | IS AT (local time) | remaining |
---|---|---|
high tide | ||
low tide |
Swell History at Sandwood Bay
Surf stats for Sandwood Bay, see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.
Wind History at Sandwood Bay
Wind stats for Sandwood Bay, see the variation in direction and stength by month or season on the history page here.
Sandwood Bay Reviews:
Interactive Porthcawl Point location map. View nearby buoy information, live wind conditions and surrounding roads, paths and locations to help find new breaks. Click the buoys or wind icon to view more information.
It's a long walk across the moor, and the sandflies can be hellish, so it pays to check the surf where you park at Oldshoremore before setting out. This is your last chance to pick up supplies.
If there is small (say knee to waist high) and clean surf here, Sandwood Bay will be pumping but if Oldshoremore looks like it is already your kind of size, stay here and surf it instead because Sandwood will be much too big and you'll waste a lot of time and effort getting there.
I've only been to Sandwood 3 times but each time I camped over for 2 or 3 days. For most of the time it was small and it turns out that even the most exposed beach on the Scottish mainland can get flat in summer.
When the swell did arrive, I found the best shoulders were to be had right down at the southern end where the beach becomes rocky. A very consistent left here on a boulder bottom. The rest of the beach seemed to be mostly closing out but with a steep sand profile, rock outcrops and a rivermouth, I could imagine that this little snapshot might not be representative.
Camping out in the open, or even on the beach, can seem like a good idea if you arrive in fine weather but bear in mind that such conditions don't generally last long. If the weather comes in, you'd be much better off camping amongst the big rock outcrops that you will see to your left as you first approach the beach. Some overhangs here can provide a lot of shelter from SW wind and rain.”
Other Nearby Breaks Closest To:
Discover surf breaks near Sandwood Bay. Click below to view there surf guides.
Wave Buoys Nearest To Sandwood Bay:
- Closest Wave BuoyEMEC Waverider at Billia Croo wave power test site67 mi
- Second closest Wave BuoyEMEC Waverider at Billia Croo wave power test site67 mi
- Third closest Wave BuoyMoray Firth WaveNet Site75 mi
- Fourth closest Wave BuoyWest of Hebrides WaveNet Site136 mi
- Fifth closest Wave BuoyK7 Buoy137 mi