Rhossili Bay

Best Surf Season (October - March)

The North Atlantic begins to stretch its legs through October, and by December Rhossili Bay is standing tall under the first serious low-pressure systems of the winter. As strong extratropical cyclones track east across the Atlantic, long-period W/SW groundswell lines up with the bay's SSW-facing orientation, producing the most consistent and powerful surf of the year. Average swell heights climb from around 4ft (1.2m) in October to a peak of 5ft (1.6m) in January, with average periods in the 10-10.7s range from December through February. The negative phase of the NAO often parks a blocking high over Scandinavia, driving cold offshore N/NE winds into the bay and turning heavy Atlantic groundswell into clean, hollow sandbar peaks. The catch is the wind: the same systems that generate the swell often drag onshore S/SSW/SW/WSW winds across the bay. Still, when the high-pressure ridge pushes in from the north, those are the magic winter days at Rhossili.