St Ives Bellyboarding

Conor Fletcher

With over one hundred years of tradition bellyboarding has been one of the most unique ways to ride the waves in Cornwall. Having been brought to Cornwall after World War One by the veterans who learnt of the pastime from their fellow Commonwealth soldiers, bellyboarding quickly became one of the more popular ways to spend free time out on the waves. Tying into the tradition of Cornwall’s heritage we would like to introduce you to a new way to spend your time out on the Cornish waves – traditional bellyboarding

What makes bellyboarding stand out from the surfing of today is that there’s no need to stand, it doesn’t take hours of practice and fine-tuned balance to be able to enjoy yourself out on the sea so why spend the time learning when the best way to enjoy summer in St Ives is by having the most fun possible? Bellyboarding is so straightforward that all you need to do is pick up your board and get out on the waves.

What is bellyboarding?

The traditional hand crafted wooden boards you can now find in our on-site wet room are one of the earliest forms of surfing equipment. They are made to allow you to travel atop the waves and head back into shore with relative ease, allowing you to make the most out of your day on the ocean on your luxury St Ives holiday.

Visually the boards are shorter than traditional surfboards and lack the fins often seen on their counterparts and they’re also made entirely of wood, they stay away from the plastics so often used to create bodyboards and surfboards and go for a more authentic look having been hand crafted by the team at the Traditional Surf Company who take pride in creating one of the more unique ways we can ride the waves of St Ives.

There really is no better way to enjoy your summer in St Ives than getting out on the beach and into the sea, all you need to then do is catch your wave and ride it back to the shores of Porthmeor. After you've spent your summer enjoying the joys of bellyboarding then why not detour from St Ives and visit the Annual World Bellyboard Championships from the 8th of September? Only a 30 minute drive up the coast to Perranporth is where the event is hosted each year and you can see first hand the bellyboarding heritage of the county.

To find out more about our luxury apartments in St Ives why not discover how you could be enjoying the waves of Porthmeor Beach by staying in our luxury accommodation in Cornwall? With an on-site team at hand to help with anything throughout your luxury St Ives holiday there’s no reason to not delve into the wonders of the Cornish coast.