South Devon Kitesurf Club

Across the bay from Burgh Island and Bigbury, and the opposite side to the mouth of the river Avon, Bantham is probably the best of all, for all levels of kitesurfer.

Kiters must stay to the right of the red/yellow RNLI beach flags for the swimmers and no launching or sailing from the left hand side of the flags. It is very important to be EXTRA CONSIDERATE on this beach. Set up far away from crowds, on kite beach if required, in the big open spaces. You may have to avoid kiting altogether if the beach is busy.

The lifeguards want to see at least a 50 metre distance around swimmers and surfers - this may mean that there just isn't the room to kite. Also be sure to have 3rd party insurance up to date or you can't surf here. See home page.

Wind surfers tend to avoid Bantham, probably because of the long walk to the water at low tide - but this very reason makes it ideal for kitesurfers.

Unfortunately there is a small window for kiting in a given wind direction - but it is the prevailing westerly wind.

Do be careful kitesurfing when the tide is going out - the water can disappear quite fast and the beach undulates leaving very shallow water out at sea, when further inshore it can be quite deep - potentially very dangerous when jumping.

Also when the tide is coming in, it rushes down the river, so if you are under-powered you'll be sucked into the black hole. But don't panic, just at the mouth of the river is a beach area (kite beach) where you can land, pack up and walk back! On the upside the shallow water provides a beautiful "skim board" effect giving extra lift and the impression of skating effortlessly across the surface.

Please note that the use of kite buggies and land boards is not permitted at Bantham, as there simply is not enough room to be safe.

In addition the Sloop is a great village pub - really friendly, and also depending on the time of year and day the car park may be cheaper than the one at Burgh.