South Devon Kitesurf Club

Low tide to Mid Tide. Avoid two hours either side of high tide because beach is either too small or non-existent. Intermediate - Advanced levels only. Good kite control and upwind a must. Beginners OK at low tide.

Burgh Island can be a great kitesurfing spot, but it's not ideal. First of all it is a very popular windsurfing and surfing spot, so you aren't very welcome if you are going to cause a nuisance. Opposite this spot is Bantham beach which is the better place to learn (and kitesurf generally) but Bantham is not as good as Burgh in certain conditions and wind directions.

Bantham surfers will head for Bigbury in a NW. It gets a little gusty from this direction as Bantham is in the lee, whereas the "right side" of the spit facing the island is ideal for this wind direction.

At low tide (right) the spit between the island and Bigbury allows you to launch either side, depending on wind direction, but it does get extremely busy in the summer so is best avoided. The best beach is just below Bigbury-On-Sea on the left side of the spit, which is the main part of the photo on the right. At medium to high tide this beach is quite small and frequented by windsurfers, so be careful. You would launch from this beach in a South Easterly. If you get in trouble and go downwind you will end up on the spit. BUT, if the tide is coming in (picture below) and the beach is disappearing.......then you could be in trouble so BEWARE.

In Easterlies - consider Paignton and Exmouth also. At Bigbury the wind gets very gusty because it comes over the headland between Bantham and Thurlestone and doesn't have enough time to smooth out before it gets to Burgh Island. With the holes in the wind it can become difficult to keep the kite in the air. January 2009 - one of our local kiters learned this lesson the hard way. Thankfully he was OK, but it needed the help of other kiters, windsurfers and finally the RNLI to save the day.

Also at high tides the landing beach becomes much smaller or disappears altogether. Not only does this make a smaller target for beginner to intermediate kiters but it means there are plenty of rocks around to either land on or trash your kite. Just use your common sense, ask fellow kiters and if you are not 100% confident in your abilities, the area or your ability in the conditions - don't go out (obviously this rule applies anywhere, not just Bigbury).

There are some great pubs (we love the Pilchard Inn on Burgh Island) and cafes although the parking charges are absolutely scandalous.