THE DREAM

Throughout my late teens and twenties, I dreamed of endless beach surf days and hours lost in the sea surfing. Unfortunately, this wasn’t to be given my choice of career path, location and having no local surf community to connect with. Surfing instead became part of my travels and exploration.

Roll forward twenty (ish) years, and we are now fortunate enough to have Lost Shore Surf Resort open on our doorstep and what a HUGE privilege it was to be invited to stay here for Rocky’s 8th birthday!

I have surfed here a handful of times since we have returned from travels and what has struck me upon each visit is the welcoming and friendly atmosphere you get from each person working or visiting there. I have made new friends and plans for future meet ups.

People are genuinely delighted to be at Lost Shore, brought together in solidarity through the love of surf, being outdoors, nerves (oh the nerves!!), a healthy dose of fear and the challenge of pushing themselves beyond comfort levels, never mind the humbling feeling of being smashed by a few waves!

My family and I now have a clear skill path for development with a guaranteed and consistent wave! The only way is up, with hopefully a few twists, turns and barrels along the way!

SHREDDING

The Lost Shore Surf Resort's Wave Garden cove measures 160m long and 160m wide, 3x the size of Wembley Stadium and is the largest surf pool in Europe.

At this point it would be rude not to mention the joy of the post surf burn! Not only are you shredding on the waves, but it seems the regular surfers are also shredding the weight with an unbelievable record of 800kcals being burnt in a single session. The continuous wave and surf loop mean your shoulders, arms and back feel the warmth for hours after each session, adding to the post surf high and sense of accomplishment.

Lost Shore has 100% inspired me to work harder on my upper body strength and full body flexibility but it is also a prime example of how exercise can be pure unadulterated fun!

Whilst I caught some waves on the improver left reef cruiser session (big shout out to the lifeguard for his helpful tips and tweaks!), Nashy and the kids thoroughly enjoyed a beginner surf session with 30 minutes of dry land instruction and a warm-up before 1 hour of pool time learning to paddle and stand within the safe, shallow white waters of the pool. The kids built up a brilliant rapport with the two instructors who kept things interesting by teaching them how to do 360’s and fun tricks!

It is worth noting that the improver surf session for children is for age 11 upwards so for my boys they will have to wait a couple of years before building up to the back of the pool. You can request the ‘speedy wave’ during a beginner session in the meantime.

The fun doesn’t stop out the pool either. My kids LOVED the wide open, smooth outdoor spaces for scooting and skating up and down the waterfront. There were also many other kids on bikes tearing it up and down safely whilst the parents enjoyed a drink in the sun. Sebastian, founder of The Surf Skate Academy offers regular surf skate slots and birthday parties for kids. Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite make the timings work but we will be back soon to enjoy this as it complements surf skills and natural development perfectly.

FUEL

The Canteen is beautifully designed to enable you to relax and take in the unique surroundings. The food on offer is the perfect balance of wholesome and hearty but most importantly it tastes INCREDIBLE and is reasonably priced!

For dinner we enjoyed a ‘Civerino’s’ pizza the size of all our heads, the classic mozzarella cheese twist (kids love the challenge of how far apart they can pull the cheese before it breaks!), a ‘Morning Glory’ (previously Five March) smash burger and spuds (no trip to Lost Shore is complete without getting these!) but also on offer is ‘Mauritius Delicious’ if you like a bit of flavour and spice!

Breakfast and Machina coffees are served from 8am so make sure you get in early to nab one of the delicious Company Bakery pastries (we’d highly recommend the cinnamon bun or almond croissant!) and the cooked Scottish breakfast is fit for a king! If the pre-surf nerves are messing with your appetite the lightweight overnight oats are a tasty alternative!

POD LIFE

After an epic surf session, skate and a good feed we were more than ready for bed! Lost Shore has 38 modern and tastefully decorated waterfront pods and lodges to choose from. Each pod comes with a fully equipped kitchen, dishwasher, coffee machine and kettle covering all your basic needs as well as dressing gowns for comfort.

These state-of-the-art pods were a particular hit with the kids due to the electric open and shut curtains and projector screen for a movie night (just don’t forget your HDMI cable, doh!!). The pods were beautifully lit, the kids loved the king size bed with LED lights under the bed which made it look like it was floating, and the domed design made the kids feel like they were in a spaceship!

Just make sure you get to grips with each switch and its specific function before bed as a toilet stop in the middle of the night meant the whole pod was lit up and the projector screen came down!

OVER AND ABOVE

The beauty of Lost Shore Surf Resort is that there is something for everyone. Spear Sauna have a stunning wood-fired waterside sauna with outdoor waterfall buckets to cool you down. Or if you fancy a reset head to Michelle Denham Spa for a full body massage and/or facial. For a wee memento, head into the shop and support local designers by picking up one of Charlotte Cadzow’s amazing ceramic wave mugs.

Check out their calendar for specialist surf events or make an evening of it to support a local musician including the likes of David Laing.

As a family we absolutely loved it here! It is safe to say that Rocky had ‘the best birthday EVER!’ and the kids have well untruly caught the surf bug! We will be back to feast, surf and make more magical family memories soon.

Lost Shore - thank you for having us, you have been AWESOME!!