Westward Ho!.

Westward Ho! is a broad, sandy beach break tucked into the northern end of Bideford Bay, producing lefts and rights from shifting peaks across a flat, gently sloping bottom. The wave character is slow and crumbly - Stormrider's own anatomy flags confirm this, with no hollow or steep properties and a distinctly unhurried pace. Banks lack definition, so individual rides tend toward the short and fat side rather than walling up for distance, with ride lengths typically in the 50-100m range. The spot fires most reliably on westerly to north-westerly swells, with an east wind going offshore. Bigger winter groundswells from the SW can push the size up and give more powerful faces suited to progression surfers, but the break rarely becomes dangerous. The Pebble Ridge runs along the back of the beach; at low to mid tide there is plenty of working beach and a straightforward entry over sand, while high tide pushes the sea up to the ridge itself, shrinking usable beach and complicating entry. Surf schools operate here regularly, drawn by the forgiving nature of the waves. An estuary-adjacent location means water quality can be an issue, particularly after heavy rainfall. Crowds gather when conditions are good, but the length of the bay and its multiple shifting peaks allow surfers to spread out; localism is not a known factor here.

Soft walls that shift across the sandbar from low tide through high tide.