Teaching the Art of Surf Riding

Coast to Coast Surf School was established in Dunbar in 2004 and now operates annually on Scotland’s West, North and East coastlines. 

Our ethos is to give a professional, fun, safe and informative introduction to a range of adventure sports. As a result, we help customers join a lifetime ladder of development building skills and knowledge!  

It is our pleasure to help customers discover the beauty that Scotland’s coastline has to offer. All in all, we hope the way we run our surf school will bring new friendships, an understanding for community and a new respect for the environment. 

Customers, Community & Sustainability

are central at Coast to Coast Surf School

As a family run business, we have grown organically with a philosophy where staff and customers are central. Subsequently this helps us produce the best lessons and courses possible for our customers in a friendly, safe and informative way.

At Coast to Coast Surf School, our top-quality hire equipment provides warmth in the water and performance in the waves.

Our staff have had great success in surfing. Firstly, Clover is a European championship junior body board semi finalist 2018 and 3rd in Scotland women short boarding.

Josh is a senior finalist in 2017 (the first ever Scottish surfer to make a final). Lastly, Sam is national longboard champion and was also Scottish junior team coach in Morocco European Championships 2016, with Scotland finishing 9th their best result to date.

Community and the environment are central to our vision for the next decade.

We are proud of our junior development surfing programme that has operated since 2011. Significantly, it has now produced multiple Scottish junior team members. Our current crop of juniors working with the Belhaven Surf Club already have a few national champions and series winners!

We’ve done our first carbon footprint audit of Coast to Coast Surf School – putting in place strategies to work towards net zero. See our sustainability page to learn more.

Each year, we host 2 community events. Firstly, the Coast to Coast Surf School Lowland longboard surf championships is a fun, laid back surf event celebrating skill on the longer board. Then, we host the SUP Sprints – a flat water SUP and surf safety community event in August.

Meet the team

at Coast to Coast Surf School

Sam

Hey! I'm Sam. I've run Coast to Coast Surf School since 2004. I am a trained Beach Lifeguard, ASI level 2 Surf and Paddleboard Instructor and Scottish National junior Surf coach as of 2023. In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family, free surfing, climbing and adventure sports. I've been in and out of the Scottish National Surf team for most of my life, being in the top 3 top Scottish longboarders for the last decade.

Josh

Aloha! I’m a senior instructor at C2C Surf School. I’ve been enjoying surf sports since I was a young child on holiday in Cornwall and I’ve been surfing and exploring in Scotland since my teenage years. Over the years I have competed in, long board, short board, SUP and bodyboard with my best result making the Euro Finals for the Scotland team in Bodyboard. For the last few winters I have been migrating like a bird to Spain where I run Coast to Coast Spain!

Clover

Hey, I'm Clover. I'm 20 years old and when I'm not surfing I spend my time studying Fine art at university. I got into surfing at age 5, spending my younger years learning to surf at Coast to Coast. I was lucky enough to be selected for a local surf squad at 12 which then led me to spend the last 8 years competing in National Surf Competitions.

Malcolm

Hey I’m Malcolm! I’m an instructor in Surfing and Coasteering. I actually learnt how to surf on our Junior courses. I’ve worked here since I was 14 so I really have grown up around C2C! I’m now finishing my undergraduate degree at Glasgow University. In my time in Glasgow I’ve been Captain of the University surf club as well as this I won the Scottish Universities surf championships.

Chris

Age is no barrier – that’s my philosophy on life. Young at heart if not in body (any more). I qualified as an instructor in 2021 but volunteering with Coast to Coast for many years and surfing since 1984. Favourite part of the job is seeing beginners stand up for the first time and shout for joy. I also enjoy working with our talented squad of junior surfers. They keep me motivated.

Ebon

Hi, I'm Ebon! I have been surfing since I was about ten and I love it. I compete in surfing competitions all over Scotland. Last summer I competed in the Eurosurf junior surfing championships with the Scottish team. I am a member of the Belhaven Surf Club here at C2C. At Coast To Coast, I help teach lessons and make sure the surf centre is all organised and tidy, I love getting great waves for a surf lesson and taking Coasteer sessions.

Meet the team

Sam

Hey! I'm Sam. I've run Coast to Coast Surf School since 2004. I am a trained Beach Lifeguard, ASI level 2 Surf and Paddleboard Instructor and Scottish National junior Surf coach as of 2023. In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family, free surfing, climbing and adventure sports. I've been in and out of the Scottish National Surf team for most of my life, being in the top 3 top Scottish longboarders for the last decade.

Josh

Aloha! My name’s Josh I’m a senior instructor at C2C Surf School. I’ve been enjoying surf sports since I was a young child on holiday in Cornwall and I’ve been surfing and exploring in Scotland since my teenage years. Over the years I have competed in, long board, short board, SUP and bodyboard with my best result making the Euro Finals for the Scotland team in Bodyboard in 2015(?) For the last few winters I have been migrating like a bird to Spain where I run Coast to Coast Spain! Surfing has opened up so many doors to see amazing places, meet great people and learn new skills on the way. I hope that you’ll find the same stoke that I’ve had over the years. See you on the beach!

Clover

Hey, I'm Clover. I'm 20 years old and when I'm not surfing I spend my time studying Fine art at university. I got into surfing at age 5, spending my younger years learning to surf at Coast to Coast. I was lucky enough to be selected for a local surf squad at 12 which then led me to spend the last 8 years competing in National Surf Competitions. I'm now an ASI trained surf instructor and Beach lifeguard and spend my summer months teaching at C2C meeting lots of lovely people.

Malcolm

Hey I’m Malcolm! I’m an instructor in Surfing and Coasteering at the surfschool, I actually learnt how to surf in the Junior courses that we offer, and I’ve worked here since I was 14 so I really have grown up around C2C! I’m now finishing my undergraduate degree at Glasgow University, in my time in Glasgow I’ve been Captain of the University surf club as well as this I won the Scottish Universities surf championships, as well as this I’ve picked up a passion for hiking and climbing, which keep me busy when there's no waves. I look forward to meeting you when you come to the sea with us!

Chris

Age is no barrier – that’s my philosophy on life. Young at heart if not in body (any more). I qualified as an instructor in 2021 but volunteering with Coast to Coast for many years and surfing since 1984. Favourite part of the job is seeing beginners stand up for the first time and shout for joy. I also enjoy working with our talented squad of junior surfers. They keep me motvated. In my youth I enjoyed success as an endurance runner, competing in the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada over 10,000m. I was also Royal Navy helicopter aircrew for 17 years which was an amazing experience.

Ebon

Hi, I'm Ebon, Im 16 years old (turning 17 this July) and I live in Dunbar. I have been surfing since I was about ten and I love it. I compete in surfing competitions all over Scotland and last summer I competed in the Eurosurf junior surfing championships with the Scottish team. I am a member of the Belhaven Surf Club here at C2C and I always enjoy our training sessions. At Coast To Coast, I help teach lessons and make sure the surf centre is all organised and tidy, I love getting great waves for a surf lesson and taking Coasteer sessions. I play Guitar and Piano with a little bit of bass and I love music! I'm always happy to give you a hand or answer any questions you might have about surfing!

FAQs

Standard lessons last for two hours. This is from the lesson start time to finish time in the water. Please allow roughly 15-30mins extra for the walk back and changing.

Most classes are groups, with ratios of one instructor to 8 pupils. More advanced surf and paddleboard classes can be smaller number. For classes with younger participants we normally provide assistants to compliment the instructors. We can offer weekday private classes and these will appear on our website when we have availability.

Please bring a towel, swim costume and sun protection. Furthermore, tt can also be useful also to bring £1 coins for the surf centre hot showers and the beach car park. There are local places to eat within 5-15 minutes walk. There is also a food van that sells coffee, cakes and toasties at certain times of the year in the beach car park. 

We provide excellent wetsuits and accessories appropriate to conditions. As a result, you will be warm and comfortable throughout the year. All surfboards, skateboards, paddleboards and bodyboards are also included in the cost of lesson. And safety equipment is provided for coasteering and skateboarding classes.

The biggest comment we get is “I can’t believe how warm I am!” We set Coast to Coast up with the intention that our customers would wear suits we as staff would want to use. Quality, warm new 5mm wetsuits. This investment has meant very happy customers for almost two decades. In all but the most extreme days, we run classes. Even in snow at the start of seasons. The wetsuits and accessories are amazing. We rotate our stock with all our current stock suits in their first season, so they are very warm! It also means we have an excellent second hand rail for keen customers looking to surf independently

We start lessons in general at 7 years old and juniors must be able to swim 50m unaided.

We have no upper limit and as long as you are fit and flexible enough to participate we welcome you! We’ve had first timers well into their 70’s!

You can find level guides for SUP and Surf under the corresponding tabs on our website.

We are happy for you to give your spot to a friend or a family member – just let us know before so we can change the information on our system. A full refund is offered if someone tests positive or needs to self-isolate. Other cases are assessed on the individual basis.

Best is to book online. You will fill in all the details yourself which you will find easier and less time consuming and also have your own log in. In case you struggle, there is a technical problem or you need to place a special order, please give us a call or send us an email.

Yes we have good public transport links in Dunbar.

Train : Dunbar is on the London to Edinburgh route and trains take approx 25 minutes from Edinburgh. It is then 20 minutes walk to the surf centre through dunbar or 5 minutes by taxi. 

Bus : There are regular buses from Edinburgh that take approx 1 hour but stop at Belhaven and its 5 mins walk to the centre.

Bike : Dunbar has a growing cycling network and it is now possible to use cycle paths in a range of directions from neighbouring towns.

The Shore Road beach car park is just across the road from the surf centre. There are 100’s of spaces but it can get busy on summer surf days. Please bring some coins or a card as the current charge is £2.50. For really big vehicles, the last turning into shore road and the turnings into the beach car park are very tight. Therefore, we advise parking on the main road and walking the last 150m. There is no electric charging in the car park however, Dunbar has multiple public charging points all within 10-15mins walk from the beach.

You may leave your car keys in our office during your session.

We recommend checking surf forecast www.magicseaweed.com. Type in Belhaven Bay. Usually, 1-2ft+ is a good indication there will be waves. You can also check out our surf forecast here.

For all lessons and hires we require all participants to be able to swim a minimum of 50 metres unaided.

We hire the equipment only to customers who previously had a lesson – not necessarily with us!

We do have a general locker available in the centre for customer use and all valuables can be left in the office.

We have a team of experienced instructors who have current surf lifesaving qualifications and surf and play in our waters regularly. All of our activities are regularly risk assessed to ensure customer safety. We also are assessed by AALA every two years.

We ask all participants to declare any injuries or health conditions. If you have anything you feel could hamper or provide difficulties in standard activity participation – please double check with our office and instructor team before booking.

It is advised that you not to take part if pregnant. We understand many pregnant women have taken part in sport successfully but due to the potential to fall or for a board to hit the body in our main three sports, we prefer to be cautious and will welcome you back with open arms when you have brought your new arrival into the world!

The vast majority of classes are ran in a range of conditions including rain, sun, wind etc. We notify all customers the night before to confirm their class is on. If it is not on due to weather conditions we offer a refund, voucher or reschedule or the chance to join a different activity if we have space.

All classes on the east coast meet at the 

Belhaven Surf Centre 

36 Back Road (on Shore Road)
Belhaven, Dunbar
East Lothian
EH42 1NX

There are two big campsites in Dunbar, the Belhaven Campsite and the Dunbar Caravan and Camping campsite, we have a wide range of self-catering and AirBnB options, We also have 5 hotels. You can search via visiteastlothian.org

Yes we have the Brig and Barell pub 5-10 minutes walk from the surf centre providing quality pub food, we also have the Winterfield golf course restaurant providing a range of breakfast and lunch options plus dining. Dunbar high street also has a wide range of dining options and is within 5-10 drive from the centre.

Have a question that we haven't covered?

Just fill out the form and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Find your surf level

Surf coaching can help you improve quickly but it’s important to start at the right level.

We have 4 stages of development: beginner, improver, intermediate and advanced.

The way we teach, where and what we offer varies depending on your level.

Beginner

Ideal for?

  • Those new to the sport of surfing
  • Those who have surfed before but struggle to catch or stand in white water waves

Aims: To have fun surfing safely while developing your technique and knowledge – becoming a white water warrior!

Availability: Daily lessons subject to waves and tours.

Improver

Ideal for? 

  • Those who can catch waves and stand with good posture consistently and in control in white water
  • Those who are surfing unbroken waves but are struggling to catch unbroken waves, trim along or control speed.

Aims: To position, paddle, pop up and glide better along unbroken waves safely while developing your technique and knowledge – becoming a green wave glider!

Availability: Weekly lessons subject to waves and tours.

Intermediate

Ideal for?

  • Those that can surf with control along an unbroken wave.
  • For those that wish to improve their speed and manoeuvrability.

Aims: To have fun learning to use your body, the wave and your board to surf dynamically learning the foundation skills in surfing – becoming a blue wave ripper!

Availability: Weekly lessons subject to waves, bespoke offseason lessons, online coaching and tours.

Advanced

Ideal for? 

  • Those that have the foundation manoeuvres dialled but wish to know more.

Aims: To use the wave differently surfing deeper, further, higher and lower.

Availability:

Tours and bespoke offseason lessons, online coaching.