National Trust

Becky Stanhope - Surf Ambassador for the National Trust

Girls Ten Board Challenge, Godrevy 21st October 2012

The most solid surf of the year so far greeted us down at Godrevy for the The Girls Ten Board Challenge. With an eclectic mix of boards, hand planes, belly boards, logs and single fins being drawn at random, the contest provided the perfect opportunity to step away from the usual board of choice and try something a little different. I test rode the wooden hand-plane and fins in my second heat, I'll definitely be adding one to my quiver next summer.

It was great to meet so many like-minded girls and spend a day pushing ourselves on new wavecrafts. Roll on next years Ten Board Challenge. Plus, a big thank you to Alexa Poppe, Vans and the National Trust for organising the most fun contest of the year!

Here's a link to a great writeup in Drift Surf Mag...
http://www.driftsurfing.eu/index.php/archives/9806#more-9806 

Check out this cool short film of the day...

Barbed Wire Blitz, Holywell Bay, 18th August 2012

I went along to the Holywell Barbed Wire Blitz last weekend to lend a hand to the National Trust volunteers by helping remove barbed wire from underneath the sand on an area of dune (not owned by the National Trust). 

The barbed wire had been left from World War 2, it is believed that Holywell Bay was used for military training as the setup resembles a similar beach in France!

We got kitted out in waterproofs and armed with spades, buckets and bolt cutters. There were small pieces of rusty barbed wire lying on top of the sand just near the first dunes on the beach. We collected as many pieces as we could find. This also gave us a clue as to where the more dangerous buried barbed wire was so that we could remove it. Digging down it was amazing to find so much sharp wire sticking up through the sand - not good for bare feet! 

As the weather brightened up the beach started to fill up, the beach goers were really interested in what we were doing and were equally amazed to see just how much wire was buried and how much we had found. Hopefully we managed to collect a large amount of the most dangerous wire. 

It was a really productive and rewarding day and I would thoroughly recommend volunteering even a little bit of your time to the Trust. It's easy just to take the beaches for granted, I know next time I walk across Holywell Bay beach, I will appreciate the work that goes in to keep our beaches beautiful and safe.

 

Photos: Sarah Stevens

Aritcle for Surfgirl Magazine - July 2012
Living and surfing in Cornwall, the little oak leaf motif of the National Trust is a familiar sticker to be seen on surfer’s cars. Other than knowing that becoming a member meant cheaper summer parking, until recently I knew relatively little about the extensive work National Trust does to protect our coastline and why I should become involved with the National Trust.

Having been asked to become a National Trust surf ambassador along with some of the UK’s top professional surfers including Alan Stokes, Candice O’Donnell and Ben Skinner, I was keen to begin the role and meet the other surfers.

The Surf Ambassadors at Sandymouth Bay. 

Photo: Ben Selway.

Sandymouth Bay was the location where we were to get stuck into some volunteering. After briefing and instructions on our task we trekked up onto the start of the coastal path, armed with bow saws and clippers. Our job was to remove some of the overgrown gorse on the hillside. The gorse grows rapidly in this coastal environment, overtaking important grazing land and pastures and quickly invades coastal footpaths. It amazed me how much there was to do, we only made such a small dent on the massive area that needed to be cleared, but definitely felt a sense of satisfaction knowing that we’d each done our little bit to help.

Talking to the National Trust volunteers, it became apparent how much work there is to do at Sandymouth alone let alone across the country. Protecting forests, woods, fens, farmlands, nature reserves, historic houses and gardens as well as a large amount of our coastline in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the UK would look very different without the National Trust. And chances are that some of the areas you love are looked after by the Trust!

The coastline that the National Trust protects is home to many of the best surfing spots in the country including; Godrevy, Chapel Porth, Holywell Bay, Crantock, Sandymouth, Woolacombe, Freshwater West, Portstewart Strand in Northern Ireland, Compton Bay on the Isle of Wight and Rhossili in South Wales.

Godrevy and Crantock are two of my favorite surf spots so I definitely don’t want to see them being spoilt or developed! I have decided to make it my mission to surf as many of the National Trust beaches as possible this year so I can really appreciate their beauty. Although that could be a big task as the National Trust owns over 800 miles of the UK’s coastline!

The National Trust is a charity and relies on it’s 4 million members and 61,000 volunteers, who carry out essential conservation work to coastal footpaths and take part in regular beach cleans - I’m looking forward to getting my wellies on and helping clean my local beach!

By becoming a member of the National Trust, or even better volunteering a little bit of your spare time, you can help play a part in protecting your outdoor playground. To find out more about how the National Trust is involved in protecting your local area, or how to get involved visit http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/activities/surfing/