If you are a beginner or intermediate surfer, look for a lifeguard patrolled beach. Ask lifeguards on duty or local surfers the most suitable and safest area to surf for your ability and be honest, you will get a lot more respect. Look for signs posted on the beach about 'rip currents', tide times or other warnings. A good idea is to find a lifeguarded beach that is flying the black and white check surfing area flags - this is more often than not the safest area for the novice to intermediate.

The wave shapes that are best suitable for learning are long walls and lines of white water that break for a long time or spill as they travel up a flat beach. Avoid small coves and groynes head for a nice open, flat beach with no obstacles like anglers or rocky outcrops.

It is best to start of surfing during periods of calm where there isn't too much wind, either offshore or onshore, or indeed any likely extremes in weather.

Most beaches in the UK will have a rideable wave at some stage of its existence it is up to the surfer to predict when, where and at what time. Study local wind and weather patterns on the news and check out a beach and see how accurate the predictions are and what the results are on the sea state - keep a log of what predicted conditions actually resulted in a rideable wave, log how big the waves were and what the wind conditions were. This way you will build up your own understanding of your surfing environment and will be less reliant on someone elses predictions - a good way of avoiding crowded conditions.

Is there a strong offshore wind blowing from land to sea? A strong offshore could mean dangerous dumping waves. Being dumped and tumbled underwater with your board thrashing around is not a suitable situation to get yourself in too. Surfing in strong offshores runs the added risk of being blown out to sea.

Is the sea state too rough and wind ruffled? This could mean a lot of water movement meaning a lot of paddling to keep in position or indeed keeping in a safe position. Small bays edged by cliffs and rocks could also mean serious water movement - head for a wide sandy, flattish beach when at a low tide is fairly flat with no major sand banks or lumps and trenches.

What are the waves breaking on? Sand, rock reef, coral reef? If you are a beginner it is advisable to start off on waves that break on sandbars, look for a gentle rolling wave that 'spills' as it travels towards the shoreline, stay away from surging, doubling up, hollow pitching waves where the lip or highest point of the wave throws forwards, meaning a challenging and possibly dangerous take off for the novice.

When is high tide? When is low? Is the tide pushing in or pulling out? Is it a spring tide or a neap tide? Spring tides are bigger they pull and push faster and the high tide line is further up the beach than a neap tide. Find out from the lifeguard the safest stage of tide to surf on your beach suitable to your ability. Lifeguards watch the sea everyday of the summer season at all its different stages and have a depth of experience of the beach they are working on. Surfers have often been cut off from being able to leave the water by not judging a high tide meaning a dangerous clambering over rocks at the foot of a cliff in surging waves or air lifted out by the Coastguard.

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