Gills Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Scotland – North Coast, UK)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

Gills Bay Surf Guide

Gills Bay on the North Coast is a reasonably exposed beach break that has reasonably consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. Ideal winds are from the southwest. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the ideal swell direction is from the northwest. Waves at the beach break both left and right. Surfable at all stages of the tide. Watch out for dangerous rips.

Gills Bay Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	3	fairly consistent	8.7°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Gills Bay:

The best conditions reported for surf at Gills Bay occur when a Northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Southwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Gills Bay (for consistent clean waves)?

decemberBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Gills Bay with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of December. Clean surfable waves are typically found 50% of the time in December while 36% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 14% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

50%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

36%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

14%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Gills Bay Location Map

Interactive Gills Bay surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Gills Bay is Wick Airport (WIC) in U.k., 21 km (13 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Gills Bay is Kirkwall Airport (KOI) in Scotland, 38 km (24 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Gills Bay Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 08:20 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	4AM	7AM	10AM	1PM
Wave (m)	WNW	NNW	WNW	NNW
Period (s)	9	10	9	9
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross- off	off	glass

What does Gills Bay look like?

Latest photos from Gills Bay. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Tides at Gills Bay

Current tide and informaton

For Freswick Bay, 8 km from Gills Bay.

Next High Water: 02:47pm | 2.25m

Next Low Water: 08:11pm | 0.88m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Gills Bay Sea Temperature

The water temperature (8.7 °C) at Gills Bay is very cold. You will need a quality steamer wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots. Cloudy, with an effective air temperature of (5.0 °C), so feeling about the same in the water or out of it.

Today, many surfers would wear a winter wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots.