The Pole Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Scotland – North Coast, UK)

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

The Pole Surf Guide

The Pole on the North Coast is an exposed reef break that has fairly consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. Offshore winds are from the south southwest. Waves just as likely from local windswells as from distant groundswells and the ideal swell direction is from the northwest. There is no beach break and a left hand reef break too.. Best around mid tide. Unlikely to be too crowded, even when the surf is up. Watch out for rocks.

The Pole Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	2	fairly consistent	8.9°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing The Pole:

The best conditions reported for surf at The Pole occur when a Northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the South-southwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

februaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing The Pole with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of February. Clean surfable waves are typically found 52% of the time in February while 40% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 8% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

52%

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

blown out

40%

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

too small

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

Explore The Pole Location Map

Interactive The Pole 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 The Pole is Wick Airport (WIC) in U.k., 24 km (15 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to The Pole is Kirkwall Airport (KOI) in Scotland, 49 km (30 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.

The Pole Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 04:24 Local Time

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

Tides at The Pole

Current tide and informaton

For Dunnet Bay, 3 km from The Pole.

Next High Water: 12:00pm | 2.52m

Next Low Water: 05:58am | 0.62m

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

The Pole Sea Temperature

The water temperature (8.9 °C) at The Pole is very cold. You will need a quality steamer wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots. Cloudy, with an effective air temperature of (7.0 °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.