Surf Forecasts:
Widemouth Bay surf forecast from 25 Aug 2026:
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 29 Aug, 1PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 9s period, W swell with 1,581 kJ wave energy.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Widemouth Bay this week:
The most powerful waves expected at Widemouth Bay in the next 16 days are 3.5m 9s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 29) at 1PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.6m 3s period and expected on Tuesday (Aug 25) at 7AM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | - | - |
| Best Surf | - | - |
| Most Powerful | 1PM (Sat 29th Aug) | 11ft (3.5m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Widemouth Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, I’m gonna level with you—Widemouth Bay on the north Cornwall coast has a tough run ahead. There’s surf in the water for the next 16 days, but the wind and conditions fight it the whole way. The pattern starts with barely rideable small stuff, then builds into some solid-sized swell that gets absolutely hammered by onshore winds. It’s not until the final stretch that we finally get a clean window.
Tuesday the 25th and Wednesday the 26th are minimal—tiny little knee-high waves around 1ft to 2ft from the WNW, period under 10 seconds, weak energy (24 to 39). The wind is offshore early Tuesday, so those tiny waves will be glassy, but it’s barely worth paddling out for. Wednesday the wind goes cross and the waves stay weak. Thursday the 27th is still poor, with 1ft waves and a short 7-second period—combined energy down at 19. It’s a grovel at best.
Friday the 28th looks slightly bigger but worse. Swell bumps to 2ft–3ft, but it’s onshore WSW wind and the period drops to 4 seconds—complete wind chop. By Saturday the 29th, the swell jumps to 6ft–8ft from the WSW/W, with combined energy climbing into the hundreds (233 up to 1064). That’s serious power—but the wind is either strong cross-shore or full onshore at 30 km/h, making it a messy, blown-out beast. Not for beginners, and only experts might find a few. Frankly, it looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.
Sunday the 30th through Thursday the 3rd of September is a long stretch of poor quality. Swell stays between 4ft and 8ft, period around 8–9 seconds, but every session has onshore or cross-onshore wind from the SW to WSW at 30–40 km/h. Choppy, lumpy, messy—energy values up in the 300–1,000s mean there’s power, but the surface is unrideable for any decent session.
Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th start to show some hope. Friday is still onshore and messy with 5ft–6ft swell, but on Saturday the 5th, we get a shift. Early morning Saturday sees a cross-offshore SSE wind—not perfect but clean—with 6ft swell from the west, period 10 seconds, and energy at 620. Then Saturday afternoon, it gets properly interesting: ENE wind offshore at 35 km/h, 5ft swell from the west, period 11 seconds, and combined energy at 531. The surf is marginal due to tide, but the wind is fresh offshore and the waves will be clean. This is the first standout of the whole run.
Then Sunday the 6th and Monday the 7th backslide—wind goes cross and cross-onshore, swell drops below 3ft, and energy fades. Periods get weirdly long (14–15 seconds) for such small waves, which can mean fat, weak lines at a beach-and-reef setup like Widemouth.
Finally, Tuesday the 8th of September lights up. Morning has a cross-offshore NE breeze, 6ft swell from the west with a very long 15-second period—groundswell with real push. Combined energy skyrockets to 1897. The surf is still marginal on tide, but it’s clean. By Tuesday afternoon: light NE cross-offshore wind, 5ft swell from the west, 14-second period, energy at 1241. The file says expect very good surf conditions. This is the best on offer—clean, lined-up waves with real power, best for a point or reef setup, but at Widemouth’s beach-and-reef mix, the long period might make it a little straight. Still, this is the session to circle.
Wednesday the 9th of September keeps it going: cloudy, light ESE cross-offshore breeze, 6ft swell from the WNW, period 8 seconds, energy at 538. It’s good, clean, and rideable—a solid finisher to a otherwise messy forecast.
So if you’re patient, paddle out Saturday afternoon the 5th for the first clean window, but the real highlight is Tuesday the 8th—afternoon session looks class. Crowds are often a thing at Widemouth, so expect company on the good days.
Water temp is average for the time of year, no mention of anything unusual—just standard late-summer warmth.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 8mm), mostly falling on Wed night. Warm (max 23°C on Wed morning, min 15°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 8mm), mostly falling on Fri night. Very mild (max 19°C on Fri morning, min 15°C on Thu night). Winds increasing (light winds from the S on Thu night, strong winds from the WSW by Sun afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | W 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 7 | W 8 | WSW 7 | WSW 7 | WSW 4 | W 7 | WSW 6 | W 9 | W 8 | W 8 | WSW 8 | W 9 | W 9 | W 10 | W 10 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
20 | 33 | 43 | 35 | 32 | 18 | 17 | 21 | 18 | 30 | 32 | 178 | 233 | 1064 | 228 | 160 | 324 | 912 | 1041 | 1013 | 770 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | off | cross | on | cross | on | on | on | cross | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | on | cross-on |
High Tide | 4:55AM5.70m | 5:16PM6.12m | 5:37AM6.20m | 5:54PM6.65m | 6:12AM6.68m | 6:28PM7.13m | 6:45AM7.09m | 7:01PM7.51m | 7:18AM7.40m | 7:33PM7.75m | 7:50AM7.58m | 8:06PM7.85m | 8:24AM7.62m | 8:41PM7.77m | |||||||
Low Tide | 11:07AM2.00m | 11:33PM1.70m | 11:46AM1.51m | 00:09AM1.22m | 12:20PM1.06m | 00:41AM0.81m | 12:52PM0.69m | 1:12AM0.49m | 1:23PM0.43m | 1:43AM0.30m | 1:54PM0.30m | 2:13AM0.25m | 2:26PM0.31m | 2:46AM0.35m | |||||||
6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | |
— | 8:19 | — | — | 8:16 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:13 | — | — | 8:10 | — | — | 8:08 | — | — | 8:06 | — | |
mm | — | — | 1 | — | — | 6 | — | 1 | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 2 | 3 | — | 2 | — |
Temp °C | 21 | 22 | 17 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
Feels °C | 18 | 20 | 17 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | W 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 7 | W 8 | WSW 7 | W 9 | — | — | — | — | W 8 | W 8 | — | — | — | — | W 10 |
20 | 33 | 43 | 35 | 32 | 18 | 17 | 21 | 18 | 14 | — | — | — | — | 228 | 160 | — | — | — | — | 770 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 8 | NNE 3 | N 3 | NNW 5 | NW 4 | — | W 11 | W 10 | WNW 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 2 | 8 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 13 | SW 8 | SW 8 | SW 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 4 | — | — | — | — | E 7 | — | SW 2 | — | WSW 7 | WSW 4 | W 7 | WSW 6 | W 9 | — | — | WSW 8 | W 9 | W 9 | W 10 | — |
9 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 2 | — | 30 | 32 | 178 | 233 | 1064 | — | — | 324 | 912 | 1041 | 1013 | — | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 44 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 370 | 246 | 299 | 55 | 44 | 81 | 242 | 42 | 18 | 234 | 27 | 405 | 542 | 272 | 279 | 242 | 50 |
Best forecast wave conditions in North Cornwall | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Widemouth Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Widemouth Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Widemouth Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Widemouth Bay surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Widemouth Bay) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Widemouth Bay may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Widemouth Bay is 4 km (2 miles) from Bude. If you plan a holiday in North Cornwall, look for hotels and other accommodation in Bude. Bude has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.











