Cool Place of the Day: Museum of British Surfing, Devon

Every day, a new place to discover or explore from coolplaces.co.uk

It’s International Surfing Day today, and we thought we’d celebrate one of the sport’s unsung heroes, Pete Robinson, a collector of boards and surfing paraphernalia who started the excellent Museum of British Surfing in Braunton, north Devon, back in 2012.

Robinson has since moved on, but Britain’s self-appointed national surf museum couldn’t be in a better place, both literally and metaphorically, for not only has it gone from strength to strength in the four years since it opened, but for many people, Croyde, Braunton and the north Devon coast is the true home of UK surfing. In the 1920s locals rode the breakers here on wooden planks – known as coffin lids – and the nearby surf beaches of of Saunton, Putsborough and Woolacombe have been a hub for the UK surf industry since the late 1960s.

Most of the museum is devoted to British surf culture – past, present and future – kicking off with the "Art of Surfing". There are sketches of Hawaiian surfers drawn by sailors of Captain Cook’s expeditions, 1920s adverts of beaming belles on their boards as well as airbrushed surf art on early boards. There’s even a photo of south Devonian Agatha Christie with a board at Waikiki, where the author became one of the first Britons ever to master stand-up surfing. Worth visiting whether you're a battle-hardened surf dude or just a beginner looking for context and inspiration.

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