We aim to offer clear, practical guidance to help adventurers explore the coastline with confidence and care. Through detailed route information, safety advice, and community insight, we promote adventurous spirit, environmental respect, and safe exploration of the coastlines.
The following information is thanks to Sol Armer
Guided Trips and Coasteering Training
One of the easiest ways to start your coasteering career is to book a guided trip with a reputable coasteering provider. Sadly, not all coasteering providers are qualified, or have high safety standards. If you want to guarantee you are booking with a reputable company, then I would recommend you book a provider who is a member of the National Coasteering Charter (NCC). All members can be found on the NCC website:
https://www.nationalcoasteeringcharter.org.uk/
The NCC Coasteering Guide Award was launched in 2022 after years of meetings and workshops. This is aimed at individuals who wish to become guides with certain prerequisites. There is no officially recognised training for recreational coasteerers currently. If you wish to book some coasteering specific training then I would advise enquiring with one of the NCC’s qualification providers. A list of the contact information can be found on the NCC website under “Coasteering Guide Award”.
Wildlife
Certain areas may have restrictions due to nesting birds or seal mating season. See each section for details and follow these rules. In some areas, human presence can accidentally kill chicks and pups. Disturbing protected wildlife can lead to criminal charges.
Seal pupping season is usually between August and December, but it can start earlier in the South and end later in the North. Seals may become aggressive during this time to protect their pups and mate.
Nesting season can vary by species, but restrictions can start as early as February and end as late as August.
Personal Safety
5mm thickness most common; hooded, neck entry are the warmest
Canyon boots/ sturdy trainers are the most popular
Snug fitting, plenty of holes, no peak!
White Water/ Touring PDF / Impact Vests; in all but the calmest conditions
Fixed/ locked blade, in an easy to access location.
Loud and easy to access
Group Safety
VHF Radio, Personal Location Beacon (PLB), Phone & Waterproof Case, Flares, Strobe Light
Strength rated, Tape, Sling, Carabiners, Safety Rope
Strength rated, Tape, Sling, Carabiners, Safety Rope
Jacket, Gloves, Hoods
Jumps
There are lots of different styles of jumping. Here we’re just going to cover the basics for a few main jumping techniques:
Deep water jump refers to a feet first entry into the water from height, when the water is usually greater than 4m deep. The participant should leap/ step forwards from a stable position, gliding through the air before landing with their body perpendicular to the water’s surface, with their muscles tensed, legs straight and closed, toes pointed and arms tucked in close and streamlined, similar to that of a pencil. This is recognised to be the safest method to use to enter into water from any significant height.
To improve stability during the flight of the jump participants may wish to move their arms in circular motions (this may happen naturally for some people) and/or make themselves big (like a starfish) mid air before assuming the landing position.
Shallow water jump refers to the feet first entry into the water from height, when the water is usually less than 4m deep The entry in the water should be similar to that of a deep water jump, with the participants body perpendicular to the water, however, their legs should be slightly bent and feet flat ready to absorb any impact should they make contact with the seabed/ riverbed.
Shallow water entry refers to the arms and chest first entry into the water from a take off height close to that of the water’s surface. The participant should push themselves forward from either a crouched or standing position. Arms are often used to break the surface tension. This is usually used when the water is less than 2m deep.
Deep dive refers to the head/ hand first entry of a participant into the water at a high angle, e.g. near perpendicular to the surface of the water. Please be aware diving deep is not recommended due to the potential risk of spinal injuries associated with wearing a buoyancy aid and the risk of contact with the seafloor.
Self Rescue
Rescue whilst out coasteering is often far away so it is worth practising and being aware of methods for self rescue. Below you’ll find a summary of some useful self rescue equipment and towing techniques. This does not substitute professional training and I would encourage anyone getting into the sport to get professional training.
Throwlines are usually an 8-10mm floating rope in a small bag. A throwline can be used to assist a swimmer out of a dangerous zone/ climbing out of the water. They can also be used in swim and tow technique, and in emergency escape rope work. However it is worth bearing in mind; most throwline are very static, lack any real abrasion resistance and are not all strength rated. The most common lengths for throwlines are between 15-25m.
Some coasteerers have exchanged their standard throwlines for floating canyon ropes with increased abrasion resistance and a higher strength rating. There are 2 main types of floating canyon rope. You have EN 1891 (low stretch) canyoning rope, often referred to as semi-static rope, and more static ropes occasionally tested to EN564 (with a larger diameter). More static ropes are usually made with a combination of: UHMPE (Dyneema), Polyester, Aramid (Kevlar) with a Polypropylene core. 2 examples of common ropes used are Tendon Salamander 10.2mm, CE4Y Sick-Line 8.7mm.
Tapes – there are various uses for a tape. It can be used to assist in helping someone out of the water, tow someone or it can be used when building an anchor. Most common length is 5m, rated tape, which can be joined to make a closed loop sling.
Slings & Carabiners can be useful in building an anchor either for a swimline or belay someone out of an exposed section of ground. Your average climbing sling provides a lot more abrasion resistance than throwline which is important when surrounded by sharp rock. Additionally carabiners can be used in towlines to clip to a casualties BA (clean nose only) or a safety bag.
Towlines – see “Towlines Tow” in “Towing Techniques” beneath.
A Safety Rope can be used to protect less confident group members on exposed entries & exits. Dynamic ropes or canyoning ropes are carried in some instances, depending on the severity of the get ins &/ get outs and groups ability. Most do not float and it is recommended to double bag it in a dry bags so it doesn’t cause the bag to sink.
Safety Bag & Floatation can be useful in a number of situations; they are great for throwing to a panicking swimmer, supporting a less confident swimmer across a gap and towing someone. In addition, they provide storage for your emergency equipment, food and drink.
Towing
Arm Tow – use one arm to hold the casualty and one arm to swim. Holding the casualty by the chest/ shoulder strap (BA) is the most common.
Foot Tow – the rescuer holds the casualty with their feet and swims with their arms. This can be done in front crawl/ reverse butterfly with the rescuer’s feet wrapped around the casualties body/ tucked underneath their armpits.
Safety/ Flotation Bag Tow – the casualty holds the safety bag, usually over their chest, keeping their head out of the water, whilst the rescuer swims with the bag on a tether/ tape/ towline. This is the most common tow performed when a coasteerer is low on energy/ has a poor swimming ability.
Anchor – Pull Tow – attach a long towline/ throwline to casualty, swim as far as you can, then pull the casualty towards you, you’ll meet somewhere in the middle and reset. To increase the distance the casualty is towed the rescuer will want to make themselves as big as possible, or increase the number of people operating as an anchor.
Towline Tow – there are 2 mains tows used with different towlines, short 3-5m towline for a short tow and long 8-15m towline used to secure a coasteerer heading into a rough zawn to pick someone up/ supporting unresponsive casualty. Tapes and throwlines can double to be used as a towline if one isn’t carried. Prior to a zawn rescue you’ll need to discuss signals to move forwards, stop and backwards.
Husky (2 person) Tow – one person supporting the casualty, whilst another person tows both. There are lots of ways to perform this tow; see the other towing methods.
Supporting an unconscious casualty – when towing an unresponsive casualty then the priority is to keep their airway clear. This is extremely hard to do in increasingly messy conditions. The easiest way is to hold the casualty from behind and support their jaw/ chin. Spray Hoods may be beneficial in preventing water washing over a casualties face, however, it’s worth bearing in mind they are designed for life jackets rather than buoyancy aids which most coasteerers wear.
Calling for help
If you have decided you may want outside assistance to help e.g. coastguard, then it worth putting the call in as soon as possible. In some locations the coastguard can be with you in a matter or minutes, whilst other more remote locations may take a lot longer.
You’ll want to make sure any contact device you have is easily accessible, waterproofed and ideally attached to yourself/ your safety bag (non-electrical flares excluded).
VHF (Very High Frequency) Radio is a very easy, reliable device for contacting the coastguard/ summoning assistance from other users. Most VHF radios have a realistic line of sight contact range of up to 20 miles. For many coasteering venues this is within line of sight from coastguard / NCI station.
Channel 16 is the international distress frequency and is the best channel to call for help on. There are various radio courses you can attend to teach you how to use a VHF, however, in an emergency anyone can use a VHF to call for assistance.
Mobile Phones are a great device for contacting the emergency services, however, most coasteering environments lack signal and require contact to be made from the cliffs above. Call 999 and ask for the coastguard.
Personal Location Beacons (PLBs) are increasing in popularity, especially as they are getting smaller and have evidenced positive use in remote environments. Most PLBs send a signal out via an antenna either on a VHF or GPS to a satellite.
Flares & Strobes are often carried by coasteerers and can help you summon help. These require little attention so once activated you should be able to focus your attention back on self rescue/ casualty assistance. However, there are many limitations to flares, so these are often used in conjunction with other emergency contact devices. Electronic flares/ strobes are also becoming increasingly popular due to their longer active life and lack of pyrotechnics.
Whistles are carried by most coasteerers. Whilst they only have a very short range, they may be able to help you summon help from above or direct a cliff rescue team to you.
Forecast
One of the easiests ways to find out what the conditions might be like is to look at a surfing forecast. www.surfline.com (used to be magicseaweed) is one of the most popular.
You want to look specifically at the swell height (wave height before it breaks), direction and period (NOT surf height initially).
It’s worth bearing in mind most forecasts are as wrong as they are right and you are unlikely to get a specific forecast for the area you are planning to visit; so try to double check a few different forecasts.
The Met Office inshore forecast and land forecasts are good forecasts to compare it to. However, a land forecast won’t take into consideration residual swell that might have built up far out at sea and an inshore forecast won’t take into consideration the direction the coastline is facing.
https://www.surfline.com/surf-report/porth-trecastell/61415d7f29cfc625f2a2e11f?view=table
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/specialist-forecasts/coast-and-sea/inshore-waters-forecast
Swell and Surf
Swell is formed by the wind blowing over the sea and the strength and duration of that wind will determine the swell height. Swell is usually categorised into two different types; ground swell and wind swell.
Ground swell is formed further out at sea and is often accompanied with longer periods (time between each wave) and more powerful waves.
Whilst wind swell is usually formed by local winds. Despite this even wind swell requires a significant distance to form significant swell; for example an offshore wind with no ground swell is unlikely to cause any significant waves along the cliffs (unless the waves are being pushed around a headland).
Trying to predict the exact wave height from the wind speed is an art that requires a lot of experience and understanding. A basic understanding is useful to assist you in either confirming or building your own forecast for an area.
Wind over waves
Wind blowing against the direction of a wave will likely cause an increase in the wave height.
This usually causes the best conditions for surfing, however for coasteering, it can cause changings in the forecast that are hard to identify and potentially make the waves a lot bigger than predicted when they roll into the cliffs.
Below you’ll find a table of the estimated breaking wave height against the cliffs from the predicted swell height and period. Swells with longer periods hold a larger volume of water, than swells with shorter periods, so looking at the swell height alone is not enough to give you an accurate judgement on the conditions.
In addition to the estimated breaking wave height, you can find the recommended skill level required for these conditions on the chart below.
This table is an estimation based on the experience of several guides and is not backed up by scientific evidence.
There are many factors which this table does not take into consideration such as:
- Secondary swell
- Rogue waves
- Especially narrow slots/ zawns
- Impact of moving water
However, this table may give you a baseline to start gaining your own experience to make sound judgements.
Rules of 7 &/ 3
Waves generally come in, in groups of either 7’s &/ 3’s. This is worth bearing in mind when you get a big wave comes in, there is likely to be another 2 big waves behind it, at least.
Secondary Swell
You may get a secondary or even a third swell coming in, in contrary to your primary swell. These additional swells can cause you issues and it tends to catch people out.
The secondary & third swell are likely to be smaller than the primary swell and less noticeable. These swells can work in several different ways. The first of which is to build up the primary swell, if the primary swell and secondary swell are coming from the same direction, this can result in the increased height of certain waves.
The second way these swells can work is to produce cross waves; this is where you get the primary swell coming from one direction and the secondary swell coming from another direction. This environment can make for some very confusing, messy waves.
The third way this operates tends to go unnoticed as the swells can operate in opposite directions. This tends to result in some irregular wave heights and or can create a very messy sea state.
Rogue Waves
Rogue waves are something to be aware of and one of the reasons you should always have an eye on the swell. It isn’t uncommon for rogue waves to occasionally produce a wave twice as high as your average swell.
Narrow slots/ zawns
Narrow slots/ zawns provide a serious hazard to manage in big swell conditions, as the waves get condensed and tend to rise quite dramatically in height. This is more prominent when there is a greater period between each wave.
Impact of moving water on swell
Moving water can significantly push up the height of waves; when the swell direction coincides with the direction of the tidal flow. On the other hand, the direction of moving water flowing against the swell direction is likely to decrease wave height.
However, wind does not work the same way. Wind with the tidal flow is likely to reduce the height of the waves, whilst wind against the tidal flow is likely to significantly increase the waves.
Tides
The main causes for tides are the gravitational forces of the earth, sun and moon.
The moon has the most effect on the tides and primarily creates the high and low tides everyone knows. However, the sun also has a significant impact and creates what is known as spring and neap tides; greater or lower difference between high tide and low tide.
Tides in the UK generally flow twice a day, varying by roughly 25 minutes every cycle, resulting in a different high and low tide time each day. High tide and low tide is different for almost every location.
Forecasts of these times can be found in many places and it is worth checking the local tide timetable or searching online. www.tidetimes.org.uk is a commonly used website to find out regional/ location specific tide times.
Spring & Neaps Tides
Spring and neap tides generally don’t have a significant effect on exploratory coasteering in most locations, although it is worth being aware of the difference and the effect they may have.
Spring tides form when the earth, the moon and the sun are aligned and the results in the largest tidal difference.
Neap tides are when the moon is at a right angle from the earth and the sun. The moon still creates a high and low tide, however, the sun cancels some of the gravitational pull out resulting in a smaller tidal difference.
How do tides affect a coasteering location?
Coasteering trips can be vastly different at different tide heights, here are some of the examples of changes:
- Jumps may become shallow/ deeper/ may no longer exist as they are covered by the water/ rocks/ sand.
- Sections of the coastline becoming impassable, result in long swims or difficult entry and exit points
- Tidal flow may appear as the water flows in and out, creating some fast moving currents and associated hazards