Charlie do surf - winter watersports

Just as you can go caravanning and glamping in winter , so too can you go surfing and sailing. You might need a better wetsuit or several fishermen’s jumpers, but it’s very doable – and think of the glow of virtue you’ll have afterwards in the pub.

Here's how to get started on winter watersports:

First up, go to our open now or open all year sites, where you’ll find camping, caravanning and holiday parks for winter – you can also filter according to area, price, type of accommodation and dozens more. Then filter for watery options using the ‘Nearby Leisure’ tab on the left:

Surf school nearby

We have over 75 sites open now and with a surf school nearby if you’re contemplating winter surfing but haven’t quite plucked up the courage to dip your toe in:

• Wheal Rodney Holiday Park at Cornwall's Marazion has 25 beaches within easy reach including purty Praa Sands less than four miles away - and a swimming pool open all year on site. Its one and two-bedroom lodges are available right into spring, from £57 - £70 a night, sleeping two or four.

• Or go surfing in Spain instead: Camping Valle Niza Playa on the Costa de la Axarquia 20 minutes from Málaga is right on the beachfront and steps away from the sands of Playa Benajarafe. Two-bedroom cabins sleeping up to four are available all winter from £52 a night.

For tips and accommodation info on UK surfing from beginner to expert, have a look at our guides and info pages: here’s our guide to the best places for surfing in the UK , covering Cornwall, the Scottish Highlands and Borders, south Devon and more.

We also have a guide on surfing in Woolacombe , with info on surfing at the well-known Woolacombe Beach as well as the hidden Gruntna Beach and winter surfing at Ilfracombe. Or fancy surfing in France? Browse our campsites in France with a surf school nearby .

Campsites in Cornwall

Campsites in Devon

All campsites with a surf school nearby

Sailing nearby

If your idea of watery wonders involves standing firmly on a dry deck – and bossing everyone around – browse through our campsites and caravan parks open now and with sailing nearby:

• Sunnycott Caravan Park , Isle of Wight : There are several saily spots around the country, and the Isle of Wight with its world-famous Cowes Week is a must in our book. Sunnycott Caravan Park has holiday homes well placed for privacy and with flatscreen TV and outdoor decking. They're open throughout winter and into 2015, starting from £150 for three nights, sleeping up to four people.

• For Scottish sailing , hire a pod or lodge at Braidhaugh Holiday Park in Perthshire : the pods at this open-all-year riverbank park start from £39 a night sleeping up to four, with ensuite pods available from £54.

All campsites with sailing nearby

Canoeing and kayaking nearby

We’re tentatively looking at kayaking trips for the New Year, reasoning that plummeting along the foamy rapids at an unfathomable pace must have something going for it, otherwise our friends wouldn’t witter on about it so much. Here are just a couple of sites with canoeing and kayaking nearby:

• West Wales Camping Pods , Carmarthenshire : Carmarthenshire’s the spot for kayaking and sea kayaking, although we recommend not including ‘going over Cenarth Waterfall in a barrel’ if you’re staying at nearby West Wales Camping Pods. The camping pods at this very popular Welsh farm site start from £35 a night, sleeping up to two adults and three children.

• Also very popular are the berths at Woodland Park Camping Huts in Shropshire , where four, seven or nine people can bed down in their own camping hut set around a woodland pond. The four-berth hut starts from £35 a night and the nine-berth from £70.

All campsites with canoeing/kayaking nearby

Watersports nearby

Sometimes you want to go whitewater rafting, windsurfing, motorboating or kitesurfing too – here are a couple of options for winter watersports camping and caravanning:

Woodview Campsite , Cornwall: The brainy owners here know all there is to do activity-wise in Bude and the surrounding area, including watersports at Tamar Lake and surfing at the nearby beaches. The park is open all year and has a four-berth two-bedroom holiday home from £120 for three nights, and a family caravan sleeping up to four from £90 for three nights.

The Quiet Site , Cumbria : A Lake District site in the fells above Ullswater will natch have tons of watery things to do, from steam boating to rowing. There’s also canoeing, kayaking and sailing near this Penrith site, which is open all year and which has camping pods for up to two adults and two children from £35 a night. There’s a pub on site too in a seventeenth century barn, a games room and an upstairs playhouse. We like.

All campsites with watersports nearby

All campsites open now

All campsites open all year

First published November 2012; updated November 2014