Following on from my post about the gorgeous beaches of North Devon, what do you do when the weather isn't so good or if you need a break from getting sand everywhere? Well, we were pottering around the gorgeous village of Braunton, buying new wetsuits for the kids that had outgrown them and trying not to purchase too much beautiful artwork:
When we came across the Museum of British Surfing. The family state that you can't take me anywhere but I have no idea what they mean.....
It was only £2 each for adults and free for kids and as the weather wasn't up to much we figured it was worth a shot. The guy who worked there was absolutely lovely and on his advice we followed the timeline of surfing around the museum starting in 1919 with surfboards made from coffin lids:
Before moving on to the more recognisable boards from the 1960's and 70's:
Back in the early days it used to be called surf riding. I did have a giggle at the equipment because my lake swim suit is almost identical to these:
Of course when talking about equipment you need the obligatory wetsuit through the ages shot:
I don't appear to have taken a picture of it but they also had one of the latest Patagonia wetsuits on display which would be a true delight to wear. It had a slash zip neck to make it easy to get on and off and was made of such a lightweight fabric. Truly awesome! Talking of being up to date, look at this bad boy:
I just wanted to stroke it. By this time Littlest had found another distraction:
I thought that it was a really fascinating place to look around and like I say the chap that worked there was fab and knowledgeable. There's also a small gift shop selling some beautiful handmade stuff. We'll definitely be back for a return visit.
The museum is open from 11am - 3pm Monday to Saturday and is closed on a Sunday. Please check out their website for the most up to date information.
