However all the nerves were blown away when instructor and owner of Bournemouth Surf School, Andy Joyce, showed us the surfing ropes (or the leash as it is known). His relaxed and friendly attitude is infectious and you soon feel confident that you will one day be ‘catching the waves!’

Having discussed the safety issues and seeing the different parts of the board, Andy then demonstrated the basic techniques to catch a wave. Off we went into the sea, which was surprisingly warm. Once we caught a couple of waves, Andy brought us back to shore with the pre-arranged signal and taught us the basics of standing up. After a few practice runs with the board on the sand we then moved back out to the surf.

Unfortunately standing on a board resting on the sand was slightly easier than on the sea! However, by the time we had finished the lesson almost all of us had stood up in the waves (regardless of how long and what you class as standing!) Throughout the lesson Andy would come over and give people pointers about how to improve and where we had gone wrong.

Along the way we had great fun with people standing up, falling off, jumping off, wiping out and grinning from ear to ear. Every time somebody managed to surf, even if only for a few seconds, we couldn’t keep the smiles off our faces, or the whoops out of the air!

The lesson ended with everyone telling each other about the ‘great wave’ they had caught and promises that we would visit again in the not too distant future. All in all, surf’s up in Bournemouth and you would be a fool to miss out!

Beginner’s lessons start at £35 for the first two-hour lesson and then £15 for two hours thereafter. For more details on Bournemouth Surf School, click onto the activity booking centre.