Museum of British Surfing

The Museum of British Surfing sits in Braunton, a town on the North Devon coast where the Ilfracombe Branch Line once ran. It occupies the old goods shed of Braunton Railway Station, a brick building that now houses surfing history. The museum grew from an online project started in 2003 by journalist Pete Robinson, who collected British surfing memorabilia. Early exhibitions toured the UK between 2004 and 2011, reaching places like London, Newquay and Aberdeen. One display featured a historic wooden surfboard that once belonged to Hawaiian royalty, loaned from a museum in Honolulu. The collection includes over two hundred different surfboard designs and shapes, along with photographs and videos. Among them is a picture of Agatha Christie in Waikiki holding a surfboard, showing the sport’s links to British writers. Another photograph shows the future King Edward VIII surfing at Waikiki in the early 20th century. The museum also tells the story of John Wrightson, who is said to have been the first person in Britain to surf in 1890 under the guidance of two Hawaiian princes. The project began with funding from the founder and donations from the family of Viscount Ted Deerhurst and the surfwear company Oxbow. Visitors find a single room filled with surfboards, photographs and documents that trace British surfing from its early days. The displays include surfboards from different eras, oral history recordings from early surfers and rotating exhibitions on topics like agricultural education pioneer John Wrightson. Outside, the site includes a small area managed alongside a local skatepark. The museum continues to run on a voluntary basis, led by a board of trustees who keep Robinson’s original collection accessible to the public.