Heading South

Heading South: Searching for Surf in the 1960s and 70s is Keith West's lively memoir of a formative era when surfing was still a relatively new and unconventional pursuit in Britain.

Drawn into the surfing lifestyle during the 1960s, West became part of a generation chasing waves, freedom and adventure long before mobile phones, surf forecasts, webcams and social media transformed the way surfers travelled. What began as a teenage fascination grew into a way of life, taking him from the British coastline to Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco in search of quieter beaches, perfect swells and unexplored breaks.

Through road trips, makeshift surfboards, early wetsuits, unreliable vehicles, wild camps, friendships and unforgettable encounters, West captures both the humour and unpredictability of life on the road. His experiences also document a remarkable period in surfing history, when equipment was rapidly evolving, surf communities were forming and once-secret locations were gradually becoming known to a wider world.

Part memoir, part travel adventure and part history of an emerging culture, Heading South is a nostalgic and entertaining account of youthful independence, camaraderie and the relentless search for the next wave. It looks back at how surfing once was while reflecting on how dramatically the sport, its technology and its coastal communities have changed over the past half-century.