...and if you really feel intrepid, don your wetsuit and go winter surfing

IF YOU take up just one sport this winter, let it be surfing. No, your ears aren’t full of water. You heard me right. I tried it, reluctantly, and it’s the most fun I have ever had.

The sport, better known in places such as Hawaii and Australia, has taken Britain by storm, with Cornwall and Devon among the top destinations.

I’ve taken my three children, all aged under ten, out with boogie boards in summer. It’s great fun, and fantastic exercise. But in January? Well, the good times needn’t stop, says Matt Knight, director of Surfing GB, the sport’s governing body. ‘Interest in surfing UK waters in the colder months is on the increase,’ he promises. ‘And the whole family can do it.’ Still, I have to admit, when I am invited in late December by cold water clothing brand Finisterre to St Agnes, Cornwall, to have a lesson with Sophie Hellyer, former British junior champion, I’m less than enthusiastic. Sophie points out that if you want to be a surfer in Britain, you have to embrace the cold water element. ‘I don’t do exercise for exercise’s sake, but for fun,’ she adds. ‘I can’t wait for winter these days.’

I am borrowing a prototype for Finisterre’s soon-to-be-launched wetsuit, and assured I’ll be more than comfortable.

‘A wetsuit is made of neoprene, which has microscopic bubbles of nitrogen within the fabric. These trap air and maintain warmth,’ explains Finisterre founder Tom Kay. ‘The more bubbles you have, combined with the thickness of the neoprene, the more warmth is provided. The fabric also allows in enough water to create a layer between material and skin. Body heat warms this, and is the reason why you don’t get cold. There is laminate on the outside reducing wind chill.’

My wetsuit is a 5/4 – meaning the neoprene around my core organs is 5mm thick, and around my extremities it is 4mm thick, making it easy to move about.

‘Maintaining core temperature – the heart, lungs and abdomen – is vital because you need to maintain blood flow at the right temperature to the brain,’ says Dr Colin Crosby, consultant in sport and exercise medicine at BMI Hendon Hospital. ‘In water you lose heat seven times more quickly than in the air.

‘Core temperature is usually around 37C to 38C [98F to 100F]. Below 32C [90F] you won’t be able to move properly and under 30C (86F) it is likely to be fatal.’

While still on dry land, Sophie, 27, shows me the basics of surfing, and then it’s time to do it for real. As we head into the water, the first thing I notice is the complete lack of cold.

Once the water is waist high, Sophie helps me lie on the board and waits for a wave. As one rolls towards us, she pushes the board. I try to remember her instructions and get to my knees successfully. The moment I try to stand up, I fall. But that one try – and fail – leaves me desperate for success.

I can already see how people get hooked. ‘I didn’t get it at first,’ says Sophie. ‘But in fact, there is something exhilarating about it. It’s like walking along a beach on a crisp winter’s day – refreshing and quiet.’

We go out again and again until I am exhausted. ‘You need a certain level of fitness,’ Sophie suggests. ‘You’re working on your core strength.’

Before our session ends, I do manage to stand up – the first time for at least one second, until I straighten my legs and fall off, and the second time for almost three seconds. The only reason I leave the water is because my legs feel like jelly. But walking up the beach I don’t feel chilly – just triumphant.