Castricum aan Zee

Castricum aan Zee is even more remote, since the village it's named after is some 3km inland. At the beach there's nothing but sand and vast dunes. Like elsewhere from here to 'Den Helder', sideshore conditions are ideal. Cross-onshore is also doable – the waves are even bigger, but the classic beach-break over the sandbars gets more chaotic and the shorebreak increases markedly. Fully onshore requires a lot of experience. On the horizon you'll see smokestacks from the steelworks at 'Wijk', 6km away. A perfect distance for great downwinders: to Wick in northerlies, back this way in southerlies.