Portland Harbour

Ever since windsurfing first hit the scene, this man-made harbour has been one of England’s most popular locations. Fred Haywood broke speedsailing's '30-knot barrier' here in the early '80s, and countless contests later it hosted the 2012 Olympic Games sailing regatta. Yet Portland Harbour offers action for everyone. North and southerly winds are a little gusty, but offshore westerlies accelerate over Chesil Beach for awesome flat-water conditions. There are no real dangers, except a strong outgoing tide around the jetty. The Harbour does have a quirky double-tide though; the waters ebb and flood only partially, before retreating completely and rising fully to complete the cycle. At high water it's shallow for hundreds of metres, but at low tide – at least for windsurfing – it’s quite a walk to fin-deep water.