![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="267" width="800" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
Out of the window, small swell lines are being ruffled by a light north easterly.
The gusts are brisk but not bone-chilling. Over the last week, the mercury has crept all the way up into the teens on more than one occasion and this evening, the sun wont even begin its descent until gone 7pm.
All this can only mean one thing for us in the south-west. The long winter has finally finished and Spring, dear friends, has sprung.
As those of us on Atlantic facing coasts prepare to welcome at least 5 more days of small clean waves (and those on the Channel and North Sea pray that the summer flat spell doesn’t start early this year) we decided it was high time to take a look back at some of the highlights from the British winter that was.
We could ramble on about how the usual SWerly storms were replaced by long-range swell and offshores. Or the delightful series of North Sea depressions that saw the east coast doused in swell. We could tell you about all the rare little corners that enjoyed their day in the sun this winter, or grumble about all the spots that spent another season lying dormant. But instead, we thought we’d show you what it’s been like through a carefully curated selection of images, captured in all of Britain’s four corners.
Golden hour at a beautiful north Welsh wedge. Photo @phillboyd_outwest
It’s certainly been a winter to remember up in North Devon, here’s one of many perfect Croyde A-frames. Photo @robtibbles
Solid clean lines on the south coast of Cornwall. Photo @lugarts
Oli Adams tucks into an inside drainer as an unridden bomb explodes on the slab out the back on one of many incredible days in the north east. Photo @lugarts
An uber-rare Cornish slab wakes from its perpetual slumber for a very special day of wave riding on the west coast. Photo @lugarts
For a whole week in February, every evening saw solid clean offshore lines turned pink and orange by a series of incredible winter sunsets in the south west. Photo @lugarts
Another North Sea gem shows it’s teeth during the beautiful January run of swell. Photo Henry Percent
A lone surfer enjoys the view on a sunset paddle out in Portrush. Photo @petermaynephoto
A sheet-glass a-frame unloads on south Cornwall’s premier stretch of reef. Photo @lugarts
A shallow and square one north of the border. Photo @arms_of_ocean.surfvisuals
Even Dorset’s had its day this winter. Here an unusually small pack enjoy a few runners in the shadow of Bournemouth Pier. Photo @waveslider_photography