I surfed three times a week until I was 80 – this is how I stay active

Gwyn Haslock, 80, lives in Truro, Cornwall. She is a retired Cornwall county council employee, where she worked for 47 years from the age of 17. Interview by Victoria Young.

I’ve always been very energetic – the type of person who can’t sit still for two minutes. I like to get up and do things, and have always thought sitting and reading is a waste of time if you can be outside doing something active.

As a child, I was always very active and loved all sports. I was lucky because I had an older brother. Whatever he did, I wanted to do, too, and my father encouraged us both.

My father taught me to swim at the age of four, and I was about 10 when I first started catching waves on a wooden board at Tolcarne Beach in Newquay. I started with a bellyboard and just absolutely loved being in the sea – that feeling of coming in on a wave.

But the thing about surfing is you’ve got to give it time, which is why a lot of people give up. It seems too hard. I was lucky because we had a beach hut at Newquay, which meant I had easy access to the sea to keep practising.

Surfing makes you very fit because you are using your whole body. But I love surfing for so many other reasons, including the fact that when you are busy paddling, you don’t think of anything else. People think too much; they worry about this and that. Concentrating on the process of surfing really takes that away.

Using a bellyboard gave me the knowledge of waves and tides. Then I slowly progressed to stand-up boarding, which is what I have done for most of my life since, from the age of about 21. I worked overtime to make enough money to pay for my first second-hand board when I was about 21. It cost £20 and was 10 feet long – and so heavy I had to put it on my head to carry it. But I was so happy to have my own board.

Gwyn Haslock was surfing three times a week until earlier this year at age 80

My next ambition was to get a car, partly because of the independence it would give me, but also because I would be able to use it to transport my surfboard to the beach. Once I could drive, I could put it on the roof rack to go surfing whenever I liked.

I worked for Cornwall county council for 47 years, from the age of 17. I would finish work at 5pm and could be in the sea by 5.30pm, surfing. If you’ve had an awful day at work, surfing is such a good way to take those thoughts away.

My second board was nine feet long, then I went down to an eight-foot board, which was a bit lighter. I stayed with eight-foot boards, which are also slightly thinner so you can get your arm around it to carry it.

When I started out, there were many more men than women doing the sport. In fact, it was considered “not done” for women to go surfing and slightly frowned upon – but that didn’t stop me. I couldn’t care less; if I want to do something, then I do it.

Surfing is a fantastic, thrilling sport. The sea is never the same twice. And the cold water is so invigorating, although I have always felt the cold. I don’t think I could go surfing without a wetsuit. I’ve always been a year-round surfer but I always wear all the gear, including boots, gloves and a bathing hat because I hate water going in my ears. As a result, I have never had surfer’s ear, which can be a real problem for some surfers. For the last 15 years, I have also worn a helmet.

I never married or wanted children, and I’ve always loved the social side of surfing; I’ve made many friendships through surfing and it’s a great way of meeting people outside work. It is a great leveller – you meet all sorts of people from all backgrounds.

Over 57 years of stand-up surfing, I won five British surfing championship titles. I was the first female to enter the first UK Surf competition in Fistral in 1967, and it was because of this that the Surfing Association at the time established a competition for women.

Gwyn is the reason that the Surfing Association established a competition for the women in the 1960s

Many more people surf now than when I first started. It has given an industry to many people, which is good, but it has also made the beaches much busier. The more popular surfing became, the earlier I would go to the beach – as soon as it became light – to meet friends and surf, to avoid the parking restrictions and the increasing number of surf schools.

I had open heart surgery in 2023, when I was 78, and was back in the sea four months later. That was when I took up mat surfing – which is wave riding using a soft, inflatable rubber mat instead of a hard board. The surface was more comfortable than lying prone on a wooden board.

I’ve always been very fit, but it’s more a side effect of enjoying an active lifestyle than anything deliberate. As well as surfing, I also played tennis and ended up competing in county level tennis, which I loved. I wanted to play squash in the winter but there was a waiting list, so a friend suggested fencing, which I did for many years.

Until earlier this year, I was going surfing three times a week and playing tennis twice a week. Unfortunately, old age comes to us all and I injured my back earlier this year, which has put a temporary hold on surfing. But I still love the sport and follow it avidly, and love going to watch the surfers.

I think one of the secrets to positive and healthy ageing is to have an interest. It doesn’t have to be a sport – it could be knitting or music and dancing – although, of course, sport is great for fitness. Thanks to surfing, I really feel that I’ve made the most of my life and my advice to anyone is just to do it. If you haven’t started exercising you are missing out – but it’s never too late.

Gwyen, aged 74, September 2019. What she loves most about surfing is how it clears your mind

My fitness routine

I don’t have a particular fitness routine – I am not at all in favour of gyms; in fact I have heard of so many people being injured in the gym, particularly as they get older. Also the gym is expensive; whereas once you have the board, surfing is completely free. I don’t like being stuck indoors, either – I’d rather potter around the garden than go to the gym.

My daily diet

My diet is not perfect, but I have porridge for breakfast with fruit, or Weetabix with tea and toast – with Flora instead of butter to keep my cholesterol in check.

Lunch is my main meal, and I will have chicken stir fry with veg or chicken curry. I tend to stick to white meat, although I always have fish from the local fish van on a Friday. And I always have a Cornish pasty on a Saturday.

Dinner is usually a salad sandwich or salmon sandwich, or cheese and tomato with fruit and nuts.