If golf is the new football, then surfing must be the new golf. People are flocking to the sport in record numbers, often defying the unforgiving British climate to make the best of what can be some world-class waves.

But is it all just surf dudes in VW camper vans heading down for a week's hell-raising in Newquay? Or is the sport attracting a wider range of addicts, often eschewing the established beaches in pursuit of a more solitary, and sometimes more dangerous, goal?

In SURF NATION: IN SEARCH OF THE FAST LEFTS AND HOLLOW RIGHTS OF BRITAIN AND IRELAND, Alex Wade takes the pulse of these islands' surfing credentials, and finds a growing army of devotees as well as some stunning locations. A witty and engaging mix of travelogue, reportage and guide to where to find the best breaks, SURF NATION reveals Britain and Ireland to be not just a growing hotbed of surfers but a surf destination of real credibility.