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Why a Windbreak Earns Its Place in the Boot

A British beach on a bright June afternoon can still deliver a stiff onshore breeze, and it is usually the wind, not the temperature, that sends everyone back to the car early. A simple fabric windbreak changes that. Four poles, a length of canvas and a few pegs will turn an exposed stretch of sand into a pocket of still, warm air where you can lay out the picnic, read a chapter and let the children dig in comfort.

The trick is not brute force. A windbreak that is badly placed will flap, lean, catch the wind like a sail and annoy everyone around it. Positioned well, it will sit quietly for hours and give you several degrees of extra warmth for very little effort.

Read the Beach Before You Unpack

Spend two minutes looking before you commit. Stand still, wet a finger and hold it up, or simply watch the flags, the whitecaps and the marram grass on the dunes. On most UK beaches the wind comes off the sea, often with a slight angle along the shore, and that angle is what you want to work with.

Next, think about who else is using the beach. A windbreak is a small fence, and fences cause trouble when they block a route.

• Keep well clear of slipways, steps, ramps, beach access points and the main path between the car park and the water.
• Leave the sightlines of lifeguards unobstructed, and never set up between a lifeguard station and the sea.
• Stay off the dunes altogether — they are fragile, often protected, and digging into them causes real damage.
• Avoid the base of cliffs and beneath sea walls, where rockfall and falling masonry are genuine hazards.
• Do not set up below the high-water mark, even on a falling tide, and never on sand that is already wet and firm underfoot.

Shape, Angle and the Art of the L

A straight wall of fabric gives you shelter from one direction and turbulence from the ends. A shallow L-shape, or a gentle V, is far more effective because it wraps the sheltered zone around you. Two windbreaks set at right angles make an excellent corner for a family, and a single one angled at roughly 45 degrees to the wind is usually enough for two or three people.

Resist the temptation to close the shelter completely. A fully enclosed box becomes a sail in a gust, a trap for hot air on a still day and a sandpit when the wind shifts. Leave the downwind end open so the breeze passes around you rather than pressing on the fabric.

If the wind is strong enough to flatten the grass, keep the windbreak low, shorten the run and accept a smaller sheltered area. A short, well-pegged shelter beats a long, flapping one every time.

Pegging, Weighting and Working With Sand

Sand is heavier and more stable than most people expect, provided you get below the dry surface layer. Drive your pegs at roughly 45 degrees, leaning away from the wind, and push them in a good 20 to 25 centimetres. A plastic mallet or the heel of a boot will do it; if the sand is loose and dry, move a metre or so and try again where it is damper.

• Fill any sand pockets or base sleeves on the windbreak before you tension the fabric.
• Pile a low ridge of sand along the bottom edge to stop the draught coming underneath.
• Use sand anchors or stout pegs at the corners, where the strain is greatest.
• Give the top rail a firm tug once everything is up, then re-peg anything that shifts.
• Never tie a windbreak to a fence, groyne, signpost or any part of a sea wall.

Tides, Safety and Looking After Each Other

Check a tide table before you leave home, not on the beach. Spring tides move faster and further than neap tides, and some beaches flood behind you, cutting off the route back to the steps long before the water reaches your picnic blanket. A windbreak is not a landmark and it will not float. If the sea starts approaching the base of your shelter, move — do not wait to see how close it gets.

Windburn is real. A breezy day feels cool, so sunscreen gets forgotten and shoulders and noses burn quickly, especially with reflected light off the water. Keep an eye on small children near the water's edge and keep the shelter's open side facing the sea so you can see what is happening.

Be a good neighbour, too. Keep the music low, give other families room to pass, keep dogs under control and pick up anything that blows out of your picnic before it reaches the water.

Packing Down and Leaving No Trace

When you leave, pull every peg, shake the sand out of the fabric and fill in any holes you have made. Fold the windbreak loosely rather than forcing it back into its bag, and let it dry properly at home, because damp canvas goes mouldy in a garage very quickly.

Take everything with you, including fruit peel and bottle tops, and leave the patch of sand you borrowed looking as though nobody had been there. Do that, and the next blustery Saturday will feel like a much better idea than it looked from the car park.