Swansea: ‘I was prescribed surfing to help my depression’

“I don’t think people really realise the waves are actually better in the winter, that’s why we surf throughout,” said Ms Truelove, 30, from Gower, Swansea.

“You’ll often go down to the beach in the summer and the water will be flat – we just don’t get those sort of pressure systems and swells in the summer.”

She added that, because she is pregnant, people had commented that she would not miss surfing because it is the winter.

“I’m like, ‘It’s the best time of year’.”

She also thinks the coast is at its “most thrilling” in winter, with the “roaring waves and the rugged weather”.

“We absolutely love it when we’re in wetsuits and boots and gloves, it doesn’t feel cold to us. We’re pretty well equipped to deal with those temperatures,” she said.