It all started on our fist surf trip abroad. We had been surfing in Ireland for a number of years and had still not managed to surf Europe's other spots– we still don’t know why; it’s not as if we enjoyed the cold in Ireland!

We read our Stormriders guides from back to front – if you have one of these you will notice that Ericeira is introduced with the heading “Enter the Heartland”. We asked around and found out it was one of Europes top surf spots, so we checked flight prices and a group of 7 of us got together and flew to Portugal. One of the guys suggested Costa Rica but that seemed like to fsr to go for a weeks break.

So arriving into Lisbon we tied our surfboards to the top of our rental cars and drove up the coast ready to Surf Europe's best breaks. We spent the next 10 days having the time of our lives on the stretch of beaches between Ericeira and Peniche. Some of the group were beginners but by the end we were all surfing together – and chilling out on the beach in between sessions – something we never had back home!

We kept coming back to Ericeira; finding new surf spots each time and lazing with friends we met along the way.  A common annoyance that we picked up on was the difficulty with accommodation. A lot of people had grown sick of campsites, sleeping in bunk beds with strangers and having to share common areas. We all agreed that the best accommodation gave you the freedom to do what you want to do; where you can come and go as you please, leave your belongings in your own safe area and enjoy the holiday without being kicked out of a place at 9am in the morning because it needed cleaning.

This is were our idea of a holiday in self-catering apartments and lodges began . As word of mouth spread and spread what was previously renting out surf apartments to some friends became ninthbeach.com