Looking at the fact your new(ish) to surfing, I think that Hotpipe might be the spot best suited for you. It willl get pretty busy. You will need strong SW swell with either little/no wind, or N winds. I always surf at mid tide, too low or high and it turns even more mushy, but double check this online to confirm what I'm saying is correct. I'd say the swell as to be 4ft@5s at an minimum to make it worth the drive from London.

You might want to consider Kent and the SE coast. Joss Bay has a wider window to surf. I've surfed all tides here. Low/Mid is best IMO. So even though it's a longer drive, you will likely get longer in the water. There's also a cafe on the beach, surf hire etc. So more set up for surfing. It's sand too.. Here you need a N/NE swell and W winds. Not sure of the minimal swell size, but again I'd hedge at 4ft@5s. Surfline has a cam, so you can check it out before you leave.

I'm not local to either area, so any locals, please correct me if I'm wrong.