High frequency (HF) radar is by now a relatively well validated remote sensing method to provide spatially resolved measurements of surface currents in the coastal ocean. National HF radar monitoring networks have been set up in the USA and Australia and the resulting real time current maps are employed to improve operational activities such as Navigation, Search and Rescue, and Hazardous Material Spill Response. Less well validated and practically unutilised is the ability HF radar to provide spatial measurements of surface gravity waves. Initially set up under PRIMaRE in 2011, the Plymouth University Wave Hub HF radar installation is the world's first HF radar designed for wave measurements. In order to confirm the systems potential to successfully resolve wave shadows around the Wave Hub, there has been a sustained effort to validate the wave measurements and understand the accuracy of the results provided. In this presentation we shall discuss the theory behind HF radar measurements, introduce the Wave Hub radar installation, look at measurement validation and discuss some of the novel applications of these unique measurements.