Coming to a field near you in the near future, the Wave Bristol is set to be the largest surfing lake in Europe – and it will be just 20 minutes from Bristol city centre.
The Wave Bristol
The Wave Bristol's vision is to bring surfing and its many benefits to people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities in a beautiful setting, just outside Easter Compton.
Using groundbreaking wave-making technology, the inland surfing destination aims to create a wave every ten seconds (meaning around 360 per hour), with an average height of 1.6m. However, there will be the ability to go bigger for those who have the talent to ride them!
The Wave Bristol
Boasting 74 acres of land, the site aims to be kind to its environment and will feature a self-cleaning (man made) swimming pond and permaculture gardens, which will be used to grow food for the cafe. There will also be an education centre, events space, camping grounds and woodland walks.
In addition to this, the team behind the development are working with local universities to make the Wave Bristol a research and development hub for wave energy, renewables energies and tsunami testing. They are also working alongside the Wave Project, an organisation that works with children with special needs who use surfing as a form of therapy.
The Wave is going to be more than surfing, it is going to be a wave of change – a little piece of sustainable paradise on Bristol's doorstep.
Site layoutThe Wave Bristol
As the lake is 110 meters wide, this helps reduce wave turbulence and allows more room for surfing, as well as making the waves more accessible to all abilities. There will be three stages of wave height created by artificial reefs under the water, to make three distinctive zones for beginner up to pro level. The highest Wave face will be 1.8 metres , with an average of 120 waves per hour, offering surfers a constant thrill rather than the usual waiting game.
The Wave Bristol
The Wave will be a cold water experience, as they team are an environmentally conscious group (and proud supporters of Surfers Against Sewage). A saline solution will be used to solve the possible freeze over winter, and the aim is to have saunas to help warm people up after a surf session.
The project has been privately funded initiative, bolstered by grant funds and rounds of crowdfunding, as the Wave felt it needed to be financially self-sustainable as well as ecologically self-sustainable.
The big dig starts later this summer, where the team will be trading in their surfboards of shovels.
Nick Hounsfield, CEO of the projectThe Wave Bristol
For more water based fun, why not try out one of these beautiful wild swimming spots near Bristol?