The tap has been turned on to fill an inland surfing lake that’s just half an hour away from Gloucester. Known as The Wave, the project will open its doors to surf fans at its site near to Cribbs Causeway in Bristol, from Monday 18 November 2019.
The project will use cutting-edge wave making technology to generate around 1,000 waves each hour. Heights will start at 50 centimetres and peak at almost two metres.
Filling The Wave’s lake – which is the same size as six football pitches – started on Wednesday 18 September 2019, and it will take 10 days to fill completely with 26 million litres of water. After that point a team from engineering group, Wavegarden, will test the lake’s waves.
Tickets to access The Wave are already available online, and although the surfing site will be in ‘warm-up phase’ until the end of 2019, Gloucestershire surfers will be able to enjoy riding the waves with the opportunity to provide feedback to The Wave’s operations team.
The Wave’s founder, Nick Housfield, said: ‘We can’t wait to get people in to experience The Wave and our warm-up will be a chance to get a look at what we have created and to ride some of our first waves. Rather than wait until every little element of the site is 100 per cent complete, we’ve decided to get people in to see the space we’re creating sooner rather than later.
‘There will be a little bit of landscaping work going on around the edges, trees will still be being planted and not all the grass will have grown, but we want people to come and have a surf, a bite to eat in the cafe, a drink on the terrace and a browse in the shop – and give us their feedback.’
The project has been supported by Surfing England and, as well as providing the perfect playground for professional surfers wanting to train out of season, The Wave will also accommodate beginners new to surfing, as well as people with disabilities.
Spike Kane is an adaptive surfer and said he couldn’t be more excited about the development of accessible, world class waves within our communities: ‘The Wave Bristol has a vision of barrier-free design that welcomes and accommodates absolutely everybody.
‘I believe that it will be instrumental in the growth and development of adaptive surfing in the UK, Europe and beyond. I know it will be a beacon of light for me!’
For more information, and to book, visit thewave.com.
