Work on Britain’s first ever "surfing lagoon" is to begin in the mountainous region of Snowdonia, North Wales this year, with another planned for Bristol, England shortly after.
A prototype lagoon has already been built in a secret location in the Basque country of northern Spain by a company called Wavegarden.
Machinery beneath the surface of the lake is capable of simultaneously generating two waves per minute. The company says the waves have been optimised for surfing, with a "tubing" form and sufficient energy to peel for more than 220m without losing their shape.
The waves can be adjusted to give different heights, up to a maximum of about 3m. Their consistency raises the possibility of making surfing into a competitive sport.
Wavegarden’s design for a surfing lake (Wavegarden)
The Snowdonia project, to cost $13m (£7.7m) will create an artificial lake about three times the size of London’s Wembley stadium at the site of a former aluminium factory in the village of Dolgarrog in Snowdonia National Park.
Mount Snowdon, Snowdonia National Park
Wavegarden was formed in 2005 by Josema Odriozola, an engineer, and Karin Frisch, a sports economist who were both surfers. They spent six years developing the technology that is used to generate the waves.
