Surf Snowdonia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Surf Snowdonia |
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|---|---|
| Location | Dolgarrog |
| Coordinates | 53°11′24″N 3°50′28″W / 53.190°N 3.841°W |
| Owner | Conwy Adventure Leisure Ltd. |
| Opened | 1 August 2015 |
Surf Snowdonia is a special place in Dolgarrog, north Wales. It is an artificial wave pool where people can go surfing. This amazing place is owned by Conwy Adventure Leisure Ltd. It was the very first commercial surfing lake in the world!
The whole project cost about £12 million to build. It first opened its doors to visitors in August 2015.
Contents
How Surf Snowdonia Started
The land where Surf Snowdonia now stands used to be an aluminium factory. This factory, called Dolgarrog Aluminium, closed down in 2007. The next year, a company bought the land. They first thought about building houses there.
Planning the Surf Park
In 2013, exciting plans for a surfing attraction were shared. Conwy Adventure Leisure announced they wanted to build a big surfing lake. They believed it would bring many visitors, about 67,000 to 70,000 people each year.
The company received permission to build in August 2013. By December, they had already put over £7 million into the project. The final approval came in April 2014, and construction began in May. The Welsh Government also helped by giving £4 million in funding.
Building the Park
Before building could start, a lot of cleaning was needed. The site had been an industrial area for 100 years. Workers crushed over 25,000 cubic metres of old material from the site. They reused it during construction. They also recycled 400 tonnes of metal like steel and copper.
Building was also tricky because the site is next to a special nature area. The ground also had a lot of water, and it was on the River Conwy flood plain. To make the ground stable, workers drove 6.3 miles of strong poles into the earth.
In April 2015, a small fire happened during construction. It caused some damage to a tower. But the park still opened on 1 August 2015. In its first two weeks, 14,000 people visited. About 3,500 people even tried surfing in the pool!
The Amazing Surf Pool
Surf Snowdonia has a huge freshwater pool. Inside, there is a special machine that makes waves. This machine was made by the Leitner Group. It is based on an idea from a Spanish company called Wavegarden.
How Waves Are Made
The pool's bottom is shaped to create three different sizes of waves. It can make one wave every minute. The biggest wave can be 2 metres (about 6.5 feet) high. It can last for 16 seconds and travel 150 metres (about 492 feet). The company says this is the longest human-made surf wave in the world!
The pool gets its water from rainwater. This water is collected from Snowdonia reservoirs, like Llyn Cowlyd. The water flows through a nearby power station. This station used to power the old aluminium factory. Then, the water is pumped into the surfing pool.
Pool Size and Cleaning
The pool is very big, about 300 metres (984 feet) long and 110 metres (361 feet) wide. It holds six million gallons of water! A special machine, shaped like a snowplough, moves back and forth in the pool. It runs on a cable between two towers. This movement creates the waves.
The underwater parts of the machine are covered. A strong stainless steel net keeps surfers safe from moving parts. This net still lets the waves move freely. The water in the pool is cleaned every 24 hours. It goes through special ultraviolet cleaners. This means the water can be kept clean without using chlorine.
Up to 52 surfers can use the wave pool at the same time.
What Else Can You Do There?
Besides the main surf pool, Surf Snowdonia has other fun things to do. There is a surfing academy where you can learn to surf. There is also a "Crash and Splash" lagoon for more water fun.
You can find a café bar and a coffee shop to grab a bite. For younger kids, there is a play shack. There is also a shop where you can buy things. If you want to stay overnight, there are 36 cozy wooden camping pods.
Exciting Events
Surf Snowdonia has hosted some cool surfing events.
Red Bull Unleashed
On September 18-19, 2015, Surf Snowdonia held the "Red Bull Unleashed" event. This was the world's first stadium surf contest. Twenty-four surfers from all over the world competed. About 2,000 people watched the final day. A surfer from Hawaii named Albee Layer won the contest.
UK Surf Challenge
On October 24, 2016, Surf Snowdonia hosted the first UK Surf Challenge. The best male, female, and junior surfers from the UK competed. They took part in a knock-out competition. The UK Pro Surf Tour planned to return to Surf Snowdonia on October 22, 2017.
