It's been one of Bristol's recent success stories - and now Britain's first inland surfing lake The Wave has announced it will be opening at least six more sites across the UK and Ireland.

Created by surfer Nick Hounsfield, the £25m project based on a farm at Easter Compton has attracted professional surfers and members of the public since it opened in 2019.

The company is already working on a second site in London, but it has now announced there are more sites to come.

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The Wave said that building six further sites represents an investment of over £200million and that, once open, they will welcome a combined total of over 2 million visitors a year.

Craig Stoddart, The Wave CEO, said: “This multi-project agreement further cements our brilliant and exclusive partnership with Wavegarden, and the deal adds significant value to The Wave Group and our shareholders.

"Being the first to open a surf park powered by a new technology was a leap of faith in so many ways, but we believed in the technology and the team delivering it. The waves work.

"More than that we have proved it is commercially successful, we have a great professional team of Wavemakers and we have now welcomed over 300,000 visitors through our doors since we opened – despite contending with a global pandemic."

A surfer rides a wave during a training session for staff at The Wave attraction in Bristol (Image: PA)

He continued: “We know there is a huge appetite for surfing and its many health and wellbeing benefits, and we are now looking to bring these unique experiences to other locations around the UK and beyond.

"Spurred by growth in surfing in general – and the Olympic effect – this burgeoning sector is definitely on the up. We will have 5 sites open, in planning or being built in the next 5 years, and we are in the process of actively searching for land.

"Predictions indicate there will be approximately 100 surf parks operating globally in the next 10 years.

"The Wave intends to be a leading international player in this market and we have been preparing ourselves for this ambition for a number of years.”

Powered by Wavegarden’s Cove wave-making technology, it is the first full-size facility using the technology open to the public in Europe and only the second in the world after Melbourne.

Cove provides up to 1,000 waves of varying sizes and shapes an hour - a wave roughly every 10 seconds - with heights starting at 50cm (1.7ft) and peaking at almost 2m (6.5ft).

While the 200m long surfing lake is at its heart, its creators say The Wave is also about improving health and wellbeing.

As well as the surfing lake there is a clubhouse serving food and drink and a surf shop, with gardens and woodland and family-friendly camping.

Temporarily closed for routine maintenance in recent weeks, The Wave will reopen on February 17 with ‘Big Wave Thursday’.

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