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Wavegarden Bristol
- Thread starter santacruzin
- Start date
it says no pics due to staff illness for the 2nd Jan now. They normally have them up within an hour or so.
there should be pics from your first trip in the December section though here:
there should be pics from your first trip in the December section though here:
Glad I remembered this thread. I'm booked for mid-September. Going to try my hand and the Expert Barrel version. See if I can finally learn to slow down and stay in the pocket. 
Have surf in the Bristol Wavegarden at least 7 times, if you have some knowledge just go for the advanced minimum, anything less is not really fun. The first time you take a wave it is weird but you get use to it the second or third wave.
I am going again on the 3rd September for two advanced sessions right/left.
This time I will not be bringing my own board, just damage the nose last time on the swallow section and need to get it repair. Will be renting one down there, if they have back again the rental boards.
I am going again on the 3rd September for two advanced sessions right/left.
This time I will not be bringing my own board, just damage the nose last time on the swallow section and need to get it repair. Will be renting one down there, if they have back again the rental boards.
Hopefully they offer the rentals still, as I'm over there for work without a board. Post up how it is when you go. I'll be about 2 weeks after you. Hopefully it will be warm, and board shorts will suffice. Or, at least, hopefully they still loan out the wetsuits. I think all the board rentals and suits are included in the admission price, right?
Foamies and wetsuits are included, hardboards are NOT. You pay for the hardboards between 15-20£ a session, so that means if you rent a Lost Surfboard (the more expensive) and do two sessions you need to pay another £40 (2x20) on top of the surf sessions.
I went on the 10th of August last time and yes It was really good weather and could surf with trunks. The Wave normally put you the water temperature on their website so you should have a reference. I think September here in UK should start to get cold but could be a surprise this year with all the global warming and all.
I went on the 10th of August last time and yes It was really good weather and could surf with trunks. The Wave normally put you the water temperature on their website so you should have a reference. I think September here in UK should start to get cold but could be a surprise this year with all the global warming and all.
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Surfed the expert barrel session Friday evening. What a great time!
santacruzin's reports above are right on point, except I was told to ride my same size board or volume down. The board I rented was about 2L smaller than my normal boards, and that worked great. I also started out too close to the wall, and flailed on the first 3 waves. I was surprised how shallow it was when I hit my shoulder on the concrete on the first wave. But, after my 3rd attempt I dialed it in.
The other thing I seemed to notice was that if you tried to pull into the bowl too deep you wouldn't make it out. Maybe there isn't enough drive to get the speed to outrun the foam ball. But, you could get in a little later and it wouldn't be a deep barrel, but at least you could make it. It's amazing how nice it is to have a wave break in the same place to practice where to set up and get low. I think I was successful for about 3 waves. Also, going in September was really nice. Great weather. No booties required, but my feet were numb by the end.
The people were amazingly friendly. I was chatting them up and joking around, and they didn't hesitate to give tips. Especially as you get pushed all around in the take off zone. That was an interesting experience.
We each got 10 waves in an hour, and I couldn't believe how tired I was. By the end, my hamstrings were starting to cramp, my feet were numb, and I wanted a rest.
The boogey boarders were crushing it. It looks so fun for laying down. If I lived there, I think I would need a season pass, I would want to go 2-3 times a week. I'll definitely go back multiple times.
And, you have to love this country. Did that Friday evening. Hit the rugby game on Saturday, and paddleboarded up a stream in a forest to a local restaurant for lunch. What an amazing weekend!
santacruzin's reports above are right on point, except I was told to ride my same size board or volume down. The board I rented was about 2L smaller than my normal boards, and that worked great. I also started out too close to the wall, and flailed on the first 3 waves. I was surprised how shallow it was when I hit my shoulder on the concrete on the first wave. But, after my 3rd attempt I dialed it in.
The other thing I seemed to notice was that if you tried to pull into the bowl too deep you wouldn't make it out. Maybe there isn't enough drive to get the speed to outrun the foam ball. But, you could get in a little later and it wouldn't be a deep barrel, but at least you could make it. It's amazing how nice it is to have a wave break in the same place to practice where to set up and get low. I think I was successful for about 3 waves. Also, going in September was really nice. Great weather. No booties required, but my feet were numb by the end.
The people were amazingly friendly. I was chatting them up and joking around, and they didn't hesitate to give tips. Especially as you get pushed all around in the take off zone. That was an interesting experience.
We each got 10 waves in an hour, and I couldn't believe how tired I was. By the end, my hamstrings were starting to cramp, my feet were numb, and I wanted a rest.
The boogey boarders were crushing it. It looks so fun for laying down. If I lived there, I think I would need a season pass, I would want to go 2-3 times a week. I'll definitely go back multiple times.
And, you have to love this country. Did that Friday evening. Hit the rugby game on Saturday, and paddleboarded up a stream in a forest to a local restaurant for lunch. What an amazing weekend!
Not my favorite, I think it’s the V. I just don’t have much time on boards with that type of bottom,.
I think a modernized version would be fun
I think a modernized version would be fun
