The Wave is a firm building artificial wave pools for surfing in England. The Wave: Bristol was opened in 2019, on the northern outskirts of the city. A second site, The Wave: London, is planned.
The Wave, Bristol
The founder of the project is Nick Hounsfield. The project was named "The Wave: Bristol" in 2012, initially focusing on a site next to the Portway in Bristol, but rejected it as not big enough. A site on farmland at Easter Compton was selected in 2013, with the technology generating the artificial waves to be supplied by the Spanish company Wavegarden.
In August 2017, South Gloucestershire Council approved the £20 million scheme, which is designed for sustainability. Besides the wave pool, the scheme will include a natural swimming lake, barefoot trails, foraging areas and gardens of various types - activity, sensory, healing, culinary and herb gardens. Other proposed features include a clubhouse, a surf shop, a ropes and tunnels course and a campsite. The planned dimensions of the pool are long by wide and deep. The firm plans to host a High-Performance Surfing Centre and surf contests.
In June 2015, it was decided to use the American company Wave Loch's wave generation technology instead of Wavegarden's, requiring the opening date to be put back to 2016. However, as of May 2017, they reverted to the Wavegarden's technology.
In April 2016, The Wave announced that South Gloucestershire Council had approved the revised designs. With the switch back to Wavegarden, the planning permission was resubmitted, and approved in late August 2017.
In October 2019 construction was completed.
Sessions and settings
The Wave offers different sizes and styles of wave to suit different abilities, from 0.5m white water to 2m barrelling waves. Each session at The Wave lasts for one hour, and uses the same setting throughout. The pool is divided into right and left sections, with waves breaking in opposite directions on each side.
Renewable energy
In 2023, The Wave installed an on-site solar array, which they claim will produce enough electricity to match demand from the facility.