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Adventure Parc Snowdonia

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Coordinates: 53°11′24″N 3°50′28″W / 53.190°N 3.841°W / 53.190; -3.841
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Adventure Parc Snowdonia
LocationDolgarrog
Coordinates53°11′24″N 3°50′28″W / 53.190°N 3.841°W / 53.190; -3.841
OwnerConwy Adventure Leisure Ltd.
Opened1 August 2015 (2015-08-01)
ClosedSeptember 2023
Websitewww.adventureparcsnowdonia.co.uk[dead link‍]

Adventure Parc Snowdonia, formerly Surf Snowdonia was an adventure park and tourist attraction, incorporating an artificial wave pool, at Dolgarrog in the Conwy valley, north Wales, owned by Conwy Adventure Leisure Ltd. It was the world's first commercial artificial surfing lake.[1] The site cost a total of £12 million and opened in August 2015. The park closed in September 2023 following mechanical failures in 2022, which led to the waves being turned off, and searches for financial investment.[2]

History

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The former aluminium factory at Dolgarrog, as seen in this postcard picture from the early 1920s, is now the site of Surf Snowdonia. The access road (bottom right) remains in the same position.
The surfing lake and park from the west
The lagoon at Surf Snowdonia, looking west
Surfing at Surf Snowdonia

In 2007 Dolgarrog Aluminium closed, and the following year the site was purchased by Ainscough Johnston, a Lancashire-based strategic land company, whose initial plans were for housing – including affordable housing – and for leisure and amenity uses.[3]

Plans for a surfing attraction were unveiled in 2013, with Conwy Adventure Leisure announcing that it was submitting a planning application for the venue. The company predicted the facility would "attract 67–70,000 visitors [a year]".[4] Conwy Adventure Leisure received planning permission in August 2013 and in December said it had invested over £7 million in the project.[5] The park gained final approval from councillors in April 2014, with construction beginning in May.[6][7] In June the project received £4 million in funding from the Welsh Government.[8] Much initial decontamination work had to be undertaken, following a century of use as an industrial site, and over 25,000 cubic metres of on-site material was crushed and re-used during the construction, including the recycling of 400 tonnes of steel, cast iron and copper.[9]

Development of the site was also complicated by environmental issues: it is adjacent to a Site of Special Scientific Interest, there is a high water table, and it is located on the flood plain of the River Conwy. A total of 6.3 miles of piling was driven into the ground in order to stabilize it.[10]

In April 2015 a fire broke out on the construction site, causing some damage to a tower.[11] The site opened to the public on 1 August 2015, having cost a total of £12 million.[12] It served 14,000 people in its first two weeks of operation, including 3,500 people who surfed in the pool.[13]

The site closed in summer 2023, after its wave machine had been turned off in 2022 following mechanical failures.[14]

Pool

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Surf Snowdonia had a freshwater pool which contained a wave-generation mechanism, manufactured by the Leitner Group, and based on a prototype built in San Sebastián, Spain, by Wavegarden.[7] It has a contoured base that could generate three different sized waves, at a rate of one a minute. The pool could generate a 2-metre (6 ft 7 in) high wave which lasted 16 seconds and travelled 150 metres (490 ft).[15] The company claimed this was the longest man-made surf wave in the world.[16] The pool was filled with rainwater collected from Snowdonia reservoirs including Llyn Cowlyd. This water passed through the adjacent hydro-power station, originally built to power the former aluminium plant, before being pumped from the tail-race into the surfing pool.[17]

The pool is 300 metres (980 ft) long and 110 metres (360 ft) wide, containing a total of six million gallons of water. A bi-directional snowplough-shaped wave-generation mechanism, towed on a cable between the two central towers, moved up and down the pool on a three-rail track, generating the waves. The underwater machinery, powered by a 2MW motor, is covered with a protective stainless steel netted screen, to keep surfers from any moving parts, while not impairing the energy of the waves.[18] The water in the pool was cleaned and cycled every 24 hours by passing through ultraviolet cleaners, so that the water can be chlorine-free.[9][19]

The wave pool could be used by as many as 52 surfers at one time.[20]

Other attractions

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As well as the wave pool, since the park expanded to become Adventure Parc Snowdonia it offered indoor attractions such as an assault course, high ropes, soft play, and caving, and outdoor attractions including a zip line, climbing wall, and bike hire.[21]

Staff and facilities

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The Managing Director during its constructions and initial opening phase was Steve Davies MBE, previously Director of the National Railway Museum in York.[22][23]

The facility employed some 109 people.[24] with an additional 48 for the restaurant and bar.[25]

Other facilities on site included a surfing academy, Adrenaline indoors, a zip wire over the lagoon, a café bar and coffee shop, a play shack for children, a retail area, and 36 wooden camping pods. [26] Additional accommodation was available at a 106-bedroom Hilton Garden Inn.[2]

Reception

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In the first week, the centre received up to 1,000 visitors a day.[27] In its first season, prior to winter closure in 2015, the surf lagoon was booked at an average of 97% occupancy.[28]

Reaction to the facility from professional surfers was favourable.[29]

Events

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On 18-19 September 2015, Surf Snowdonia hosted Red Bull Unleashed, the world's first stadium surf contest, with 24 surfers from around the world.[30][31] The event, watched by 2,000 spectators on the final day, was won by Hawaiian surfer Albee Layer.[32]

On 24 October 2016 Surf Snowdonia hosted the first Surf Snowdonia Pro UK Surf Challenge, when the UK's top male, female and junior surfers competed in a knock-out competition.[33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rebecca Burn-Callander (26 May 2014). "UK's first artificial surfing lake makes waves". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Conwy's Surf Snowdonia closes as redundancies announced". BBC News. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  3. ^ northwales Administrator (2 July 2008). "Dolgarrog Aluminium plant sold". northwales. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Surf Snowdonia project set for Dolgarrog aluminium site". BBC News. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  5. ^ "Surf Snowdonia wave centre to create 60 jobs, developers say". BBC News. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  6. ^ "Surf Snowdonia centre: Conwy wave park gets final approval". BBC News. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  7. ^ a b Claire Marshall (21 May 2014). "Clear run for first UK inland surf lake". BBC News. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Surf Snowdonia centre wins £4m Welsh government funding". BBC News. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  9. ^ a b Owen Hughes (9 June 2015). "Surf Snowdonia reveals how it will make waves in Wales". northwales. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  10. ^ "What Steve Davies did next - Heritage Railway Magazine". heritagerailway.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  11. ^ "UPDATE: Fire at Surf Snowdonia site". North Wales Pioneer. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  12. ^ Hywel Trewyn (1 August 2015). "LOOK: Surf's up as Surf Snowdonia opens to the public". Daily Post. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  13. ^ Wiley, Chad (31 August 2015). "Surf Snowdonia Re-Opens After Temporary Closure". business.transworld.net. Transworld Business. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  14. ^ "Conwy's Surf Snowdonia closes as redundancies announced". BBC News. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  15. ^ Natalie Paris (31 July 2015). "Surf Snowdonia offers world's 'longest man-made wave'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  16. ^ Valera, Stephanie (18 August 2015). "12 Incredible Artificial and Man-Made Beaches". weather.com. The Weather Channel. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  17. ^ "Snowdonia rainwater to be used at new surf attraction". BBC News. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  18. ^ Claire Marshall (31 July 2015). "Wales surf wave generator starts up". BBC News. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  19. ^ Institution of Mechanical Engineers. "On the crest of a wave". imeche.org. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  20. ^ Long, Felicity (12 August 2015). "ia lagoon". travelweekly.com. Travel Weekly. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  21. ^ "Prices - Adventure Parc Snowdonia". 24 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Where did Steve Davies go? - Heritage Railway Magazine". heritagerailway.co.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  23. ^ "Steve Davies to step down as director of National Railway Museum - Museums Association". museumsassociation.org. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  24. ^ Hughes, Owen (15 July 2015). "Surf Snowdonia lauded as 'economic success story'". dailypost.co.uk. The Daily Post. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  25. ^ "Business News". dailypost.co.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  26. ^ "Surf Snowdonia - Bringing the WaveGarden surf lagoon to the UK". surfsnowdonia.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  27. ^ North Wales Weekly News, 17 Sept 2015, p.7
  28. ^ Sarah Hodgson (19 March 2016). "Surf Snowdonia reopens to public after £1m makeover". northwales. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  29. ^ "What do pro surfers think of man-made waves?". Red Bull. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  30. ^ "Red Bull Unleashed 2015". Red Bull. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  31. ^ Wiley, Chad (21 August 2015). "Surf Snowdonia To Host Red Bull Unleashed, First-Ever Stadium Surf Contest". business.transworld.net. Transworld Business. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  32. ^ "Surf Snowdonia hosts final at lagoon". BBC News. 19 September 2015.
  33. ^ "UK Pro Surf Tour to hit Surf Snowdonia". Retrieved 31 August 2017.
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