Can you camp at The Wave? Yes. The Wave, the inland surf lake near Bristol, has two places to stay on site:
- The Field, a campsite about 200 metres from the lake, new for summer 2026: pitch your own tent or park a campervan from 30 pounds a night, or book a pre-pitched bell tent with two single beds and linen for 80 pounds a night (prices as listed on 11 October 2026). It is seasonal, and as of 11 October 2026 The Wave lists it as closed for the season.
- The Camp, safari tents that sleep up to six, with beds, a kitchenette, a wood burner, a private toilet and a balcony, and showers nearby. A premium tent adds insulation, heating and a private shower. Check-in is from 4pm.
Both list access to the clubhouse and café, roof terrace views, the surf shop and a lake walk. Surf sessions and Wave Academy courses are booked separately.
Why it changes an inland surf trip
A surf session at The Wave is an hour in the water, which is a short day out for anyone who has driven a long way to get there. The Wave, just outside Bristol, has offered beds on site at The Camp since at least 2021, and in summer 2026 it added The Field, a cheaper campsite on the same site. The Wave pitches it as "perfectly placed for dawn patrols and golden-hour sessions", so you can surf in the evening, sleep on site and be back in the water the next morning.
What The Field actually is
The Field is new for summer 2026. When The Wave announced a campervan and motorhome partnership with Sunlight in July, it said the timing came alongside the launch of The Field, its brand new campsite. The pricing is simple. A pitch, where you bring your own tent or campervan, costs from 30 pounds a night. If you would rather not pack anything, a pre pitched bell tent comes with two single beds and linen for 80 pounds a night. Campervans get their own pitch option too, and there are showers and toilets on site.
That may sound modest, and it is: The Wave calls The Field "the most affordable way to wake up just steps from the surf". A family or a group of mates travelling a long way to surf can split the trip across two days for the price of a pitch and book a session on each.
The summer around it
The Field opened into a busy summer calendar at The Wave, and most of it has finished for the year.
Surf Pilates with instructor Chessy ran on Saturday mornings through the summer at 12 pounds per person for an hour, with sessions built around the muscles that support paddling, the pop-up and balance. As of 11 October 2026 The Wave's page says Pilates has finished for the season. The Wave's Surfboard Expo was set for Sunday 23 August 2026, with free board demos during surf sessions, a market for buying, selling and swapping boards, live music from 1pm and overnight camping in The Field.
Free board demo days let surfers with a booked session try boards from brands including Firewire, Torq, Tiki and Lib Tech; as of 11 October 2026 The Wave lists winter dates as to be confirmed.
There is also a rotating wave schedule for regulars who already know what they want. The Monthly Mix-Up swaps the standard settings for two featured waves every Friday evening, at 5pm and 6pm. As of 11 October 2026, October's pair is an Intro to Advanced wave and an Advanced Plus session split between forehand and backhand, with no Mix-Up on Friday 16 October because of a Red Bull Sessions event. If you have never understood why the wave setting matters, that is the appeal of a mature park like this one: the same lake runs everything from beginner sessions to expert barrel sessions.
A new way in for beginners
The Wave Academy sells structured courses, with the same coach throughout, building from one session to the next. In 2026 it offered one-day development days, two-day progression weekends, four-day progression weeks, a four-week Saturday kids surf club and six-week Tuesday evening courses for adults, priced from 150 pounds for a child's development day to 550 pounds for an adult's four-day week (as listed on 11 October 2026). The listed dates ran through September, the last being the Saturday kids club from 5 to 26 September, and as of 11 October 2026 several formats are listed as returning in summer 2027.
The sea does not run to a timetable, which makes that kind of multi-week pathway harder for ocean surf schools. The Wave sells its lake on "guaranteed consistent waves for all abilities", and that is what lets a course build from one session to the next.
Why it matters beyond Bristol
Wavegarden describes The Wave as the first commercial Wavegarden Cove in Europe, and it opened in 2019. With The Camp and now The Field, it treats the lake as a place to spend a weekend.
Adding a cheaper campsite and a summer calendar is a small step next to building a new lagoon, but it points at where these venues are heading. The first generation of wave pools sold the wave itself, which was enough when simply surfing inland felt impossible. The next phase is about everything around the wave, the reasons to come back, stay longer, and treat a surf park the way people already treat a ski resort.
