The Wave Bristol

The Wave is a Wavegarden Cove surf lake at Easter Compton in South Gloucestershire, near junction 17 of the M5 and about 20 minutes from Bristol city centre. It opened in 2019. After a brief closure over a financial dispute in late June 2025, it reopened on 1 July 2025 under new owner Sea Level Wave Company, led by chief executive Julian Topham, the chair of Surfing England. It runs sessions most of the year, closing for January and the first half of February, from beginner lessons in the whitewater bay to expert barrel and turns sessions on the reef, with on-site camping at The Camp and The Field. The planned London lagoon once called The Wave London is a separate project, now Surf London in Enfield, run by the former owner's renamed company, Crest Experiences.

The 40-module Wavegarden Cove, on a lagoon of about 150 by 150 metres, can make up to 1,000 waves an hour, from about 50 cm to almost 2 m, with a new wave every 8 to 10 seconds. Beginners learn in the whitewater bay with waves of about half a meter, while improvers move to 1.5-foot unbroken waves at the back of the lake and intermediate lessons run on 3-foot waves on the reef. Sessions climb through Beginner, Improver, Intermediate, Advanced and Advanced Plus to three expert sessions: Expert Turns, Expert Barrel and Expert Plus. Women-only sessions and adaptive surfing run too.

Beginners get a strong deal: lessons combine dry-land training with coached time in the whitewater bay. Intermediate surfers get clean, consistent practice waves without tides or swell forecasts, and experts have dedicated turns and barrel sessions. It suits anyone who wants structured wave time close to a major English city.

Prices are dynamic by date and time: off-peak is Monday to Friday, and peak is weekends, bank holidays and school holidays. As of 23 October 2026 the book-now page lists Beginner Surf sessions, for beginners who have already had a lesson, from £34 (child £31), and every hour-long session from Improver to Expert Plus from £42 (child £37). For October dates the booking calendar showed Beginner sessions at £37 on weekdays and £44 at weekends, and Improver to Advanced Plus at £47 and £55 (read 11 October). Lessons last 1.5 hours, 30 minutes on land and 60 in the water, with a wetsuit and soft-top included: Beginner lessons from £41 (£36 child) and Improver, Intermediate and Intermediate Plus lessons from £52 (£47 child). Little Rippers lessons for ages 4 to 12 with an adult start at £44. Read from thewave.com on 26 September and 23 October 2026.

Book as far ahead as you can, especially for weekend advanced and expert sessions. Arrive at the car park an hour early; a skateboard, scooter or bike helps with the 1 km to the lake. Blue badge holders can park at the clubhouse. For overnight trips, The Camp's safari tents are metres from the shoreline.