After drowning in beautiful vistas and magnificent countrysideSurf Snowdonia awaited. It's fantastic but had a surreal feel to it, surfing in the mountains?? with woodfires burning in the background from the mountain village houses, whilst people surfed! Amazing! (I've included some info about this amazing venue at the end of the post if you're interested) otherwise just enjoy whatsI saw today.
...overcast conditions are reflected in the somewhat gloomy photos
... I can't stop saying it, but the Welsh countryside is just stunning
...with its quaint villages
...and pretty rivers and bridges
...entering the lower mountainous area of Snowdonia National Park - very close to my beautiful Betws y Coed where I overnighted
... the beauty and the things you see.....always surprising
Surf Snowdonia!
...making waves and having a surf in the mountains! have you ever imagined such a thing!
Surf Snowdonia has a freshwater pool which contains a wave-generation mechanism, manufactured by the Leitner Group, and based on a prototype built in San Sebastián, Spain, by the Spanish company Wavegarden.[6] It has a contoured base that can generate three different sized waves, at a rate of one a minute. The pool can generate a 2-metre (6 ft 7 in) high wave which can last 16 seconds and travel 150 metres (490 ft).[13] The company claims this is the longest man-made surf wave in the world.[14] The pool is filled with rainwater collected from Snowdonia reservoirs including Llyn Cowlyd. This water passes 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.[15]
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-directionalsnowplough-shaped wave-generation mechanism, towed on a cable between the two central towers, moves 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, yet without impairing the energy of the waves.[16] The water in the pool is cleaned and cycled every 24 hours[17] by passing through ultraviolet cleaners, so that the water can be chlorine-free.[8]
The wave pool can be used by as many as 52 surfers at one time.[18]
