It's exciting news for landlocked surfers in mid and north Wales as well as those living in nearby Liverpool and Manchester who previously had to travel to Anglesey or the Llyn Peninsula in search of waves.

The lagoon will offer a maximum wave height of 1.9 metres, well over six feet and could open as early as summer 2014.

Using Wavegarden technology these parks claim to be able to generate 'perfectly formed tubing waves that peel for more than 220m without losing power or shape'.  

This is something most UK surfers can only dream about, usually having to battle against large tides, howling onshore winds and sea waves that close-out quickly.

The company behind the technology have a test site in northern Spain and plan to develop another UK site across the River Severn in Bristol. 

Over the last 10 years, surf parks globally have become hugely popular - overcoming geographical limitations and the unpredictability of quality wave conditions.

They can now be found all over the world, even in deserts such as Wadi Adventure in the United Aran Emirates where Pembrokeshire surfer and owner of Outer Reef Surf School, Dean Gough found himself working as a surfing instructor - surrounded by camels and boardshorts.

In 2009 the LC2 in Swansea opened its doors with a wave pool and surf machine, known as the Boardrider which incorporated the world’s first deep water standing wave machine.

Meanwhile in May 2013 a Flow Rider machine opened at Cardiff International White Water which is expected to attract 18,000 visitors a year. Watch Radio Wales' Wynne Evans in action as he took on the Flow Rider.

Flow Rider machines originate in the U.S. but are now popping up all over the place, from five-star country hotels to onboard luxury cruise ships.

The sport has the look of surfing, the ride of snowboarding and is performed on something resembling a wakeboard/body board.

While these technologies can never replace surfing in the open ocean, they are already proving hugely popular with landlocked surfers, snowboarders, skaters and visitors to Wales wanting to try something different, which doesn't take a lifetime to master.

And if this summer is anything to go by (with the Irish Sea turning into a lake) coastal surfers might all be heading inland too.

Surfing is now ranked in the top 20 most popular and fastest growing sports in all countries, cultures and demographics.

Perhaps this is just the start of things to come, as more and more people who don't have easy access to the coast, attempt to capture the stoke that only surfing can provide. 

And if you’re an old school surfer who still enjoys the odd nasal douche and irritating wetsuit rub, you can find plenty of excellent surfing beaches, right across Wales for free – apart from the obligatory summer car parking charges.

Snowdrops in February 2011 by Susie Corwen.

So this evening rain in Pembrokeshire will spread across the rest of the country. Some heavy rain is likely but it will dry-up in the south west later tonight. Lowest temperatures 4 to 7 Celsius so no frost tonight.

Tomorrow most of the country will start grey with low cloud, mist and hill fog. Light rain in the north and east first thing will clear during the morning.

I wouldn't rule out a light shower in the afternoon but most of the country will be dry and brighten up with some sunshine later.

However, parts of the south and west coast including Cardigan Bay may stay misty and murky. Top temperatures 8 to 11 Celsius so milder than recently with mainly light winds.

Tomorrow night will be dry with low cloud, with mist and fog patches forming. Milder on the coast but colder inland and a ground frost is possible.

Sunday will start off grey with low cloud, mist and fog patches. Some poor visibility is likely, especially on the Brecon Beacons, The Black Mountains and on the hills of Powys.

The odd spot of drizzle is possible too but otherwise dry. During the day it will brighten-up in places e.g. The north coast.

However, some rain and showers may spread across the country in the evening. Highest temperatures 7 to 10 Celsius with a south-easterly breeze picking-up.

Gull has been in touch and informs me that the surf is looking good again this weekend with mainly light winds on Saturday.

A lone surfer takes on a large wave yesterday in Porthcawl. Image by Gull.

On Sunday the wind will turn south-easterly and pick-up, going offshore as the next swell builds so there should be plenty of surf about all weekend, peaking on Sunday around 4-5ft.

High tide is in the morning but the tides are going to be large all weekend as there is a new full moon. The sea temperature is hovering between 6-8 degrees Celsius depending on where you live - warmer in Pembrokeshire!

There is also a 4* Severn Bore on Sunday and a slightly smaller tide on Monday so keep an eye out for videos of that being surfed online, as it's always amazing to watch.

Watch a video clip of the Severn Bore in action.

Derek

Swansea surfer Lloyd George pulling into a tube during the contest. Image by Claire Beach.

The morning heats were tough with long, arduous paddle outs and strong rips making it difficult for competitors to even paddle out to contests their heats but despite a few snapped leashes everyone survived the onslaught.

There were even some barrels being ridden by Lloyd George from Swansea and Alex Morris from Pembrokeshire who took off on an absolute beast of wave, bottom turned and pulled deep inside a gaping tube before flying out the other side - much to the delight of everyone watching!

Alex Morrris on a good sized wave during the contest. Image by Claire Beach.

In the afternoon, the wind eased, the sun came out and the surf cleaned up, making for some perfect contest waves. The event was eventually won by local surfer - George Schofield, so many congratulations to him.

On Sunday the Tsunami Cup contest took over. The surf was not as big or as clean as it had been on Sunday but despite the torrent of rain, competitors turned up and squelched their way through the mud to the beach.

I too had decided to throw my hat into the ring as it was for a good cause and I figured most of the other competitors would be hung over after watching the Six Nations rugby ;)

The Tsunami Cup has been running since 2005 when the Boxing Day tsunami hit and local surfers decided to get together to raise money for the villages affected - many of which once stood in popular surf locations.

The moderate southerly wind eventually eased and turned light south westerly as the first heat paddled out into 4-5ft surf around 10.30am.

The paddle out was hard going as there weren't any real lulls in the surf so by the time we paddled out, everyone was shattered. With 10 minutes allocated for paddling out and 15 minute heats running back to back, there wasn't much time for a rest in between, if you progressed.

Eventual winner, George Schofield on a chunky wave during the Tsunami Cup. Image by Adrian Lincoln at www.framesphotography.co.uk.

I scraped though a couple of rounds to make the semi finals but as one of the erm... 'older' competitors in the event - my competition fitness was somewhat lacking, so my tank was well and truly empty for my third and final heat.

It was good fun anyway and was all about raising money for a good cause. Well done to the Welsh Coast Surf Club and Christian Surfers UK for doing such a sterling job with the organisation, catering and judging on a wet and windy Sunday morning.

I'm not sure who the overall winners were (Open, Juniors and Longboard) as I had to go home and collapse but will add this information as and when I get it.

More good news for surfers this week, as deep low pressure in the Atlantic looks set to batter our coastline with more big waves.

Gull

Me having some fun, surfing on Gower in Winter 2009. Image by Mark Evans, Porthcawl.

Friday will hopefully have clean 3 foot+ surf with the swell building into Saturday and should range between 3-5 feet over the weekend.

Depending on what time you're awake on Saturday - you could either have left over S or NW winds so set your alarms accordingly ;)

On Sunday the wind is pretty variable but strengthens and tends to have W in it for most of the weekend changing from SW to WNW to W. However should see plenty of NW winds thrown into the mix offering some surfing options for parts of Gower though.

On Sunday the low drifts in closer and heads north east over the rest of the UK and a weak high drifts in behind it to fill the void.

So in summary, I'd say Friday afternoon and Saturday morning are currently the best days for surfing in South and West Wales but don't write off Sunday as if the swells holds, it could be okay at sheltered spots in NW winds.

Quite large tides at the moment with 9 metres + today and high tide around 7.30am.

If you want to know more about surfing in Wales then take a look at our mini site and beach guides.

Let me know how you get on this weekend - I might see some of you out there and If you take any good surfing shots, you can email them to me here at wales.nature@bbc.co.uk.

Gull

Beth Mason (Swansea) eventually took first place with a 0.77 lead, leaving Gwen Spurlock (Swansea) - the current leader of the women's UK Pro Tour to scoop up a very close second place. Jo Dennison (Pembroke) came in a credible third place, ahead of Raine Jackson (Australia).

Well done to all three surfers. It's an exciting time for women's surfing in Wales currently and these girls are proving that they have what it takes compete at the highest level.

Gull

Look at the colour of that water - it resembles the Bahamas! Something us Bristol Channel surfers can only dream about...


Freshwater West - One of Wales' finest surfing beaches is to have lifeguards for the very first time this summer. The beach has vastly increased in its popularity in recent times, mainly due to the increased profile of surfing in the UK.

Surfing is now one of the biggest growth sports in the world, bringing in millions of pounds to the UK economy alone.

Once upon a time we'd have to wait for other surfers to arrive at this beach before we'd venture out if the waves were big. Nowadays, you struggle to find a parking spot down there, even in the winter.

The beach can be dangerous though and like many surfing beaches, does have strong rip currents and softer quicksand at the north end, so this is great news for everyone.

The lifeguarding runs from June until September for around 10 weeks.

Last weekend saw the 'Border Control Challenge'. Two surf clubs - West Coast (WCSC) from Porthcawl and Aberavon battled it out at Aberavon beach in a friendly surf contest.

This year, the event was blessed with excellent surf as a solid 2-3 metre swell pounded the coast and made for classic but tricky conditions, especially for the longboarders who had to paddle their 9ft boards out into the 6-8ft waves.

Local surf photographer Claire Beach was on hand to capture the action. In this shot, local surfer - Richard Perkins drops into a good sized wave at 'the peak':


Aberavon won the contest this time around but it was a closely fought battle.

Staying in South Wales - there are two surfing competitions planned for Rest Bay, Porthcawl this weekend - 'The Longboard Classic' which also features a retro surfboard event (that I'm hoping to enter), and the Welsh Inter-club Contest where regional surf clubs from around Wales battle it out for the crown.

Unfortunately, I've a sneaky feeling that they will both be cancelled due to a lack of surf. The current spate of high pressure will be turning the ocean into a calm, placid lake over the next few days.

It might be time to dust off the BBQ's, as this could be our summer. Blink and you'll miss it ;)

Gull

More about this amazing bore wave on BBC Gloucester's website.

Scores of Welsh surfers went along to try their luck this year. Were you one of them?

If so get in touch and tell us how you got on!

Gull

A friend who went surfing the other morning arrived to find poor surf but said it was worth going, just to see the sunrise, which sums it up nicely.

Oyster catchers must to be the most hard working of all the UK bird species - always up first and normally the last to bed with their distinctive, panicky calls, echoing eerily along the shoreline.

It won't last for long though, as winter is drawing in quickly. We've definitely been feeling it in South Wales this week with bitterly cold temperatures on Monday and Tuesday.

For those of you who enjoy an early start, you'll have witnessed some amazing sunrises recently.

This one comes from Shane Phoenix in Llay, North Wales who wrote: "I've never sent a photograph in before but this morning's sunrise over Llay, my home village was spectacular."

If you've got some nice photos you'd like to share, please e-mail them to me here at wales.nature@bbc.co.uk

Not so long ago we were showcasing sensational sunset photos.

Thanks

Gull

They will be joined by the best Welsh surfers around including: Nathan Phillips (Llantwit Major), Nick Reid (Swansea) and top local surfer, Greg Owen (former Welsh Champion).

There will also be an under 16's competition in order to encourage the development of the sport here in Wales. Max Tucker is definitely one to watch, whose local knowledge could give him the edge.

It should be a great event and the wave forecast is looking good with light WNW winds for Saturday and decent swell, so get down there and watch the action unfold. Heats will be underway from around 8.30am.

Gull

www.ukprosurf.com