Surfing in Snowdonia? Why it's better than it sounds
Surfing and Snowdonia – not words I ever anticipated putting together. My family are Welsh and childhood holidays spent flinching from horizontal hail didn’t exactly condition me to throw off my anorak and leap into the water. If God had wanted us to surf here, he’d have raised the temperature by 20C and tweaked the local diet (lager and Welsh rarebit: a recipe for sinking).
So when the world’s first inland yet outdoor surf lagoon was built in the small, straggling village of Dolgarrog (population 446), I remained resolutely untempted. When they added “Adrenaline Indoors” – a vast hangar filled with climbing walls and “extreme slides” – I began to see the wisdom of supplementing a wind-lashed tsunami machine with indoor alternatives, but wasn’t persuaded to go. Then, last year, they opened a Hilton on site, too. And my 11-year-old son developed a surfing addiction. And the hotel had a spa.
So here we are, clambering into a wetsuit and heading to the 985ft-long lagoon for one of 20 daily lessons. I say we, I mean he. And even my son looks hesitant. It is still winter when we visit and a chalkboard in the surf school advertises the water as a bracing 5C. My breezy assertions that this is an absolutely “FINE” temperature would carry more weight if I weren’t dressed like Shackleton and clasping a flat white.
Wholesome outdoor adventures
It is distinctly odd watching your child surf head-high waves against a background of dark, drizzly mountains. Yet the kid emerges, an hour later, with blue fingers but electrified eyes. The artificially generated waves are perfect and predictably timed, making them ideal for learning and honing skills.
And in an odd way, it feels right. Snowdonia has long attracted tourists in search of fresh air and wholesome outdoor adventures. Exercise is all around us. In the morning, before the waves get going, people paddleboard and swim in the lagoon. Teens contemplate the zip wire that crosses it, or hire bikes and skateboards and skid round the pump track. Families trudge by in walking boots; younger children careen round the Ninja Assault Course. I may have skirted the surfing but there is, apparently, no escaping this soft play on steroids. Children aged five and up are welcomed, but under-nines must be accompanied by a participating adult.
There are cargo nets, ball ponds in the rafters, jumps onto giant airbeds, and the UK’s only kicker flight slide, which catapults you into the air and onto a giant marshmallow. My eight-year-old is enthusiastic. Me? Well… give and take is the point, here. There’s an activity for every family member (even the mutt, who is welcomed into one of 10 pet-friendly rooms and loves the hill walks). And my turn is coming next.
The treat for skeptical parents? A bijou spa
There is a small but glamorous suite of four treatment rooms, a hammam and a relaxation room with a waterfall pool, steam room and Himalayan salt sauna.
The Wave Garden Spa (which overlooks the lagoon) is accessed either through a private entrance or – oddly – a door connecting it to the hotel dining room. There is a small but glamorous suite of four treatment rooms, a hammam and a relaxation room with a waterfall pool, steam room and Himalayan salt sauna. Outside, there is a heated hydrotherapy pool, plus a wooden barrel sauna and fire pits around loungers. Mothers and daughters are gossiping over prosecco. This is very much my brand of outdoorsiness.
A family-friendly hotel
The hotel, too, is designed to keep everyone happy. It’s a classic Hilton: international and vast, like a slick grey Lego brick against the craggy mountains. Its colour mirrors their slate, but otherwise it has none of the eccentricity of its setting. Which is not to say it isn’t a success. Bedrooms bring to mind Ikea (not a dig: pared-back Scandi minimalism is a spa treatment for the eyes if you live in a home as cluttered as mine). There’s a Smeg fridge in each of our interconnecting rooms (empty, but great for your own snacks and booze). The one snag is the lack of a bath. Only the six suites have one and you do crave a soak after a long day’s walk or a freezing hour’s surfing.
Still, they have thought through the design for families. There are 28 such sets of interconnecting rooms. Downstairs, a “bar and grill” serves please-all steaks, chunky chips and giant grilled mushrooms: no surprises other than the decent quality. There’s also a deli and café by the surfing lagoon that does a very good impression of a beach bar.
The verdict?
Surfing in Snowdonia. A multinational hotel chain in a Welsh village. It shouldn’t work. But somehow it does.
The details
Family rooms sleeping four from £99. Surf lessons cost from £50 (hgisnowdonia.com). For more travel inspiration, read Telegraph Travel's guide to the best hotels in Snowdonia.
