North Wales is one of the watersports capitals of the UK, with there being plenty of thrilling activities available at seaside and lakeside locations across the region. 

From kayaking and paddleboarding, to wild swimming and surfing in North Wales; there are plenty of activities to choose from for the whole family.

Ahead of your next holiday in Gimblet Rock, we thought we’d make the process of getting involved in the vibrant North Wales watersports community a little bit easier by highlighting some of the most popular activities and watersport centres in the region. This guide will also feature a number of recommended services that are available to ensure that you have all the guidance and equipment that you could ask for to ensure your safety and proficiency. 

Glasfryn Parc - Pwllheli

Located just up the road from us here at Gimblet Rock Holiday Park is the fantastic Glasfryn Parc. This is the ultimate family activity centre with all manner of indoor and outdoor activities available to take advantage of on-site. This ranges from a thrilling outdoor go-karting experience and archery competitions, to fun ten pin bowling games that the whole family can take part in.

Glasfryn Parc even offers a wide selection of North Wales watersports activities which are centred around its large on-site lake. Here the whole family can attempt to conquer the thrilling water based obstacle course or try their hand at one of the more individualist tasks such as kayaking, paddleboarding or even the slightly more challenging cable wakeboarding. 

What is great about Glasfryn Parc is that the watersports activities are all overlooked by experienced members of staff. This ensures everything happens in a controlled environment which is a far safer solution than trying these watersports activities for the first time without supervision at one of the many seaside locations in the region. 

If you are looking to become more involved in the North Wales watersports community, then we’d highly recommend paying a visit to Glasfryn Parc so that you can receive the expert tuition and guidance that you will need before attempting to take on these activities solo.

Discover Llyn

Once you have mastered the art of paddleboarding, then you may want to take on the activity under your own steam. If that is the case then you may want to get in touch with the team at Discover Llyn who deliver wakeboarding equipment to areas across the Llyn Peninsula. That means that you can have a paddleboard delivered directly to your holiday home at Gimblet Rock. Prices start from £40 for a single day hire, going up to £170 for a full 7 days. Delivery of the equipment is completely free. The group even offer a same day service whenever availability permits, perfect for any last minute hankering for some adrenaline fuelled activities.

If you haven’t yet visited Glasfryn Parc or still don’t feel confident enough to go paddleboarding without some expert guidance, then you can arrange for one of the watersport specialists at Discover Llyn to join you on your day out. The team can recommend the ideal location for your private session and provide you with all the guidance you will need to master the art. 

National White Water Centre - Bala

Located roughly a 1 hour drive away from Gimblet Rock Holiday Park is the fantastic National White Water Centre. Opened in 1983, this was the original whitewater rafting and canyoning centre in the UK and in our view it remains the best thanks to the expert on-site team and stunning scenery amidst Snowdonia National Park.

The rafting activities take place right on the doorstep of the National White Water Centre on dam-controlled class 3-4 water. This ensures perfect water levels for rafting irrespective of the season. While rafting certainly isn’t for the faint hearted, it is a fantastic group activity for any adrenaline junkies and the perfect all-weather activity. 

You can also try your hand at Canyoning here. For the uninitiated this combines a number of activities including rock climbing, swimming and rappelling as you make your way down a steep mountain river. This does require good levels of strength, energy and courage, with all participants needing to be at least 12 years old. You will also naturally need to be able to swim a minimum of 25m.

Menai Bridge

Another North Wales watersport hotspot is Menai Bridge on Anglesey. Situated roughly a 40 minute drive away from Gimblet Rock, there are a number of different activities to choose from here including rib ride boat tours and e-foil sessions. 

The boat tours offer a number of different experiences to guests with something to appeal to all tastes and budgets. From thrilling runs up the Menai Strait, through to visits to Puffin Island where you will see the famous migratory birds. If you are lucky, you may even catch a glimpse of the area's friendly seals.

E-Foil meanwhile is a bit more of a bespoke offering which isn’t as well known. For this activity you will receive an electric surf board which flies above a hydrofoil wing. This results in participants floating above the water and simulates the feeling of flying. If it is your first time trying E-Foils, you may be interested in taking the 3 hour training session available via Foil Ride which can be found down at the Porth Daniel Boat Yard.

Surfing in North Wales

If you are keen to try your hand at surfing in North Wales, then you will find that there are plenty of seaside destinations which offer perfect conditions for the activity.

One such location is Rhosneigr on Anglesey. The west facing beach here provides calm and predictable conditions which are best suited to beginners. There is even an on-site tuition centre available in the form of FunSport Rhosneigr who offer surfing lessons in addition to selling all the vital equipment that you could ever possibly need. 

Once you have mastered the art, you may wish to visit some slightly more challenging hotspots for surfing in North Wales such as Porth Ceiriad near Abersoch and Cable Bay near Holyhead. 

Other Destinations

The above is just a short selection of what we consider to be the best North Wales water sport activities and services. You will also find a number of providers offering similar activities to those which have been noted above in places such as Betws-Y-Coed, Caernarfon and Llangollen. 

If you require any further information about North Wales watersports, then feel free to get in touch with us on Facebook.