The joys of being a landlocked surfer in the UK are few! Long journeys, gridlocked roads, expensive fuel… all to surf 2 foot of gutless slop. It gets a bit demoralising after 15 years! So when my friend discovered your website we were intrigued. We ordered a boardbungee and started exploring our local rivers for somewhere to ride. The weather in the UK is notorious for its unpredictability and this year saw floods in the summer followed by a dry autumn which meant low river levels. We were struggling to find somewhere with the required current and exit point downstream. Then in January things changed. It rained…hard. The rivers burst their banks creating flooded fields over really short grass. We tied the bungee to a sign, stretched the bungee by hand which was no easy feat in the slippery conditions, and went for it. The rides were fast, shallow and like nothing we had ridden before. Such good fun and it was on our doorstep. Shame we were in 5/3 wetsuits boots and gloves and not boardies but you can’t have everything. We have had one session in a snow storm and when we came back the next day we had to smash through the ice that had formed before we could ride!!
We have since taken the boardbungee to the south coast and have had several sessions around the Bournemouth area. This area is made for bungee boarding as there are large wooden groynes every 300m so you can find the best banks, tie up, stretch and enjoy. There are also some spots that don’t have anywhere to tie to so we have purchased a 3 foot land anchor that you screw into the ground and tie to, so now we can ride anywhere, rivers, lakes and the coast!! We are exploring our local rivers looking for suitable places to ride and have already found a lovely sandy beach. It is only accessible by kayak and we have to load the boats with boards and bungee to get there but it is a magical spot as you can camp on an island in the river nearby.
At the moment the sport is in its infancy in the UK. We have never come across any other bungee boarders on our travels but the potential for the UK to have a healthy scene is massive. Skimboarders, wave starved surfers, wakeboarders, wakeskaters, skateboarders, snowboarders ,even kayakers, could all be riding and there must be some awesome spots waiting to be discovered and ridden. We have only explored a tiny percentage of coastline and rivers in the south but who knows what Cornwall, Devon, Wales and the east coast hold. The mountainous areas of Scotland and Wales hold some powerful rivers but its cold,cold,cold.
We will have to see what discoveries lie ahead but this exciting new sport could lead to the unlocking of the landlocked and I’m all for that!
- Guy, Bracknell in Berkshire, UK
