Doors open at new £2.5 million Llandegfedd Watersports & Visitor Centre

Llandegfedd Sailing Club © RYA Cymru-Wales

A brand new multi-million pound Visitor and Watersports Centre is to be opened by Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water in the heart of South East Wales on 22nd May 2015.

This new facility is based at Llandegfedd Reservoir, near Pontypool, and is a world away from the relentless pace of modern life. The lake offers more than six miles of scenic footpaths as well as angling and sailing. The entire site has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its rich wildlife.

At Llandegfedd, visitors can take a stroll or a picnic along a number of dedicated walking trails, explore the woodland and enjoy the array of wildfowl that visit and reside around the reservoir.

The site's brand new Visitor Centre contains a stylish restaurant offering a variety of home-cooked meals as well as snacks. Visitors can enjoy their meal whilst enjoying panoramic views of the reservoir with an area offering interactive games to keep children entertained.

The Watersports Centre offers a great variety of land and water-based activities including team-building, windsurfing, dinghy sailing, stand-up paddle-boarding, canoeing, kayaking, raft building – all with full equipment hire. The reservoir offers one of the best sailing experiences Wales has to offer.

The Watersports Centre also has a brand new training centre with changing facilities, showers and a viewing balcony and it will provide a base for Llandegfedd Sailing Club and other local activity groups.

Owned by Welsh Water who provide water and sewerage services to over three million people across most of Wales, Herefordshire and parts of Deeside, the company has transformed Llandegfedd into a hub for health and enjoyment: a shop window for people to enjoy their environment and learn how they can help Welsh Water improve their part of the world.

Welsh Water's Chief Operating Officer, Pete Perry said: "I am delighted with our new Visitor and Watersports Centres here at Llandegfedd. It provides a great facility for people to enjoy the beautiful views and special environment.

"The Watersports Centre is a huge asset for local activity groups and this jewel in the crown at Pontypool should prove to be a great tourist attraction, drawing people from all over the world.

"We've been able to deliver this exciting project because of Welsh Water's unique customer-focused model. Unlike other water and energy companies, we don't have shareholders. This means that we're not only able to keep bills down, but also reinvest to give our customers fantastic recreation attractions like here at Llandegfedd."

Welsh Water's Senior Sailing Instructor, Matt Philpott said: "Llandegfedd is one of the best locations in the UK for watersports. We teach everything from sailing and windsurfing to paddle boarding and canoeing using top of the range equipment and fully qualified instructors.

"We are also proud to be one of the few venues that offers a large range of activities for users with disabilities. The most promising of which is our Sailability project which uses modified sailing dinghies to give everyone the opportunity to experience sailing and to enter the wonderful world of watersports at Llandegfedd Reservoir."

Nick Ramsay, Assembly Member for Monmouth said: "The new Visitor and Watersports Centres are an exciting development for Llandegfedd Reservoir. The reservoir has been a fantastic local attraction for many years but the new centres represent a much needed upgrade that will attract tourists from near and far. It will well and truly reinforce Llandegfedd Reservoir's position as a premier UK visitor destination."

Welsh Water expect the significant investment at Llandegfedd to attract tens of thousands of extra visitors to the area each year, which will significantly boost the local economy in the area.