Surfing on the Severn started in 1955 and over the years has grown in waves of popularity. Although many different people travel from around the world to surf the bore, the river has really only been the domain of two local surfers, Steve King and Dave Lawson. In the early nineties, Steve and Dave's knowledge of the river brought to fruition a new level of bore surfing with regular distance rides exceeding five miles.
It is only with the emergence of the Bore Riders Club, that the number of regular faces has now increased to around eight. This is not to say that on the largest tides anywhere from 20 to 100 bore riders might be in the water.
The wave is generally surfed at popular spots where it is regular in its form, however the locals tend to stray further afield to secret locations that have been discovered after much dedicated research.
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Some of the surfers use the access from the A48 to race ahead of the wave riding at three locations on each tide while a speedboat allows more rides at breaks less accessible by road.
In estuary channels the wave varies in height from between one and five feet rising from the bank to a fast shoulder midstream. In the river it rises upto six feet off the banks, tapering off into midstream.
Rides in excess of a mile can regularly be acheived in the long estuary channel and distances close to 3 miles on the larger tides. The furthest official distance surfed in the main river is 5.7 miles by Dave Lawson from Weir Green to the weir.
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