Q – Queen Mary Reservoir, Ashford, Middlesex: London’s closest inland windsurfing spot

1200px-Queen_Mary_Reservoir_2011_aerial_(cropped)

Queen Mary Reservoir, Ashford, Middlesex, has long been a staple of landlocked London based windsurfers. Due to its high rise nature (the reservoir sits above a lot of the surrounding land) wind strengths can often be 1-2 forces stronger than forecasts suggest.

700 acres of water is where you’ll find every type of windsurfer, from beginners to advanced, and of late windfoilers. There’s an active Team15 group and RYA windsurfing courses are regularly on offer. In fact, Windsurfing UK’s very own fundamentals technique guru, Simon Winkley, works from Queen Mary Reservoir. They also run a yearly speed challenge, which as of 2019, stands at 34 knots. As far as inland waters go Queen Mary is one of the better windsurfing locations in the UK.

Action pics: Ben Luckett, Sportography.TV

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Q – Queen Mary Reservoir, Ashford, Middlesex: London’s closest inland windsurfing spot

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