Santa arrives by speedboat to delight children at Llandegfedd Lake

Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen all enjoyed a well-earned break ahead of their busiest time of the year, as Santa arrived across the water to greet the children following brunch at the visitor centre on Saturday.

After arriving, St Nick set up in his grotto, where the children had the chance to meet him and share their Christmas wishes with him, before getting their pictures taken with him.

Each child also received a special hand-wrapped gift.

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Eight-year-old Jess Gould, from Pontypool, said: “It was really nice meeting Santa.

“I thought he was funny coming out on a speedboat. I’ve never seen him do something like that before.”

Her older sister Charlotte, 13, was there with her. She said: “The speedboat was cool. It’s something completely different.

“It was a great event and the food was lovely too.”

Santa arrives by speedboat at Llandgefedd Lake. Picture: christinsleyphotography.co.uk

Finley Edwards, seven, from Pontypool, said: “It was fun and Santa was really funny.

“It was really funny seeing him coming here on the speedboat.

“I asked him for Xbox games.”

Melissa Knight, visitor attraction marketing and communications manager for Welsh Water said: “We have never done anything quite like this before. We wanted to make it a really unique experience.

“The children and their families had some lovely homemade food with our brunch menu.

Santa greets his guests at Llandgefedd Lake. Picture: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

“We have a wonderful lake here, and Santa asked if he could arrive by speedboat as apparently reindeer don’t like swimming.

“We hope it is more of a personal experience for the kids, as they were able to spend some quality time with Santa.

“The lake is cared for by Welsh Water for the public to enjoy, and events like today open it up for more people to find us and enjoy the lake.

“Welsh Water are not for profit, and any money we make goes back in to attractions like this.

“Hopefully this weekend will encourage people to come back in the spring and summer.

“We have already started planning next year’s event and hopefully it will be even bigger and better.”