It's fast, it's furious and it's guaranteed to give you the biggest grin of your life.

It's called wakeboarding and it is the most fun you can have on water.

A twist on waterskiing, but using a board, wakeboarding is what snowboarding is to skiing - the unruly, ultra-hip cool kid on the block.

And while British surfers look enviously towards California, Portugal and Australia, wakeboarding is ideally suited to British coves and lakes - the best boarding being where the water is flattest.

The spiritual home of British wakeboarding is Abersoch in North Wales, where boarders rip across the waters of its sheltered bay.

The little town is also the home of Wakestock - a festival of wakeboarding and music set up eight years ago.

Knowing a good thing when they see it, the boarding cognoscenti have been jealously eyeing up the Duke of Marlborough's king-sized lake. And they now have his permission to carve up the water with three days of tricks, jumps, and general exhibitionism from June 27 to 29.

"Wakestock in Abersoch has sold out for the past few years and, as I'm such a supporter of the sport, I was looking for an opportunity to put on another event," says Festival founder Mark Durston.

"And this is the perfect spot.

The grounds are fantastic, and it has a sheltered lake within a short distance of hundreds of acres of flat grass fields, where the music will be taking place. The Duke is well up for it He likes the idea of this kind of thing going on on his land.

"You get strapped onto the board sideways and are towed behind a boat at 22mph. And you use the wake made by the boat to do jumps, flips and spins.

"The flatter the water, the better - so Blenheim is ideal."

Among new converts to the sport is East Oxford music promoter Alan Day, who is helping to plug the festival.

The Oxford Mail joined Alan, and Happy Mondays star Bez, who is playing at the festival, for a spot of boarding at Blenheim - among the first people ever to try out the sport on the lake.

"It's amazing!" said the wetsuit-clad rock fan, pulling himself back into the speedboat after a particularly impressive display.

"Once you're up on your feet and flying along on top of the water, it's a great feeling.

"I can't wait to try it again!"