We used to be pretty limited when it came to skiing during the off season. It was a case of findinga resort where it isn’t off season (the snow’s always falling somewhere, right?) or simply stay at home – but our good friends, the dry ski slopes and indoor snow centres of the UKput an end to all of that.
Now, regardless of weatheror time of year, we’re always able to put in a few hours on the slopes to hone our skills or introduce a friend or family member to the addictive world of skiing and snowboarding.
So if you’re ready to get carving, here’s some of our favourite dry ski slopes and indoor ski centres in the UK.
London's closest indoor real snow slope is The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead.
Here, you'll find a huge 160m long and 30m wide real snow slope which also boasts the largest indoor ski lesson slope in the UK too. This makes it ideal if you're wanting to try skiing or snowboarding before you commit to buying a holiday to the slopes of Europe.
Yourskis/snowboard, boots andhelmet hire are all included in the cost, and you caneven hire clothing (jacket, trousers and socks)at The Snow Centreso there's no need to go out and buy anything for your visit.
Go for the full ski holiday experience and enjoy some après in the slope side Schuss Bar, or have a mountain inspired meal in The Lodge while you watch people making their turnsfrom the large windows overlooking the slope.
Perhaps the best known and most popular real snow indoor ski slope in the south of the UK is Snozone in Milton Keynes.
Anyone who is able to control their speed and link turns is able to purchase an unsupervised lift pass from £19.99 for four hours (including skis, boots, helmet etc.). Here you can brush up on your technique on the green (or easy blue) run-style slope.
Complete beginners must purchase a lesson and ski under the guidance of an on-site instructor before venturing off unaided, whilst kids between 3 and 15 can get in on the action via a beginner’s day course on the nursery slope.
Snozone Castleford, just outside of Leeds, boasts all the facilities of its southern counterpart with the added bonus of a dedicated freestyle zone. On several months throughout the year, the UK indoor snow centre hosts various eventssuch as the previous Will Smith Signature Park, home to monster rails, quarter pipes, kickers and spines, a.k.a. freestylers heaven.
Head further north and you’ll find the Silksworth dry ski slope in Sunderland. Here, two floodlit nursery slopes sit alongside a main, 165m slope that’s wide and steep enough for experts to build up pace perfecting their art whilst beginners learn the fundamentals under the watchful eye of on-site expert instructors.
The Kendal Snowsports Club is a members club (with a small £40 annual subscription), but that’s not to say non-members aren’t welcome. The slope itself might sound short at just 80m, but it is a steep one, making it an ideal venue for experienced riders who want to practice speed control and swift stopping techniques. It also houses a manmade mogul field to prepare you for the unpredictable state of most Alpine slopes – not bad for a UK indoor snow centre, eh?
East Anglia may be known as being one of the flattest regions in the UK, but that didn’t stop the good folks at Norfolk Snowsports Club from carving a dry slope into Trowse Hill, Norwich.
The generous 170m long run is a dream to work towardswith the club employing a rewarding coaching structure whereby beginners start out on the nursery slopesbefore progressing onto supervised sessions and joining the club itself on the main slope.
You can then join fast-track sessions all the way up to race and freestyle coaching. The ethos is very much of a club run by members, for members, with new entrants encouraged to ski their way to the top (or should we say, bottom).
The Suffolk Ski Centre offers up a similarly generous 180m main slope and brings other outdoor activities such as bouldering, tobogganing and mini golf into the mix toomaking a trip to the slopes a fun day out for the entire family, even non-skiers.
The Suffolk Ski Centre operates a more laissez-faire approach than its member-focused cousins, with 1.5hr open sessions coming in at just £15 (including equipment hire). More experienced skiers should head down on a Tuesday for 2 hour sessions coming it at an incredible£12.
The pick of the bunch in this part of the UK surely has to be the Gloucester Ski & Snowboard Centrewith its 240m main slope being the stuff of dreams. Here, the Big Air Bag comes out to play every Wednesday (if you’re not sure what it is, the name gives it away) designed for practising freestyle manoeuvres to your heart’s content. As well as an additional freestyle slope, Gloucester Ski & Snowboard centre comes complete with a Fun Park which ishome to quarter pipes, boxes, gas pipe rails and kickers.
Head down to Devon and it’s all about Torquay’s Alpine Ski Club. Here, a150m long, invitingly wide slope makes the perfect dry ski slope for beginners getting used to the art of skiing and snowboarding. There’s a varying gradient nursery area that encourages you to build up speed with reassurance that a flat section is always just ahead – it’s the ideal place to get prepped for you upcoming ski holiday.
Fees are very reasonable, with adult open practice at just £10 and annual membership a very reasonable £30.
Edinburgh plays host to the Midlothian Snowsports Centre, a picturesque spot set amongst the stunning Pentland Hills Regional Park and Britain’s largest dry slope at 400m in length.
Midlothian Snowsports Centre isn’t like any other dry ski slope though;this is as authentic as it gets. For one, a chairlift takes you from the bottom of the slope to the top, which non-skiers can also take to admire the area’s incredible views. Once you reach the top, you can either take to the main slope and nail your technique or enjoy a gentle meander round the loop run.
That’s not all though, as the centre featurestwomain slopes, threenursery slopes, ajump slope,tubing area andother freestyle features.
Season tickets are a little pricier than our other picks at around £270, but it’s arguably worth it to get in some serious regular prep ahead of ski season.
If you've got your ski or board holiday booked (or at least thinking about booking it), we can help you get the most out of it with a few simple exercises.
Your ski or snowboard boots can have a huge impact on your performance,your comfort and ultimately, your holiday, so it's good to get them right.
Skiing and boarding isn’t just limited to the snow and mountains. If you can’t wait for winter to come around again and are itching for your skiing or snowboarding, give water skiing or wakeboarding a go.
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