Dry Slope Skiing – What It Means to Us

With renewed interest in dry slope ski trips and many skiers and snowboarders returning to their local plastic skiing hill in between alpine ski holidays, here I’ve added all the UK’s most popular skiing destinations, so you can get involved too! As Idalette from SNO Ski Holidays points out, it’s the best and cheapest way to get in some turns between trips to the Alps!

Dry Ski Slopes in the South of England

Chatham Snowsports Centre, Kent
Chatham has a 200m main ski slope and a 30m nursery slope, making it ideal for skiers and snowboarders of all levels. It hosts freestyle nights, private lessons, and tots’ sessions for ages 4-7. The centre also boasts the UK’s longest toboggan run (700m) and an 80m snowtubing track. Visitors can relax at the Alpine Lodge cafe.

Norfolk Snowsports Club, Norfolk
This centre features a 170m main slope with waves and moguls, as well as a 40m nursery slope. Lessons are available for all abilities, including freestyle and racing. Snowtubing (6+) is a highlight, and the clubhouse has a bar and ski hire shop.

Suffolk Leisure Park, Suffolk
Suffolk’s two slopes – a 180m main slope and a 40m junior slope – cater to beginners and advanced skiers. Extras include tobogganing, ringos (for ages 8 and above), and freestyle training. The site also has a climbing park, high ropes course, and a restaurant.

Alpine Snow Sports, Southampton, Hampshire
Three slopes (110m, 90m, and 30m) are served by drag lifts with skiing, snowboarding, and freestyle lessons for all levels, along with ringos (aged 6+). Equipment hire is included in lesson prices, and summer camps keep kids entertained during the holidays.

Calshot Activities Centre, Hampshire
Calshot’s skiing includes a 143m Snowflex main slope and two beginner slopes. They run group lessons, family courses, freestyle sessions, and evening events. Non-skiing visitors can also enjoy activities like climbing, canoeing, sailing, windsurfing, and a licensed bar at the base of the slopes.

Alpine Snowsports, Aldershot, Hampshire
Three floodlit slopes: a 110m main slope and two 75m nursery slopes. Activities include ringo sessions from age six, sledging, freestyle evenings with music, and private lessons. The centre offers summer camps and events for kids, as well as a ski shop and bar.

Knockhatch Ski & Board, East Sussex
A 110m slope and two nursery slopes, along with freestyle jumps and rails. It’s perfect for beginners, with group lessons, private tuition, and penguin lessons for ages 5 to 8. It also features an adventure park, sledging, and family-friendly sessions.

Guildford Ski Slope, Surrey
Guildford offers three slopes (50m, 40m, and 20m) for skiing, snowboarding, and snowtubing. Donutting is popular, with group and private sessions available. The centre also caters for children’s parties and group bookings.

Sandown Sports Club, Surrey
Sandown features a 120m slope and four nursery slopes (10m to 80m). They have ringos (6 to 14 years), sledging, and freestyle sessions. Visitors can enjoy picnic areas (see SNOman’s photo), a clubhouse bar, and a children’s menu, making it ideal for families.

Folkestone Sports Centre, Kent
A year round dry ski slope with separate beginner areas, plus activities include tobogganing, Swiss bobsleighs, and snowboarding. The site also has two swimming pools, a skatepark, gym, spa, golf course, and conference facilities.

Bromley Ski Centre, Kent
A 120m main slope with moguls and a nursery slope for beginners. Bromley offers themed weeks like family ski weeks and improver courses. Freestyle ramps and rails are set up for evening events, and the centre has a licensed bar.

Bowles Outdoor Centre, Kent
Bowles has two slopes. A 45m nursery slope with Snowflex and a 76m main slope with dendix so all abilities are covered. They host lessons, kids’ clubs, and ski racing events. Extras include climbing courses, team-building activities, and equipment hire.

Brentwood Ski Centre, Essex
Four slopes: a 180m main slope, a 120m shorter slope, and two nursery slopes of 40m each. It’s ideal for skiers and snowboarders, with race training, freestyle jumps, and moguls. Other activities include go-karting, a golf driving range, and a health club.

Gosling Ski and Snowboard Centre, Hertfordshire
Gosling has two slopes: a 160m main slope and a 70m nursery slope. It offers lessons, open practice, and freestyle training. The site includes tennis courts, a gym, trampoline park, athletics track, and an indoor sports centre with kids’ activities.

Snowtrax, Dorset
Snowtrax features a 110m main slope with freestyle jumps, a 30m intermediate slope, and two nursery slopes. Non-skier activities include ringos, skibobs, and freestyle competitions. There’s also an alpine adventure park, pirate ship playground, ski shop, bar, and restaurant.

Dry Ski Slopes in the Midlands

Stoke Ski Centre, Stoke-on-Trent
Two dendix ski slopes: a 160m main slope with moguls and a 50m nursery slope. It’s ideal for beginners and advanced skiers, with lessons, open practice, and freestyle training. The centre also provides equipment hire, race training, and a ski shop.

Tallington Lakes, Lincolnshire
Two floodlit slopes: a 120m main slope and a smaller beginner slope. It offers ski and snowboard lessons, kids’ ski clubs, and freestyle coaching. The centre also has water sports, climbing walls, a swimming pool, and a restaurant, making it a great multi-activity destination.

Telford Ski & Snowboard Centre, Shropshire
Telford has an 85m main slope with a drag lift and a nursery slope for beginners. It caters to all ages with lessons, “Tinies” classes for ages 3–5, kids’ ski clubs, and race training. Family sessions and adult ski schools are also available. They have equipment hire and a ‘ski lodge’.

Ackers Adventure, Birmingham
Three synthetic bristle slopes comprising a 100m main slope with a ramp jump area and two 30m nursery slopes for beginners. Ski and snowboard lessons plus freestyle coaching. Tobogganing is available for under-12s, and non-ski activities include climbing, canoeing, archery, and team-building events.

Ski Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent
The 85m slope is set within scenic Bathpool Park and serves beginners and intermediates. It has ‘open slope’ sessions for club members, private and group lessons, and freestyle training. Equipment hire is available, and the club hosts social activities such as walks and bike rides.

The Snowdome, Tamworth (it’s an Indoor Snow Centre but we must include it as it’s terrific)
Although not a dry slope, Tamworth’s Snowdome features real snow slopes for skiing and snowboarding, making it a popular Midlands destination. It offers ski lessons, freestyle nights, and snow play areas for kids. Additional facilities include ice skating and a swimming pool.

Dry Ski Slopes in the North of England

Runcorn Snowsports Centre, Cheshire
An 85m main slope, a 45m nursery slope, and a 25m beginners’ slope, all served by button lifts. Lessons for skiers and snowboarders aged 4+, along with open practice and freestyle training. Snowtubing sessions and group snowtube parties are popular for families.

Swadlincote Ski & Snowboard Centre, Derbyshire
Two perma-snow slopes: a 160m main slope and a 60m nursery slope. Lessons for beginners and freestyle coaching for advanced skiers. Extras include a 500m toboggan run, snowtubing for ages 4+, and themed events. Fully licensed bar, restaurant, and party packages for kids.

Ski Rossendale, Lancashire
The largest outdoor ski slope in the northwest, featuring a 200m main slope with dendex matting, two drag lifts, and a snowflex quarter-pipe. It also has a permanent freestyle fun park and a nursery slope with rope tows and a travelator lift. Lessons for all levels, family fun sessions, freestyle training camps, and kids’ clubs. The café and ski lodge host events and team-building activities.

Pendle Ski Club, Lancashire
A 170m main slope and a 160m gradient slope, plus a large nursery area for beginners. It offers individual and group lessons, including intermediate and advanced training. It also hosts national and regional ski races. Equipment hire, fitting, and snacks at the on-site clubhouse.

Halifax Ski & Snowboard Centre, West Yorkshire
A 140m main slope and a beginners’ slope, both covered in snowflex. Freestyle skiers and snowboarders can practice tricks on big air jumps, a quarter-pipe, and a fun box. Private and group lessons cater to all levels, and facilities include a children’s play area and a viewing bar serving drinks and snacks.

Silksworth Sports Complex, Tyne and Wear
A 165m main slope and two nursery slopes served by three tows. Lessons for ages 4 and up, open skiing sessions, and snowtubing for families. Other activities at the complex include a playground, fishing lake, and athletics track, with a café for refreshments.

Carlisle Snowsports, Cumbria
Carlisle has a 50m main slope with moguls and floodlights. It features a freestyle area with two main kickers, a quarter-pipe, wallrides, and rails for advanced tricks. Lessons for beginners and advanced skiers are available, along with freestyle training. Snack bar and rental equipment available onsite.

Kendal Ski Club, Cumbria
The 80m snowflex slope features two button tow lifts and incorporates freestyle features like a mini quarter-pipe, a kicker, and a bowl. It caters to recreational skiing, beginner lessons, freestyle training, and snowtubing. Equipment hire, vending machines, and changing rooms are also available.

Silksworth Sports Complex, Sunderland
Silksworth has a 165m main slope and two nursery slopes with floodlighting. It offers freestyle sessions, open practice, and snowtubing for children and families. There’s also a café, picnic area, and sports facilities, including an adventure playground and skate park.

Oval Sports Centre, Merseyside
The ski area at the Oval Sports Centre caters to ski tuition for all levels, from beginners to experienced racers. It’s home to a ski racing team open to members, and equipment hire is available. Visitors are advised to arrive early to collect equipment before lessons begin. Other activities include tennis, football, and a swimming pool.

Dry Ski Slopes in Scotland

Midlothian Snowsports Centre, Edinburgh
Home to Europe’s longest dry ski slope, featuring a 450m main slope, a 320m second slope, and a 20m nursery slope, it also boasts a jump slope for freestyle skiing. Lessons including race training and freestyle coaching. Floodlit for evening and night skiing sessions, and snowtubing is available for kids and groups. Ski lodge café and equipment hire.

Glasgow Ski & Snowboard Centre, Bellahouston Park
Three dendex slopes – a 100m main slope, a 60m slope, and a 40m nursery slope with a travellator. Lessons from beginner to advanced levels, including freestyle training and race coaching. Children’s ski schools, snowtubing sessions, and freestyle competitions. Equipment hire, a ski shop, and car parking are available on-site.

Bearsden Ski Club, Glasgow
A 100m main slope, a nursery slope, and a freestyle park with jumps, kickers, and a quarter-pipe. Private and group lessons for all ages plus snowtubing and tobogganing for families. Bearsden also has a race club that provides coaching and training camps, and the Alpine Café and bar is ideal for après-ski relaxation.

Newmilns Snow & Sports Complex, Ayrshire
Newmilns features a 90m slope with a powder pac surface and offers lessons for skiers and snowboarders. It caters well to families with sledging, tubing, and birthday parties. Freestyle enthusiasts can take advantage of the boarder cross track, and mountain biking activities if you’re with a non-skier.

Firpark Ski Centre, Tillicoultry
120m slope suitable for recreational skiing and snowboarding. It offers private lessons, group coaching, and freestyle training. Families can enjoy snowtubing sessions for up to 15 people, which must be pre-booked. The site has a small café for drinks and snacks.

Polmonthill Ski Centre, Falkirk
Two slopes: a 100m main slope with dendex matting and a 15m nursery slope for beginners. Both are equipped with mist sprinklers for smoother skiing. Lessons are available for all levels, including race training and freestyle coaching. The centre also offers snowtubing sessions and has vending machines for drinks and snacks.

Aberdeen Snowsports Centre, Aberdeen
Aberdeen actually has four slopes, including a 100m snowflex alpine slope and a 35m nursery slope. With two tow lifts and a magic carpet lift for beginners, lessons cater to all abilities and snowtubing is popular with families and groups. There is freestyle training and race practice, with drinks and snacks are served at the café.

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The UK sends around one million people skiing every year outside its borders, the second largest outbound ski market in the world after Germany.

The British are mad about the sport and occasionally even claim they founded it – although we know the Norwegians have been skiing on wooden planks for centuries.

One of the drivers that contributed to the growth of the sport during the late 1980’s (apart from cheaper access to holidays abroad) is the dry ski slope.

Without the dry slope, I wouldn’t be working in the industry I’m in today. I first put skis on at Hillingdon dry slope circa 1985 and from then on, I knew that skiing was going to be part of my life.

These synthetic surfaces are made from a variety of materials, usually plastic – hence the name, plastic slopes. One of the companies producing high quality slopes is Italian company Geoplast. They even have a pre-set tracking system with slalom poles that can be inserted easily into the surface, making it ideal for summer race training.

As a teenager, I didn’t spend time playing on computer games, or hanging around the shopping mall with my friends sneaking in the odd can of beer, or spend time studying for my school exams. No, I spent every spare hour skiing down a plastic ski slope with my friends in Bracknell, Berkshire – and I loved every minute of it.

I’m convinced this made me become a better skier than I would have been if I only had access to real snow. You get inventive on a 150 meters slope – you practice your technique over and over, refine your turns and hone your muscle memory over hours and hours of skiing.

I recently spoke to some well-known skiers and snowboarders about their own experiences on the dry ski slope and they all had a slightly different story to tell – but we all have one thing in common and that is, without the dry ski slope, we wouldn’t be doing what we are doing now.

Emma Carrick Anderson – Four Times Olympic Ski Racer and BBC Sports Commentator

Not only was I a mad ski racer but I also grew up in Scotland so finding places to train all year round was a necessity and my incredibly supportive parents drove me to Hillend, Edinburgh every Thursday night and all over the UK to various races and events most weekends.

Although it doesn’t give quite the same sensations as snow skiing it was a great substitute and I have very fond memories of blasting through the gates on various dry slopes. Not only did it help us with our technical and mental preparation for racing, but socially we had an absolute blast. 

When I was 15 I was lucky enough to start studying and training in a race academy in Schladming, Austria. I was amongst some great ski racers like Meissnitzer, Goetschl and Brigitte Obermoser who became one of my closest friends. Brigitte skied everywhere and got onto the World Cup podium on several occasions but seeing her face as we stood on the top of Hillend dry slope was something I shall never forget. She did eventually ski down it but you would never have guessed she was a top ski racer! 

Dry slopes are definitely a fantastic place for ski racers, but also a great place for beginners to start off before heading out to the mountains.

Phil Smith – Director of Snoworks Ski Courses

Dry slopes changed my life. “A ski instructor?” A bemused careers officer said to me in my 5th grade at Harlow comprehensive school in Essex. “Yes sir, a ski instructor”. The look on his face said it all and I hadn’t even really skied on snow at the time! But here I am, 38 years older and I have competed for my national team, trained instructors for our national snowsports association, set up a chalet company, travelled the world in search of exotic skiing destinations and now director of a ski courses company with my wife and family all involved in the snowsports industry and I am still teaching skiing and loving every minute of it.

A dry ski slope certainly did change my life.

Billy Morgan – Olympic Snowboarder

I first touched a snowboard after going skiing with school at Southampton Alpine Centre when I was 14 years old. My friend wanted to try it out, I reluctantly agreed to go with him and instantly fell in love with it.

I was very focused on my life as an acrobat when I was younger, but there was a big gap left that needed to be filled, the dry slope fitted this perfectly. I came from a super structured sport, but only snowboarding was able to teach me all the basics I thirsted for. Me and a bunch of friends would run down the dry slope as much as possible and when we got the hang of things and moved to freestyle, it was all I’ve always wanted to do. 

I was meeting new people looking up to the older guys and going on trips to local dry slope contests. This is where it all started. It was the first time I was away from my parents and this allowed me to be completely free to do what I wanted through snowboarding. 

After getting a job at the ski centre as a full time technician I had realised I wanted to go on a season to Morzine and try the real stuff which was the next step. I’m not sure how I got where I am today, it was never really intended.

Peter Speight – British Team Free Skier

The dry slope is where I first put on a pair of freestyle skis. From the age of 11 I practised at the Sheffield Ski Village for 10 years – here it’s where I learnt all my basic tricks and techniques. The freeskiing was very popular with loads of kids skiing every week. I would compare it to a really busy skate park. Without Sheffield Ski Village I would never had discovered freeskiing and I would never have been inspired to bring my skiing to the next level. I used to travel around the country with my Dad hitting all the dry slopes like Halifax, Rossendale, Warmwell and Sheffield, doing competitions and events. The whole UK dry slope scene inspired me.

I was already a good skier before I started on the dry slope, but it gave me a base of freestyle that I didn’t have before. The UK dry slope competition scene also gave me experience in a wider competitive arena before I ever did an international event. At the time, the World Freeskiing scene seemed like a distant dream but the dry slope gave me the base to pursue and achieve it.

Hugh Monney – Director of British Alpine Ski Schools

I skied for a couple of years on a dry ski slope (Fairwater Park, Cardiff) while I was studying, before ever skiing on snow.

After graduation, I worked in Uxbridge, where I joined the ski club at Hillingdon Ski Centre. I raced there for a few years before joining the ski school.

Eventually, I switched full time careers, from science to ski teaching.

Now, I run a company that operates in 13 Alpine ski resorts and I’ve just returned from heli skiing in Iceland, with great clients.

It all started with dry ski slopes.