:quality(60))
Skiing in the Cairngorms, Scotland
:quality(100))
Skiing in the UK | Uncovering the World of English & Welsh Skiing
Scotland has been home to skiers as early as the 1890s, but what about the hills of England and Wales?
The lesser-known world of English & Welsh skiing
Scotland has long owned the UK’s ski story. Home to five ski centres and a growing number of backcountry skiers. It’s the first, and often the last, place you think of when it comes to skiing in the UK.
‘Skiing in England’ might conjure images of dry slopes, indoor snow domes or often a flight to the Alps. In fact, there is a rich history built on volunteer spirit and a stubborn devotion to getting on the snow whenever and wherever possible.
We’ll dive into the lesser-known world of English and Welsh skiing and meet the local pioneers keeping it alive against the odds.
Family ties
The Lake District Ski Club
Sophie Nicholson, Editor of our Ski Explore magazine, grew up in the Highlands with skiing in her blood. She was shown the ropes by her dad, who had been taught by his own powder-mad father, Theo Nicholson, a lifelong ski mountaineer. Her family also has a close connection with the Brigham’s with the Brigham brothers cycling out from Manchester to her granddad’s home in Cheshire to deliver his hiking boots.
Until recently, she’d barely given a thought to skiing in England or Wales. With the acres of terrain in Scotland, why bother with the gentle slopes of the Lakes or sheep-grazed hills of the Peaks? That was until she discovered that her grandfather was a lifelong member of the Lake District Ski Club. Created in 1936, the club is made up of a group of dedicated volunteers who maintain a ski tow that operates anytime there’s enough snow to ski on. Reaching the lift involves an hour's hike from the valley and with no marked pistes, skiing here is as much about adventure and commitment as it is about the downhill.
The heart of English skiing in the Lake District
:quality(80))
The Lake District
“Some of us, like our tow team leader Stu, just love the engineering challenges of keeping the lift running in such a wild, exposed place. Others do it for the community. But what gets us all going is the fun everyone has on a good day. You can really feel the buzz, and the smiles on people’s faces make it worthwhile.” – Mike Sweeney, Lake District Ski Club
On the rare days when the Lakes are carpeted in snow, Raise comes alive.
“There’s a one-hour climb just to get to the tow – two if you’re carrying all your kit and the snow’s deep. Navigation isn’t always straightforward either, especially if it clags in. We don’t have piste bashers, except for the odd snowboarder, so sometimes we’re literally digging the tow out by hand. You really do have to earn your turns. But that’s part of the magic. There’s a cosy members’ hut, the terrain is varied and everyone’s skiing and laughing together.” – Mike Sweeney
It’s not just the landscape that makes Raise unique. It’s the people. The club’s members range from children under ten to octogenarians like 85-year-old Gerard Unthank, the former club president who now serves as assistant hut warden under his wife Eleanor.
Membership costs just £50 a year, and most people ride ‘old, battered skis’ because the thin snowpack hides plenty of rocks.
Skiing in the Lakes may not be glamorous, but that’s the point. It’s skiing stripped down to its essence: community, adventure and a dash of eccentricity. Après ski looks like a pint by the fire at the Traveller’s Rest down in Glenridding.
Skiing in the Peak District
:quality(80))
Skiing in Wales
:quality(80))
Wales
In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, Mike was usually alone on the hills. But the rise of ski forums and later social media slowly brought others out onto the hill. After seasons in the Alps, North America and Japan, Mike returned to Wales in 2009 to find car parks filling up with skiers who’d driven from Shrewsbury, Bristol and London at the merest whisper of snow. Now, with his touring partner Chris Morris, Mike chases storms across Wales. From Pen-y-Fan to the Preselis and the Berwyns.
“Most of the time, the weather is brutal and the snow marginal. But when it all comes together. The experiences are as good and as memorable as any I’ve had skiing in 24 countries across five continents.” – Mike Richards
His most cherished days include the first descent of Pen-y-Fan’s steep northeast face after 15 years of waiting; knee-deep powder above his hometown of Aberdare in 2010, and chronicling Chris Morris’s ‘40 days on skis’ in 2020.
Where can you ski in England and Wales?
Lake District
Raise Ski Club runs a 360m volunteer-maintained button lift above Glenridding. With ski touring potential on Helvellyn, Great End and other high fells when conditions allow.
North Pennines
Volunteer-run clubs at Yad Moss (England’s longest lift at 600m) and Weardale (two button lifts near Stanhope). Plus beginner-friendly slopes at Allenheads in Northumberland.
Peak District
No lifts, but ski touring is possible at Winnats Pass, Mam Tor and Kinder Scout on snowy days.
Wales
Touring potential in Bannau Brycheiniog (Breacon Beacons) on Pen-y-Fan, Preselis, Berwyns and Eryri National Park (Snowdonia) when storms roll in.
Final thoughts
Community & commitment
If there’s a common thread between the Welsh hills, the Lake District’s button lift and the snow-dusted slopes of the Peak District, it’s the sheer tenacity of the people who keep showing up.
At Raise, volunteers haul spares and fuel uphill in all weathers, then spend hours digging the lift out before they’ve even clicked into their bindings. In Wales, skiers scan weather apps obsessively, ready to go at a moment's notice. In the Peaks, each cold snap is like a lottery ticket.
“Skiing in Britain is often a ‘here today, gone tomorrow' scenario. You must move fast, because the snow can melt or blow away overnight. Half the time, you are just carrying your skis for a walk. But those rare turns are all the sweeter for it.” – Mike Richards
:quality(60))
:quality(60))
:quality(60))