Snowdrop spectacular getting ready for Hodsock Priory's annual showcase

A blanket of snow is the furthest thing from our minds in August, although it is top of the agenda for the team at Hodsock Priory. Preparations are already well underway for Hodsock Priory’s annual snowdrop spectacular which has been hosted there for the last twenty years. The Priory, located on the border of North Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire, welcomes over 25,000 visitors each February to witness this magnificent start to spring.

Read more on… Snow flowers in August

The Ski Club of Great Britain are looking for people to join a focus group at The Snow Centre.

Ski Club Focus Group @ Snow Centre 31st March: anyone who is interested will have to fill a brief online form in on the Ski Club website, there are three sessions on the 31st March at 11am — 1.30pm or 2pm — 4.30pm or 6pm — 8pm. The Ski Club wants feedback about their website, any views and ideas are welcome. The link to the relevant page is below and for their time they will be given a ski skills DVD and a £20 Ellis Brigham vouchers.

http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/news/story.aspx? intStoryID=7231

Sign up now!

Pro skier Peter Silver Gillespie takes to the slopes in this amazing shot — skiing on TOP of a snow centre. The 39-year-old ski ace — an internationally qualified ski coach and an examiner of ski instructors — took to the 160m-long roof on the Snow Centre to take advantage of the deluge of real snow that has hit the UK this week.

Read more on… Sponsored Article – Rooftop skiing at the Snow Centre

Parts of the UK were colder than European ski resorts last night as temperatures matched their lowest levels so far this winter. The temperature in Benson, Oxfordshire, and Woodford, Greater Manchester, reached -18C, a degree lower than some manufacturers recommend for freezing food at home and 2C warmer than the south pole – although it is the height of summer in the southern hemisphere.

Read more on… In comparison the UK is now colder than most ski resorts

The growing number of indoor snow centres in the UK makes it possible for Brits to get around a perennial problem that faced us when we bought our ski equipment – testing it first.

We had the choice of buying abroad in a ski resort where we could test it but not easily return it to the shop if there was a problem, or of buying at our local ski shop but not really testing it until we got to the Alps and then had little come back if there was a problem.

Read more on… The Ellis Brigham Big Ski Test at SNO!zone in Castleford

The Winter Olympics looks set to be dropped from free-to-air coverage following a recommendation to the Department of Culture Media and Sport.

While a number of high profile events, most notably the Ashes, have been recommended for addition to the current list of crown jewels’ — the sporting events protected for free-to-air broadcasting — the review panel made a clear distinction between the Summer and Winter Games.

The panel, led by former FA executive director David Davies, included the Summer Olympics on their recommended list, while the previous list did not make the distinction between the two events, and simply protected the Olympic Games’.

Read more on… Winter Games set for drop from free-to-air list