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Gloucester Ski & Golf Course for Sale

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Asking £1.25m - is it worth it? ...

From a local rag
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Being a ex resident of Gloucester i can say probably not last time i visited it was in dire need to a refit!

If your in the business and have the money to spend im sure you would make alot of money just that i dont think the locals use it like they used to because its so old and overlooked in Gloucester!
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I've spent many an hour on that slope. It was also the launchpad for Eddie the Eagle (I think), and Jef Wickes. Don't know if Fred West ever skied there, but ...

... the place is a shrine of skiing.
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No way worth it,

Needs a massive investment to make it worthwhile the pistes are tired,The hire kit awfull,They never repaired the right hand slope after the mud slip years ago,A real shame as there is huge potential to extend the slopes a lot further up the hill and make it a decent place to get some dry slope action,Same thing with the Golf course too,Needs a massive overhaul.

Worth nothing more than land value in it's current condition.

The present owners seem only to have invested in the hotel side.

I live 9 miles away and can count on one hand the amount of times I have used the slope.

Was better many many years ago.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Topsmoke, I agree. Although its a fine bit of coutryside, the access is through a rather run down and crime ridden part of Gloucester thats in need of some investment itself. A partnership approach with local government might, in a different financial climate, make it a worthwhile investment. Interestingly our local Grammar school used to run a ski team which trained there regularly and competed successfully at a national level, but that seems to have fallen into abeyance too.
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In the days I skied Gloucester, Alan Hole used to run it. He did some early development work on lubricating the slope with water, as I recall - which inspired other slopes - and generally it was a good place to ski and learn to ski.

The plastic slope I used to teach on - Alexandra Palace, North London - disappeared about 20 years ago, if not more.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Topsmoke wrote:

Was better many many years ago.


Ah, the site of many happy 6th form free skiing in games (because I our school ski trip leaders where happy to drive the mini bus)
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Not wanting to put off any potential buyer too much the place does have potential.It has a huge catchment area good road access and decent hill to expand on.
Allright there's a right dogy pub round the corner and a bookie's next door to it (never a good sign) but it's ok.
But they really have to tidy the place up a bit before any buyers visit,I mean come on guys they have left the matting that sliped years ago just chucked over a fence in the car park to rot for christ sake ! Have they heard of Bin day.Would any of us leave an washing machine on the front lawn for years.Says it all.
If it's no good throw it away.

I remember someone telling me they had invested in some new lightbulbs some time ago though.

The staff there must be despondent I mean who is going to have any enthusiasm about the place when the owners don't appear to care themselves.


Last edited by After all it is free Go on u know u want to! on Tue 12-01-10 17:19; edited 1 time in total
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Who cares who was involved there "many years ago". At the moment, and for at least the last few years, it's been crap. How many people, at £12 an hour, do you have to get through the doors to make it viable?
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You need one person: Eddie the Eagle. The place would be absolutely mobbed.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Is there enough space there to build a decent size indoor slope?
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Looking at the satellite of the area, only if you bulldoze part of the golf course, but it is downhill past the end of the current slope down the fairway. Actually, the current slope is 220 metres so should be possible, but I don't fancy your chances of getting planning permission.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
rob@rar wrote:
Is there enough space there to build a decent size indoor slope?

Not that I've measured but knowing both sites I think there's loads more room both in terms of vertical and in terms of width available than was available at Hemel Rob, the slope doesn't use the full height of the hill and is already something like 220m in length so on paper I'd say there's massive potential. However, the main issue would be planning permission because I'm not sure the surrounding site is available for building on because it may have protected status but I'm sure any interested party could easily investigate that.


Last edited by So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much on Tue 12-01-10 16:52; edited 1 time in total
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
hyweljenkins wrote:
Who cares who was involved there "many years ago". At the moment, and for at least the last few years, it's been crap. How many people, at £12 an hour, do you have to get through the doors to make it viable?

I could be wrong but as far as I know the slope is viable although I agree it's not marketed to it's full potential and has been starved of investment for a number of years.

If you are looking for reasons why they're selling I wouldn't start with the finances of the slope I'd look at the finances of the parent company and the hotel they run across the road...
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Agree that it's all in a bit of a sorry state, although I haven't been up there for a year and a half. Both our kids skied there with school, joined the ski club, raced there and had a reasonably good time, but both stopped going as soon as we allowed them to express an opinion as, well, it's Dendix isn't it? Always looked like it was unfinished.

I would have thought with the natural topology, for the right investment (and with planning permission) you could have the best indoor snow facility in the country. Whether the catchment area is quite big enough is another matter, but with the shorter distance from Brum it would certainly have a better chance than Weston-super-Mare.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Gloucester is one of the most succesful artificial dry slopes in the country (by number of skiers learning/training/racing on the slope - which is of course totally different from profitability). We must have been there for various levels of races at least halt-a-dozen times last year.

But as others have noticed, it's been starved of investment by the current owners who have concentrated on the hotel. Maybe new buyers would concentrate on the ski slope instead.

[But the real problem was when they re-did the bar a few years ago, and scrapped *proper* beer in favour of continental fizz. Hence many customers not bothering with the bar at all - it used to be quite popular after the summer race league.]

But there is no way that I can see the local council granting planning permission for replacement by an indoor snow slope.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
The land behind is a conservation area and there is a grade B SSI there.
Quote:
Robinswood Hill is a hill and country park to the south of the city centre of Gloucester, close to the Stroud Road (A4173). It rises to 650 ft (198 m), and is owned and managed by Gloucester City Council's Countryside Unit. The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust also have their head office based here.
It was originally one of the main sources of water to the city. The springs rising on Robin's Wood Hill were used by Gloucester Abbey in the 13th century. the reservoirs remained in use for storage until 1946: they have now been backfilled to provide carparks and a countryside centre for the thousands of visitors that use the hill for recreation and inspiration. The park also holds the Rare Breeds Centre which is also open for the visitors of the hill.
It is home to much wildlife and affords spectacular views of the surrounding area including other hills of Gloucester, the Cotswolds, Malverns, May Hill and on a clear day the Severn Bridges.
The country park itself covers 250 acres (1.0 km2) and has a number of sites, a dry-ski slope and a rare-breeds farm.
Its also a 3* fossil collecting site Ernst Goldsmith rolling eyes

Its very visible from the motorway and the Cotswold escarpment so I doubt that a snowdome would be allowed, but an interesting thought however. Its just 5 minutes from J 11a of the M5.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Don't know if snowdomes make money unless they're linked to shopping malls (sometimes in the middle of deserts)

Mountain Haddock wrote:
Its also a 3* fossil collecting site Ernst Goldsmith rolling eyes


5* fossil, if you don't mind
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A few factual points about the sale:

The ski centre and golf course (each being sold separately) are being sold by Ramada Jarvis' parent company Kayterm Limited (a vehicle set up by John Jarvis and Richard Thomason, two directors of Jarvis Hotels), who have owned the group since February 2004, more info on Kayterm here.

The sale is being managed by Humberts Leisure, details of the sale from the Humberts Leisure website:
Quote:
Gloucester Ski Centre - New January 2010
Added/updated: Thursday 07 January 2010, Category: Sports complexes and venues, Urban leisure, Visitor enterprises, Other properties

Established & highly profitable artificial ski centre
Source/Contact: Ben Allen BSc (Hons) MRICS

Established & highly profitable artificial ski centre
220 metre main slope with fun park
150 metre trainer slope
Snowboard slope & nursery slope
Ski lodge (691 sq m / 7,400 sq ft) with café / bar
EBITDA £225,685 (3 yr average)
Freehold
Commercial location on edge of Gloucester & close to M5 Motorway
OIRO £1.25 - £1.50 million

Contact: Ben Allen BSc (Hons) MRICS t: 01962 835960

Adjacent Gloucester Golf Club also for sale

EBITDA = Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization - see full definition here

The golf club is on the market for £1.0 - £1.25 million, source here.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
That's not good news, we're scheduled to race there on 10 dates this summer. The loss of this slope for racing would be a blow, there are so many kids (and their parents) who learn to race there in the summer race league, and any change of ownership is likely to mean that the Dendix goes.

Gloucester has a very thriving bunch of racers, both young and old, plus 3 great race clubs, but like other plastic slopes it's lost it's beginners and the revenue that goes with starter lessons.
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^ If an organisation like John Nike took over it would certainly mean the end of racing on the slope for good because the result would be the dendex would be replaced with their snowflexy type matting and that means nobody could set gates on the slope and the surface isn't favoured by dry slope racers. I agree this would be a major issue for everyone involved in summer racing and for the 3 ski clubs that train on the slope all of whom would have to go elsewhere or potentially fold.

I'm not sure how many other potential owners there might be but I guess there might be some who would maintain, at least in the short term, the Dendex slope. I would guess that even a company intending to convert the slope into a dome (Hemel being an example) would have to take some time to get plans and planning permission for any changes into gear so in the interim the slope would stay as it is. Even after conversion I'd guess racing and race training would happen, all the domes have race clubs as far as I know and there is an indoor slope racing scene. This, of course, would be different and separate to the old Dendex based race leagues but it would be more like the real thing it has to be said

As for beginner lessons there are still plenty of these happening on the slope, if anything there are more this year than last.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
roga wrote:
Even after conversion I'd guess racing and race training would happen, all the domes have race clubs as far as I know and there is an indoor slope racing scene. This, of course, would be different and separate to the old Dendex based race leagues but it would be more like the real thing it has to be said

If you take a look at the race calendars of the last couple of years (and 2010 has been published today) it's pretty clear where the summer racing scene is heading. With the increasing number of domes there is an ever increasing desire for races to be held in them and with a limited number of weekends in the year, it will invariably be at the expense of dendix.

Gloucester is a great slope - Will's not old enough for us to have experienced the full length slope 'pre-slide', but it's a place he always enjoys racing at. Hopefully, someone with plenty of money with an interest in skiing as well as the business side of things can step in and make the necessary improvements (including putting the top back on the slope!)
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Jon.L wrote:
If you take a look at the race calendars of the last couple of years (and 2010 has been published today) it's pretty clear where the summer racing scene is heading. With the increasing number of domes there is an ever increasing desire for races to be held in them and with a limited number of weekends in the year, it will invariably be at the expense of dendix.

Yes definitely.
Quote:
Gloucester is a great slope - Will's not old enough for us to have experienced the full length slope 'pre-slide', but it's a place he always enjoys racing at. Hopefully, someone with plenty of money with an interest in skiing as well as the business side of things can step in and make the necessary improvements (including putting the top back on the slope!)

Yes, hopefully that will be the case Smile
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I live a few miles away and enjoy taking my boy for a couple of hours when we've not got much to do. I hope someone will buy it and put some money into it.

Pete
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Latest news is that staff and instructors at Gloucester are mounting a buyout bid. Also a Facebook page to back the bid.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The best part of sixes times the EBITDA for something that's gonna need a lot of investment looks too expensive.
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