Wales is better known for its mists than its snows, but Llandudno ski slope brings the fun of the winter to the mountains of Wales all through the year. Go from an innovative covering that allows for skiing and snowboarding even without snow to a year-round toboggan track that, at 2,461 feet (750 meters), is the longest in the United Kingdom. Ride the chairlift to the top and speed back down, or just sit in the on-site restaurant and look out onto the water.
Park your car and try to resist running up the hill to the top, where children and families mill about in the sun. Rent a pair of skis and take off down the white hill, keeping watch for the bunnies that hop along beside it and the occasional sheep that will take advantage of a gap in skiers to scamper from one side to the other. Sign up for a snowboard lesson and learn to tear down the slopes, even in midsummer.
Get in the line for the toboggan ride, which is an exhilarating course almost all the way down the side of the mountain. Whoop and holler as you speed down the metal track, feeling like an Olympic bobsledder. Sit in an inner tube and course down the hill on the Sno-tube track, or link up with friends or family and go down together. Coordinate your visit with the Artificial Ski Championships, which take place at the center each year, to see how the experts take advantage of the different terrain.
Drive to the Llandudno ski slope, on the peninsula to the north of the town center, in 6 minutes from the main railway station in town. Walk there in 30 minutes from the town center. A cable car is available to go to the top of the mountain. Drive to the slope from Liverpool in 75 minutes, or from Shrewsbury in just under 2 hours. There is free parking on site. The slope is open all year from mid-morning, closed only on Christmas and Boxing Day. Each activity on the slope has a separate price.
