The Story of Swansea's Dry Ski Slope ⛷️

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning, Swansea!

This week, grab a cuppa and read the fascinating story of Swansea’s former dry ski slope. Did you know you can still see the remains of it today? 👀

Catch you on Sunday!

Andrew.

A Ski Slope… in Swansea?

Anyone who has lived in Swansea for a while will tell you that we’re not an area blessed with much snowfall - not in the past couple of decades, at least.

But there was a period where, snow or no snow, interest in skiing was at its peak - and one Swansea businessman decided to capitalise by building a dry ski slope on a hill in Morfa - the remains of which can still be seen behind Morrisons supermarket today.

Dry Slopes Skiing Boom

The 1970s and 1980s marked the golden age of dri ski slope construction in the UK, thanks to advances in synthetic materials like Dendix a bristle-like surface that made dry ski slopes more realistic), combined with a growing interest in skiing as an aspirational and accessible sport. Skiing competitions being shown regularly on the BBC’s Ski Sunday programme also likely incentivised people to get out and try it for themselves.

Middle-class families who, thanks to improved air travel, could travel to European ski resorts, were driving demand for year-round facilities back in the UK.

By the late 1970s, over 120 dry ski slopes existed in Britain, with many more being built into the 1980s.

Swansea Gets A Ski Slope

Swansea’s artificial ski slope - the Swansea Ski Centre - was the brainchild of Roger Bateman, the owner of a local firm, Reg Bateman Travel. Construction was well underway in April 1989, when Bateman told the Evening Post:

“I think it should be very popular because it’s such a growing sport. A ski slope was built near Llanelli recently and a lot of people have taken it up as their regular sport even though perhaps they will never go abroad to ski.”

After nine months of work, the £400,000 facility initially opened to the public in October 1989. It featured a 140 metre slope for experienced skiers and a 45 metre beginners’ slope.

“I think the main slope will be very testing for good skiers who start right at the top,” manager Gary Friis told the Evening Post. “It is a must for anyone going away skiing and a good way to get a couple of days.

Early signs were positive, with some 4,000 people reported to have attended the Swansea Ski Centre within the first three weeks of its opening - including plenty of school children.

Inevitably, there were injuries in that time - Gary Friis told the Evening Post that seven people had been taken to hospital - three with broken thumbs or fingers, and four with bruising. “The response from the public has been very encouraging,” he added.

The Ski Centre’s official launch came in November of that year, featuring snowboarding, freestyle, giant slalom and distance jump. Amongst the many amateur skiers that day was British champion David Berry, pictured above (bottom-left), weaving his way through the slalom course.

And for the next two winters, reports of an alpine heatwave in Europe (leaving foreign resorts without snow), was great for business on Swansea’s dry ski slope.

In January 1990, the Evening Post reported that the artificial slopes at Morfa and Pembrey Country Park were both doing brisk business, as would-be holidaying skiers held out for news about snow abroad.

Decline and Closure

As the boom in affordable skiing holidays (accelerated by chea flights) continued to grow over the following decade and into the 2000s, competition from overseas trips meant few people relied solely on dry slopes for practice, which impacted their popularity.

In addition, high maintenance costs, rising land values, and the introduction of indoor snow domes such as the Tamworth Snowdome (opened 1994), the Snozone in Milton Keynes (opened in 2000), and more recently the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead (opened 2009), all impacted the fortunes of dry ski slopes (or in the case of indoor slopes, have taken over some demand that dry slopes used to fulfil).

In fact, only around 70 dry ski slopes remain operational in the UK today, down from a peak of around 200 in the 1980s.

There isn’t much in the way of news over the years to say for certain that these factors impacted the Ski Centre in Swansea, but chances are pretty high that they did. And by around 2006, the facility had closed for good.

Despite several nearly-happened plans over the years (an indoor ski centre and hotel in 2006, a drive-through restaurant and shops in 2019, and a site for industrial units in 2021), the site has remained empty - the old slope decaying and derelict.

Most recently, in March 2024, the land occupied by the Swansea Ski Centre was put up for sale for £295,000. As I write this in January 2025, there have been no takers.

And with other plans nearby, like the proposed Skyline cable car and gondolas attraction at Kilvey Hill and a £300m indoor ski slope and leisure resort in Merthyr Tydfil, the likelihood that Morfa will ever see a ski slope again is slim.

Do you have memories of Swansea Ski Centre? Let me know in the comments below!