{"id":2319,"date":"2023-01-13T10:57:47","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T10:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/stamford\/?p=905"},"modified":"2023-01-13T10:57:47","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T10:57:47","slug":"sloping-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/highlights\/sloping-off\/01-2023","title":{"rendered":"Sloping Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

A\u2008significant investment in Tallington Lakes\u2019 dry ski slope has seen the facility resurfaced with a state-of-the-art surface that will benefit anyone, from an expert in the sport to… well, to a novice magazine editor who had never seen a pair of skis in his life. This month we test both the new surface and the patience of the facility\u2019s instructors, too!<\/h3>\n
\"Tallington
Tallington Lakes Pro Shop. Image: Tallington Lakes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tell someone you\u2019re going skiing in Lincolnshire and you\u2019re likely to be met with derision. After all, the place is known for being as flat as a pancake, at least in the south of the county. But since the 1980s Stamford has been home to Tallington Lakes which \u2013 among its other watersports and leisure activities \u2013 offers an excellent ski experience recently enhanced with a brand new surface…<\/p>\n

\u2018I must be missing something,\u2019 I\u2008reasoned. Each year, colleagues, neighbours, clients, even my in-laws all excitedly report that they\u2019ve booked their annual skiing holiday. Meanwhile I\u2019d never even seen a pair of skis, let alone taken to a slope in this country or any other. Happily, Tallington Lakes\u2019 Chas Shrosbree recently got in touch with Pride to report that the park had recently completed the installation of a brand new surface on its 120-metre dry slope. This, I\u2008reasoned, was the perfect opportunity to give the sport a go and find out what the fuss was all about.<\/p>\n

Leaving the house in early December there was a final snarky comment from the present Mrs Davis to the fact that I\u2019d return with a broken leg or two, whereupon her schadenfreude was replaced by the bitter realisation that with an incapacitated husband, Christmas would be ruined and she\u2019d be waiting on me hand and foot for two weeks as I recuperated on the sofa with a barrel of sweets and a little bell to ring for a fresh cup of tea. \u00a0The joke was no longer funny but fortunately for her, she needn\u2019t have worried.<\/p>\n

Whilst Tallington Lakes is very well appointed for those with more experience in the sport \u2013 a very well-stocked pro-shop, new obstacles for ambitious skiers \u2013 it\u2019s equally well suited to catering for those who have never tried on a pair of skis… like me.<\/p>\n

I was introduced to instructors Lotti Abbot-Christie and Matt Nicholson who assured me that even as a nervous novice, I could expect to see some progress after a taster session which would serve as a very condensed form of the tuition offered at Tallington.<\/p>\n

Tallington Lakes is the site of a former gravel pit, which ceased operations in the 1970s and was subsequently purchased for redevelopment into a leisure facility covering just over 200 acres, much of which is taken up by the clear, spring-fed lakes which resulted from the site\u2019s excavation.<\/p>\n

A dry ski slope was created in 1987 and when the current owner took on the site in 2008, it was decided that more investment in the site could realise its potential.<\/p>\n

As a result, Tallington Lakes \u2013 actually, its proper name is Activities Venture \u2013 Tallington Lakes or Tallington is a mere colloquialism \u2013 gained a climbing centre with 15-metre tower, plus provision for waterskiing, wakeboarding, jet skiing, sailing, windsurfing, kayaking and paddle boarding, zorbing and open-water swimming… all potential material for future features, but first I needed to get my ski legs.<\/p>\n

Chas and the team are rightly proud of their new surface. It is, they reckon, the closest representation of skiing on real snow. Perhaps more importantly, though, is the fact that the surface is so advanced that it will benefit both enthusiasts and novices alike. It would be, Chas reckons, impossible to spend any amount of money and get a better surface than that which Tallington can now boast.<\/p>\n

There are around 200 Snowsport England-affiliated places to ski in Britain \u2013 including Tallington \u2013 mostly clubs with dry slope facilities, but 10 outdoor facilities and about six indoor snow venues.<\/p>\n

Tallington Lakes enjoys its position as the exclusive venue for winter sports within a radius of two or three hours. A\u2008venue in West Yorkshire offers \u2018real\u2019 indoor snow, whilst two additional centres in Norfolk and\u00a0 Hertfordshire provide a dry slope experience albeit without the swish new surface that Tallington can boast.<\/p>\n

As for the merits of \u2018real\u2019 indoor snow, it\u2019s still not exactly like the sort of snow you\u2019ll encounter on the mountain, and the fact that you\u2019re indoor remains an oppressive experience, at least according to the more experienced skiers I polled.<\/p>\n

We reckon, then, that Tallington is not only the nearest but also the best quality experience for those seeking to gain a realistic grounding in winter sports, an opinion underwritten by Lotti and Matt who both learned to ski at Tallington at the age of four and 12 respectively and have each worked at the site instructing others for over five years. It was also lovely and sunny during our Friday afternoon visit, and actually, quite warm and pleasant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe teach groups or on a one-to-one basis and we\u2019ve a mix of abilities from complete novices to fairly experienced people, or those who want to finesse a particular aspect of their abilities, for instance, transitioning from skiing to snowboarding or visa versa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy youngest student is four years old, my most senior is in their 60s, and we have a mix of abilities right up to those who want to ski competitively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lotti and Matt reckon that four sessions of tuition can see a novice make significant progress. First on the agenda is to familiarise a beginner with ski boots and the skis\u00a0themselves, learning how to take them on and off.<\/p>\n

This lesson also covers the art of walking, in skis, traversing the nursery slope sideways and establishing one\u2019s self in the ski stance. Evidently it also covers listening carefully and learning from Lotti\u2019s years of experience, as\u00a0 evidenced in my first tumble. Remember she said to put my weight forward and lean into my boots? Exactly that.<\/p>\n

It seemed almost miraculous, but Lotti\u2019s advice immediately turned a stumble into a graceful glide. Her patience, combined with sufficient professionalism to stifle giggles at a 43-year old man who suddenly finds himself unable to stand up is nothing short of transformative. Within minutes I\u2019d just about managed to stand, walk and almost stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cSliding down the nursery slope and stopping with the snowplough stance is the first and second lesson, alongside a general feeling of getting used to the sensation,\u201d says Lotti.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a second lesson we\u2019d introduce the lift, and get up onto the main slope, turning down into it and practising stopping.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy a third lesson we\u2019d expect someone to be controlling direction and speed, turning and knowing a few warm-up exercises. It\u2019s also the point at which we\u2019d introduce poles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe consider that recreational level skiing, and beyond that point it\u2019s finessing skills, using the plough-parallel, Stem Christie and parallel turns, and increasing confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

A\u2008natural? Hardly. But as a clumsy novice I\u2008really can\u2019t praise highly enough the absolute patience and professionalism of Lotti and Matt and it\u2019s easy to see why thousands of visitors enjoy Tallington\u2019s winter sports facilities and its watersports each year.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerally speaking once people discover skiing they\u2019re hooked,\u201d agree Lotti and Matt. \u201cThere\u2019s something about it which is liberating, perhaps the way you have to combine the physical movement with the mental challenges it presents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven we\u2019re always learning, and I suppose it\u2019s a bit like driving a car, where some aspects become automatic but you\u2019re always in a sort of meditative mindset, concentrating on what you\u2019re doing to the exclusion of anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also one of the few sports that you can enjoy socially, and pursue alongside family and friends irrespective of age.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re biased, says Lotti, \u201cI\u2019ve been skiing here from the age of four and working here for years, so it\u2019s natural that I have an enthusiasm for the place, but to introduce Tallington itself and snowsports generally to others is really very enjoyable! I\u2008can\u2019t think of anywhere I\u2019d rather work… or ski!\u201d<\/p>\n

Find Out More: Tallington Lakes provides winter sports including skiing and snowboarding and climbing\u00a0 plus water activities like waterskiing, wakeboarding, jet skiing, kayaking and windsurfing. It\u2019s also home to lakeside lifestyle homes. Call 01778 347000 or see www.tallington.com.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Bend
Bend those knees, Rob!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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