Snowdome, Tamworth

MY EXPERIENCE

Well this has been something i've wanted to do since i was a kid but never have done and then when Celebrity Dancing on Ice started a couple of months ago the t.v, i got got itchy feet and wanted to have a blast at t it. Finally i managed to persuade my mates to come with me for a laugh, we drove over to Tamworth to the Snowdome one saturday afternoon. Just the four of us went. Two of my friends and my friends 5 yr old ...
...harder than it looks! Just getting on the ice was hard enough, then we had to cross from one side to the other to get to the mini rink in the middle,which is for begginers while people were racing past on the chikane. The Ice track as a whole is a 250 metre radius. Within that is a mini rink, a large rink and a surrounding chikane. The mini rink is a great size because if you really can't get your balance and fall over you can just crawl to the side ... more

MY EXPERIENCE

Well this has been something i've wanted to do since i was a kid but never have done and then when Celebrity Dancing on Ice started a couple of months ago the t.v, i got got itchy feet and wanted to have a blast at t it. Finally i managed to persuade my mates to come with me for a laugh, we drove over to Tamworth to the Snowdome one saturday afternoon. Just the four of us went. Two of my friends and my friends 5 yr old son.
Well we had a right laugh, it's alot harder than it looks! Just getting on the ice was hard enough, then we had to cross from one side to the other to get to the mini rink in the middle,which is for begginers while people were racing past on the chikane. The Ice track as a whole is a 250 metre radius. Within that is a mini rink, a large rink and a surrounding chikane. The mini rink is a great size because if you really can't get your balance and fall over you can just crawl to the side to get back up! The barriers are a little bit high though, Little charlie struggled to reach them properly to keep himself up.
Once we'd mastered the mini rink it was time to brave the the chikane. We struggled with a little boy abit because people go round so fast. My advise would be to make sure the kids can stand on their own confidently before letting them on there. Although there are barriers, they go so far round on the inside but then stop and carry on on the outside so you have to cross over to get to them which means banging into people or even getting knocked over if your not careful. I must admit i fell over at least ten times but no serious injuries just a few minor bruises!

You can choose to go round the chikane where the ice is uneven, slightly hilly where you can pick up some good speed going up and down once you've got the hang of it. Or you can go half way round where there is a larger ice rink. The people who go on there tend to be abit more experienced. I just went on it once in a circle around the edge. I wasn't quite confient enough to skate in the middle for fear of being made to look silly in front of a10yr old kid who'd probably burst out laughing whilst doing a piroett followed by a triple twirl whilst i fall flat on my backside! Maybe next time after a bit more practice!

SKATES

You can choose to take your own ice skates but you don't need to because they are provided. When you get down to the rink just hand in your shoes and they will give you a pair of skates to fit. This is of no extra charge. The skates are very hard and stiff to give you support I found they dug in to my heels and gave me blisters so if you use their skates i would advise you put on a thick long pair of sox or take some leg warmers to tuck in the skates. I heard alot of people complaining of sore ankles as they came of the ice so it wasn't just me.

LOCATION

I live about a 20 minute drive from the Snowdome which is in Fazeley, a little village in Tamworth. It is easy to get to, just 5 minutes from Junction 10 of the M42 or Toll Road. Follow the signs to Tamworth and pick up the brown 'Tourist information signs to the Snowdome. The Snowdome is on River Drive.

PRICE

After reading the flyer it seemed like the best idea to do was to go on the family session because that looked like the best deal. The price was £7.00 for 2 hours or £20.00 for 2 Adults and 2 children. This is from 4.30pm to 6.30pm on a saturday afternoon. Alternatively we could go at any other time but is would be £6.00 for a 1 hour session.

BOOKING

Don't be like me and my friends. Be organised! We didn't see the part of the flyer that said book early to avoid disapointment. We just turned up on the saturday, queued for about 20mins only to find it is booking only. Then we phoned up to book for the family session. We was told we should book at least 4 weeks in advance. As we didn't want to wait that long we decided to book the standard session. (1hour).
To book you have to have a credit or debit card. Book over the phone or at reception. Telephone bookings are subject to a £1.50 booking fee per transaction.

ACTIVITIES

There's more than just Ice skating there, You can go Skiing, Snowboarding, Sledging, Tobogganing, Adrenalin tubing or go on a snowmobile. Also for the little ones there's Tiny tubing, Junior tubing, Junior sledging and a play area with a park on which is covered with real snow.

PARTY NIGHTS/GROUP BOOKINGS

For a special or event or celebration they have a range of offers:-

Oompah Party Nights - a choice of tobogganing, Ice skating or Adrenilin Tubing for 30mins followed by Live Oompah band, 2 course meal, after dinner schnapps and DJ entertainment until 1am.
These are £22.95 per person and they are only available on certain listed nights.

And for the kids...

Snowplay parties (aged 2-10yrs), Sledging parties( aged 3-7yrs), Tiny Tubing parties (3-7yrs) - Which is 30 minutes of chosen activity session with part meal, ice cream, unlimited squash and party invitations for £8.45 per child

Tobogganing parties (children 6-12yrs) - 30 minutes of tobogganing with DJ & Junior disco, party meal, ice cream, unlimited squash, balloons and party invitations for £ 11.95 per child.

Ice Skating parties ( 6 - 12yrs) - 1 Hour of ice skating followed by junior Disco ( only at weekends) OR 2 hours of ice skating (monday to Thursday), party meal, ice cream, unlimited squash, balloons and party invitations £11.25 per child.

Junior Tubing parties (7-12yrs) - 30 minutes of Junior tubing and junior disco (extra charge) party meal, ice cream, unlimited squash, ballloons, party invitations. £9.95 excluding disco, £11.95 inclduing disco.

Adrenalin Tubing parties (12-16yrs) 30 minutes of Adrenalin tubing, Large plated hot meal from servery and soft drink £14.00 per person.

Also for corporate events they have a range of events such as:-

Snowmobiles, Tobogganing, Adrenalin Tubing, Skiing and snowboarding, Lessions for all levels, ice skating, snowball fights, snowmen competitions and the use of meeting rooms, presentation areas, full catering facilites and 3 3 licensed bars.

I'm afraid to say i have not tried any of these party nights or events so i cannot comment on what they are like or if they are good value for money, if i do decide to try one i promise i will do a further review to let you know my opinion.

CARPARKING

I had no idea how big it was going to be and i didn't expect it to be so busy. The carpark was absolutly chocker, we were just driving round following car after car, then we all came to a stop because we had all come to the end of the road, literally, just a dead end! We managed to find a space where a skip had been placed across two parking spaces at the end of the row, leaving just enough room for for my friend to park her car sideways in front of the skip (Luckily she has a Vauxhall Tigra, handy for squeezing into those tight spaces)!
On a standard session time parking is alot easier. When there is an event on i advise you get there early to avoid endless queuing for parking spaces.

RESTAURANT

There is a restaurant which serves hot and cold food allday with a bar called the Aspens Bar. We had a light bite to eat in there after we had finished and the food was ok. Nothing spectacular and a little over priced for what you get but ok. I would say that the food on the menu is pre-packed food and not the makings of an experienced chef but the eating area is nicely laid out, spacious and well lit, they have a childrens menu and there is NOT a smoking area.They also have two other bars and a new coffe lounge called starbucks.

VALUE FOR MONEY

I would say that ice skating is great value for money. It's a good day out which for four cost us around £30 including parking - pay & display but without the food. If you don't want to pay their prices for food there are quite a few nice pubs that allow children in for food and restaurants nearby that are cheaper. If you decide you want to go on a regular basis, joining as a member can give you some good discounts. A membership card is sent to you in the post the first time you book with your tickets. If you want to join, activate it at reception when you are there for an annual subscription.

Adult single £65
Junior single £40
Partners £110
2 Adults & 2 Children £130
Additional children £10

OVERALL OPINION OF SNOWDOME

A Great place to go for something different. It's a good way to stay fit which ever activity you decide to go for. I for sure will definately be going again. I would say that although there is no exact age limit for children as they go by shoe size not age, Charlie who was 5 was a little too young as he couldn't reach the barriers and with people whizzing past so fast he wanted to get off after about half an hour. So unless your child is a budding Torvil or Dean i would advise they have at least one lesson first.
Me and a group of friends are going to try Adrenalin tubing for my mates birthday in August and I have booked to go Ice-skating at the end of this month with the same people as last time. This time 4 of us ice-skating and Little Charlie will be going with his mum and dad on the real snowplay instead.

All in all i would rate this place 8/10 get yourself down there and have a scream!

INFORMATION/CONTACT

If you wish to find out any more information about the snowdome and their activites you can visit their website www.snowdome.co.uk. You have the option to recieve email newslettes for the latest events and special offers

Or you can call these telephone no.s :-

Information /session times and booking - 08705 000011
Birthday Party and group bookings hotline - 01827 308416 

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