Who knew you can sledge all year round in Castleford, West Yorkshire?
When SNOZONE contacted me about reviewing an experience at Xscape I assumed it was just skiing.
But far from it, they offer snowboarding, sledging and have a café-cum-play area on site too.
As I had a day planned with my two daughters (aged 4 and 7) and my little brother who’s autistic along with his girlfriend, sledging seemed like a great way to try out Snozone for the first time and was something that the whole family/our clan could do all together.
Here’s what we got up to:
Arriving at SnoZone
We were instructed to arrive 30 minutes early to get ready in time for the sledging, which you definitely need to do if you’re hiring clothing  and it gives you time to choose a helmet and sledge.
We were warmly welcomed by reception who provided us with the right sized clothing and snowboots so that we could stay warm and protected.
The clothing was really padded so the receptionist helped us to the changing rooms as i struggled carrying all that for my two daughters and I.
We got changed before putting our possessions in the lockers provided (these are located either inside the changing rooms or the shared changing area).
We then selected a helmet and a sledge just in time to start our session. It was super busy due to it being a Saturday so I was worried it might be sensory overload for my little brother Oscar.
There is a small section cordoned off for sledging which is right next to the ski lifts.
Oscar was fine knowing that he had all his safety gear on and that there was a process of queueing up the slope to then be able to slide down at your leisure.
Surprisingly my youngest Arianna got really scared of sledging, I think it was the fear of sledging on her own and with lots of new people around.
But after a few attempts, Arianna got into the swing of it.  My eldest Jasmine however took straight to it and couldn’t get up the slope and down again fast enough.
We had 45 minutes sledging which was plenty of time despite the crowd of people. And actually part of the fun was dodging the other people as we slided down the slope.
I was really glad we had the hired clothing wear on too as this meant we were all snug and protected and it was even more fun getting covered in snow!
Afterwards, we all felt like we had done a bit of a work out so we headed upstairs to the Alpine Kitchen and Free Soft Play area. Â
Eat, Drink and Play
It’s a great space to watch people ski, sledge and snowboard through the glass windows.
As we had come on a special open day we were treated to free face painting and a live musician.
We had a great day out and it was a great introduction to Snozone. My brother is looking forward to returning for a bespoke session as they offer special assistance and training to people with additional needs.
I am also looking forward to roping some of my grown up friends into a snowboarding lesson soon!
For more on Snozone and our other top places to go in Yorkshire, check us out in the Yorkshire Evening Post here.
How to get to SnoZone
SnoZone is located inside Xscape at Junction 32 of the M62 in Castleford. The full address is:
Xscape Yorkshire
Colorado Way
Glasshoughton
Castleford
WF10 4TA
We tend to travel by public transport and as I was coming from Sheffield with my little brother we caught a train to Castleford and then a bus from Castleford Bus Station to Xscape (the bus station is really close to the train station).
When travelling from Wakefield, there is a new x32 bus that runs every hour and it’s a lot quicker than previous services which tended to stop at every possible bus stop on your way to Xscape.
DISCLAIMER: We received the sledging free of charge for the purpose of this review. But all views are our own.
