This indoor UK attraction could just be the heatwave hack you’ve been waiting for as families swap hot beaches and overcrowded swimming pools for some cold snow
These attractions offer the ideal escape from the hot weather(Image: Birmingham Live)
As temperatures continue to rise, with no promise that the UK won’t be thrown into a heatwave again this summer, this unlikely family day out may just be your saving grace.
As much as the UK loves to complain about rain, as soon as those summer temperatures soar, we’re really not different. As the fans are pulled out of storage and paddling pools assemble, there’s somewhere even cooler that you can escape to.
Families can turn the sun into snow by visiting indoor ski slopes this summer. SnowDome, which has dubbed itself the ‘Midlands’s biggest fridge’, is a good place to start.
Smack bang in the middle of the country, based in Tamworth, just 30 minutes from Birmingham, the indoor activity centre offers a whole load of snow-based activities. From ice skating to slope activities such as skiing and snowboarding, as well as climbing and swimming, there’s plenty to keep you busy all under one roof.
Kirsty Tucker, the head of marketing at SnowDome, said: “The UK isn’t always prepared for extreme heat, and when temperatures climb, families are often looking for fun ways to stay cool. SnowDome offers a unique escape, where guests can enjoy everything from snow slides and skiing to ice skating and swimming.
“Combined with our June Sale savings, it’s the perfect opportunity for families to enjoy a refreshing day out this summer.”
The indoor ski centre is offering 55% off selected activities in June for bookings made by 28th June for visits before 19th July 2026.
Having paid the place a visit in June, one recent skier shared on TripAavisor: “As we were visiting the area from Kent, we decided to book a beginner snowboarding lesson, having never tried before, and what an awesome 2hrs! Staff were friendly from the reception area right through to equipment hire helping guide us on correct equipment fitting.”
Alternatively, elsewhere in the country is The SnowCentre, which has two locations, one in Manchester and the other in Hemel Hempstead, for those both in the north and south of the country.
At both SnowCentre locations, visitors can enjoy a whole host of different ski and snowboard lessons, lift passes, and freestyle options.
The UK’s largest indoor snow centre can be found in Milton Keynes, called Snozone. The company has another site in Yorkshire, offering visitors a gateway from the warm summer, transporting them to a snow-filled day of fun. It works as the ideal space for sharpening up your snow-sports skills, all while providing a unique day out at this time of year.
It may not have been at the forefront of your mind, but it’s never too early to get the skis back on. In fact, there may be no better time to hit the snow as you find yourself slowly melting under the UK sun this month.
The award-winning journalist takes centre stage one last time in an extraordinary new film made for Channel 4
In the new film Jon uncovers one of the worst mining and ecological disasters of modern times.(Image: Channel 4)
Former newsreader Jon Snow Is now “living a quieter life” months on from filming a documentary with Channel 4 about having Alzheimer’s disease.
The 78-year-old cancelled a planned appearance on a panel at the Sheffield Documentary festival on Friday which coincided with a screening of Jon Snow : A Last Big Story which shows him navigating life with Alzheimer’s.
The film, which shows the beginnings of his memory fading, actually finished filming last year. Asked how he was now, the Executive Producer Ben de Pear who also worked with Jon for many years on Channel 4 News said: “He has been in Zimbabwe(on holiday) and I spoke to him recently. He was his usual self, he was feisty, funny and really excited about the film coming out. Jon is living a quieter life but I think he is still interested and engaged in the world and still fascinated by people. When he goes to the supermarket he still ends up speaking to people for 20 minutes each.”
On the original plan of him being at the event in person, Ben added: “To be honest some days it is good and he could have been on stage, we could have had a discussion and some days it’s worse. That is the nature of the disease.” He told the audience that Jon “sent his love” before the screening began.
Ben and director, Laura Warner also spoke about the unusual circumstances around making the emotional film and then showing it to Jon and his wife, Dr Precious Lunga.
Laura said she would start each day explaining who she was and what film she was making to make sure Jon was still happy. She added: “Every day we would have to re-consent Jon and he would ask why there were cameras and we would explain.
“He was extremely engaged and leading the story. But there would come a time every day, around about sort of sunset, I think it is called sundowning where Jon would really start to struggle. The cameras went down at that point every day and we would look after him.”
On the final edit, Laura recalled: “Jon and Precious watched it several times in terms of giving it send off. It was really important to Precious that he viewed it by himself the first time, so he wasn’t influenced by her reaction too it or anyone else’s.
“He had a really emotional reaction to it because I think it was the first time he had seen himself with the condition.”
Ben added: “Precious loves the film, she thinks it is really important.”
The film also sees Jon discover a news story whilst on holiday in 2025, which leads an investigation into a Zambian community whose land and water were impacted by a mining disaster.
As the Mirror previously reported, he speaks in the film about his own mortality, and seems happy with the life he has.
Jon says: “A strange old business life. I had a good innings of it. It’s understandable, you can be worried about death, but to be worried about growing older is irrelevant. It’s absurd. How old is older? You’re going to die tomorrow or the next day. Stop worrying and get on with it.”
His wife Precious says of the film: “I want it to be a story of love, laughter, acknowledging that times are hard. I don’t shy away from the fact that it’s hard caring for someone with Alzheimer’s. But we can also be on the lookout for opportunities that would lessen that burden. And yeah we do that by having our little adventures.”
* Jon Snow: A Last Big story will be available to watch and stream on Channel 4 on Sat June 20 at 8pm.
Benidorm star Crissy Rock has warned that political correctness has possibly “gone too far” for the beloved sitcom to make a comeback but has a new project that she says is perfect for fans of the show
Benidorm star Crissy Rock, who played Janey Yorke, says political correctness has gone ‘too far’(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Crissy Rock has warned that political correctness might put a stop to a reboot of Benidorm. The actress, 67, starred as Janey Yorke in the first four series of the sunny sitcom, which ran from 2007 until 2018.
She told The Mirror: “There’s always whispers [about a reboot], this, that and the other. I’m sure there would be a place for it because it’s so in demand, but with all this political correctness you can’t say this and you can’t say that now.
“You can’t even smoke! I was watching something the other day and a thing came up saying ‘May contain smoking!’ What’s wrong? The world’s gone mad!”
The former I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! contestant, who starred on Benidorm alongside other TV favourites like Siobhan Finneran, Johnny Vegas and Sheridan Smith amongst a host of others, tries to stay away from politics when she performs her stand-up routines, but still thinks that it has all “gone too far” with what can and can’t be said these days.
She added: “In my own show, I don’t do politics. My act has been practically the same for years but I just think [political correctness] has all gone too far the other way. In pantomime, you can’t have the Prince kiss Snow White anymore but you can have a dog come on and lick her face, I mean, it’s gone too far! Someone said I couldn’t say ‘Alright, love’ anymore. It’s just gone stupid!”
Despite her willingness to make a comeback should the chance ever appear, Crissy doesn’t have all good memories from working on the set in the Spanish city.
She said: “It was lovely, and then the reality kicked in that you were stuck in a building with no air conditioning, really roasting with the lights and, half the time you couldn’t hardly breathe. Then you have to start turning the lights off and put the air conditioning on because it was really, really hot, especially when they’re doing all the indoor scenes in the club.”
But for now, Crissy, who shot to fame when she took on the leading role of the 1994 film Ladybird, Ladybird, is happy to be back on stage with a new production of Desperate Scousewives. She stars as Lily, who along with Susan and Vanessa, must navigate things when Trisha, a single mum from Manchester, arrives on their tight-knit backstreet in Liverpool.
All set during a hen do, where the bride is preparing to get married to man in prison she has never actually met, Crissy thinks it will be the perfect night out for fans of the ITV sitcom.
She explained: “Desperate Scousewives is a bit like Benidorm, because the reason Benidorm was so successful is people would watch it and go, ‘Doesn’t that remind you of that drunk around the corner, oh what about her? I know someone just like her!’
“So everyone recognised themselves as someone. And with Desperate Scousewives, everyone who goes will say, ‘I remember that,’ and ‘I recognise her!'”
Desperate Scousewives is written by Lynne Fitzgerald, who also stars as Susan in the production, and embraces the kind of Northern humour that has become synonymous with programmes like Coronation Street, The Royle Family and Shameless.
Liverpool-born Crissy was challenged by someone who wondered how that kind of humour would go down across the nation but she remained full of confidence that it is a universally funny piece of work.
She said: “I met someone who wasn’t from up north who said ‘How do you think this is going to travel?’ and I said ‘Perfectly!’ because we are the street anywhere in the country.
“There’s three or four women exactly like that in every other street in the county. It’s not about your voice or where you’re from, it’s… individuals, their lives, So it could be any street in any part of England.
“I play bit of a matriarch. Nosey, absolutely nosey. And she wants to know everyone’s business but she doesn’t want anyone to know her business and then when she meets anyone new she puts this telephone voice on, trying to talk posh.
“The others will be telling her to shut up and she’ll go ‘Oh, take no notice of those little b*****s!’ It’s been such good fun [in rehearsals], we can’t look at each other without laughing!”
Desperate Scousewives is on tour across the UK. For tickets and more information, go to www.scousewivesonstage.com
Kath Cross and Stuart Hall have been living full-time in their campervan and have travelled over 25,000 miles on their epic adventures
Kath Cross and Stuart Hall in Meteora, Greece(Image: SWNS)
A couple sold all their possessions to buy a campervan and travel the world – for just £30 a day. Kath Cross, 49, and Stuart Hall, 48, have travelled over 25,000 miles on epic adventures through the Sahara desert, Europe and Scotland in their make-shift home.
The pair have been living in their 7.5m Mercedes Sprinter ever since Kath sold all her possessions and stopped paying rent four years ago. To date they have toured over 15 countries – and will have exceeded 20 by the time they get back from their current trip to Montenegro.
The couple work on the road full-time under the name Vanavigation – where they create, write and share travel content. Though their spending plan varies slightly depending on which country they are residing in, the pair say on average they spend around £900 to £1,200 a month – cheaper than Kath’s old house rental in Cardiff.
This means they budget around £30 to £40 a day for their lifestyle – with half spent on fuel. Kath, from Cardiff, said: “It was a choice we made between one life and another – and we don’t regret a second of it.
“When I sold my possessions, it made me realise that you are supposed to own things – not them own you. When you have a mortgage, a car payment, you are owned by society, fixed because you have to stay where you are and pay your bills.
“The more of my stuff I sold the more free I felt – the more I am realising those possessions owned me and pinned me in one place. Life owns you and you are supposed to own it.”
Kath and Stuart bonded over their shared love of nature and the outdoors after meeting in a South Wales walking group back in 2021. They hiked over 105 peaks in the UK during their first year of dating and Kath decided that Stuart was the person she wanted to travel the world with.
She soon after decided to pack up her four-bed rental house and sell all of her possessions back in 2022 when her daughters left home. Stuart and Kath have since travelled over 25,000 miles – including their first trip all the way to the Sahara desert, which Kath described as her “lifelong dream”.
Kath said: “I had an idea that when my kids left home I wanted to drive to the Sahara – it was a dream I’d had for years. Stu already owned the van, and we had been together a few months when we visited Scotland for a month in the campervan. We didn’t kill each other and got on very well.
“So that winter I decided that I was going to downsize my life, my kids had left home, the four-bed rental was too much for me and I just didn’t want it anymore. It was taking every penny that I earned just to keep the rental going – but we knew we could live cheaper on the road.
“A lot of people are scared of the big adventure, but Stu was up for the idea and so we drove to the edge of the Sahara desert and haven’t looked back.”
The mother-of-two is able to ensure a steady monthly income for the pair after she set up her own business online back in 2012. As a single parent, Kath wanted to ensure she could earn a living while being at home with her children – and her copywriting and freelance work saw her amass 1.6million followers on Facebook in 2014.
Stuart, who works for an agency as a truck driver, works when they visit the UK after trips to help top up their money before their next adventure. Her and Stuart are both work together to produce content for Vanavigation – releasing weekly Youtube episodes, travel guides and insightful blogs across social media on how to travel the world.
Kath said: “Life really is a lot cheaper in the van – you don’t need two wages. We were away for 101 days and our average spend was £1000 a month – this is less than my rent used to be in Cardiff and we lived like kings and queens.”
Despite more than half their budget being on fuel, the pair say they don’t live like they are on holiday – and mostly cook in the van and only pay for a few activities a month. Kath said: “As fuel prices have gone up we have just slowed down!
“We just drive a bit slower and make a few less stops – which means we extend the trip really. When you’re in North Macedonia and paying 130 a litre for diesel, there is no point rushing back to pay whatever horrifying price it is in the UK at the moment.”
The pair are able to live in their fully-equipped campervan which boasts a full working set up including: a shower, toilet, king-size bed, sink, and a fully working kitchen with an oven, gas burner. Stuart, who converted the inside of the van shortly after purchasing it, said: “We can even do a roast dinner.”
So far, the pair have driven 3,000 miles to Denmark and back, 7,000 miles around Spain and Portugal, 2,000 miles to Scotland and 8,000 miles to the Sahara. They are currently in Montenegro, and are just shy of 5,000 miles on their trip which has seen them drive through France, Italy, Albania, Greece, North Macedonia and Kosovo.
Their next stops are Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia and France. Kath and Stu said their Sahara trip has been one of their many highlights – which also include their visit to the Atlas mountains, Kosovo and Denmark.
Stuart, from Southampton, said: “We drove to the edge of the sand dunes and were drinking coffee out of own mugs from home. Then we opened up the curtains and there were 40 camels outside – it was totally surreal. I had only ever been on package holidays before.”
Kath said they also loved their visit to the Atlas mountains because of the scenery and people they met during their trip and volunteering. She said: “There are communities there that have nothing, and they just want to help you.
“We helped a guy stuck in the snow and he wanted to take us to his village, which had 66 houses and a mosque. His family made us food and drinks and the kids in the village came to meet us and it was only a few months after the earthquake. It was so special connecting with the local communities.”
The pair are strong advocates for following your dreams and travelling the world in a mindful and sustainable way. Stuart said: “We choose to step lighter on this earth.
“My big diesel van has much less of a carbon footprint than a three-bed house where people leave the lights on. We don’t buy new stuff, we wear clothes until we can’t wear them anymore and we live light on plastics. We love this life and we learn so much about people.”
Kath said: “You can’t dream yourself into this life, you have to make intentional decisions to get here. You have to let go of other things to get here. We left the rat race – and we’re really glad about it.”
You can follow their adventures here: “https://www.facebook.com/vanavigationuk/
Carol Kirkwood’s career away from the cameras took her BBC co-star by surprise, following her recent exit from the corporation after 28 years
Carol Kirkwood has expanded her talents into writing in recent years(Image: BBC)
Carol Kirkwood has left her BBC co-star stunned by her career away from television. The former BBC Breakfast weather presenter bid farewell to the programme in April after 28 years at the corporation.
In a lengthy on-air statement at the time, the 63-year-old said: “Thank you for trusting me, be it telling you about heatwaves or snow, to the everyday question of, ‘Do I need to take a brolly?’. To my colleagues past and present, both in front and behind the camera, I owe you all so much. You’ve been my team, my safety net, and, very often, my family.
“We’ve shared breaking news, long shifts, plenty of laughter, bad hair days, and the occasional moment of pure chaos. And do you know what? I wouldn’t change a second of it.”
While she is best known for presenting the weather, Carol has also turned her hand to writing in recent years – much to the surprise of Carol Klein.
The Gardeners’ World host appeared taken aback when learning about Carol’s other career during an appearance on the Pottering with Tom Allen podcast.
After discussing the changing weather during the recording, she said: “That Carol Kirkwood, she’s lovely isn’t she, she’s a keen gardener.”
“She’s a great writer as well,” Tom chimed in, to which she appeared stun and questioned: “Is she?”. Tom went on to say: “She’s got a lot of novels out.”
“I haven’t read anything, I’ll have to,” the BBC star replied. Praising the books, Tom insisted they are a good read and “always set in lovely places”.
Recently speaking about her future after leaving the show, the weather presenter said she is looking forward to more freedom with her husband Steve Randall, who she married in 2023.
“The freedom of being able to get in the car, drive and go anywhere we want for as long as we want is really appealing,” she told the BBC.
She also revealed there was a more personal reason behind her decision. “I’m not getting any younger, I’m newly married and we’ve had some losses in our lives recently,” Carol added.
She went on to say those experiences had helped her realise that she needed to “get on with my retirement and that’s what I’m going to do”.
However, retirement doesn’t mean she’s stopped working altogether. Her sixth romance novel is set to be published in October, and she has reportedly already committed to writing at least two more books afterwards.
The television star has also said she would love to learn the guitar and adopt a couple of cats.
BBC Breakfast airs daily from around 6am on BBC One and the BBC News channel.
