Wiltshire's first public ski slope opened by former TV dragon
Nick Jenkins appeared on Dragons Den and founded card company Moonpig
A former Dragons Den investor has opened Wiltshire's first public ski slope.
The South Wilts Ski Club, in the Wylye Valley, has been created by founder of card company Moonpig, Nick Jenkins.
It's cost three hundred thousand pounds to build, taking a year to get prepared.
The indoor facility uses a revolving surface, a bit like a treadmill, for beginners and experienced skiers to hone their skills.
Nick told Greatest Hits Radio what inspired him to build the facility.
He said: "I live in South Wiltshire and I tried to book one somewhere else and the nearest one was a four hour round trip.
"I've got a 7 year old daughter and I wanted to get somewhere for her to learn to ski before a skiing trip, and there just isn't anywhere here though, until now."
The former dragon said he chose the Infinity Slope, designed by Dutch company Maxxtracks, as it is 'works very well for beginners' and is 'fantastic' for those who already know how to ski and want to perfect their technique.
Nick says he hopes the site will be a 'great asset' to the community.
"I'm hoping it will be a bit of a hub and create a bit of a community of all those people love skiing in the in the area, but I hope also it'll introduce some other people in the area to skiing who might not have otherwise tried it."
Skiing instructor Craig Philpott the setup means there's less time wasted on ski lifts.
"The whole time I'm with a client I can spend 100% of my time downhill with them. Everything that you're learning is whilst you're coming downhill, which is the whole point of skiing. We all ski to come down the hill, not up it, so you're paying for only downhill time."