Q for UK skaters

[Sessy]

I've a question, where are the pro stores in the UK (especially London & Wiltshire area) and what brands of boots are carried in the UK? Do these stores carry other figure skating training equipment (champion cords etc)?

I might be visiting in autumn (not sure yet) and I also might be in the market for a pair of boots by then (for the rollers, not the ice skates) if my little pet project goes wrong (and I'm sure it will, lol).

[Amandaskategirl]

I only know of the London Skate Centre near Queens ice rink.

http://www.lonskate.com/

I think they mostly stock Risport and Graf. The range which is stocked is fairly limited but I got some Pattern 99s and Graf Richmond Specials ordered from them. You pay London prices but the staff are really helpful.

[fsk8r]

Skate Attack is somewhere in North London (not sure where but they have a website you could look up).
Everglides is down towards Portsmouth and carries a wide range of skates (again has a website). I take my boots there for sharpening and have bought two pairs from him (dance and free) and haven't had any problems.

I think the only rink in Wiltshire (or might just be close) is Swindon. They probably have a pro shop but it's too far for me to know.

PM me if you need more details about the two shops as I can probably find out some more.

[Sessy]

Hey thanks. I checked out the sites (for everglides too, google magic) it seems the assortment of products is close to what we have here. Except Riedell, that might actually be worth checking out at some point (is it just me or is Riedell a fairly expensive brand?) - we don't have that here. And quad rollers are increasingly hard to come by here, but I'm not in the market for those. Everything else we have, and it seems they're not really carrying any of the special training stuff like some German stores do so I'm probably better off shopping eastward rather than westward.

Thanks, this was very informative :D

Also, Swindon, an ice rink? Heee. Too bad I fly carry-on. Apparently, there's a must-see magic roundabout there somewhere (I think?) I'm promised we can go see. I'm told the town is otherwise a concrete jungle.

[fsk8r]

Hey thanks. I checked out the sites (for everglides too, google magic) it seems the assortment of products is close to what we have here. Except Riedell, that might actually be worth checking out at some point (is it just me or is Riedell a fairly expensive brand?) - we don't have that here. And quad rollers are increasingly hard to come by here, but I'm not in the market for those. Everything else we have, and it seems they're not really carrying any of the special training stuff like some German stores do so I'm probably better off shopping eastward rather than westward.

Thanks, this was very informative :D

Also, Swindon, an ice rink? Heee. Too bad I fly carry-on. Apparently, there's a must-see magic roundabout there somewhere (I think?) I'm promised we can go see. I'm told the town is otherwise a concrete jungle.

If you're shopping for boots Everglides is very good at getting things in which he might not normally have in stock (such as you want a different Risport to the one's he got in), if you tell him well in advance. I can't comment on the Riedells as I think all skating boots are expensive!

Which German stores do you use and are they online? I've always looked even further westward (ie North America) for special skating stuff.

Can't comment on magic roundabouts in Swindon. I've never gone beyond the outskirts of the town and that was only for a meeting.

[Sessy]

Ughh, no risports please. My interest is twofold:

First of all trying different brands to see if there's anything that will be kinder on my weird feet (part of my problem was solved with orthopedic soles, part is that normal people have feet like these (http://img291.imageshack.us/i/foot1.jpg/), mine are like these (http://img695.imageshack.us/i/foot2p.jpg/)). Specifically, I'm interested to still try on riedell, harlick, gam, sp teri and wifa, the London store does carry Riedell which is good to know (plus they carry higher models of Jackson than available here, which is also interesting).

My secondary interest is in off-ice training aids, since there's not a lot of that around here and I hate ordering from the USA - but then there's not a lot of that in the UK stores either it seems so that's pointless.

I've so far ordered from http://members.aon.at/fbaierl/baierlAktuEN.htm for a skating spinner (and some other people i know ordered different stuff from there, quick shipping, everything as described) and fiend from belgium tried http://www.eiskunstlauf-shop.de/96-skate-spinner.html to satisfaction - so certainly for me for training aids it's probably more worth it to look eastward for me (especially given the euro payments and quicker shipping from the mainland). There's many more but unfortunately it seems the Germans market mainly in german.

Ordering from the USA for UK citizens seems to be fairly easy, my UK friends seem to do it all the time. I have had problems with customs several times in the past though (not with skating apparel, but still) which always makes me look for European stores first - the only exception being when I can order books from the USA through bol.com cuz that's never a problem.

[mintypoppet]

Les Westaway (in Reading) sells GAM, SP Teri and Belati. Probably others too, but I'm not sure. You phone him and make an appointment - it isn't a walk-in shop, but he is one of the main resources for boots and blades around here. PM me if you want his number/address.

John Turner (near Birmingham) sells WIFA, but that is quite a long way out of your way. As with Les, you phone to make an appointment, but he has a website here: http://www.johnturner-tcg.co.uk/

[Sessy]

Les Westaway (in Reading) sells GAM, SP Teri and Belati. Probably others too, but I'm not sure. You phone him and make an appointment - it isn't a walk-in shop, but he is one of the main resources for boots and blades around here. PM me if you want his number/address.


Does he carry stocks of adult sizes (about a 5-5 1/2 UK size) I think of those too or would that be a thing for just getting measured and then ordering the boots and hoping they'll fit? Cuz I can do that here, I don't want to, I want to try things on. *puts on her puppy eye look* :halo:

[mintypoppet]

Les keeps boots in stock. He may not have every model in your (or any other) size, but he usually has a selection.

[Sessy]

Excellent, thanks. :)

If I do decide to buy boots that's a very interesting option. :bow:

[Bunny Hop]

I would also highly recommend Everglides. I was much, much, much happier with the fitting I had there than with the previous fitter I went to. As someone else said, he was prepared to order boots in if he didn't have the size or type of boot I wanted, and to ship the boots to me, so I wouldn't have to make a second trip (although this proved unnecessary). And he does deal with roller skates as well, so that might be a good option for you.

Also very happy with my Riedell boots (even though by rights I apparently don't have a Riedell foot).

My husband now gets his blades sharpened at Everglides as well, even though it's an hour and a half trip for us (we used to have a good sharpener closer, but she retired).

Oh, and Everglides is so close to Portsmouth, you can combine the journey with sightseeing. I suggest the Royal Historic Dockyard!

[iSk8Dance]

Probably better not to use the stores or ice rink shops if you want something specialist. Stores tend to be more for hockey; ice rink shops can be ok, but also generally hockey.

Les Westaway is certainly an expert and used to have a wide range in stock at his home. I would certainly recommend him.

Never used John Turner, but he has a good reputation - as do Everglides.

Thanks to the internet you can get pretty much what you have in the States or elsewhere in Europe here. Location isn't too important. I'm up in the north of England and Iain Robinson at Specialist Skating Services (http://www.specialistskatingservices.co.uk/), who also works from home in Blackburn (200 miles from London) is very good.

If the north is considered 'grim' then Swindon is a concrete jungle and there used to be a 'magic roundabout' (central roundabout with little roundabouts around the edge). Sort of OMG, where do I go?

[frbskate63]

So far as I know, the magic roundabout is still there. It's an experience if you're driving, but it says a lot about Swindon that it's about the most famous thing about it.