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| Ice skating in London winter 2011 Posted: 29 Nov 2011 01:00 AM PST London's gifted with a number of great ice rinks during the winter. Several long-standing ice skating rinks have shut in recent years, such as Greenwich and Kew Gardens. That does however leave quite a number of options all over London, so here they are: Natural History Museum ice rink The first of the 2011 season's outdoor ice rinks opens in the Natural History Museum's gardens, running from the first weekend of November to just after the middle of January. Alongside the 1,000 square meter rink is a smaller "junior" rink and nearby there are several food stands, offering good organice and free-range food. Observers can enjoy a glass of mulled wine in the two-tier viewing area, café and bar. The fantastic museum will give you hours of educational entertainment once you're done with skating too. Dates for this season is 4 November 2011 to 8 January 2012. Prices are £13 for adult peak times. Opening hours are 10 am to 10 pm on weekdays, and 8.45 am to 10 pm on weekends. Address, booking, and phone Natural History Museum Tickets and information on the website. Alexandra Palace Ice RinkReopened for the 2011 season after a £2.3 million refurbishment, the Alexandra Palace Ice Rink is set to take North London's skaters for a slippery festivity. The ice rink is open year round, and offers skating lessons, hockey lessons, fun skating sessions, and even disco skating nights. You'll be able to hire this venue privately as well, and if you're all worn out skating, relax in the cozy café. There are special events throughout the year called Ice Nation, one example is the Halloween skating party. Ticket prices are between £8.50 and £6 for adults, but check the site for your desired times. Admission for spectators is charged at £1, but on Friday and Saturday evenings, everyone pays the £8.50 admission cost. Skate hire is included in the ticket prices. Address, booking, and phoneAlexandra Palace Ice Rink Phone: +44 20 8365 4386 Tickets and information on the website. Somerset House ice rink
This year, the Somerset House Ice Rink is holding lunch time ice skating workout sessions called Big Ice Dance. Late night sessions, from 8pm, are Club Nights, and will cost £17 per person to skate accompanied by a DJ and disco lights. This season, the ice rink is open from 23 Nov 2011 to 22 Jan 2012. Tickets are £7.50 for adults but some sessions are £8.50. Address, booking, and phone Somerset House Telephone: +44 (0)870 166 0423 Tower of London ice rink
Open every day 10 am to 10 pm. This season's dates are 19th November 2011 to 8th January 2012. Peak tickets are £12.50 for adults, and off-peak tickets are £10.50. Peak hours are all weekend, and evenings after 5pm. Childrens tickets are £8.50/£8. Address, booking, and phone Tower of London Telephone: +44 20 8241 9818 Hyde Park Olympic Winter Games rinkThere's an ice skating rink set up in the popular Winter Wonderland fun fair in Hyde Park during the end of November until early January. The rink is surrounded by the other attractions of the Winter Wonderland, including food stalls, a ferris wheel and other rides, and plenty of Londoners enjoying the Christmas period. This year, the ice rink is brand new and surrounds the grand Victorian band stand for its 1,600m2, the largest in the UK. The Winter Wonderland is free entry, but there's a charge for ice skating of £10.50 to £13.50 per hour for adults and £8.50 to £9 for children. Season dates are 18 November 2011 to 3 January 2012, 10 am to 10 pm. Address, booking, and phone Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park Tickets and information: Winter Wonderland website Broadgate ice rink
The rink is one of the cheaper, with £8 entry prices in the winter 2011 season, but skate hire isn't included. Skate hire is another GBP 2 unless you bring your own. There are no lockers either, so don't bring any valuables that won't fit in your jacket pockets! Open from 22 October and until 12 February 2012. Address, booking, and phone Broadgate Circle Tickets and information: Broadgate ICE website Queens ice skating and bowling
Queens ice skating rink is open 10am - 6:45pm every day and 8pm to 10:45pm and a session costs £10.50 for adults, plus £2 for skate hire. During the weekends, there's more of a party atmosphere with a DJ playing songs for the people skating. Address, booking, and phoneQueens Telephone: 020 7229 0172 Canary Wharf ice rink
Prices are £10 for adults, £12 on evenings and weekends. Kids under 12 skate for £7.50. The season begins mid-November and closes mid-February. Skate hire is included in the session prices. Season dates are 12 November 2011 to 12 February 2012. Address, booking, and phoneCanary Wharf ice rink Tickets and information: Canary Wharf ice rink website Lee Valley Ice CentreThe Ice Centre is the Centre of Excellence for the South of England and has a 56m by 26m ice pad that provides ice skating for all levels and abilities, from beginners to international competitors. The Centre has public sessions 7 days a week at various times and a learn to skate programme which operates 6 days a week for children and adults. When you're not skating, there's the Ice House Café to relax in. There is a full stocked ice shop selling all skating equipment. The center is open 7 days a week, and prices are £7.30 for an adult (Nov. 2011). Skate hire is £1.70. Mon: 12.30pm - 3.30pm (Inc Bank Holidays) Address, booking, and phoneLee Valley Ice Centre Telephone: +44 (0)20 8533 3154 Sobell Leisure Centre, IslingtonSobell Leisure Centre has a 20 meter indoor ice rink with sound and vision. Skate hire is included and refreshments are available. Bring the family along for a fun experience on ice. The center is open year round, and they offer public skating sessions each day of the week. Some of the cheapest skating available in London, with a session costing just £4.50 including skate hire (Nov. 2011). Address, booking, and phone Hornsey Road Telephone: +44 (0)20 7609 2166 Streatham Ice Arena
The rink is open all year and has public skating sessions available 7 days a week. There's a café, locker rooms, and you can hire the ice arena for private parties. However, if you're looking to skate here, better hurry up as the recession claims yet another victim: The Streatham Ice Arena closes its doors for the last time on 18 December 2012. Address, booking, and phone 386 Streatham High Road Telephone: +44 (0)20 8769 7771 Hampton Court ice rink
If you're not skating, or just want to spend more time at Hampton Court, and you should, the Frost Fayre café will let you warm up and get some coffee and cake before or after your skating session. Open from 26 November 2011 to 8 January 2012. Adult peak times tickets are £12. Open from 10 am to 10 pm. Address, booking, and phone Hampton Court Palace Tickets and information: Hampton Court ice rink website Royal Windsor ice rink
The ice rink café sells warming hot chocolates, mulled wine and festive snacks. It's also set in the grounds of Windsor Castle, which you can visit on a guided tour if you want to spend some more time. Windsor also has plenty of good shopping, so this is a good daytrip from London. The skating season here is 10 December 2011 - 2 January 2012. Opening hours are 10 am to 10 pm. Adult tickets are £9.50 for a peak hours session, £7.50 off-peak. Childrens tickets are £7/£5. Address, booking, and phoneAlexandra Park Tickets and information: Royal Windsor ice rink website Westfield Ice Rink 2011 sees the second year for the Westfield London Indoor Ice Rink. This Christmas, Westfield London will be cooler than ever as an ice rink takes over the Atrium. The rink is made with real ice and it's indoors so you don’t have to worry about the weather! There's tons of food available right at the skating rink, as well as the very long strip of all-year-round restaurants along the side of the mall. This season is 25 November 2011 to 8 January 2012. Opening hours vary over the season, but the earliest start is 9.15 am and latest close is 11 pm. Adult peak sessions are £9.50, but there's also a £0.50 booking fee. Prices are lower than in the 2010 season. Address, booking, and phoneWestfield Shopping Centre Tickets and information: Westfield Ice Rink Greenwich ice rink
This ice rink wasn't opened for the 2010 season, and will remain closed for the 2011 ice skating season unfortunately. Address, booking, and phone Old Royal Naval College Tickets and information: Greenwich ice rink website This is originally posted at http://www.eyeflare.com/article/ice-skating-london/ Related articles:What to pack: Moleskine City Notebooks |
Probably the most well known, this skating rink takes over the central part of Somerset House from mid November to late January every winter. The rink is open from 10am to 10pm, and certain nights, like New Year's Eve, there are special sessions with champagne and fireworks!
Set in the dry moat of the fantastic 
22 metre wide circular outdoor ice rink in the heart of the City, surrounded by bars and cafes. Perfect for a lunch-time skating sessions for City workers and any tourist and Londoner that happens to be in the City of London. Open from mid-November, this ice skating rink doesn't close up shop until the middle of Februaryl. 
If you're looking at learning how to ice skate, try Queens' classes for adults or kids. Queens is open year round from 10am to 11pm, and in addition to ice skating and classes, has a number of ten pin bowling lanes at some of the best prices in London - £6.50 per game including shoe hire. The venue also has a bar and a restaurant if you're hungry after spending time on skates. 
You can skate in the shadow of the Docklands landmark or have a warming drink in the new rinkside Celsius Bar. Skating lessons are also available. The Canary Wharf ice rink is open Mondays through Saturdays 9.45am-11pm, Sundays 9.45am-7.30pm (last admission is one hour before closing). 
Streatham Ice Arena is one of London's landmark sporting venues. The rink has been in business for over 75 years and continues to be a vibrant place for family and friends; to have fun and enjoy excercise while ice skating. Located in South London, it's a year round venue which offers a popular training facility for both figure skating and hockey teams. 
Located in the most extravagant palace grounds of any London skating ice rink, Hampton Court's rink is a little out of the way but a fantastic place to be during the season. Open from late November to early January, and you buy tickets through Ticketmaster or at the site. The rink has a cloakroom and skate rental.
Getting out of London a little, but just an half an hour on the train, you can both visit the royal village of Windsor and get some skating time in. Take the train from either Paddington or Waterloo train stations to reach either of Windsor's stations. This rink is open from early December to early January, so you'll need to make a fast decision about what date you want to skate here. 
Greenwich's magnificent Old Royal Naval College is the setting for an outdoor ice rink from early December to mid-January. The rink is set in the beautiful grounds of the college, in summer this is one of the most pleasant places you can find in London, right next to Greenwich Park, the oldest park in London. A skating session here is perfect to combine with a visit to the Greenwich Market as well, one of the oldest and most charming markets in London. Greenwich itself is designated a World Heritage Site, so take a walk around and take in English history at some of its best.| You are subscribed to email updates from Eyeflare Travel Articles and Tips To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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