Ice Skating in London: The Best Rinks and What to Know

The rink sits in front of the museum's Victorian facade in South Kensington, lit up and framed by a big tree. It is the picture everyone has seen, which means it books out early. Sessions are timed and roughly an hour, and it is genuinely lovely at dusk.

It is also small and busy, so it suits a romantic hour or a family outing more than serious skating. Book the moment tickets open if you want a weekend evening.

Out at the western edge of London, the rink is set against Henry VIII's palace with far more space than the central ones. The train from Waterloo takes about half an hour, and you can make a day of it with the palace and gardens.

Because it is further out it tends to be easier to get a ticket, and the ice is less of a scrum. Dress properly: it is exposed and cold beside the river.

The rink in Canada Square Park is one of the few seasonal ones with a canopy, which matters on a wet January evening. It is also one of the cheaper central options and easy to reach on the Jubilee line and the Elizabeth line.

The setting is glass towers rather than history, but the ice is well maintained and the sessions run late.

Ally Pally has a permanent rink that has been running since the 1990s, and it is where Londoners actually learn to skate. It is bigger than any pop-up, open year round, much cheaper, and it runs lessons and club sessions alongside public skating.

Go here if you want to skate rather than shuffle. Afterwards, the park behind the building has one of the best free views across London.

Lee Valley Ice Centre in Leyton and Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre are proper year-round rinks used by clubs, hockey teams and families. They cost a fraction of a Christmas pop-up, they are never sold out weeks ahead, and nobody there is taking photographs of themselves.

If your goal is an hour of skating in February with a group of friends, these are the sensible choice.

Skate hire is almost always included in the ticket, but bring thick socks — the boots are unforgiving. Gloves are not optional: you will put your hands down at some point. Most rinks have penguin-style skating aids for small children, usually for an extra fee and in limited numbers, so book them with the ticket.

Sessions are timed and the ice is cleared between them, so arriving ten minutes late costs you a sixth of your slot. Prices at the seasonal rinks vary a lot by day and time; a weekday afternoon is often half the price of a Saturday night.

If every session is sold out, the city itself is still open. A city game takes you around London in small teams with nothing more than a phone: you solve puzzles tied to real places, follow a route you would never have picked, and stop for a hot drink whenever you like. It works in the cold precisely because you keep moving.

It suits families, groups of friends and company outings and larger groups alike, and there is no fixed start time. The how it works page walks through it step by step.

Most run from mid or late November until early January. Exact dates differ by venue and change each year, so check before booking travel.

Alexandra Palace, Lee Valley Ice Centre in Leyton and Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre all run year round.

For the seasonal rinks, yes, often weeks ahead for weekends. The permanent rinks usually take walk-ins outside school holidays.

Yes. Every rink hires out skates, and the permanent ones offer lessons. Skating aids are available for young children at most venues.

Thick socks, gloves and layers you can move in. Outdoor rinks are colder than they look, and wet gloves after a fall are miserable.

Seasonal central rinks are the most expensive, especially at weekends; the year-round local rinks cost far less. Check current prices on each venue's site.

An hour on the ice and an afternoon walking is a good winter day in London. See all the cities we run games in, read more about the routes through the capital in Quests in London, or contact us if you are planning something for a group.