It’s the time of year when thoughts turn to healing bruised egos with mulled wine. Yes, all over London magnificent outdoor ice rinks are opening and perfectly sensible people are shodding their feet with narrow lines of sharp metal, sliding onto mirror smooth cold ice, and waving their arms around their heads in an attempt not to fall over.
Or is that just me? Or not.
Because much as I applaud lunacy in all its forms, I have not yet imbibed in enough mulled wine to forget my humiliation on the Somerset House ice rink: this year I prefer to huddle on the sidelines sipping hot chocolate. This festive season I shall be gaining calories at the following London ice rinks.
Ice skating over Christmas at London's Natural History Museum
Ice skating: Tower of London Moat
Spare a thought for those imprisoned in the Tower waiting to be beheaded in winters past. They watched the moat, and the Thames River freeze over but were they allowed out to skate around? No, they weren’t. So do it for them.
Tower of London moat ice skating: Open 21 November 2009 – 10 January 2010
Ice skating at Somerset House
Always a favourite due to its central location on the Strand and its magnificent surrounds: an 18th-century courtyard. Admit it, this is exactly the kind of architecture and history we come to London for. This is the 10th year of the Somerset House ice rink. To celebrate their sponsor, Tiffany & Co (home of the little blue boxes and highly desirable jewellery) have a Tiffany Tuck Shop where you can buy cupcakes and, um, jewellery. Reward yourself for surviving the ice with a diamond!
On ice at Somerset House
Don’t be so dazzled by the ice that you forget to actually go inside Somerset House. There’s the elegant Courtauld Institute galleries of art, the Admiralty Restaurant, and lots of history. The original Somerset House built in 1547 was used by Queens of England for their pageants and parties until the late 1700s when King George III agreed it was falling down; the Queen moved to Buckingham House, now Buckingham Palace.
The current Somerset House was built around 1800 as offices and until 2000 was a car park for tax inspectors! There are fortnightly tours of Somerset House’s hidden spaces, including the old cemetery and a Thames barge parked in the basement.
Somerset House ice rink: Open 17 November 2009 – 24 January 2010
Ice skating at London’s Natural History Museum
If you like science, this is the place for you to skate: your entrance fee to the ice rink supports the work of the 300 scientists kept inside the museum. (Sometimes they are allowed out to do research.) You can browse the extensive collection beforehand (for free) – afterward you will be too stiff and sore to do anything but bathe and groan.
Around the rink, the trees sparkle with 76 000 pea-lights (did the scientists hang them? Or count them?) and there is of course a café from which you can safely watch those on metal blades circle around. This year the rink is bigger: 1050 square metres of terror, I mean fun. There’s also a fairground carousel for a different speed of pleasure-seeking.
Located right in the epicentre of London’s museums and shopping, this is a fantastic place to take kids all year round but I suspect that when the ice skating’s on, they’ll love it even more.
Natural History Museum ice rink: Open 5 November 2009 – 17 January 2010
Ice skating at Canary Wharf
If modern buildings are more your style, there’s a rink neatly fitted between the iconic office towers of Canary Wharf. This one’s easy to find because you can see the little red light blinking on top of the Canary Wharf tower from over London. This year, their fifth, they offer new, even sharper skates. Which makes me reach for my smelling salts. Eek.
Canary Wharf ice rink: Open 14 November 2009 – 21 February 2010
Ice skating at Broad Gate ice rink
Another modern affair is the Broadgate Arena, a circular plaza surrounded by office buildings, this time located in the City of London’s Square Mile – the heart of London’s origins. Unsurprisingly given its location in a corporate hub, this is a very organised rink. A charity event in early December offers a team building skating event, and there is a Broomball League with matches on weeknights and a final at the end of January.
Broad Gate ice rink: Open 21 November 2009 – 7 March 2010
Ice skating at Hyde Park
This iconic and huge piece of greenery in the middle of London turns itself into a Winter Wonderland in the lead-up to Christmas. This is not just an ice rink but a Big Top with Christmas Circus shows, a huge Ferris wheel, the German Christmas Market and lots of other glitzy festive happenings.
Hyde Park ice rink: Open 21 November 2009 – 3 January 2010
Ice skating at Hampton Court Palace
A little further out but only 25 minutes by train, Hampton Court Palace – once a hunting lodge for Henry VIII (he who was so fond of causing those beheadings in the Tower of London) – has an ice rink in the fresh air and open spaces alongside the upper reaches of the Thames River. You might even see deer wandering the grounds and the royal white swans, all of which are still officially owned by the Queen even though they are no longer an official Royal food. Every year in July is the Swan Upping – swans are rounded up, tagged and checked for health. In 2009 the Queen attended the Upping for the first time.
Hampton Court Palace ice rink: Open 28 November 2009 – 10 January 2010
Ice skating at Wembley Stadium
Are you the Beckham of skating? Ever fancied yourself down on the flat bit of Wembley Stadium displaying your skills? Well here’s your chance. Although you won’t actually get onto the grass playing surface. Especially not with those skates on your feet. But the track circling the football pitch becomes a 350m long ice rink in winter and you can glide around getting to look up into the cheap seats for a change.
Wembley Stadium ice rink: Open 11 December 2009 – 3 January 2010
Ice skating at Kew Gardens
Sadly closed this year. Those in charge decided it was getting too expensive and the money was better spent on trees and flowers. Which after all is what the Gardens are there for. Still it will be missed.
Ice skating outside of London
Outside London but definitely worth making the journey, The Eden Project is one of the most visited attractions in Britain because it is just fabulous. Run by the Eden Trust, a charity that aims to remind us about our connection to nature, find methods of sustainability and develop healthy societies. All in a fun and inspiring way. And in winter, they add an ice rink to the mix (open now – 21 February 2010). This year it has an enchanted winter forest theme. And the piece de resistance which will get me on the train to Cornwall: they have added Curling. Curling! A strange sport that is basically lawn bowls on ice. Harder than it sounds. There are brooms involved. And intense concentration. First played in Scotland in medieval times – it was a slow era – and an Olympic event since 1998. Oddly hypnotic.
Another good reason to hop on a train? Ice skating at Winchester Cathedral, around the base of a church begun in 1079! An added incentive is the alpine-style Ice Rink Café which has more than just hot chocolate and mulled wine: mountain casseroles, apple strudel, gateaux. Yum. The Cathedral is known for its music and you could combine your skating date with one of their regular concerts. Or the daily evensong sung by the Cathedral Choir. The choir stalls are worth looking at closely for their carvings of owls, monkeys, dragons and knights. And for the bookish, it’s the burial place of Jane Austen.
The ice rink (open 27 November 2009 – 3 January 2010) and Christmas market at the Cathedral kick off with a paper lantern parade through the streets of Winchester to the Cathedral. There are even workshops before hand to make your own lantern. How perfect is that for the kids?
My respect and admiration knows no bounds for those capable and brave enough to ice skate. Just never ever ask me to join them out there ever again. I’ll be in here with the liquid chocolate and Tiffany’s diamonds. Or perhaps a mountain casserole.
Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s London tours & things to do in London. You can also read Philippa’s London holiday survival guide. If you need a place to stay, check out London Hotels on Planetware.com. For German travelers, check out Viator’s London Sehenswürdigkeiten, London Touren, London Aktivitäten. For Frech travelers browse our Activités à Londres, visites à Londres, tours à Londres. For Spanish travelers: Londres tours, Londres actividades, que hacer y ver en Londres.
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