Ice skating at the Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum ice rink has closed. It ran for sixteen winters on the east lawn under the Waterhouse frontage, floodlit, with a carousel and a cafe beside it. The museum has replanted the five acres it stood on as a wildlife garden, which is free to walk through.

Where to skate instead

Somerset House, Hampton Court and Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park all still run outdoor rinks through the winter, and they are all different in ways that matter if you are taking children or booking late. Where to go ice skating in London has this winter’s dates and what each one is like.

Getting there

South Kensington is five minutes through the pedestrian subway, which comes out beside the museum. The museum itself is still free, and the gardens are open in the day. The South Kensington page has the rest of what is on nearby, and everything we list at this address is on the Natural History Museum page.

Checked on 26 September 2026: the museum’s ice rink page says the rink has closed, and the gardens it stood on have been transformed. There is no rink here this winter.