Where can you go ice skating in London?

The outdoor rinks, and how they differ

Somerset House is the one in the courtyard with the tree in the middle of it, and the one that sells out first: it runs from 11 November 2026 to 10 January 2027, adults from £13 plus a £1.50 fee. The ice skating in London guide has every rink’s dates. Hampton Court skates in front of a Tudor palace and is the least crowded because it is furthest out. Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park has the largest outdoor rink in the country, from 19 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, and needs an entry booking as well as a skate ticket. Canary Wharf, under the towers, is taking a break and will not run in winter 2026. The Natural History Museum rink, which was the prettiest of them after dark, closed for good after sixteen winters and is not coming back.

Booking

Sessions are forty-five minutes to an hour, timed, and weekends in December go weeks in advance. Skate hire is included in the ticket at every rink here. If you want a weekend slot in the middle of December, book in November.

If you want to skate in July

Queens in Bayswater is a permanent indoor rink and open all year, and there are permanent rinks at Streatham and Lee Valley too. None of them are pretty in the way the winter ones are and all of them are cheaper.