Croydon has no ice rink this winter; Streatham skates all year and Glide opens 6 November. Eight rinks near Croydon with 2026 dates, prices and booking rules.

There is no ice rink in Croydon this winter, so most people here skate at Streatham Ice Rink, the nearest real ice and open all year, or take the train to a Christmas rink: Glide at Battersea Power Station (opens 6 November), the Queen’s House in Greenwich (18 November) or Hampton Court Palace (20 November). Every entry checked against the rink’s own site on 3 November 2026.

We have not skated at any of these for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry gives the dates, the prices the rink’s own website or booking page showed on 3 November, and the rules that catch families out: booking fees, skate aids and age limits. Seasonal rinks price by day and time, so the figure you see when you book may differ.

Closest to Croydon

1. Streatham Ice Rink

The rink inside Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre, run by Active Lambeth, is a full Olympic-size sheet, 60m by 30m, with room for more than 900 spectators. Active Lambeth says it “has been one of the coolest places to skate in London” for more than 80 years.

Public sessions run “all throughout the day, 7 days a week”, each lasting 60 minutes, and the centre advises booking online. Skates are for hire from child size 7 to adult size 15, with penguin aids for children under 1.2m and snowman aids for taller ones.

Trousers must be worn. Courses follow the British Ice Skating levels 1 to 8, and the rink takes birthday parties.

Open all year, public sessions daily
Price public session price not printed on Active Lambeth's site; shown at online booking
Booking online in advance advised, 60-minute sessions
Address 390 Streatham High Road, SW16 6HX
Website active.lambeth.gov.uk/activities/ice-skating
Good for all year, lessons, birthday parties, skate aids for small children

2. Glide at Battersea Power Station

Glide is three interconnecting rinks around a Christmas tree beside the power station, with a 200-metre skate trail along the river. Battersea Power Station’s page calls it “London’s only riverside ice rink with a skate trail” and gives the season as Friday 6 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027.

Penguin skate aids are available for little ones, there are vintage fairground rides, and food and drink is served at The Glass House. Glide prices each session separately and publishes no flat price list.

Its figures from 2 November were a £6 penguin aid, a £290 season pass and “Skate Mates” ice marshals at £30 a session for groups of up to 15.

Open 6 November 2026 to 3 January 2027
Price varies by session, shown in Glide's booking calendar; season pass £290; penguin aid £6
Booking online
Address Battersea Power Station, SW11 8DD
Website glidebatterseapowerstation.co.uk
Good for skate trail, riverside, fairground rides, penguin skate aids

3. The Queen’s House Ice Rink, Greenwich

An open-air rink in front of the Queen’s House, inside the Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Royal Museums Greenwich page gives 18 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, 10am to 9pm.

Its booking page says sessions last 45 minutes and the rink is a 10-minute walk from Greenwich and Maze Hill stations. Londonist reports the rink has doubled in size this year with the same number of skaters, and that a booking can be moved up to 24 hours ahead.

Toddler, quiet, student and SEND sessions are on the programme.

Open 18 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, 10am to 9pm
Price adult £16.80 standard, £24.64 peak, £26.88 super peak; child £11.20, £19.60, £22.40; student £11.20; parent and mini skater £8.40; carers free (booking page, 2 November)
Booking online, 45-minute sessions; date changeable up to 24 hours ahead
Address Romney Road, Greenwich, SE10 9NF
Website rmg.co.uk/queens-house/attractions/queens-house-ice-rink
Good for toddler sessions, SEND sessions, student sessions, near Greenwich station

4. Hampton Court Palace Ice Rink

An outdoor rink set up in front of the palace’s west front each winter, a separate ticket from palace admission, with sessions of up to 45 minutes and skate hire included. Londonist lists a redesigned Skate Exchange cafe and bar this year.

The rink’s prices page gives off-peak and peak rates but does not say which days are which. Historic Royal Palaces gives the season as 20 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed on Christmas Day, first session 10am and last 8pm.

Children under 13 must be on the ice with an adult, and one adult can supervise up to five. Wheelchair users are advised to come to the quieter weekday sessions before 3pm, with a carer who can skate going free.

Skate aids cost £6, first come, first served.

Open 20 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed Christmas Day; first session 10am, last 8pm
Price adult (13+) £19.50 off peak, £21.50 peak; child (3 to 12) £14.50 or £16; student £18 or £21.50; family of four £59.50 or £65.50; wheelchair user £15 with one carer free; groups of 10+ from £13.50
Booking online
Address Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, KT8 9AU
Website hamptoncourtpalaceicerink.co.uk
Good for palace setting, wheelchair users, family ticket, under-13s with an adult

Central London

5. Skate at Somerset House

The rink fills Somerset House’s 18th-century Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court under a 40ft Christmas tree, sponsored again by Virgin Atlantic Holidays. Somerset House gives 11 November 2026 to 10 January 2027, the latest finish of any rink here.

Skate Lates with DJs run from 12 November with sessions from 8pm, there is a K-Pop Party with the Korean Cultural Centre UK on 23 November, and 90-minute Extended Skate Sessions run from 12pm on 11, 17 and 23 November. Skate School and a Kids Skate Club are also listed.

Open 11 November 2026 to 10 January 2027
Price adults £13 to £28.50; children £11 to £15; plus £1.50 fee a ticket
Booking online
Address Strand, WC2R 1LA
Website somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/skate-somerset-house
Good for lessons, Skate Lates, extended sessions, open to 10 January

6. Skate Leicester Square

Underbelly’s open-air rink circles the Shakespeare statue in the middle of Leicester Square, with a Christmas market around it. It opened on 31 October and runs to 3 January 2027, closed on Christmas Day.

On 3 November the booking page listed tickets “from £7.60” plus a £3 transaction fee, the lowest start price of any rink in this guide; peak days cost more.

Open 31 October 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed Christmas Day
Price from £7.60, plus a £3 transaction fee (booking page, 3 November)
Booking online
Address Leicester Square, WC2H
Website skateleicestersquare.co.uk
Good for cheapest start price, Christmas market, open now

7. Ice skating at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland calls its rink around the Victorian bandstand “the UK’s largest open-air ice rink”. It opens on 19 November and runs to 3 January 2027.

You need a ticket to enter the site as well, but every £25 spent online on attractions in one transaction unlocks a free entry ticket. The rink asks skaters to arrive 20 minutes before their session, runs in all weather, and does not recommend skating for children aged 3 and under.

Electric wheelchairs can go on the ice with the motor off.

Open 19 November 2026 to 3 January 2027
Price advance adult £12.65 off peak, £17.05 standard, £19.25 peak; child (3 to 12) £9.35, £11.55, £13.75; family £37.40, £46.20, £55; £1 to £4 more on the day; site entry extra
Booking online in advance
Address Hyde Park, London
Website hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/attraction/ice-skating
Good for wheelchair users, funfair day out, Ice Guide sessions £39.50

By car

8. The Ice Rink at Bluewater

Bluewater builds its rink outside The Village under a roof, so it is “undercover” whatever the weather. The centre’s page gives 5 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, open on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, with 45-minute sessions and skate hire included.

There are parent and toddler sessions, quiet sessions, disco nights and a new Skate & Sing every Wednesday for five weeks from 18 November.

Open 5 November 2026 to 3 January 2027; no sessions on Christmas Day in the booking system
Price off peak £15 adult, £13 child, £46 family; peak and quiet sessions £17, £15, £56; £1.50 more a ticket on the day (booking system, 2 November)
Booking online; cheapest booked a day ahead
Address Bluewater, Greenhithe, DA9 9ST
Website bluewater.co.uk/en/the-ice-rink-at-bluewater
Good for covered rink, skate hire included, penguin and seal skate aids, parent and toddler sessions

Not confirmed or not running

The Winter Gardens at Beckenham Place Park ran a covered rink last winter; on 3 November its site showed no 2026 dates, and a new premises licence application was with Lewisham Council. Our sister site Bromley Online is following it. Canary Wharf’s rink is not returning this year (Londonist), and the Bussey Building rooftop rink in Peckham is closed until spring 2027. In past winters Centrale and Whitgift ran a free roller rink at Christmas, but that is roller skating, and no 2026 dates had been published on 3 November.

How we chose

These are the rinks people in Croydon search for, chosen on the public record rather than on taste: real ice within reach by train or car, with a 2026 season published by the operator. Dates, prices and rules come from each rink’s own website or booking system, read on 2 and 3 November 2026; the Queen’s House size change and the Hampton Court cafe come from Londonist. We left out Windsor and the rinks in Kent and Surrey beyond Bluewater as long trips from here.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@croydontoday.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@croydontoday.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.

For more on Christmas locally, see the Croydon Christmas markets, the Christmas lights switch-on, Christmas trains and travel, Christmas bin collections and what’s on in Croydon this month. For the rest of the year, there are our guides to things to do in Croydon, days out near Croydon and soft play.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an ice rink in Croydon this Christmas?

No. As of 3 November 2026 no ice rink has been announced anywhere in Croydon borough. The nearest is Streatham Ice Rink on Streatham High Road, open all year, and the nearest Christmas rinks are Glide at Battersea Power Station (from 6 November) and the Queen’s House Ice Rink in Greenwich (from 18 November).

What is the cheapest ice skating near Croydon?

Skate Leicester Square’s booking page lists sessions from £7.60 plus a £3 transaction fee. Hyde Park Winter Wonderland’s off-peak advance tickets are £12.65 for adults and £9.35 for children, though site entry is extra unless you spend £25 on attractions. Somerset House starts at £13 for adults and £11 for children, plus £1.50 a ticket.

Which rink near Croydon is open all year?

Streatham Ice Rink, run by Active Lambeth at 390 Streatham High Road. It is a full Olympic-size rink, 60m by 30m, with 60-minute public sessions every day. Active Lambeth advises booking online.