We checked 8 ice rinks near St Albans, from Planet Ice in Hemel to Big Skate in Watford, for 2026 dates, prices and age rules. Updated November 2026.
For ice skating near St Albans in 2026 there are 8 rinks within reach, though none in the city itself, and this guide puts their prices, dates and age rules in one place. Most people land on Planet Ice in Hemel Hempstead, open all year, Big Skate in Watford, from 5 December, or Skate at Somerset House, a direct train away.
Distances are straight-line miles from St Albans city centre, so the road will be longer. Prices at seasonal rinks change by day and time, so what you pay may differ. For more on what is and is not happening in the city itself, see our St Albans ice rink page.
The closest rinks
1. Planet Ice, Hemel Hempstead
A permanent rink at Jarman Square, about five miles from St Albans and the closest real ice to the city. It runs public skating alongside lessons, disco sessions and hockey, and its Christmas calendar is already on sale, including sessions badged Skate and Spot Santa and a New Year’s Eve skate that ends at 6pm.
The booking system does not say when Father Christmas appears, so do not treat those sessions as a grotto visit. Under-8s must have an adult on the ice, and Planet Ice requires under-12s to wear gloves at all times.
The booking pages did not print a skate hire price, so check it when you book. A 30-minute taster lesson for new customers costs £10, hire included.
Open all year; Saturday public sessions 11.45am to 1.45pm, 2.15pm to 4.30pm and 5pm to 7.15pm; Christmas Day 10am to 12pm; New Year's Eve 10.30am to 1pm, 1.30pm to 3.30pm and 4pm to 6pm
Price adult or child (4 to 15) £14.10; family of 3 to 5 £13.10 each; student £10; under 4 £3.20; carer free; Christmas Day £10 a skater
Booking online, by date and session
Address Jarman Square, Jarmans Park, Hemel Hempstead, HP2 4JS
Website planet-ice.co.uk/ice-skating
Good for indoor, all year, Christmas Day skating, taster lessons, disco sessions
2. Big Skate at Pondside, Watford
Watford Borough Council’s covered rink returns to Pondside at the top of the town centre, about seven miles from St Albans, with a Christmas tree in the middle of the ice and colour-changing lights. The box office is now open, and the early bird prices end on 23 November.
Each ticket is a one-hour slot with 45 minutes on the ice. The minimum age is 4, and under-12s must be accompanied on the ice by someone aged 16 or over.
Quiet sessions for people with SEND run daily and are marked on the booking calendar. Refunds are not given, but bookings can be changed up to 48 hours ahead.
The council says all proceeds from ticket sales go to four charities and good causes. The calendar lists no sessions on Christmas Day.
Open 5 December 2026 to 3 January 2027; session times on the booking calendar
Price adult (13+) £14; child (4 to 12) £10; family of 4 £45; skate aid £3; spectators free; skate hire included. Booked before 23 November: adult £12, child £8, family of 4 £38
Booking online recommended; walk-ins only if sessions have space
Address Pondside, High Street, Watford, WD17 1NA
Parking Avenue and Gade car parks; Sutton and Church car park a few minutes further
Website tickettailor.com/events/bigskatebywatfordboroughcouncilmacefoundation/2458275
Good for covered rink, quiet sessions, fully accessible, proceeds to charity
Further round the county and the North Circular
3. Skate Letchworth
The terrace of Letchworth Lido on Norton Common becomes a seasonal rink each winter, about 17 miles from St Albans, run by Everyone Active for North Herts Council. Its page says the 2026 rink opens on Saturday 28 November, and that it holds up to 100 skaters.
No closing date is published yet; last season ran to 11 January. The booking portal lists public skating, ice discos, Skate with Santa, adult and child sessions for under-5s and inclusive sessions with no music or disco lights.
Under-8s must have a full-paying adult over 18 with them on the ice. The portal says skate hire is available, so check whether it is in the price when you book.
Open from 28 November 2026; closing date not yet published
Price adult (16+) £16; junior (under 16) £12; senior (66+) £12; carer free; under-5 in adult and child sessions £7 (booking portal, 4 November)
Booking online, advised
Call 01462 684673
Address Norton Common, Icknield Way, Letchworth, SG6 4UF
Website everyoneactive-letchworthlido.digitickets.co.uk/tickets
Good for inclusive sessions, under-5s sessions, Skate with Santa, ice discos
4. Brent Cross On Ice
A seasonal rink outside Brent Cross Shopping Centre, about 13 miles from St Albans and already open. The operator says parking at the centre is free.
Sessions last 45 minutes and start on the hour, and it asks skaters to arrive at least 20 minutes early. Skate aids are penguins for smaller children, available online or on the day while they last.
The nearest Tube is Brent Cross on the Northern line.
Open 23 October 2026 to 3 January 2027; school holidays 10am to 9pm; Christmas Eve 10am to 6pm; closed Christmas Day; Boxing Day and New Year's Day 12pm to 7pm; New Year's Eve 10am to 7pm
Price adult £15; child (12 and under) £13; family of 4 £50; student £13 at the box office; skate aid £5
Booking online, 45-minute sessions
Call 020 8163 9097
Address Prince Charles Drive, Hendon, NW4 3FP
Website onice.co.uk/locations/brent-cross
Good for open now, free parking, penguin skate aids
5. Alexandra Palace Ice Rink
An indoor rink at Alexandra Palace, about 14 miles from St Albans, which the palace says was “voted the UK’s number 1 ice rink in 2023”. It says it has regular skaters aged from 3 to 90.
The Festive Skate runs from 9 December. Skate aids cannot be booked online and go first come, first served at the rink.
Anyone going inside the rink area without skating needs a spectator ticket. The rink is closed for public skating from Friday 6 to Monday 9 November for the Fireworks and Drone Festival.
Open all year; Mon 11am to 4.30pm, Tue 1.15pm to 5pm, Wed and Thu 11am to 5pm, Fri 1.15pm to 5pm, Sat and Sun 11am to 4.30pm; closed to the public 6 to 9 November; Festive Skate 9 December 2026 to 4 January 2027
Price off peak / peak: standard £11.75 / £12.75; under 12 and over 65 £10.50 / £11.50; under 5 £7.75 / £8.75; spectator £2.50 / £3; skate aid £7.50
Booking online
Address Alexandra Palace Way, N22 7AY
Website alexandrapalace.com/the-ice-rink/book-a-skate
Good for indoor, all year, Festive Skate
Central London, by Thameslink
6. Skate at Somerset House
The rink in the 18th-century courtyard of Somerset House, under a 40ft Christmas tree, about 19 miles from St Albans. A direct Thameslink service from St Albans City to Blackfriars takes about 31 minutes, and Blackfriars is roughly half a mile from the courtyard.
It stays open to 10 January, the latest published finish in this guide. Skate Lates with DJs run from 12 November with sessions from 8pm, and 90-minute Extended Skate Sessions run on 11, 17 and 23 November.
Skate School and a Kids Skate Club start on 14 November, and there are wheelchair user sessions.
Open 11 November 2026 to 10 January 2027
Price adults £13 to £28.50; children £11 to £15; plus £1.50 fee per ticket
Booking online
Address Strand, WC2R 1LA
Website somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/skate-somerset-house
Good for direct train from St Albans, lessons, Skate Lates, wheelchair user sessions
7. Skate Leicester Square
An open-air rink in the middle of Leicester Square, already open. From St Albans City, take Thameslink to St Pancras and the Piccadilly line to Leicester Square.
The booking page listed tickets from £7.60 plus a £3 transaction fee on 4 November, the lowest start price here, and prices vary by session. Its page suggests booking ahead to skip the queue, and you can pre-book drinks at the bar.
Open 31 October 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed Christmas Day; to 26 November Mon to Fri 12pm to 10pm, Sat and Sun 10am to 10pm; from 27 November daily 10am to 10pm, with shorter hours on 24 and 26 December and 1 January
Price from £7.60, plus a £3 transaction fee (booking page, 4 November)
Booking online
Address Leicester Square, WC2H
Website skateleicestersquare.co.uk
Good for open now, lowest start price, late sessions
A longer drive
8. Willen On Ice, Milton Keynes
A real-ice rink of 800 square metres in a decorated marquee at Willen Lake, beside the Observation Wheel, about 26 miles from St Albans. Its prices include skate hire, most sessions last 45 minutes, and skates run from junior size 9 to adult size 14.
The area around the rink is free to enter, with a bar, a cafe, street food stalls and fairground rides. Essential companions skate free with a valid access card.
Buy three tickets including an adult and a child and 10% comes off.
Open 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027; first sessions from 10am
Price saver / standard / peak: adult £13.90 / £18.90 / £20.90; child £11.90 / £15.90 / £17.90; student £16.95 (standard only); skating aids from £4.90; skate hire included
Booking online, most sessions 45 minutes
Address Willen Lake, Milton Keynes, MK15 9HQ
Parking Willen Lake Car Park B
Website willenonice.co.uk
Good for covered rink, family discount, street food, fairground
Close by, but not ice
9. Christmas at Luton Hoo Estate (synthetic)
Luton Hoo is only about six miles from St Albans, but its rink is not ice, which is why it is not one of the 8 above. The listing describes Glice as “a synthetic skating surface designed for use with real ice skates”.
A 45-minute session includes skate hire and free parking, with live festive entertainment on opening days from 4 to 24 December. Skaters must be 3 or over, under-8s must skate with a paying adult, and an adult must stay at the rink side for ages 8 to 12.
The event is mostly outdoors, on uneven ground, and it is separate from the Luton Hoo hotel.
Open 4 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, selected dates
Price £12.50 plus an 81p booking fee (Fever listing, 4 November; some dates are cheaper); skate guide for ages 8 and under £5
Booking online through Fever
Address Lime Tree Avenue entrance, Luton, LU1 4LF
Website feverup.com/m/750080
Good for free parking, skate hire included, synthetic rink, close to St Albans
How we chose
These are the rinks within a drive or a simple train journey of St Albans that have a 2026 season published by the operator. Dates, prices and rules come from each rink’s own website or booking page, as they stood on 4 November 2026. We found no 2026 rink in St Albans or Harpenden, and Willows Activity Farm’s Santa Spectacular page lists no skating. We left out Planet Ice in Milton Keynes because the Hemel rink is the same operator and much closer. We also left out a Stevenage rink because we found no 2026 dates for one.
Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@stalbansdaily.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@stalbansdaily.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.
For more on Christmas locally, see the Christmas markets around St Albans, the Willows Santa Spectacular, Christmas dinner in St Albans, New Year’s Eve in St Albans, Christmas trains and travel and what’s on in St Albans this month. If you are driving, check our roadworks and travel page first. For the rest of the year, see things to do in St Albans and our local directory.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an ice rink in St Albans?
We found none announced in St Albans or Harpenden for winter 2026. The nearest real ice is Planet Ice in Hemel Hempstead, about five miles away and open all year, followed by Big Skate in Watford from 5 December to 3 January.
What is the cheapest ice skating near St Albans?
Big Skate in Watford is £12 for adults and £8 for children if you book before 23 November, then £14 and £10, with skate hire included. Skate Leicester Square lists tickets from £7.60 plus a £3 transaction fee, and Planet Ice in Hemel has a £10 Christmas Day session.
Can you go ice skating near St Albans on Christmas Day?
Yes, at Planet Ice in Hemel Hempstead. It has one Christmas Day session, 10am to 12pm, at £10 a skater and £3.20 for under-4s. Big Skate in Watford lists no sessions that day, and Brent Cross On Ice and Skate Leicester Square are closed.
Have your say