Oxford Ice Rink is open all year at £11.85 an adult; Blenheim's Great Skate runs 13 Nov to 3 Jan. Six rinks near Oxford with 2026 dates, prices and age rules.

Oxford Ice Rink on Oxpens Road is the only rink in the city and it is open all year, at £11.85 an adult. For Christmas skating, most people go to The Great Skate at Blenheim Palace, a covered rink in the Great Court from 13 November, with Chiltern View near Aylesbury and Reading Winter Wonderland the next nearest. 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 price list showed, and the rules that catch families out: age limits, who has to skate with children, and whether skate hire is extra. Seasonal rinks price by day and time, so the figure at checkout may differ. Distances are rough driving miles from Oxford city centre.

Open all year

1. Oxford Ice Rink

The city’s rink on Oxpens Road, run by Oxford City Council with Leisure Solutions Community Trust under the More Leisure name. It has public sessions every day, a Friday Skate Disco from 6.45pm to 8.45pm, and Skate Tots for children aged 5 and under on Monday and Friday mornings.

There is also a Quieter Hours and SEN session every Monday afternoon with the music off, and the rink says wheelchairs are welcome on the ice. Skate hire is not included and must be bought with your ticket.

Christmas and New Year session times had not been published when we checked on 3 November. Our Oxford ice rink page has the full session list and the resident discounts.

Open all year, public sessions daily; Christmas times not yet published
Price adult £11.85; junior (16 and under) or student £9.20; skate hire £2.55; skate aid £5.85; spectator £2.75; Friday Skate Disco £12.90 adult, £10.35 junior
Booking online, in person or by phone
Call 01865 305010
Address Oxford Ice Rink, Oxpens Road, Oxford, OX1 1RQ
Website moreleisure.com/oxford-ice-rink/ice-skating/ice-skating-sessions
Good for indoor, all year, Friday disco, under-5s sessions, quieter SEN session, wheelchairs on the ice

An international-size indoor rink (26 by 56 metres) at the Link Centre in West Swindon, run by Better, about 30 miles away down the A420. Unlike Oxford, skate hire is included in the public skating price, in sizes from child 5 to adult 15.

Better says weekend and school holiday sessions give you 60 minutes on the ice and term-time sessions 90 minutes, two hours on Wednesdays. Children under 8 must have a skating adult with them, and carers of registered disabled skaters go free.

Disco Ice runs on Tuesday and Friday evenings for ages 5 and up. Tickets can be booked up to 14 days ahead.

No Christmas timetable had been published on 3 November.

Open all year, public sessions as timetabled
Price adult £15.50; junior (under 16) £12.90; skate hire included; Disco Ice £16 adult, £13.40 junior; SEND session £4.70 including one carer; skate aid £4 for 30 minutes (Better price list, 3 November 2026)
Booking online up to 14 days ahead or in the Better app
Address Link Centre, Whitehill Way, Westlea, Swindon, SN5 7DL
Website better.org.uk/leisure-centre/swindon/the-link-centre/ice-skating
Good for indoor, all year, skate hire included, ice disco, SEND sessions, wheelchairs on the ice

Christmas rinks

3. The Great Skate, Blenheim Palace

A real-ice rink under a cover in the palace’s Great Court at Woodstock, about eight miles north of Oxford on the A44, with the Christmas Market chalets around it. It runs from Friday 13 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, closed on Christmas Day.

Sessions are 30 minutes from the time on your ticket, and Blenheim asks skaters to be at the skate exchange 30 minutes before. You can skate without a light trail or palace ticket, but parking is charged and booked with your tickets.

Under-13s must have an adult (16 or over) on the ice with them. The ticket FAQ warns that rain can leave water on the ice: bring gloves and spare socks.

Prices are shown only on Blenheim’s ticket site, which our tools could not read, plus a £1 booking fee per ticket.

Open 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed Christmas Day; sessions 10.40am to 8pm on peak days, to 7.20pm off peak
Price shown only at booking; £1 booking fee per ticket; skate hire included; child skate aid £5 on site (120cm or under)
Booking online through Blenheim's ticket site; on the day if sessions remain
Address Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, OX20 1UL
Website blenheimpalace.com/whats-on/events/christmas
Good for covered rink, skate hire included, wheelchair skates available, one free carer per disabled skater, Christmas market alongside

4. Chiltern View Ice Rink, Stoke Mandeville

A covered real-ice rink at Chiltern View Garden Centre on the Wendover Road, about 24 miles east of Oxford via Thame. It calls itself “Aylesbury’s only real ice rink”.

It opens with a ticketed launch night on Friday 20 November and then runs daily to Tuesday 5 January 2027, closed on Christmas Day. Each ticket is a 40-minute session with skates included.

Penguin skate aids are £5 and limited, so book them with your tickets. All children under 16 must be with a responsible adult over 18, and the rink recommends helmets and gloves for children.

Spectators are free. There is a winter bar, Santa on selected December dates and evening events such as drag bingo and tribute nights.

Open 20 November 2026 to 5 January 2027, closed Christmas Day; hours vary by day, published on the rink's site
Price skating from £10 for 40 minutes, skates included; skate aid £5; disabled skater and carer ticket £10; spectators free
Booking online by date and session
Address Chiltern View Garden Centre, Wendover Road, Stoke Mandeville, Aylesbury, HP22 5GX
Website chilternviewicerink.co.uk
Good for covered rink, free floodlit car park, skates included, Santa visits, winter bar

5. Reading Winter Wonderland

A real-ice rink under a clear dome on Hills Meadow, Caversham, beside the Thames, about 27 miles away. It is part of a free-to-enter Christmas fair with rides, a German bar and a grotto.

The organiser says the ice has been enlarged to 560 square metres this year, with new skates and skate aids. It runs from Saturday 7 November to Sunday 3 January.

The booking calendar, as read by our sister site Reading Daily on 20 October, showed 45-minute sessions on the hour, from 3pm on weekdays until 11 December and from 11am at weekends and every day after that, with the last at 9pm. It also showed six sessions on Christmas Day from 12pm to 5pm.

The home page prices a four-hour ride wristband at £24, with skating £5 extra.

Open 7 November 2026 to 3 January 2027; last session 9pm; open Christmas Day 12pm to 5pm
Price £24 ride wristband plus £5 to add skating; skating-only price shown at checkout
Booking online through the organiser's booking page
Address Hills Meadow, George Street, Caversham, Reading, RG4 8DH
Website readingwinterwonderland.co.uk/ice-rink
Good for covered rink, open Christmas Day, skate aids, fairground and grotto on site

6. Warwick Castle

An open-air rink on the castle’s East Front, beneath Guy’s Tower, about 45 miles north up the M40, open from 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. Sessions are 45 minutes, and the castle asks you to arrive 20 minutes early to collect skates, which are included.

A skating-only ticket starts at £8; a combined castle entry and skate ticket starts at £18, for daytime sessions while the castle is open (10am to 4pm). Under-3s cannot skate; children aged 3 to 9 must have an adult (18 or over) on the ice with them, and 10 to 12 year olds an adult watching, at up to five children per adult.

Bags are not allowed on the ice, and the cloakroom costs £2, card only.

Open 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027
Price skating only from £8; castle entry and skate from £18; skate hire included; skate aid £5; cloakroom £2; spectators free
Booking pre-booking essential
Address Warwick Castle, Warwick, CV34 4QU
Website warwick-castle.com/explore/events/christmas-at-the-castle/ice-skating
Good for open-air rink, castle setting, skates included, combined castle ticket, festive food stalls

No rink this year

Oxford city centre: no pop-up rink has been announced for Christmas 2026. The Broad Street Christmas market has none; see our Christmas market page.

Cheltenham: the Imperial Gardens rink will not return in 2026, the borough council said in September, so it is not in this guide.

How we chose

These are the real-ice rinks within about an hour of Oxford that have published 2026 dates or year-round prices. Dates, prices, age rules and booking details come from each rink’s own website, price list or ticketing FAQ, read on 3 November 2026. Where a figure came from an earlier read by one of our sister sites, we say so. We left out rinks that had not confirmed a 2026 season. Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@theoxfordpost.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@theoxfordpost.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.

More for the Christmas holidays

Frequently asked questions

Is there an ice rink in Oxford?

Yes. Oxford Ice Rink on Oxpens Road, OX1 1RQ, is open all year with public sessions every day. An adult ticket is £11.85, a junior (16 and under) or student £9.20, and skate hire is £2.55 extra. No pop-up Christmas rink has been announced for the city centre in 2026.

When does the Blenheim Palace ice rink open in 2026?

The Great Skate opens on Friday 13 November 2026 and runs to Sunday 3 January 2027, closed on Christmas Day. Sessions are 30 minutes, from 10.40am, with the last at 8pm on peak days and 7.20pm off peak. You do not need a light trail or palace ticket to skate, but parking is charged.

Which ice rink near Oxford is open on Christmas Day?

Reading Winter Wonderland is the only rink in this guide with Christmas Day skating: its booking calendar listed six sessions from 12pm to 5pm. Blenheim, Chiltern View and Warwick Castle are closed on 25 December, and Oxford Ice Rink and the Link Centre in Swindon have not published Christmas Day times.