Brent Cross is open now at £15, Ally Pally skates all year from £11.75 and Lee Valley from £16. Seven rinks near Barnet with 2026 dates, prices and rules.

Most people in Barnet skate at one of three places: Brent Cross On Ice, the borough’s only rink this winter and open now; Alexandra Palace, an indoor rink that runs all year and has a Festive Skate from 9 December; or Lee Valley Ice Centre, with two Olympic-size rinks. Four central London rinks are an easy Northern line trip. Every entry was 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 website or booking page showed, and the rules that catch families out: booking fees, spectator tickets, skate aids and age limits. Seasonal rinks change their prices by day and time, so what you pay when you book may differ.

In Barnet and close by

1. Brent Cross On Ice

The borough’s only seasonal rink, in the John Lewis car park at Brent Cross Shopping Centre, run by On Ice. The operator calls it “premium ice skating in North West London” and says parking at the centre is free.

Sessions are 45 minutes, start on the hour and are followed by 15 minutes of resurfacing, and On Ice asks skaters to arrive 20 minutes early. The minimum age is three and helmets are available.

Penguin skate aids are for under-10s shorter than 110cm and are limited, so book one with the ticket. Tickets are non-refundable but can be moved to another session with seven days’ notice.

Our Brent Cross ice rink page has the session pattern and Christmas opening in full.

Open 23 October 2026 to 3 January 2027; Mon to Fri 3pm to 9pm, Sat and Sun 10am to 9pm; 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 four £50; student £13 at the box office; season pass £250; skate aid £5
Booking online, 45-minute sessions, skates included
Call 020 8163 9097
Address Prince Charles Drive, Hendon, NW4 3FP
Website onice.co.uk/locations/brent-cross
Good for open now, free parking, Brent Cross Underground on the Northern line, penguin skate aids

2. Alexandra Palace Ice Rink

An indoor rink in the palace’s east wing, run by the Alexandra Park and Palace charity, which says it was “voted the UK’s number 1 ice rink in 2023” and has regular skaters “aged 3 to 90”. Term-time weekday sessions last two hours (the last one an hour and a half), and weekend and holiday sessions an hour and a half.

Anyone going inside the rink area without skating, including adults supervising under-16s, needs a £2.50 or £3 spectator ticket. In-person sales are card only.

Skate aids (seal, penguin and snowman, £7.50) are no longer bookable online and go first come, first served at the rink. The Festive Skate, from 9 December 2026 to 4 January 2027, adds a Christmas tree, lights, festive music and “a sprinkle of falling snow”; its prices show at booking.

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 in advance advised; card only in person
Call 020 8365 4343
Address Alexandra Palace Way, N22 7AY
Website alexandrapalace.com/the-ice-rink/book-a-skate
Good for indoor, all year, essential companion tickets, lessons, Festive Skate

3. Lee Valley Ice Centre

Two Olympic-size rinks under one roof on Lea Bridge Road, run by Better for the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, which calls it “one of the largest ice skating venues in the south”. Public skating runs daily alongside hockey and figure skating, and there are disco sessions, a Coffee Club on the ice and Learn to Skate courses.

Skate hire is included in the public session price. Rink users get up to four hours’ free parking by entering their registration at reception; the 55 and 56 buses stop nearby, and the nearest stations are Lea Bridge and Clapton.

The centre lists step-free access with a lift, accessible parking and an accessible toilet.

Open all year; centre Mon to Fri 6am to 11pm, Sat 6am to 10pm, Sun 6am to 8pm; public sessions as timetabled
Price public skate adult £16, junior £13; holiday skate family (two adults and two children, or one and three) £52.50; disco adult £17, child £14; skate aid £5; spectator £3
Booking online, as timetabled
Address Lea Bridge Road, E10 7QL
Website better.org.uk/leisure-centre/lee-valley/ice-centre
Good for indoor, all year, two rinks, free parking for skaters, lessons, step-free access

Central London, on or near the Northern line

4. Skate Leicester Square

Underbelly’s open-air rink circles the Shakespeare statue in the middle of Leicester Square, surrounded by its Christmas market, in its second year. Leicester Square station is on the Northern line’s Charing Cross branch, the same line as High Barnet, Edgware and Mill Hill East.

The booking page listed tickets “from £7.60”, plus a £3 transaction fee, on 3 November, the lowest start price of any rink here; prices change between off-peak and peak sessions.

Open 31 October 2026 to 3 January 2027
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, open now, Christmas market

5. Skate at Somerset House

The rink in Somerset House’s 18th-century Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court, under a 40ft Christmas tree and sponsored again by Virgin Atlantic Holidays.

It runs to 10 January 2027, the latest finish of any rink in this guide. Skate Lates with DJs run from 12 November with sessions from 8pm, there is a K-Pop Party on 23 November, and 90-minute Extended Skate Sessions run on selected days.

Skate School lessons 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 per ticket
Booking online
Address Strand, WC2R 1LA
Website somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/skate-somerset-house
Good for lessons, Skate Lates, open to 10 January

6. Ice skating at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland calls its rink around the Victorian bandstand “the UK’s largest open-air ice rink”. You need a ticket to enter the site as well, but Winter Wonderland says every £25 spent online on attractions in one transaction unlocks a free entry ticket.

Advance tickets are £2 cheaper than on the day. Bags go in a cloakroom, and phones and cameras are not allowed on the ice.

Electric wheelchairs can go on with the motor off.

Open 19 November 2026 to 3 January 2027
Price adult advance £12.65 off peak, £17.05 standard, £19.25 peak (£2 more on the day); child (3 to 12) advance £9.35, £11.55, £13.75; site entry extra unless £25 is spent on attractions
Booking online in advance
Address Hyde Park, London
Website hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/attraction/ice-skating
Good for wheelchair users, funfair day out

7. Glide at Battersea Power Station

Three interconnecting rinks around a Christmas tree beside the power station, plus a riverside skate trail through the trees, which the operator bills as “London’s only skate trail”. Battersea Power Station has its own Northern line station.

A session lasts about 45 minutes with skate hire included. Glide prices each session separately and publishes no flat price list; it does publish a penguin skate aid at £6, 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, closed Christmas Day
Price varies by session, shown at booking; season pass £290; penguin aid £6
Booking online, about 45 minutes, skates included
Address Battersea Power Station, SW11 8DD
Website glidebatterseapowerstation.co.uk
Good for skate trail, riverside, accessible sessions

Not confirmed for 2026

Westfield London in White City has run a Christmas rink in past winters, but its event page returned “not found” on 3 November and we found no 2026 dates. We found no 2026 dates for Watford’s Big Skate on The Parade either. We will add either if dates are announced.

How we chose

These are the rinks people in Barnet search for, chosen on the public record rather than on taste: real ice within reach by car or a direct Tube, with a 2026 season and prices published by the operator. Dates, prices and rules come from each rink’s own website or booking page, read on 3 November 2026; Glide’s session details were read on 2 November and its 2026 season confirmed on 3 November. We left out Hampton Court Palace and the Queen’s House in Greenwich as long cross-London trips from here.

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

For more on Christmas locally, see the Brent Cross ice rink, the Barnet Christmas Fayre, the Christmas lights switch-on, the Barnet pantomime, Christmas trains and travel, Christmas dinner in Barnet and what’s on in Barnet this month. For the rest of the year, there are our guides to things to do in Barnet, soft play and playgrounds.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an ice rink in Barnet?

Yes, one seasonal rink: Brent Cross On Ice, in the John Lewis car park at Brent Cross Shopping Centre, open 23 October 2026 to 3 January 2027. Tickets are £15 for adults and £13 for children, skates included, and parking is free. The nearest all-year rinks are Alexandra Palace and Lee Valley Ice Centre.

What is the cheapest ice skating near Barnet?

Skate Leicester Square’s booking page lists tickets from £7.60 plus a £3 transaction fee, and Leicester Square is on the Northern line. Closer to home, Alexandra Palace’s public sessions are £11.75 for adults and £10.50 for under-12s off peak.

Is Alexandra Palace ice rink open at Christmas?

Yes. Its Festive Skate, with a Christmas tree, lights and artificial snow, runs from 9 December 2026 to 4 January 2027. The rink is closed for public skating from 6 to 9 November for the Fireworks and Drone Festival.