Four rinks near Canterbury with 2026 dates, prices and booking rules, from Quex Park in Birchington to Icescape Tunbridge Wells. Checked November 2026.
There is no ice rink in Canterbury this winter. The nearest is the covered rink at Quex Park in Birchington, open from 30 November with child tickets from £6.95. Planet Ice Gillingham skates all year, and Bluewater opens on 5 November. Four rinks below, with their 2026 dates and prices as they stood on 3 November.
Seasonal rinks price by day and time, so check the figure when you book.
Why there is no Canterbury rink this year
Whitefriars applied to put a 30m by 8m rink and a marquee in the courtyard at the Riverside on Kingsmead Road every winter to 2031 (our report). The council granted planning permission for application CA/26/01572 on 3 November. Mark Stuart, who manages the Riverside and Whitefriars, told KentOnline that a rink needs “a 12-month run-up, so 2027 was always more realistic”, and that the aim is to open in November 2027 and run to mid-January.
In East Kent
1. Ice Skating at Quex, Birchington
Quex Adventure Farm Park builds a real ice rink each Christmas alongside The Elf Express, its Santa show. This year the rink moves into a new Christmas village where the summer splash pools were, with a hot chocolate bar and a lounge in giant tipis.
The farm’s ice page says the rink is fully covered, sessions last 45 minutes with skate hire included, and you can watch free from the viewing areas. Children aged 3 to 7 must have a skating adult (16 or over) on the ice with them.
Penguin and snowman skate aids cost £5 a session and cannot be booked in advance, so arrive early. The farm gives no refunds, but will move a booking to another date.
Skating does not include a visit to Santa.
Open 30 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, on selected dates; 45-minute sessions
Price adult (16 and over) £7.95 to £14.95; child (3 to 15) £6.95 to £13.95; group of four £28.95 to £50.95; plus a 50p booking fee per ticket, £1 per group ticket (booking page, 3 November)
Booking online; toddler (3 to 4) and adult ticket £9.95 for sessions before 3pm, Monday to Thursday, 30 November to 17 December; NUS student tickets from £6.95, same days
Call 01843 866023
Address Quex Park, Park Lane, Birchington, CT7 0BH
Website theelfexpress.com/ice
Good for covered rink, skate hire included, toddler tickets, free to watch, whole-rink hire for up to 60
Open all year
2. Planet Ice Gillingham
A permanent indoor rink on Gillingham Business Park, about 30 miles from Canterbury up the A2 and M2, run by Planet Ice, which operates 14 rinks around the country. Public sessions run most days and are longer than the Christmas rinks: on 3 November the booking system listed a Saturday 7 November skate from 11am to 1pm and another from 1pm to 4.30pm.
Planet Ice warns that a session may include a 15-minute break while the ice is resurfaced. All under 13s must be with an adult in the building, under 8s need an adult on the ice, and children under 12 must wear gloves.
The rink runs a £10 Christmas Day skate from 10am to 12pm.
Open all year; public sessions most days, times vary by day
Price adult (16 and over) £15.40, child (4 to 15) £15.40, student £10, under 4s £3.20, families of three to five £14.70 each; Christmas Day skate £10 (booking system, 3 November, online prices)
Booking online prices can differ from the price at the rink; one free spectator ticket for the parent of an under 13
Address Ambley Road, Gillingham Business Park, Gillingham, ME8 0PU
Website planet-ice.co.uk
Good for all year, longer sessions, student price, Christmas Day skate
Further into Kent
3. The Ice Rink at Bluewater
Bluewater builds its rink outside The Village under a roof canopy, so it skates whatever the weather. The centre’s page gives 5 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, including Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, with 45-minute sessions and skate hire included; the booking system lists no sessions on Christmas Day. Besides standard sessions there are parent and toddler sessions, quiet sessions, adult disco nights and 2-for-1 Thursdays, and a new Skate and Sing session on Wednesdays from 18 November.
It is about 45 miles from Canterbury by the M2.
Open 5 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed Christmas Day
Price off peak £15 adult, £13 child (12 and under), £46 family; peak £17, £15 and £56; £1.50 more per ticket bought on the day, £6 more for a family (booking system, 3 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, parent and toddler sessions, 2-for-1 Thursdays
4. Icescape Tunbridge Wells
The Christmas rink in Calverley Grounds returns this year under a new name, Icescape Tunbridge Wells, from 26 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. The operator’s page says sessions are 45 minutes, entry to the grounds to watch is free, and booking online at least a day ahead saves £2 on each adult or child ticket, with no booking fee.
It also runs parent and toddler, quiet, adult disco and 2-for-1 sessions.
Open 26 November 2026 to 3 January 2027
Price child (12 and under) from £10, adult from £15, family from £45 online; £12, £17 and £52 at the box office; parent and toddler from £15; quiet sessions from £12 (operator's site, 3 November)
Booking online a day ahead for the saver price, no booking fee
Address Calverley Grounds, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 1QY
Website icescapetunbridgewells.com
Good for parent and toddler sessions, quiet sessions, free to watch, 2-for-1 sessions
How we chose
These are the rinks within reach of Canterbury by car with real ice, a 2026 season and published prices. We found no rink announced for Ashford, Folkestone, Dover, Whitstable or Herne Bay this winter. The London rinks, such as Somerset House and Winter Wonderland, are a high-speed train from Canterbury West to St Pancras and then the Tube.
Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@canterburylive.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@canterburylive.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.
For more on Christmas locally, see the Canterbury Christmas market, Santa’s grottos, the pantomime, Christmas dinner in Canterbury, Christmas trains and what’s on in Canterbury this month. For the rest of the year, there are our guides to things to do in Canterbury, days out near Canterbury and soft play.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an ice rink in Canterbury this Christmas?
No. A rink is planned for the courtyard at the Riverside on Kingsmead Road (planning application CA/26/01572, granted on 3 November 2026), but the centre’s manager has said it is aiming to open in November 2027, not this winter. The nearest rink this year is at Quex Park in Birchington.
When does the Quex Park ice rink open in 2026?
Sessions run from Monday 30 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. The rink is covered, sessions last 45 minutes with skate hire included, and on 3 November 2026 the booking page listed adult tickets from £7.95 to £14.95 and child tickets (3 to 15) from £6.95 to £13.95, plus a 50p booking fee.
Is there an ice rink open all year near Canterbury?
Planet Ice Gillingham, on Gillingham Business Park, is the nearest permanent rink and runs public sessions most days. On 3 November 2026 its booking system showed adult and child tickets at £15.40 online, students £10 and under 4s £3.20.
Have your say