We checked seven ice rinks near Stratford, from Warwick Castle at 8 miles to Birmingham and Coventry, for 2026 dates and prices. Updated November 2026.
Stratford-upon-Avon has no ice rink of its own in 2026, so this guide puts the seven real-ice rinks within reach in one place, with dates, prices and what each ticket includes. Most people land on Warwick Castle, the closest, Ice Skate Birmingham for the Christmas market trip, or Planet Ice Coventry for a skate any week of the year. Every entry was checked against the operator’s own site on 4 November 2026.
Distances are approximate and in a straight line from the town centre. Prices are per person unless we say otherwise and can change, so confirm them when you book.
Is there an ice rink in Stratford this year?
Not that anyone has announced. The district council’s Christmas markets page covers the two market weekends, 28 and 29 November and 5 and 6 December, and mentions no skating. The town council’s events list carries no rink either. Treat any listing that promises a 2026 Stratford rink with caution until an organiser confirms it, and if one is announced we will add it here.
The closest rink: about 8 miles
1. Warwick Castle open-air rink
The castle’s East Front becomes an open-air rink, and its page describes skating beneath Guy’s Tower by day or under the evening sky, with Christmas songs playing. A skate-only ticket covers the rink and the food stalls beside it, and a daytime ticket adds the castle from 10am to 4pm.
The two arrival times on the page differ, 15 and 20 minutes before your slot, so allow the longer one. Ages 3 to 9 need an adult on the ice with them, and ages 10 to 12 need an adult watching.
Bags are not allowed on the ice. Discounted castle tickets bought through partners do not include skating.
Open 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027; 45-minute slots
Price skating only from £8; castle entry and skate from £18; skate aids £5; cloakroom £2, card only; Platinum and Gold Merlin Annual Passholders 20% off
Booking essential, online
Parking charges apply day and evening for skate-only tickets; allow up to 20 minutes from the car park to the castle
Address Warwick Castle, Warwick
Website warwick-castle.com/explore/events/christmas-at-the-castle/ice-skating
Good for castle setting, skate hire included, handrail around the rink, wheelchair access to the ice, free spectators with a skater
Open all year: about 17 and 18 miles
2. Planet Ice Coventry, Croft Road
A permanent rink, and the one to pick for an ordinary skate outside the Christmas rush. Planet Ice shows times and prices only through its booking calendar, so the sessions below are the dates we looked up: pick Coventry and a date on its ice skating page for any other day.
Skate hire is not included, which matters when you compare it with the Christmas rinks. Under-8s need an adult on the ice, and under-12s must wear gloves.
It also runs Inclusive Skate sessions: one is listed on Tuesday 10 November at 3pm.
Open all year; Saturdays 7 November, 14 November and 5 December 11.30am to 1.30pm and 2pm to 4pm; Christmas Day 10am to 12pm
Price adult or child £15.40 on those Saturdays; student £10; under-4s £3.20; family of 3 to 5 £14.70 each; Christmas Day £10; Inclusive Skate £10; skate hire extra
Booking online through the Planet Ice calendar
Address Croft Road, Coventry, CV1 3AZ
Website planet-ice.co.uk/ice-skating
Good for all year round, Christmas Day skating, inclusive sessions
3. Planet Ice Solihull, Hobs Moat Road
Solihull’s rink is the same operator on the same booking system. A Tuesday morning session on 10 November was £11.75, against £15.40 on Saturdays.
Its Christmas Day session runs an hour longer than Coventry’s. The same rules on gloves and adults on the ice apply, and skate hire is again extra.
Open all year; Saturday 7 November 11am to 1pm and 1.15pm to 3.30pm; Tuesday 10 November 10.45am to 1.15pm; Christmas Day 10am to 1pm
Price adult or child £15.40 on Saturdays, £11.75 on Tuesday 10 November; student £10; under-4s £3.20; Christmas Day £10; skate hire extra
Booking online through the Planet Ice calendar
Address 119 Hobs Moat Road, Solihull, B92 8JN
Website planet-ice.co.uk/ice-skating
Good for all year round, Christmas Day skating, weekday sessions
Christmas rinks: 18 to 28 miles
4. Winter Funland at the NEC
About 18 miles away. Winter Funland calls its rink “Birmingham’s largest Christmas ice-rink”, and it is indoors in NEC Hall 5.
You cannot buy skating on its own: it comes with a four-hour ticket (3.5 hours on 2 and 3 January) that also covers the funfair rides and the circus. Skating is for ages 4 and up, each person skating signs a waiver on site, and each skate is capped at 20 minutes, though you can queue again.
That suits families who want the rides as well as the ice. Sensory-friendly sessions run on Monday 14 December at 11am and 5pm.
Open 5 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed 25 December
Price £35 each for adults and children aged 3 and over; family of four £137.50; carer £10 with PIP or DLA; under-3s free with a ticket; booking fee on top
Booking online through Klicket or Ticketline; book parking separately with the NEC
Address NEC Birmingham, Hall 5, North Avenue, B40 1NT
Website winterfunland.com/birmingham/tickets
Good for indoors, funfair rides, circus, station on site
5. Ice Skate Birmingham, Centenary Square
About 22 miles away. The city’s Christmas rink is back in Centenary Square, by the Big Wheel, and opens on 5 November.
Sessions last 45 minutes, skate hire is included, and you should arrive 30 minutes early and wear socks. The site gives two opening times, 10am and 11am, in different places, while its price table starts at 11am, so check the time on your ticket.
It also gives two postcodes, B1 2EA and B1 2ND. The price page says under-7s must be with an adult and the FAQ says under-8s, so plan on the stricter one.
Off-peak means a weekday session starting between 11am and 3pm, so a Saturday trip from Stratford is always at peak price.
Open 5 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed Christmas Day; sessions on the hour to 9pm
Price adult £11.50 off-peak, £14 peak; junior (12 and under) £10.50, £12; student £11, £12.50; family of four £40, £45; one adult and one child with a skate aid £22, £25; penguin aid £4.50, £5; lockers £1
Booking online or at the box office, 11am to 9pm; groups of 12 or more get a discount
Address Centenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham, B1 2ND
Website iceskatebirmingham.co.uk/prices-and-information
Good for Christmas market trip, Big Wheel, skate hire included, wheelchairs welcome with a companion
6. Winter Glow, Three Counties Showground
About 28 miles away, near Malvern, and billed by its organisers as Worcestershire’s largest indoor ice rink. It is real ice under cover, and sits alongside a light trail, a Father Christmas experience, crazy golf, a market and a fairground.
Sessions last 45 minutes, and the organisers suggest arriving 20 minutes early. Under-3s cannot skate, and skate aids are limited to ages 3 to 10, so buy one when you book.
The prices drop on off-peak sessions, which are on weekdays, with up to 50% off on the opening weekends. Parking is free.
Open 20 November to 31 December 2026, Friday to Sunday until 6 December, then daily; closed 25 and 26 December
Price adult £8 to £16; child £6.50 to £13; wheelchair user £12, including one adult to help
Booking online
Address Three Counties Showground, Malvern, WR13 6NW
Website winterglow.co.uk/ice-skating
Good for real ice under cover, light trail, free parking, princess parties on December Sundays
Further out: about 30 miles
7. SnowDome, Tamworth
The furthest here, but it runs all year and has an ice track as well as a rink, which it calls the only one in the UK. Open Skate lasts two hours and includes skate hire.
A shorter Festive 1 Hour Skate, with Christmas music and decorations, runs daily from 21 November, and children aged 2 to 16 must wear the helmets provided.
Open Open Skate all year; Festive 1 Hour Skate daily from 21 November
Price Open Skate (2 hours) from £13; Festive 1 Hour Skate from £17
Booking online
Address Leisure Island, River Drive, Tamworth, B79 7ND
Website snowdome.co.uk/ice-skating/open-skate
Good for all ages, ice track, skating aids to hire
Not real ice: Stoneleigh Winter Fair
The Stoneleigh Winter Fair at NAEC Stoneleigh, about 13 miles away, has a skate rink on Saturday 28 November (9am to 5pm) and Sunday 29 November (9am to 4pm). The organisers describe it as synthetic, and it costs extra on top of a fair ticket. We have left it out of our count of seven.
Which one to pick
- The shortest trip, with a castle behind you: Warwick Castle.
- A skate any week of the year, or lessons: Planet Ice Coventry or Solihull.
- Christmas Day on the ice: Planet Ice Coventry or Solihull.
- A Christmas outing with the market and Big Wheel: Centenary Square.
- Children who want rides as well as skating: Winter Funland at the NEC.
- A whole evening out with free parking: Winter Glow.
Getting there from Stratford
West Midlands Railway trains from Stratford reach Birmingham Moor Street and Snow Hill, and from either it is a walk across the city centre to Centenary Square. Ice Skate Birmingham suggests the Q-Park at Brindleyplace if you drive. There are no West Midlands Railway trains on 25 or 26 December: see our Christmas train times. Before driving to any of the rinks, check roadworks and travel for closures on the A46, A3400 and M40.
Staying in town instead? See the Christmas lights switch-on, the Victorian Christmas Market, Santa’s grottos, the pantomime, what’s on this month and things to do in Stratford. Our parking page lists every town car park and its charges.
How we chose
This page lists every real-ice rink we could find within about 30 miles of Stratford with 2026 dates or bookable prices on the operator’s own site. We did not choose by taste. Warwick Castle, Birmingham, Winter Glow, the SnowDome and Winter Funland publish prices on their sites or ticket pages, and Planet Ice’s come from its booking calendar. Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@stratfordavonnews.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@stratfordavonnews.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an ice rink in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2026?
No rink has been announced for the town. The nearest real ice is the open-air rink at Warwick Castle, about 8 miles away, from 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027.
How much is ice skating at Warwick Castle?
A 45-minute skate-only ticket starts from £8, and a daytime ticket with castle entry starts from £18. Skate hire is included and booking ahead is essential.
Can you go ice skating near Stratford on Christmas Day?
Yes. Planet Ice Coventry has a Christmas Day skate from 10am to 12pm and Planet Ice Solihull has one from 10am to 1pm, both £10. Ice Skate Birmingham, Winter Funland and Winter Glow are closed that day.
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