West Bridgford has no rink. Nottingham Winter Wonderland's ice rink opens on 12 November in Old Market Square; the National Ice Centre skates from £12.

West Bridgford has no ice rink of its own, and none is planned for Christmas 2026. The nearest skating is about two miles north in Nottingham city centre: the outdoor rink at Nottingham Winter Wonderland in Old Market Square, which opens on Thursday 12 November 2026, and the indoor National Ice Centre in the Lace Market, which runs public sessions all year. This page sets out what each has confirmed for this winter and what is still to come.

The quick answer

  • Nottingham Winter Wonderland, Old Market Square, NG1 2DT: the ice rink and the elevated Sky Skate ice path open on Thursday 12 November 2026 and run to Thursday 31 December, closed on Christmas Day. Entry to the event is free; skating is ticketed. Booking is open, but 2026 skating prices had not appeared on the booking site when we checked on 20 October.
  • National Ice Centre, Bolero Square, NG1 1LA: indoor public skating all year. Current prices: adults £13, ages 6 to 15 £12, under-5s free, family of four £46. Its Christmas 2026 schedule is “coming soon”, including a Santa’s grotto on the ice.
  • No rink in West Bridgford or Rushcliffe. The town’s own Christmas day, the Christmas Countdown on Saturday 21 November, has a market, stalls and the lights switch-on, but no ice.

Nottingham Winter Wonderland, Old Market Square: from 12 November

The Winter Wonderland in Old Market Square is run by The Mellors Group, and its own site says it opens on 12 November 2026 with “online booking now open”. The rink is the centrepiece. According to the organiser, skaters get “access to the ground level ice rink, the Sky Skate Ice Path and a dedicated children’s ice rink, complete with penguin skate aids for the littlest skaters”.

Ice rink opening hours

From the Winter Wonderland opening hours page, for the Ice Rink and Sky Skate:

Day Open Last session
Monday to Thursday 12.30pm to 10.30pm 9.15pm
Friday 11.15am to 11pm 9.45pm
Saturday 10am to 11pm 9.45pm
Sunday 10am to 10.15pm 9.15pm
27 to 30 December 10am to 9.45pm not stated
Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve 10am to 8pm 6.45pm
Christmas Day Closed

On the standard timetable, Monday to Thursday sessions start at 12.30pm, so a morning skate means a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Prices: not yet published for 2026

The booking site for 2026 lists dates from Thursday 12 November, but when we checked on 20 October it showed no skating products or prices against them. Last year’s booking page, still online, priced the ice rink “from £10.00 per person”, but that was 2025 and the organiser has not confirmed this year’s figure. We will add the 2026 prices here as soon as they appear.

What the organiser’s FAQ does confirm:

  • Entry to Winter Wonderland is free; you pay for each attraction.
  • Pre-booking is recommended to “guarantee your slot and beat the queue”. Tickets can be bought on site on the day, subject to availability.
  • No refunds, and the event is cashless: card, Apple Pay and Android Pay.
  • Skates are provided. You can bring your own, but there is no discount for doing so.
  • The ice is real on the Sky Skate, the family rink and the children’s rink.
  • Children aged 4 and over can go on the main rink with an adult. Skate aids are free, first come first served, for under-12s, and only on the children’s rink.
  • Wheelchairs can go on the rink and the Sky Skate, with assistance. Carers go free on most attractions.
  • Lockers cost from £1 and cannot be booked.
  • A 10% blue light and Armed Forces discount is available only at the on-site ticket office, with a valid card or MOD90.
  • The rink “will operate in almost all-weather conditions”.

(Nottingham Winter Wonderland, FAQs; rides and attractions)

National Ice Centre: open all year, Christmas schedule to come

The National Ice Centre, Bolero Square, The Lace Market, Nottingham, NG1 1LA, is the indoor rink and runs public sessions every week of the year.

Public skating prices

From the centre’s times and prices page:

  • Children aged 5 and under: free
  • Juniors, 6 to 15: £12
  • Adults, 16 and over: £13
  • Students with a college, university or NUS card: £8 (UNiDAYS not accepted)
  • Seniors, 60 and over: £6
  • Active Nottingham and Blue Light Card holders: £8, but the card must be added to your account by email at least 72 hours ahead; it cannot be added on the door
  • Family of three £35, family of four £46, family of five £57 (at least one adult and one child under 16)
  • Essential companion: free
  • Ice equipment £5; gloves and socks £2.50

The term-time timetable on that page includes weekend public sessions from 10.30am to 12.30pm and from 2.30pm to 4.30pm, evening sessions from 7pm, and a Parent and Tots session. Holiday weeks have extra sessions: half term at the centre runs to Sunday 1 November, with Halloween discos on the Friday and Saturday nights (October half term at the National Ice Centre). Our Halloween page has more for that weekend.

Christmas 2026 at the National Ice Centre

The centre’s Christmas 2026 page says “schedule coming soon” and lists, without dates yet:

  • Festive public skating sessions
  • A Santa’s grotto: meet Father Christmas and receive a gift
  • Intensive skating lessons: an hour of coaching a day for three days, skate hire included, plus a free public session each day
  • Parent and Tots sessions, where adults skate for £5 and children aged 5 and under go free
  • Holiday Club for ages 7 to 13, £35 a day, 8.30am to 5.30pm, already bookable
  • A Christmas lights switch-on at the rink
  • Skate with the Panthers, a festive session on the ice with the ice hockey team

None of these has a date yet. We will add them when the centre publishes its schedule.

If you are after a grotto closer to home, our Santa’s grotto page has the Ruddington dates.

Getting there from West Bridgford

Both rinks are in Nottingham city centre, north of the Trent. The National Ice Centre says the Lace Market tram stop on Fletcher Gate is three minutes’ walk away and the bus stations at Broadmarsh and Victoria are about ten minutes. Old Market Square has its own tram stop.

If you drive, Winter Wonderland names Lace Market car park (NG1 1QE), Trinity Square (NG1 4AF) and Broad Marsh (NG1 7EJ) as the nearest public car parks, and Transport Nottingham warned last winter that Lace Market and Trinity Square “fill up quickly as we approach Christmas”. Before an evening trip, check our roadworks and travel page and Lady Bay Bridge matchday closures. Tram staff have also called strike days running up to Christmas.

For parking back in town, see parking in West Bridgford.

Is there an ice rink in West Bridgford this year?

No. No organiser in West Bridgford or the Rushcliffe villages has announced a rink, real or synthetic, for 2026, and Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Christmas page lists none for the Christmas Countdown. If one is announced, we will add it here.

Sources

All pages read on 20 October 2026.