We checked 8 ice rinks near Rugby, from Whilton Locks and Coventry to Warwick Castle, for 2026 dates, prices and age rules. Updated November 2026.

Eight ice rinks are within reach of Rugby in 2026, and this guide puts them in one place with dates, prices and age rules. Most people land on Whilton Locks, the nearest, Planet Ice Coventry for a skate any week of the year, or Warwick Castle for the setting. Every entry was checked against the rink’s own site or ticket page on 5 November 2026.

We have not skated at any of these for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Distances are approximate and in a straight line from Rugby 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 Rugby this year?

Not that anyone has announced. Our Christmas markets page covers the town centre market on 28 November and the Benn Hall fair, and neither lists skating. The last Rugby rink we can find was a free synthetic one in Caldecott Park. It was part of the council’s Rugby Wintertime programme in December 2021. If one is announced for this winter, we will add it here.

The closest rinks: about 10 and 11 miles

1. Whilton Locks Winter Wonderland

About 10 miles away, at a family-run garden centre just off the A5 near Daventry. The garden village describes the rink as real ice, open air and fully undercover, so dress for the weather.

Sessions start on the hour and last 45 minutes, and you should arrive 15 minutes early. Everyone needs socks, and gloves are strongly recommended.

Under-8s must have a paying adult on the ice, up to four children to one adult. Older children need an adult in the spectator area.

The price depends on the date. Adults pay £7.45 and children £6.95 from 16 to 20 November.

The £11.20 and £10.45 rate applies on 14 and 15 November, 21 to 27 November, 30 November to 4 December, 7 to 10 December and 14 to 17 December. Every other date is £14.95 and £13.95.

A Pudsey Party skate costs £7 on Children in Need day and the Saturday, with all proceeds going to the charity.

Wheelchairs and pushchairs are not allowed in normal sessions. The Super SEND sessions (children £13.95, one carer free, proof required) allow wheelchairs, and the Toddler Skate (adults £14.95, under-5s free) allows pushchairs.

Open 14 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 on the booking calendar; not bookable on 25 and 26 December; sessions on the hour, 45 minutes each
Price adults £7.45 to £14.95; children (14 and under) £6.95 to £13.95; push-along skate aids £5; sit-on banana £10; no booking fee
Booking online recommended
Parking free
Address Whilton Locks, Whilton, Daventry, NN11 2NH
Website whiltonlocksgardenvillage.com/product/ice-skating-at-whilton-locks
Good for skate hire included, free parking, undercover rink, rinkside cafe, SEND sessions, toddler sessions

2. Planet Ice Coventry, Croft Road

About 11 miles away. This is 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.

Open all year; Saturday 7 November 11.30am to 1.30pm and 2pm to 4pm; Wednesday 11 November 1pm to 4pm; Saturday 12 December from 11.30am to 4.30pm in three sessions; Christmas Day 10am to 12pm
Price adult or child £15.40 on those Saturdays, £11.75 on Wednesday 11 November; families of three to five £14.70 each on Saturdays, £10.70 each on 11 November; under-4s £3.20; Christmas Day £10; Inclusive Skate £10 with an Access Card, skate hire free; skate hire otherwise extra
Booking online through the Planet Ice calendar
Address Planet Ice Arena, Croft Road, Coventry, CV1 3AZ
Website planet-ice.co.uk/ice-skating
Good for all year round, Christmas Day skating, inclusive sessions, Skate and Spot Santa sessions

Castle and city rinks: 15 to 20 miles

3. Warwick Castle open-air rink

About 15 miles away. 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.

A skate-only ticket covers the rink and the food stalls beside it. A daytime ticket adds the castle from 10am to 4pm.

The page gives two arrival times, 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.

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, CV34 6AH
Website warwick-castle.com/explore/events/christmas-at-the-castle/ice-skating
Good for castle setting, skate hire included, handrail around the rink, free spectators with a skater

4. Ice Skate Leicester, Jubilee Square

About 19 miles away. The operator describes a real-ice rink in the city centre, and its ticket page calls it undercover, with festive food and drink alongside.

It quotes a range of £8 to £46 with skate hire included, without saying what each price buys. Sessions listed last 45 minutes.

Check before you plan around a particular day. On 5 November the only date showing on its ticket page was Thursday 17 December, and all 12 sessions that day were marked cancelled.

Neither of the rink’s own websites would give us any details that day.

Open 4 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed Christmas Day; 10am to 10pm daily
Price tickets £8 to £46, skate hire included
Booking online through TicketSource; advance booking recommended
Address Jubilee Square, St Nicolas Place, Leicester, LE1 4LD
Website ticketsource.com/iceskateleicester/ice-skate-leicester/e-djyozq
Good for city centre trip, skate hire included, undercover rink

5. Winter Funland at the NEC

About 20 miles away, 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. 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, sensory-friendly sessions

Further out: 22 to 28 miles

6. Planet Ice Solihull, Hobs Moat Road

About 22 miles away. This is the same operator on the same booking system as Coventry, with the same rules on gloves and adults on the ice.

Skate hire is again extra. Its Christmas Day session runs an hour longer than Coventry’s.

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 Saturday 7 November, £11.75 on Tuesday 10 November; under-4s £3.20; Christmas Day £10; skate hire extra
Booking online through the Planet Ice calendar
Address Hobs Moat Road, Solihull, B92 8JN
Website planet-ice.co.uk/ice-skating
Good for all year round, Christmas Day skating, weekday sessions

7. Ice Trak at Silverstone

About 23 miles away. Silverstone describes a rink inside the Formula One garages, turned into a “North Pole training rink”.

You can book it alone, or with Lap of Lights or Santa’s Garage, and a Family Bundle of all three saves 10%. Sessions last 45 minutes, and you should arrive 30 minutes before.

Last session times vary by day. Ages 3 to 12 need an adult on the ice, and ages 13 to 15 need an adult watching.

Silverstone gives a minimum skating age of 3.

Open 11 to 31 December 2026, closed Christmas Day; 45-minute sessions
Price from £8.50
Booking online; on-the-day places are limited and not guaranteed
Address Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, NN12 8TN
Website silverstone.co.uk/events/christmas-at-silverstone
Good for Formula One garages, wheelchairs welcome with advance notice, Lap of Lights trip, skate aids

8. Ice Skate Birmingham, Centenary Square

About 28 miles away. The city’s Christmas rink is back in Centenary Square, by the Big Wheel.

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, so check the time on your ticket.

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 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

Also within reach

  • Stoneleigh Winter Fair: the fair at NAEC Stoneleigh, about 11 miles away, has a skate rink on Saturday 28 November (9am to 5pm) and Sunday 29 November (9am to 4pm). The organisers call it synthetic, and it costs extra on top of a fair ticket, so we have left it out of our count of eight.
  • SnowDome, Tamworth: about 25 miles away and open all year. Its open skate is from £13 for two hours, and its festive skate is from £17 for an hour.

Which one to pick

  • The shortest trip, with skate hire and parking included: Whilton Locks.
  • A skate any week of the year: Planet Ice Coventry or Solihull.
  • Christmas Day on the ice: Planet Ice Coventry or Solihull.
  • A castle behind you: Warwick Castle.
  • A Christmas outing with the market and Big Wheel: Centenary Square.
  • Children who want rides as well as skating: Winter Funland at the NEC.

Getting there from Rugby

London Northwestern trains from Rugby serve Coventry and Birmingham International, which is the station for the NEC. Birmingham New Street is closed to all trains from 24 to 28 December, and no trains run on Christmas Day. Our Christmas trains page has the details. Before you drive, check roadworks and travel for closures.

Staying in town instead? See the Christmas lights switch-on, the Christmas markets, Santa’s grottos, the pantomime, Luminate at Coombe Abbey, what’s on this month and things to do in Rugby.

How we chose

This page lists the real-ice rinks we could find within about 28 miles of Rugby with 2026 dates or bookable prices on the operator’s own site or ticket page. We did not choose by taste. Prices come from each operator’s published 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@rugbytownnews.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@rugbytownnews.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an ice rink in Rugby this Christmas?

We found none announced in Rugby for Christmas 2026. The nearest real ice is at Whilton Locks Garden Village, about 10 miles away, followed by Planet Ice Coventry at about 11 miles. Rugby’s last rink we can find was a free synthetic one in Caldecott Park in December 2021.

What is the cheapest ice skating near Rugby?

Whilton Locks is cheapest from 16 to 20 November: adults £7.45 and children £6.95, with skate hire and parking included. Warwick Castle’s skate-only tickets start from £8, Ice Skate Leicester’s from £8 and Silverstone’s Ice Trak from £8.50.

Which ice rink near Rugby is open on Christmas Day?

Planet Ice Coventry has a £10 Christmas Day skate from 10am to 12pm, and Planet Ice Solihull has one from 10am to 1pm. Skate hire is extra at both. Whilton Locks, Ice Skate Leicester, Ice Skate Birmingham, Winter Funland and Silverstone are closed that day, and no trains run.