We checked 8 ice rinks near Andover, from Planet Ice's £10 Christmas Day skate to Skate the Estate, for dates and prices. Updated November 2026.

Andover has no ice rink of its own in 2026, so this guide lists 8 rinks within about 65 minutes’ drive, with dates, prices and rules. Planet Ice Basingstoke is the nearest and opens on Christmas Day, ONICE Westquay in Southampton is already open and Skate the Estate includes skate hire. Entries were checked against each rink’s own site or booking system on 5 November 2026, unless stated.

We found no rink in the Andover Christmas Festival programme and none announced for Romsey or Stockbridge. We have not skated at any of these for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Christmas rinks can price by day and time, so the checkout figure may differ. Distances and drive times are approximate, from Andover town centre, and allow for no traffic.

This weekend: the M3 is shut both ways between junctions 8 and 9 from 9pm on Friday 6 to 6am on Monday 9 November, and buses replace trains through Basingstoke on 7 and 8 November. Our roadworks and travel page has the detail.

Within 45 minutes or so

1. Planet Ice Basingstoke

An indoor rink on the Basingstoke Leisure Park, about 22 miles and 30 minutes away, and home to the Basingstoke Bison ice hockey club. A normal Saturday has sessions from 11am to 1pm and from 1.30pm to 4pm, but the calendar shows no public skating on Saturday 7 November, and Bison home games move the times.

You can arrive at any point in a session and stay until it ends, Planet Ice’s FAQ says, so an earlier start gives you longer on the ice.

The FAQ says there is no minimum age and recommends gloves, and the booking system says under 4s need an adult on the ice. Basingstoke Online read stricter rules for under-8s and under-12s on 20 October, which we could not confirm, so check before you go with young children.

Open all year; Christmas Eve 10am to 3pm and 3.30pm to 8pm; Christmas Day 10am to 12pm; Boxing Day 10am to 3pm; New Year's Eve 10am to 5.15pm; New Year's Day 10am to 6.30pm
Price adult or child £11.75 on term-time weekdays, £15.40 at weekends and over Christmas; family of three to five £10.70 or £14.70 a person; student (16+) £10; under 4s £3.20; Christmas Day £10; skate hire extra; 4% online booking fee
Booking online through Planet Ice
Address Planet Ice Arena, Leisure Park, Basingstoke, RG22 6PG
Parking free at the Leisure Park (Love Basingstoke)
Website planet-ice.co.uk/ice-skating
Good for indoor, open Christmas Day, Skate & Spot Santa

2. ONICE Westquay, Southampton

An outdoor Christmas rink inside Southampton’s medieval town walls, next to the Westquay shopping centre, about 27 miles and 47 minutes away. It opened on 23 October.

Sessions last 45 minutes and start on the hour, followed by a 15-minute break to resurface the ice, and ONICE asks you to arrive 20 minutes early. The minimum age is 3.

Bringing your own skates does not change the price, but the page does not say in terms that hire is included. Tickets cannot be refunded, but can be moved if you ask at least 7 days ahead.

ONICE lists 22 November to 4 January as its festive season and gives school holidays as 10am to 9pm. It does not say whether term-time weekdays in that stretch open before 3pm, so check before planning a weekday daytime skate.

Open to 3 January 2027; Mon to Fri 3pm to 9pm; Sat and Sun 10am to 9pm; school holidays 10am to 9pm; 24 December 10am to 6pm; closed Christmas Day; 26 December 12pm to 7pm; 31 December 10am to 7pm; 1 January 12pm to 7pm
Price adult (13+) £15; child (12 and under) £13; student £13 with ID at the box office; family of four £50; skate aid £5
Booking online recommended; on the day if places remain
Call 023 8168 0033
Address ONICE Westquay, Southampton, SO15 1FQ
Parking at Westquay shopping centre
Website onice.co.uk/locations/westquay
Good for near Southampton Central station, helmets for hire, skate aids

3. Skate the Estate, Yattendon

A real-ice rink under a stretch tent at the Yattendon Festive Shop in West Berkshire, about 28 miles and 43 minutes away, from Friday 20 November to Sunday 3 January. The estate grows the Christmas trees the shop sells, and food and drink come from its Vicars Game butchers and Renegade Brewery.

Skate hire is included and gloves must be worn on the ice. Its FAQ, which still carries older dates, says under-10s must have an adult with them and that children aged 10 to 12 must be supervised by an adult, who can watch from the side.

Open 20 November 2026 to 3 January 2027; to 11 December Mon to Thu 2pm to 7pm, Fri and Sat 10am to 8pm, Sun 10am to 7pm; from 12 December Sun to Thu 10am to 7pm, Fri and Sat 10am to 8pm; 24 December 11am to 6pm; 26 December 10am to 6pm; closed Christmas Day
Price adult (16+) £18 earlybird to 19 November, £20 advance, £21 on the day; child (15 and under) £16, £18, £19; family of four £58, £66, £70; family of five £72, £82, £87; ticket fees apply
Booking online
Address Forestry Yard, Yattendon Estate, RG18 0XB
Parking free on site
Website skatetheestate.co.uk
Good for skate hire included, Christmas trees, skate aids, dogs welcome on the estate

Within an hour

4. Reading Winter Wonderland

A real-ice rink at a free-to-enter Christmas fair on Hills Meadow, Caversham, about 33 miles and 55 minutes away, opening on Saturday 7 November. The organiser says the skating surface has grown to 560 square metres, under a 900 square metre clear dome, with 30 new skate aids.

Its home page gives the wristband price below; we could not read the skating-only price at checkout, so those figures come from a blog. Fair hours and parking come from Reading Daily’s read this week, and session lengths and Christmas Day times from a booking calendar read on 20 October.

Open 7 November 2026 to 3 January 2027; fair Mon to Fri 3pm to 10pm, Sat and Sun 11am to 10pm, daily 11am to 10pm from 15 December; 45-minute sessions on the hour; Christmas Day sessions 12pm to 5pm (read 20 October)
Price £24 four-hour ride wristband plus £5 to add skating; skating only from £14.48 adult, £12.73 child, family from £48.28, plus booking fee (What the Redhead Said blog, not confirmed by the rink)
Booking online, or at the on-site box office if places remain
Call 07768 857857
Address Hills Meadow, George Street, Caversham, Reading, RG4 8DH
Parking pay and display on site
Website readingwinterwonderland.co.uk/ice-rink
Good for covered rink, fairground, open Christmas Day

An international-size indoor rink (26 by 56 metres) in West Swindon, run by Better, about 37 miles and 57 minutes away. Public sessions include skate hire, in sizes from child 5 to adult 15.

Weekend and school holiday sessions give you 60 minutes on the ice and term-time sessions 90 minutes, or two hours on Wednesdays. On the November weekends we read, entry times ran from 10.45am to 11.45am and from 3.30pm to 4.30pm; Wednesday 11 November had 10am to 12pm and 8.15pm to 9.45pm.

Under-8s must have a skating adult with them, trousers must be worn and the centre takes cards only. We found no Christmas timetable on its page on 5 November, and tickets go on sale 14 days ahead.

Open all year, public sessions as timetabled
Price adult (16+) £15.50; junior (under 16) £12.90; skate hire included; Disco Ice £16 adult, £13.40 junior; SEND session £4.70 including one carer; skate aid £4 for 30 minutes
Booking online up to 14 days ahead or in the Better app
Address Link Centre, Whitehill Way, Westlea, Swindon, SN5 7DL
Website better.org.uk/leisure-centre/swindon/the-link-centre/ice-skating
Good for indoor, all year, skate hire included, ice disco, SEND sessions, wheelchairs on the ice

Worth the longer drive

6. Portsmouth On Ice

A real-ice rink under a canopy in Guildhall Square, about 47 miles and 62 minutes away, from Saturday 21 November to Sunday 3 January. It opens from 9am most days, and non-skaters can watch from a covered area.

The minimum age is 3. Children aged 3 to 7 must have a skating adult with them, and the rink recommends an adult, who need not skate, for ages 7 to 11.

SEND sessions include 5, 13 and 19 December from 9am.

Open 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, from 9am; closed Christmas Day
Price adult £15.50 off peak, £17 peak; child (5 to 15) £13.50, £15; adult with a pre-schooler £16, £17.50; concession £14, £15.50; family of four £48, £52; skate aid £6, £6.50
Booking online, at the box office or on 0845 299 7991
Address Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, PO1 2AB
Website portsmouthiceskating.uk/day-tickets-book-now
Good for DJ nights, SEND sessions, wheelchair users

7. SKATE Bournemouth

An outdoor rink under canopies in Bournemouth’s Lower Gardens, about 47 miles and 65 minutes away, from Thursday 12 November to Sunday 3 January. It describes itself as the longest in the UK at 70m.

There are nine one-hour sessions a day, and you are asked to arrive at least 30 minutes early to collect skates. Its FAQ suggests about 2 as the youngest age to start, in adjustable bob-skates.

No Christmas Day hours were published on 5 November.

Open 12 November 2026 to 3 January 2027; sessions from 10.30am, last at 8.30pm to 9.30pm
Price adult (18+) £16.50; concession (13 to 17, student, senior) £15.50; child (under 12) £14; family of four £53.50; skate aid £5; £2 booking fee per transaction
Booking online; changes up to 24 hours ahead
Address Lower Gardens, Bournemouth, BH2 5AU
Website iceskatebournemouth.co.uk/tickets
Good for skates up to adult size 15, toddler time, student nights, lockers

8. Cool Coast, Bournemouth

An indoor rink at the Bournemouth International Centre, run by BH Live, about 47 miles and 65 minutes away, from Saturday 28 November to Sunday 21 February, so it is the one to choose for a January or February skate. Sessions last 60 minutes and run seven days a week.

Spectators get in free. The Bournemouth Post’s read on 20 October found that skate hire is in the price and that under 4s cannot go on the ice.

No Christmas Day hours were published on 5 November.

Open 28 November 2026 to 21 February 2027; seven days a week; sessions from 9am to 8.45pm, times vary
Price adult (12+) £14 off peak, £15 peak; child (4 to 11) £12.50, £13.50; student and senior £14; family of up to four £46, £47; five-session pass adult £56, child £50
Booking online; can be moved up to 24 hours ahead
Address BIC, Exeter Road, Bournemouth, BH2 5BH
Website coolcoasticerink.co.uk/pricing
Good for indoor, open into February, free for spectators

How we chose

These are real-ice rinks within about 65 minutes of Andover with published 2026 dates, or open all year. Dates, prices and rules come from each rink’s own website or booking system, except where an entry says otherwise. Planet Ice Gosport, about 44 miles away, is also open and has the same £10 Christmas Day session, with Oxford Ice Rink about 47 miles north; both are on the lists at our sister titles The Winchester Post and The Oxford Post. The Winchester Post found no rink in the cathedral’s or the BID’s Christmas programmes this year. Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@andovernews.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@andovernews.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.

More for Christmas in Andover

Frequently asked questions

Is there an ice rink in Andover?

No. Andover has no permanent rink, and we found none announced for Andover, Romsey or Stockbridge for Christmas 2026. The nearest is Planet Ice in Basingstoke, about 22 miles and 30 minutes by road.

Which ice rinks near Andover are open on Christmas Day?

Planet Ice Basingstoke has one session from 10am to 12pm at £10 a skater, under 4s £3.20. Reading Winter Wonderland’s booking calendar, read on 20 October, listed sessions from 12pm to 5pm. ONICE Westquay, Skate the Estate and Portsmouth On Ice are closed. SKATE Bournemouth and Cool Coast had published no Christmas Day hours on 5 November.

Which rinks near Andover include skate hire?

Skate the Estate, the Link Centre in Swindon, Portsmouth On Ice and Cool Coast all say hire is in the price. Planet Ice charges extra. ONICE Westquay and SKATE Bournemouth do not say in terms, so check when you book.