Ice Skating in Edinburgh: Where to Skate (2026)

If you want to ice skate in Edinburgh outside of Christmas, this is the only real option, and it's a good one. Murrayfield Ice Arena has been running since 1952, and the building itself is worth a second look: it's Category B listed for its Art Deco design, one of the few purpose-built ice rink buildings still standing anywhere in the UK. It's home to the Edinburgh Capitals ice hockey club and a handful of figure-skating clubs, and there's a seven-sheet curling rink from the 1970s tucked into the same building if skating isn't quite your thing and you fancy trying curling instead (public taster sessions for that aren't a standing, bookable offer, so treat it as a bonus fact rather than a plan).

Admission for public skating is £12 for anyone five and up, under-5s go free, and skate hire is £4 on top if you don't own a pair. The catch is the schedule: this isn't a rink you turn up to on a Tuesday afternoon expecting it to be open. Public 'General Skate' sessions run a handful of times a week, the exact slots shift with school terms, and one week in late August 2026 had a single Monday afternoon session plus three on Sunday. Book online through Fanbase Club and check the live calendar before you set off, not the week before.

This is the rink almost everyone pictures when they think of ice skating in Edinburgh, and it's the one people most often get the location wrong for. It sits on George Street, between Castle Street and Charlotte Square, as part of Edinburgh's Christmas, not St Andrew Square, which is where it used to be until 2018 and where a surprising number of older guides still send you. It's a covered alpine rink with on-ice bars, so you can skate up for a mulled wine or hot chocolate without stepping off the ice, and the roof means a rainy Edinburgh evening won't cancel your slot.

Sessions run 40 minutes and last season cost from £15, rising at peak times, with a 20% discount if you live in an EH postcode. The season itself ran 20 November 2025 to 4 January 2026, open 10am to 10pm most days (shorter on Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day, a later start on Boxing Day). This coming winter's exact dates hadn't gone up on the official site when I checked in late August 2026, but Edinburgh's Christmas reliably opens mid-to-late November, so plan around that window and confirm before you commit to travel. The honest drawback is cost and crowds: it's the most expensive rink on this list, and weekend evenings queue up fast once the Christmas markets are in full swing around it.

If you'd rather the ice rink be the whole point of the trip instead of one stop among market stalls, this is the better pick. WinterFest sets an outdoor rink beside the Orangerie at Dalkeith Country Park, about 20 minutes southeast of the city centre by car, using synthetic 'Glice' ice rather than a refrigeration plant. Sessions run on the hour and last 45 minutes, with themed music nights on Fridays and Saturdays, and Restoration Yard's food and drink is right there for afterwards.

Last season's prices were £12 for adults, £11 for students, and £10 for children, dropping by £1 across the board for the final few days of the run (2-4 January), with a further £1 off per ticket for booking two or more days ahead. There's a £3 parking charge on top. The honest caveat: Dalkeith is technically in Midlothian, not Edinburgh itself, so it's a deliberate trip rather than a stop you stumble into. Even so, the Orangerie lit up behind the ice is a genuinely nicer backdrop than a city-centre street rink, and it's a good pick if you're combining it with a country-park walk.

I'm including this one with more caveats than the others, because that's the honest state of it. The Gyle Shopping Centre in west Edinburgh, near the Edinburgh Park tram stop, has run a Winter Wonderland event with an ice rink alongside Santa's Grotto, face painting and craft workshops in past seasons, confirmed by local press coverage rather than a big marketing push. What it doesn't have, as of late August 2026, is a confirmed return for this coming winter on the shopping centre's own site or events page.

A local family-events blog put last season's pricing at roughly £14 for adults and £10 for children for a 45-minute session, but that figure isn't confirmed by the Gyle itself, so treat it as a rough guide rather than something to book against. If it does come back, it's the most convenient rink for anyone already west of the city centre or near the tram line. If you're planning specifically around it, check gyleshopping.com or the centre's social channels closer to Christmas before you build a trip around it.