Kids in London - Ice Skating at Kew Gardens

How to celebrate a winter birthday? One answer is a skating party.

I took six nine and ten year old girls - along with three adults who are skilled skaters - along to the skating rink at Kew Gardens.

They advise you to arrive early and I suggest you allow even more time than they suggest to appreciate the stunning lights and really Christmassy winter forest feel as you walk from Victoria Gate to the ice rink area. The blue lights cast a glacial hue to the trees and plants on the surrounding paths and it really is like being in a snowy wonderland.

The rink is located in the drained pond area in front of the large palm house (Temperate House?) which is lit with stunning green and purple colours providing an awesome backdrop to the proceedings.

You enter the building and trade your shoes for bright orange ice skates. There are also free wrist protectors which I thoroughly advise for those who are likely to be falling over a lot (and for this reason I also suggest you take along a change of clothes - or six). There are lockers but you have to pay for them which is a bit of a bind as you are not allowed to take bags or cameras onto the ice. And even though they have professional photographers there be warned that they charge £8.50 to £10 per photo.

So, once everyone has skates and protection and is ready your one hour session starts and people flood out onto the ice. With many clinging for dear life to the side rail - myself included. Meanwhile, small children who have never been on the ice before seem to have an inbuilt ability to just skate off into the distance - mostly gracefully but with the occasional collision or trip over caused by a bit of youthful over confidence.

Anyway. Two of my six had never skated before and although a little wet and a bit bumped had a thoroughly fantastic time and were zooming around by the end of the session and claiming to never want to leave the ice!

The stewards (wearing red jackets) are very vigilent and politely deal with any rule breakers (although it was an amazingly good natured crowd - and it was 830 on a Saturday evening)- and seem to be there whenever anyone falls over or shows any difficulty. They really are to be commended for being so polite and professional.

After an hour of skating you enter a separate part of the building to get your shoes back and linger over a hot chocolate or a mulled wine in the spacious cafe - watching the next batch of skaters do their thing.

It wasn't an expensive evening (less than the cost of cinema tickets) although you do have to book in advance. The loos are a bit of a trek - so make sure you leave plenty of time. Mind you, the walk to the loos is along more beautifully lit pathways so this added to the adventure for my small troupe.

Anyway. This was a great way to spend an evening. Really fun. Lots of laughs. Great for those who are expert skaters helping those with no prior experience. And it really helps put you in the winter/Christmas/holiday frame of mind. I recommend you get to one of London's many winter ice rinks...


:) :hyper: :) :thumbsup: