We love the fresh smell of outdoor ice rinks, rosy cheeks and falling into the arms of friends and loved ones. Yup, it’s time get your skates on
What could be more heart-warming this chilly season than being surrounded by twinkling Christmas lights and smiley faces atop woolly wrapped bodies, while hurtling precariously around an outdoor ice rink?
If you are as big a softy for this sort of magical Christmas scene as we are, then London is the place to be this winter. About four years ago an observant pal noticed Somerset House had set up an ice rink for the Christmas season. It seemed so novel and exciting, we all jostled for tickets that were booked up way in advance. As the years have trundled by, more and more people seem to have cottoned on to the fun of it and by all accounts 2006 is the year of the seasonal London ice rink, with a quick count amounting to no fewer than six rinks across the capital.
Skating in the grounds of the Shakespearean grandeur of Somerset House is still enchanting as ever and quite fitting given that in days gone by ice skating was limited mainly to members of the upper classes. Emperor Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire was said to enjoy ice skating so much he had a large ice carnival constructed in his court in 1610 which popularized the sport. When James II of England visited the Netherlands in exile, he fell for the sport and brought it back to England, introducing it to the British aristocracy.
There are plenty of paintings by the Old Masters depicting the sport’s grace and timeless fun but it’s funny to think that in centuries gone by the River Thames actually froze over completely – in our days of global warming it’s really odd to think the Thames is where people skated (including Queen Victoria who got to know her future husband, Prince Albert, better through a series of ice skating trips). In terms of romance there is probably no better place for a date this winter, skating offering plenty of excuses to fall into your partner’s arms and warm each other afterwards over a cup of something hot and mulled.
If you think skating might be more bothersome than fun, just give it a chance! Once you’re trussed up in a cozy hat, gloves and scarf ensemble, with Wham’s Last Christmas jingling and your skating feet propelling your forward, the hardest heart and greatest skating cynic couldn’t help but melt and find this a simply joyful winter treat.
For rink details see:
Somerset House
Kew Gardens
Natural History Museum
Hampton Court Palace
Book tickets for all London rinks with www.lastminute.com
