No ice rink is listed on the Wirral this Christmas. Pier Head's covered rink opens 20 Nov: £12.50 child, £52 family off-peak to 11 Dec. St George's from £10.
There is no ice rink listed anywhere on the Wirral for Christmas 2026. The nearest are across the river: a covered rink at Liverpool’s Pier Head from Friday 20 November, skating from £12.50 a child and £15.50 an adult, and an outdoor rink at St George’s Hall from Saturday 21 November, from £10 plus a booking fee. Both run to Sunday 3 January and close on Christmas Day. For skating before then, or without the Christmas prices, Deeside Ice Arena in Flintshire has public sessions every day of the week. Every detail below was checked on the operators’ own sites on 20 October.
Updated 28 October: Pier Head has published its full price list. Off-peak runs to 11 December, every session from 14 December is peak at £17 an adult and £14 a child, and a family of four is £52 off-peak. A booking fee is added at checkout on top of these prices.
The quick answer
- On the Wirral: nothing. The last rink was Yay Wirral’s “Christmas at the Park” in Vale Park, New Brighton, in 2023, and its box office has no Christmas events for 2026.
- Covered, so it runs in the rain: Liverpool Christmas Wonderland, Pier Head, 20 November to 3 January, 11am to 9pm, skate hire included. Five minutes from James Street.
- Outdoor, beside the Christmas market: Skate St George’s, 21 November to 3 January, first session 10.15am, last 9.15pm. Opposite Lime Street.
- All year round, and cheapest: Deeside Ice Arena, public skate £9.50 online plus £3 skate hire.
Liverpool Christmas Wonderland, Pier Head
Icebox Live, which ran the Pier Head Christmas event in previous years, has the waterfront again for 2026 under a new name, Liverpool Christmas Wonderland. Its rink is covered: “Whatever the weather does, your session goes ahead,” the operator says (Liverpool Christmas Wonderland).
- Dates: Friday 20 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, every day except Christmas Day.
- Times: open 11am to 9pm. Sessions start every hour from 11am, and the last skate is 8pm.
- Prices: from £12.50 a child and £15.50 an adult, with skate hire included. The operator now publishes the full table, and says the prices are face value, with a booking fee added at checkout (times and prices):
| Ticket | Off-peak | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| Adult (13+) | £15.50 | £17.00 |
| Child (3 to 12) | £12.50 | £14.00 |
| Student (ID needed) | £14.00 | not listed |
| Family, 2 adults and 2 children | £52.00 | £58.00 |
| Family, 1 adult and 3 children | £49.00 | £55.00 |
| Wheelchair user (carer free) | £12.50 | £14.00 |
Off-peak runs until Friday 11 December: every session Monday to Wednesday, and Thursday and Friday sessions starting 11am to 4pm. Peak is every Saturday and Sunday, Thursday and Friday sessions from 5pm, and every session from Monday 14 December. Groups of 10 or more pay less (off-peak £13.95 adult, £11.25 child). The operator says the quieter sessions are weekdays before 3pm. - Sessions last 45 minutes. Arrive at the skate exchange 30 minutes before your slot. One adult can supervise up to five children. Tickets are on sale now through Fixr. - Also on site: a Santa’s grotto (booked separately), the Ice Jet bobsleigh ride, an 85-metre Star Flyer swing, food stalls and a bar. - Getting there: James Street is the nearest station, about five minutes’ walk; Moorfields and Liverpool Central are about ten. There is no parking on site; the operator points drivers to Liverpool ONE and Q-Park Albert Dock, which are cheaper pre-booked (find us).
Skate St George’s
Skate St George’s is new this year: an outdoor rink run by Underbelly, the company behind Skate Leicester Square in London, on the plateau of St George’s Hall. Liverpool City Council awarded the St George’s and Pier Head sites to Underbelly and Icebox Live after a tender (Underbelly). The rink sits with the city’s Christmas market, a Big Wheel, a Christmas tree maze, a Santa train, a carousel and a rooftop bar.
- Dates: Saturday 21 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, every day except Christmas Day.
- Times: 10am to 10pm. The first skating session is at 10.15am and the last at 9.15pm. On Christmas Eve the site shuts at 6pm (last session 5.45pm); on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day it opens at 12pm, first session 12.15pm (Skate St George’s FAQs).
- Prices: “from £10.00”, plus a £3 transaction fee (tickets). Sessions last 45 minutes.
- Children aged 3 to 12 must be with a responsible adult. Skate aids are available for a small fee, first come first served. There are no lockers or cloakroom, only a boot room at your own risk (FAQs).
- Booking: you can buy on the day at the box office, card only, if there is space; book ahead for weekends. The Big Wheel and other rides are paid for at each ride.
- Getting there: St George’s Place, L1 1JJ, directly opposite Lime Street station.
Deeside Ice Arena
The nearest permanent rink to the Wirral is Deeside Ice Arena at Deeside Leisure Centre, Flintshire (CH5 1SA), run by Gwella. It reopened on 19 July after six weeks of work and a new ice surface (Deeside.com). Gwella’s price list from 1 April 2026 (Gwella):
| Ticket | Online | Walk in or phone |
|---|---|---|
| Public skate (skates not included) | £9.50 | £10.50 |
| Family (2 adults and 2 children, or 1 adult and 3 children) | £34.00 | £38.00 |
| Skate hire | £3.00 | £3.00 |
| Penguin skating aid | £6.00 | £6.00 |
The current weekly timetable on Gwella’s site (Gwella) has public skating at the weekend from 10am to 12pm on Saturday and Sunday, with a family disco from 2pm to 4pm both days, and Disco on Ice on Friday (7pm to 9pm) and Saturday (8pm to 10pm). Weekday public sessions run on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings from 10.30am, Wednesday from 3.15pm, and Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7pm. That is the standard term-time week; check the booking page for Christmas holiday changes before you go.
Which one from the Wirral
| Rink | Dates | From | Skates | Nearest station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pier Head, covered | 20 Nov to 3 Jan | £12.50 child, £15.50 adult | Included | James Street |
| Skate St George's, outdoor | 21 Nov to 3 Jan | £10 + £3 fee | Not stated | Lime Street |
| Deeside Ice Arena, indoor | All year | £9.50 online | £3 extra | By car |
- By train: Merseyrail’s Wirral line runs under the river to James Street, Moorfields, Lime Street and Central, so both Liverpool rinks are one train from most Wirral stations. Check the late-December timetable on our Christmas trains page: last Christmas the last trains on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve left at about 8.30pm, before the rinks’ last sessions.
- By car: both Liverpool rinks mean a tunnel toll and a city car park. Check Wirral roadworks and travel for tunnel closures, and parking in Wirral if you would rather park this side and take the train.
- For a skating party or lessons, Deeside is the only one of the three open after 3 January.
Is there anything on the Wirral itself?
We checked the Wirral’s own winter events. Winter Wonderland Wirral at Birkenhead Park, 9 to 13 December, has a light trail, an Alpine market and a grotto but no ice rink in its listing (our Winter Wonderland page). Yay Wirral, which put an outdoor rink in Vale Park in 2023, lists nothing between now and its SENsory Fest in February 2027 (Yay Wirral box office). If a Wirral rink is announced, we will add it here.
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