Tower of London Ice Rink

Worst ice rink I‘ve visited in years. As mentioned everywhere they are not sweeping away the water and its more of a lake than ice rink. But the real bad surprise came when we were told that we are not allowed to take pictures. We have an annual tradition to go ice skating around Christmas and do one picture each year that we collect in a special album. Well, not this time, unless you pay £8 for an official photo from the photographers there. Staff, who was extremely rude, justified that with safety as if someone knocks me down while taking a picture, my mobile will break its glass and they will have to close the ice rink because of that. Well my question is then what happens if someone bumps into the photographer and his lenses break, and also what about the people skating with their glassed on. Clearly a racket to sell their own photos rather than any safety whatsoever. If they care about safety they will not let the rink melt with an inch of water on top. As I mentioned to staff I will probably not be visiting them again, they replied «That is OK». Well yep, I wont. Somerset house ice rink staff not only were happy for pics to be taken but were kind enough to offer that they take the pics of us with our mobile. Will be sticking to that one in future. Anyone who thinks of going to tower of London — AVOID AT ANY COST. Worst spent money so far this year.

OMG! Was this FUN! I’m visiting for a week or so and got a chance to go skating! My friend is the big skater, and our feet are the same size, so I borrowed a pair from her. I know how to skate pretty well already, but skates are not normally something I travel with. We had speed skates, so zipping around was fun and just when we went there weren’t a ton of people as there were later. I didn’t see if skate rentals were available, but I didn’t need to as I was trying to take in all the glory of skating in England! A grand time was had by all!

Although I am not very good at ice-​skating every time I feel like putting the skates on I go to the Tower of London. The ice is really well maintained and the whole rental procedure is really simplified and well organised. It tends to get a little overcrowded but that can’t really take away the joy of this wonderful experience. I bring my friends with me all the time and they all agree that this is probably the best ice-​skating facility when it comes to having fun,

Stunning views and a fun way to spend an evening with friends.
We went on warm November evening after it had rained for much of the afternoon so the ice was wetter than was ideal. Even with that, it was still super fun!
All around, a really good time!

The rink itself if 5 stars. A beautiful setting with the lights of More London over the river and the walls of the Tower to the side. This rink is large and there was plenty of space to skate.
The skates themselves are torture devices! I’m used to uncomfortable skates, or as used to them as I can be, but these were truly designed by the devil. The cost here is similar to that at Somerset house but I remember their skates being very comfy.
On arrival getting our skates was not a problem, on exit though the system collapsed. Some of the staff here seemed brain dead, randomly picking people from any position in the queue and returning their shoes and then ignoring those who had been waiting for 15 mins+. Only one guy seemed to be efficient, the girls were walking about like zombies.

This rink is beautiful. It’s usually a delight to skate under the moonlight with one of London’s most enduring landmarks in the background … even for incompetent novices like me :)
The rink is quite big. So this is a place where you can get a booking quite late (unlike at Somerset House) and you can have a lot of freedom in skating even when there are a lot of people present. However it’s an operational nightmare. They employ too few people. It took me 40 minutes to return my skates after a one hour session. Very inefficient.
The ice here seemed to be much faster and slippery to me when compared to the ice at Somerset house. So I think that although this is a better place to skate, it’s not great for beginners.
They also have all the winter facilities one would want for enjoying themselves after the skating session. A glass of mulled wine costs a reasonable £2.50. Minced pies and a variety of food and hot drinks are also available. Tourists can buy photographs or create souvenir pennies for themselves.
An hour long session is priced at £12.50, but there is a steep £3 booking fee per transaction. So if you are buying just the one ticket, the cost is inflated by about 25%.
I strongly recommend the experience, but I suggest sacrificing the last ten minutes of the session in order to beat the exit queue.

Skating so fast on this ice really gives your head a spin… a perfect and fitting treat as who doesn’t love ice skating in front of an old building where people of yonder years literally lost their heads???
Now a days the only blades are on your feet to enjoy this great smallish outdoor ice to skate on, they never fill it up completely so there is some room to skate even during a busy session and you can finish it all up with a hot cup of mulled wine, not a single complaint from me on that!
Bonus you can store your bag there for £1 so that you can skate free as a bird (or like a child who is just learning to walk, up to your skating style). Come on get your skate on!

Combine one of the most iconic images of London with skating on the ice with friends and family, it doesn’t get much better than this as a cool thing to do in London.
The Tower as a back drop sets the scene as you whizz, or in my case stumble around the ice to the sound of a brass band playing Christmas favourites. Hot chocolate is available, as are warm mince pies all adding to starting Christmas off with a bang.
There were people of all ages and talents so no need to be a pro, and if you fall on your bum, like I did, then the ice marshall’s will come to your rescue and help you up, with some added tips to improving your skating technique.
All in all, a fantastic experience that leaves you wanting more, once the bruises heal that is.

How could I NOT be enamored with the idea of skating at the Tower of London! I went with my boyfriend and it was one of the best things we did on our whole backpacking trip around Europe! It was so much fun — there were tons of people just having fun at their own pace with friends and family. There weren’t TOO many people so there was enough room to let loose. I hadn’t ice skated in years but I didn’t feel like too much like the experienced skaters would kill me (except once… but the guy fell 2 seconds later… poetic justice!). It was a tad pricey but it was totally worth it.
Afterwards we had some snacks there which were VERY fairly priced. The hot chocolate was AMAZING — it was made with magic and fairy dust or something cuz it made me feel all warm and yummy inside.
The whole thing in general was just much fun and has been one of my favorite stories to tell about my trip.

Nice ideabut rip off prices, you cant see the dramatic backdrop of the Tower from the location (you can only really see City Hall) and worst of all its overcrowded and almost dangerous.
I didnt fall over but a few times had other people stop right in front of me — yes it was Saturday evening so it was bound to be busy but it seems like the people that run it only care about making as much as possible and have no concern for safety at alleveryone has to skate in the same direction and your stuck going round and round and trying to avoid everyone else
If you must go take your own drinks (they are cinema style expensive) and go early in the morning!

We went with the office for the christmas party, and I had a great timeit was at about 4:30 last friday, and it wasnt too busy, but not so empty that you felt selfconcious! Its not too big which I actually liked, as I hadnt skated for years and years, so I was a bit nervous, but with it being cosy it didnt look too scary! (this was also helped massively by a man who kept falling over very loudly and exuberantly about every 3 mins, so I felt that at least I wasn’t THAT bad!)
Definately wortth doing for a christmas treat!

Last winter several friends and I went ice skating at the Tower of London. The good points: It was fun, skate rental was easy, nothing from our bags were stolen. The downsides: You have to buy a ticket for a specific two hour slot, the ice is tiny and crowded, you can’t take cameras on the ice and there aren’t any lockers to put your stuff.
Still, its worth it, you can’t beat the view! I think the ice size and crowdedness was only disappointing to me, since I figure skated for years and was hoping for enough free ice to see if I could still spin without falling over. But for more novice skaters I think the ice room is fine, and its certainly a fun family outing that is more exciting than your average skating rink. The only concern would be if its incredibly cold– the wind can pick up so bring a hat and gloves!