After the Christmas Extravaganza Day, the next step in my Christmas in London list was to go ice-skating. The most popular place to go skating in London seems to be Somerset House, but with that booked out well in advance, we chose to skate the beautiful rink at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington.
Now I’m not going to lie… I hadn’t skated in approximately 15 years, and was at a massive disadvantage compared to the South Islanders I was skating with, all of whom rediscovered their skills within seconds of hitting the ice. I started by clinging to the sides in the beginners’ (aka children’s) rink, but with the help of my patient friends, graduated to skating an entire lap by the end of our 50 minutes. Result!
Starting small… a good half-metre away from the side
The rink is 1000sqm and it didn’t feel crowded at all while we were there – except when the super-speed skaters rocketed past newbie me! We could skate for up to 50 minutes, and I was very ready to get to the chalet bar by the end… a restorative mulled wine was in order for all. I was surprised how warm I got on the ice, it was quite the workout!
Comparatively confident by the end!
The cosy Chalet Bar
The carousel and the Moon
Our skating crew
Bits & Pieces
Ice Skating at the Natural History Museum is on until 5 January 2014
Tickets cost £13.50 for peak-time adult sessions, £9 for under-13s
Book tickets here
