Review: Ice Skating at Brighton Pavilion

It’s become something of an annual tradition to visit a festive ice rink in the run up to Christmas. This year we went to Brighton to skate in the shadow of the beautiful Royal Pavilion Palace.

The ticketing area is clearly signposted as we enter into a warm, indoor reception area. During our visit on a Thursday morning in the week running up to Christmas we only had one person in front of us in the queue to collect our tickets. We found the staff well informed and friendly throughout our visit. We were given wristbands and directed to the boot collection area.

Once again at the boot collection we were served quickly and given our skates which were fitted with an easy tightening system making them comfortable and secure. Our 2 years old was given skates with a set of two blades that fitted over his shoes. These were easy to put on but he found the top strap rubbed a bit on his upper foot.

All kitted up we were ready to hit the ice. Sadly we had to split up as a family as our toddler needed to be on the nursery skate area with a skate aid, whilst Daisy (8) was eager to explore the main skate rink. We later tried to skate together as a family on the main rink but Logan really needed the support of a skate aid which weren’t allowed in the main rink so we only managed one lap together.

The main rink is set in an absolutely stunning location. The Pavilion makes the perfect backdrop for festive photos and allows for a truly magical experience. The rink is also much bigger than venues we’ve visited before so there was plenty of space to wobble without fear of crashing into other unsuspecting members of the public!

Daisy loved the whole skating experience claiming a number of times that this was the best day of 2017. Logan’s skate was brief with him only managing around 15 minutes on the ice before heading to the warmth of the cafe with Daddy partly due to the fact the nursery area was quite small. Fortunately the cafe has plenty of seating, including some really snug sofas and offers a wide range of drinks and snacks.

Skating at Brighton Pavilion is a really special, festive experience. If you’re skating with tiny people make sure there are enough adults in your party to accommodate splitting into two groups. I think a visit to this ice rink is particularly well suited to primary aged children and above. We were particularly impressed by the level of organisation and the professionalism of all staff….and nothing beats the backdrop of the palace!!