No rink in Chichester or Bognor this winter. Worthing opens 7 Nov, Portsmouth 21 Nov, Seal Bay 11 Dec: five rinks near Chichester with 2026 prices.

There is no ice rink in Chichester or Bognor Regis this winter, so the rinks people from the city are heading to are Portsmouth On Ice in Guildhall Square (21 November to 3 January), Worthing Ice Rink, which opens first on Saturday 7 November, and the late-opening rink at Seal Bay Resort in Selsey, the closest of all. Every entry checked against the rink’s own site on 3 November 2026.

We have not skated at any of these for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry gives the dates, the prices on the rink’s own website or booking page on 3 November, and the rules that catch families out: minimum ages, skate aids, booking fees and refunds. For the full story on why the city has no rink, and every Seal Bay session time, see our Chichester ice rink page.

The Christmas rinks

1. Seal Bay Resort, Selsey

The nearest rink to Chichester, about seven miles south of the city as the crow flies. The holiday park calls it “our real ice rink” on its booking page and says it is back in the White Horse Complex from 11 December to 1 January.

Day visitors can book as well as holiday home owners, who pay less. It is the only rink near Chichester open until 10pm every night.

Skating aids can be booked on the day, and groups of ten or more get 20% off. Bookings can be cancelled for a full refund up to 24 hours before the session; after that, or for a no-show, there is no refund.

The resort does not say whether skate hire is in the ticket price or whether the rink opens on Christmas Day.

Open 11 December 2026 to 1 January 2027; midweek 5pm to 10pm, weekends and school holidays 12pm to 10pm
Price visitors: adult (14+) £12, under 14 £8, under 5 £5; holiday home owners £9, £6 and £3.50; skating aid £5
Booking online through the resort's booking page or app; groups of 10+ by email to sealbay.activities@cove.co.uk
Call 01243 606080
Address White Horse Complex, Seal Bay Resort, Warners Lane, Selsey, PO20 9EL
Website app.cove.co.uk/sealbayresort/tickets/ice-skating-2026
Good for nearest to Chichester, late sessions, free cancellation up to 24 hours before, group discount

2. Portsmouth On Ice, Guildhall Square

A seasonal rink under a canopy in Guildhall Square, beside Portsmouth Guildhall and a short walk from Portsmouth and Southsea station, which has direct trains from Chichester. The organisers say on their ticket page that it runs from 9am on Saturday 21 November to Sunday 3 January, with hour-long sessions, and that “we’ve held our prices at last year’s“.

The 9am session every day is a quiet skate capped at about 40 people. There are family sessions at 11am every weekday, dedicated SEND sessions with the music turned down, and DJ nights on 28 November, 5 December and 2 January.

Children must be at least three, and 3 to 7 year olds need an adult in skates on the ice with them. Watching is free.

Tickets are non-refundable, though the rink may move a booking if you email at least 48 hours ahead.

Open 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed Christmas Day; from 9am daily; last session 8pm Sunday to Wednesday, 9.15pm Thursday to Saturday
Price child (5 to 15) £13.50 off peak, £15 peak; adult (16+) £15.50, £17; adult with under-5 £16, £17.50; concession £14, £15.50; family of four £48, £52; skate aid £6, £6.50
Booking online, at the box office or on 0845 299 7991; tickets non-refundable
Call 0845 299 7991
Address Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, PO1 2AB
Website portsmouthiceskating.uk
Good for covered rink, quiet early skates, SEND sessions, wheelchair users with a carer who skates free, free to watch, near the station

3. Worthing Ice Rink, Steyne Gardens

A covered rink on Steyne Gardens, just off Worthing seafront; Worthing is on the direct coast line from Chichester. Its website says it is open from Saturday 7 November 2026 to 21 February 2027, the longest season near Chichester and the only one still running after the Christmas holidays.

Sessions are an hour. Skaters must be over four, and penguin skate aids are for children under 120cm.

The rink’s Café Ice serves hot drinks, crepes, hot dogs and chips. Online prices are a little higher than the door prices, and the rink lists both. “Festive peak” pricing applies from 19 to 24 December.

Wheelchair users are welcome on any session and carers skate free without booking. The rink warns that booking mistakes are not refunded.

Open 7 November 2026 to 21 February 2027; term-time weekdays 1.45pm to 9pm, weekends and school holidays 10am to 9pm; last session starts 8pm
Price adult (16+) £12 off peak, £14.50 peak, £16.50 festive peak; child (15 and under) £11, £12.50, £14.50; family of four £42, £48, £56; Super Saver £7 all ages on Monday and Tuesday term-time afternoons; online prices slightly higher; penguin aid £5
Booking online or at the rink; mistakes are not refunded
Address Steyne Gardens, Brighton Road, Worthing, BN11 3EA
Website worthingicerink.com
Good for covered rink, longest season, carers skate free, cafe, lessons, birthday parties

Indoor rinks open all year

4. Planet Ice Gosport

A permanent indoor rink run by Planet Ice, on Forest Way off Fareham Road in Gosport, about 17 miles west of Chichester as the crow flies and further by road around Portsmouth Harbour. Planet Ice’s ice skating page says its rinks are “generally open 365 days a year”, with public skating for ages three and up, Penguin Club sessions for under-5s with one adult free, ice discos and lessons.

Its FAQ says skate hire is not included in public skating tickets, skating aids are from £7 an hour, and a 4% booking fee is added online. Hire skates at Gosport run from clip-ons and child size 8 to adult size 14.

Planet Ice does not print Gosport’s Christmas session times outside the booking system. The rink shut briefly in October 2025 for repairs to its ice plant and reopened that month, Planet Ice said.

Open all year; session times shown only in the online booking system
Price admission shown at booking; skate hire extra; skating aids from £7 an hour; 4% online booking fee; lockers £1 for 3 hours (cash)
Booking online at planet-ice.co.uk
Address Forest Way, Off Fareham Road, Gosport, PO13 0ZX
Website planet-ice.co.uk/ice-skating
Good for indoor, all year, Penguin Club for under-5s, ice discos, lessons, cafe

5. Guildford Spectrum

The nearest permanent rink north of Chichester, inside the Spectrum leisure centre on Parkway, run by Freedom Leisure for Guildford Borough Council. The timetable has Skate for All sessions of 90 minutes most days, plus ice discos in the evenings, and over Christmas the afternoon sessions become Snow Globe skates with falling snow.

There is no public skating from 9 to 13 December, when the ice show is on, and none on Christmas Day. Every session must be booked online, and re-entry to the ice is not allowed.

It is the furthest rink here, more than an hour by car, so it suits a day out rather than an evening. Our sister site the Guildford Post has every Christmas session time.

Open all year; no public skating 9 to 13 December or on Christmas Day
Price not printed on the Spectrum's timetable; shown at online booking
Booking online in advance, 90-minute sessions
Call 01483 443322
Address Guildford Spectrum, Parkway, Guildford, GU1 1UP
Website guildfordspectrum.co.uk/ice-skating
Good for indoor, all year, Snow Globe skates at Christmas, ice discos, lessons

Not running this winter

  • Bognor Regis: no rink in 2026. Arun District Council and the Cole Family, who ran it, said in a joint statement on 30 October: “We are sorry to share that the ice rink will not be returning to Bognor Regis this year.” The local press reported that they gave fuel prices and wider financial pressures on event operators as the reasons.
  • Priory Park, Chichester: no rink since 2018. The district council dropped plans to bring it back on cost in 2024 and runs Christmas in Priory Park instead; our Chichester ice rink page has the detail.
  • Winchester Cathedral: the cathedral had published no 2026 rink when we checked, only its Christmas market.

How we chose

These are the rinks people in Chichester search for when the city has none, chosen on the public record rather than on taste: real ice within about an hour or so by car or a direct train, with a 2026 season or a year-round timetable published by the operator. Dates, prices and rules come from each rink’s own website or booking pages, read on 3 November 2026; the Bognor Regis decision is from Arun District Council’s own statement. Distances are straight-line from the city centre. We left out Hampton Court Palace and the London rinks as a long trip from here, and Brighton’s Royal Pavilion rink is not running this winter.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@chichesterlive.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@chichesterlive.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.

For more on Christmas around the city, see the Christmas lights switch-on, Christmas markets, Christmas shows and pantomime, Santa’s grottos, Christmas dinner and Christmas travel, and what’s on in Chichester this month. For the rest of the year, there are our guides to things to do in Chichester, days out from Chichester and soft play.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an ice rink in Chichester this Christmas?

No. Chichester District Council has not brought back the Priory Park rink last held in 2018, and Bognor Regis’s rink is not returning in 2026, Arun District Council and the Cole Family said on 30 October. The nearest is Seal Bay Resort in Selsey, open from 11 December to 1 January.

What is the cheapest ice skating near Chichester?

Seal Bay Resort in Selsey charges visitors £12 for adults, £8 for under-14s and £5 for under-5s. Worthing Ice Rink’s Super Saver sessions on Monday and Tuesday afternoons in term time are £7 for all ages at the door (£7.42 online).

Which ice rink near Chichester is open on Christmas Day?

None that has said so. Portsmouth On Ice and Guildford Spectrum are both closed on Christmas Day. Seal Bay and Worthing had not published Christmas Day times on 3 November 2026, and Planet Ice Gosport shows its times only in its booking system.