Lee Valley Ice Skating Rink: Olympic-Size Ice for £13

Lee Valley Ice Centre, on Lea Bridge Road in Leyton, E10 7QL, has two Olympic-size ice rinks under one roof. A public skating session costs £13 for an adult and £10 for a junior, with £3 for skate hire, and the Friday and Saturday ice discos run from 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm. The centre opened on Saturday 17 June 2023 after a £30 million investment by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, so the changing rooms, the rink and the café feel new, and it is open from 6 am on most days, which makes it easy to fit a skate around the working week.

Lee Valley Regional Park Authority describes the centre as one of only three venues in the UK with two Olympic-size rinks, and the only one in the south of England. It was built with support from the London Borough of Waltham Forest and was expected to attract half a million visitors a year, about double the old centre. On opening day, visitors could try an Olympic-size rink for just £1. The development also added a gym, a dance studio, community spaces, a café and £1.5 million of landscaping and planting around the building.

Public sessions are sold as one-hour slots on the Better booking page. The timetable for Friday 23 October 2026 shows slots at 9 am, 9.30 am, 11 am, 12 noon, 1.30 pm, 2.30 pm, 5 pm and 6 pm, each with more than 200 places on the main rink. That capacity is the real advantage of an Olympic-size sheet: even on a busy afternoon there is more room to move than on a courtyard rink. Book a slot in advance for school-holiday weeks, because the number of places still varies by session.

A standard public skate costs £13 for an adult and £10 for a junior, and neither price includes skate hire, which is £3. During the school holidays the Holiday Skate rate applies: £16 for an adult, £13 for a junior or an under five, and £52.50 for a family package of two adults and two children, or one adult and three children. Disco sessions cost £17 for an adult and £14 for a child, and skate hire is included. Coached Coffee Club sessions are £15.

The disco is the busiest social session. It runs every Friday and Saturday from 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm, in two slots, one at 7.30 pm and one at 8.30 pm. The centre warns that there is loud music and flashing lights and that the session is not suitable for children under five, and skate aids are not available. The centre also runs ice hockey, figure skating and synchronised skating on the same ice, so the disco slots sit alongside a busy club programme. It suits teenagers and adults who can already stand up on skates, and for those groups the £17 ticket, which includes hire, is a better deal than adding £3 to the standard price.

Two quieter sessions are aimed at people who want company rather than speed. Coffee Skate for ages 14 and over runs on Wednesdays from 11 am to 11.30 am, and you need to be able to skate forwards without help. Coffee Skate for under fives runs on Thursdays at 11 am for half an hour, and every child must be accompanied on the ice by an adult over 16. Learn to Skate lessons include free skate hire. The minimum age to skate is three, and anyone under eight must be supervised on the ice by a parent or guardian at all times.

Skate sizes run from child UK 7 up to adult UK 15. Roxa Polar Bear skate aids are available for children under 120 cm in public sessions. There is no formal dress code, but the centre recommends gloves, thick socks and clothing that covers your arms as well as your legs. Lockers come in two types: small ones that take a £1 token and larger ones that need a £5 padlock deposit, found in the skate hire and changing room areas. Bringing your own gloves is the simplest way to avoid a trip to the shop. If you are visiting with a group, arrive early enough to hire boots, find a locker and lace up before the hour starts, because the one-hour slots are short and the clock begins at the session time, not when you reach the ice.

The centre is on Lea Bridge Road, with buses 55 and 56 stopping nearby and Lea Bridge station a short walk away. Clapton station is also close. There are 155 car parking spaces, including 16 blue badge spaces and 32 electric vehicle charging points, and anyone using the ice rinks, gym or classes is entitled to up to four hours of free parking. There is bike storage for 110 bikes. The building has flat pavement access and a lift to the first floor, with accessible changing areas and toilets.

The café opens from 10 am to 5.30 pm every day and has vegan, vegetarian and healthier options, which makes it a good place to defrost between sessions. Outside, the centre sits on the edge of the Lee Valley Regional Park, and the river and marshes are a short distance away, so a walk along the water after a morning session is an easy plan. The centre itself is open from 6 am to 11 pm on weekdays, until 10 pm on Saturdays and until 8 pm on Sundays.

Lee Valley Ice Centre is on Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, London E10 7QL. Public skating costs £13 for an adult and £10 for a junior, with £3 skate hire, and the Friday and Saturday ice discos run from 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm at £17 for adults. Book online, wear gloves and thick socks, and use the Karpo APP to save the centre and plan your day around Leyton.