No ice rink is announced in Bedford for Christmas 2026. The nearest, Planet Ice Milton Keynes, skates Christmas Day 10am to 12pm at £10, daily to 4 January.

Bedford has no ice rink this Christmas, as far as anyone has announced. The covered rink at Winter Wonderland in Bedford Park last ran in the 2024/25 season, and its organisers have published nothing for 2026. The nearest rink is Planet Ice Milton Keynes, which opens on Christmas Day, 10am to 12pm, at £10 a skater, and runs public skating every day of the school holidays to Monday 4 January.

The quick answer

  • Is there an ice rink in Bedford in 2026? Not yet. Winter Wonderland’s website still shows the 2024/25 season, and the council’s 2026 park events calendar has no rink on it.
  • Nearest rink: Planet Ice Milton Keynes, Leisure Plaza, 1 South Row, open all year.
  • Christmas Day: one session, 10am to 12pm, £10 a skater, under 4s £3.20.
  • Christmas holidays: daily sessions from Friday 18 December to Monday 4 January.
  • Price: £15.40 an adult or child at weekends and in the holidays, £11.75 on term-time weekdays, before skate hire and a 4% online booking fee.

Planet Ice times and prices on this page come from its own booking calendar for Milton Keynes, read session by session on 20 October 2026. Planet Ice can add or move sessions, so check the calendar before you set off.

What happened to Bedford’s Winter Wonderland rink

Winter Wonderland Bedford, a privately run Christmas attraction, moved to Bedford Park in 2023 and added what it called its first ice rink that year, alongside a big wheel, a Christmas tree maze and a grotto. Its ice skating page is still headed “New for 2023”.

The website now shows the 2024/25 season: open from Saturday 30 November to Sunday 5 January, entry £2, and skating at £15 an adult and £13 a child at peak times. Its pages were last updated in December 2024. There are no dates for 2025 or 2026 anywhere on the site.

Bedford Borough Council’s park events calendar lists Russell’s Circus, the half marathon and the Keech Santa Run for autumn and winter 2026, and nothing in Bedford Park. The council’s news pages and the Secret Farm at Moggerhanger, which runs Christmas events, have not announced a rink either. If one is announced, this page will be updated.

Planet Ice Milton Keynes: Christmas and New Year times

Each session has a fixed finishing time. Planet Ice says you can arrive at any point in a session and stay as long as you like, so some days show extra arrival slots inside a session; an earlier start just gives you longer on the ice.

Date Public sessions
Fri 18 Dec 10.15am to 3pm; disco skate 8pm to 10pm
Sat 19 Dec 11am to 2.30pm; 3pm to 5.30pm
Sun 20 Dec 11am to 1pm; 1.30pm to 5pm
Mon 21 Dec 10.15am to 12.45pm; 1.15pm to 3pm; 8.15pm to 10pm
Tue 22 Dec 10.15am to 12.45pm; 1.15pm to 3pm
Wed 23 Dec 10.15am to 12.45pm; 1.15pm to 3.15pm; 3.45pm to 5.45pm; 6.15pm to 9pm
Thu 24 Dec 10am to 6pm
Fri 25 Dec 10am to 12pm, £10
Sat 26 Dec 9.15am to 12pm; 12.30pm to 2.30pm; 3pm to 5pm
Sun 27 Dec 9.30am to 12pm; 12.30pm to 4pm
Mon 28 Dec 10.15am to 12.45pm; 1.15pm to 3pm; 8.15pm to 10pm
Tue 29 Dec 10.15am to 12.45pm; 1.15pm to 3pm
Wed 30 Dec 10.15am to 12.15pm; 12.45pm to 2.45pm; 3.15pm to 5.30pm
Thu 31 Dec 10.15am to 12.45pm; 1.15pm to 4pm
Fri 1 Jan 10.15am to 12.15pm; 12.45pm to 4.45pm; 8pm to 10pm
Sat 2 Jan 11am to 1pm; 1.30pm to 3.30pm; 3.45pm to 5.15pm
Sun 3 Jan 11am to 1.30pm; 2pm to 4pm; 4.15pm to 6.15pm; 6.30pm to 8.30pm
Mon 4 Jan 10.15am to 12.15pm; 12.45pm to 3pm; 8.15pm to 10pm

There is no late New Year’s Eve skate: the last session on 31 December ends at 4pm. Christmas Day is a single two-hour session with its own £10 ticket, and there are no family or student tickets for it.

Before Christmas: the usual week, and the gaps

In November the rink runs a regular pattern. In the week of 9 November, for example, the calendar shows:

  • Monday: Penguin Club 10.30am to 11.30am; evening skate 8.15pm to 10pm.
  • Tuesday and Thursday: 10am to 12pm and an early-afternoon session.
  • Wednesday: 12pm to 1.45pm and 3.15pm to 5.30pm.
  • Friday: an evening session, 8pm to 10pm. On Friday 13 November it is a Children in Need skate.
  • Saturday and Sunday: 11am to 1.30pm and 1.45pm to 4pm.

Penguin Club is for children aged 5 and under, with penguin skating aids and free entry for one adult. An Inclusive Skate runs on some Monday lunchtimes from 16 November, and it is the only session where skate hire is included.

The calendar shows no public skating on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 November, Wednesday 2 December or Saturday 5 December. On 5 December the rink hosts Music & Magic On Ice, a 7pm ice show with Boyzlife (Brian McFadden and Keith Duffy), ticketed separately. From Friday 11 December the calendar moves to longer daytime sessions and the weekend price.

Prices, and what you pay on top

On the dates we checked:

  • Weekends, the Christmas holidays from 11 December, and Friday evenings: adult (16+) £15.40, child (4 to 15) £15.40, family tickets £14.70 a person for 3, 4 or 5 people with at least one adult.
  • Term-time weekdays: adult and child £11.75, family £10.70 a person.
  • All sessions: students £10 online only (UNiDAYS, Student Beans or a dated student card), under 4s £3.20, carers free with a Nimbus Access Card.

On top of the ticket, Planet Ice’s FAQ says:

  • Skate hire is not included on public sessions.
  • A 4% booking fee is added when you book online, on everything in the basket.
  • Skating aids cost from £7 an hour.
  • Bookings can only be moved if you buy the £2.50 Reschedule Package at the time.

Children under 8 must have an adult on the ice with them, and Planet Ice requires gloves on the ice for all children under 12.

Parking and getting there from Bedford

Planet Ice Milton Keynes is at Leisure Plaza, 1 South Row, in central Milton Keynes, next to Morrisons. The rink is also home to the Milton Keynes Lightning ice hockey team, whose parking FAQ says there are limited paid spaces outside the rink, payable at machines on site (£2 for 2 hours and £4 for 4 hours when the club last updated it, in 2023). It warns against the underground car park at Morrisons next door, which is locked at 8pm on Saturdays and 30 minutes after the shop shuts on Sundays. Council bays nearby are charged until 6pm.

For getting out of Bedford, our roadworks and travel page lists closures on the main routes, and the parking in Bedford page covers the town’s own car parks if you are heading into town for the Christmas events instead.

More Christmas in and around Bedford

Sources