London Outdoor Ice Rink

I like ice skating because you can have a laugh and you can just be crazy.

I like ice skating because it’s something that I don’t do a lot and it’s really, really, really fun.

I like ice skating too because it’s hard and it takes time to get used to it, but once you are used to it, it’s good fun.

It’s a good thing to always do when it’s like Christmas time.

I think that when you go ice skating, you should stick to what you know and maybe if you feel more confident try something new.

It’s a really good sport and I hope that everyone enjoys it when they have a turn.

I enjoy ice skating because you get to learn something new and you don’t have to worry about if you can do it or not, you just enjoy yourself.

Children at Somerset House Ice Rink

We’ve had the ice rink since we opened to the public in 2000, so this is its eighth year and it has been very, very successful.

Gwyn Miles, Director of the Somerset House Trust

Well, we have this beautiful, beautiful courtyard, and in the winter we want to make sure we can bring people in to enjoy Somerset House. It’s a real treat for Londoners and this is a way to bring the whole place alive and make it feel really quite magical for Christmas.

Gwyn Miles, Director of the Somerset House Trust

I love Somerset House, since it first opened, I’ve managed to be here every year, and obviously got involved with the skating side of it. I think it’s amazing, because it’s encouraged so many people to come and have a go at skating. That’s just great, it’s a great sport, it’s good exercise, but out of it, it might encourage people to take it up more seriously, and who knows, we may have future champions here.

Jayne Torvill, champion ice skater

The skate school was something we started last year. We are very keen to actually help people to become capable of enjoying skating, so we do lessons at the weekends, but also for the schools, we also do disabled skating sessions, where we have people who can come on the ice and actually really enjoy it, and they are fantastic.

Gwyn Miles, Director of the Somerset House Trust

People who go on the ice for the first time, it’s very important to wear the right clothing; always wear some gloves and always wear a hat, even if you are in a fairly warm ice rink, because if you take a fall, the gloves will protect your hands and the hat will protect your head as well.

Jayne Torvill, champion ice skater