Stockport has no ice rink this Christmas. Skate Manchester opens 6 Nov from £15, 8 minutes by train; Planet Ice Altrincham has a £10 Christmas Day skate.

Stockport has no ice rink this Christmas, and none has been announced anywhere in the borough. The nearest is Skate Manchester at Cathedral Gardens, open from Friday 6 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. Adult tickets cost £15 to £21 with skates included. The nearest indoor rink is Planet Ice Altrincham, 17 minutes from Stockport on the direct train, which runs Skate & Spot Santa sessions in December and the only Christmas Day skating nearby: 10am to 12pm, £10.

Everything below was read from the rinks’ own websites and booking systems on 20 October 2026.

The quick answer
A rink in Stockport? No. The council’s events calendar (1 Nov to 10 Jan), Merseyway and Totally Stockport list none
Nearest pop-up Skate Manchester, Cathedral Gardens M4 3BG, 6 Nov to 3 Jan
Nearest indoor rink Planet Ice Altrincham, Oakfield Road WA15 8EW, open all year
Skate Manchester prices Adult or teen £15 to £21, child £13.75 to £15.50, skates included
Planet Ice prices £15.40 adult or child (£11.75 on Monday to Thursday daytimes in November), skate hire extra
Santa sessions Planet Ice Altrincham, 12, 13 and 18 to 24 December
Christmas Day Skate Manchester closed; Planet Ice Altrincham 10am to 12pm, £10
Halloween Planet Ice Altrincham, £10 skate Fri 30 Oct, 7.45pm to 9.45pm

Why there is no Stockport rink

We checked the places a rink would show up. Stockport Council’s events calendar, which lists the town’s Christmas events down to individual carol concerts, has no skating anywhere between 1 November 2026 and 10 January 2027. Merseyway’s events page and Totally Stockport’s announcements, including its 13 October post on Spectacular Sunday (15 November), mention none. Past Spectacular Sundays have featured roller skating performers, not an ice rink. If a rink is announced, this page will be updated.

Skate Manchester, Cathedral Gardens

Skate Manchester’s own site says the rink “will be open to the public from 6 November 2026, until 3 January 2027, except on Christmas Day”. It is covered but open at the sides, next to the Christmas market in Cathedral Gardens, and is run by Tamarisk Events.

Opening hours

Dates Open Doors Last session starts
6 Nov to 6 Dec 11am to 9pm daily 10.30am 8pm
7 Dec to 3 Jan 10am to 9pm daily 9.30am 8pm
25 Dec Closed

Sessions last up to 45 minutes. The rink asks you to arrive 30 to 40 minutes early to swap your shoes for skates.

Standard prices (skate hire included, booking fee extra and non-refundable)

Ticket Price
Adult or teen, 13 and over £15.00 to £21.00
Child, 12 and under £13.75 to £15.50
Family (1 adult and 3 children, or 2 and 2) £44.00 to £59.00
Carer Free, box office only
Skate aid hire £5.00

The range runs from off-peak to peak. Skate Manchester says these are its standard rates, not the Super Early Bird and Early Bird offers it sells online first. It does not publish the booking fee.

Cheaper ways in, 6 November to 18 December

The offers stop on 18 December, so the cheap weeks are before the schools break up.

  • Kids skate free on Tuesdays, 4pm to 6pm. “Adults pay for one session, skate for two.”
  • Parent and Mini Skater: weekdays 2pm to 3pm, £15 for both.
  • Local Love: 20% off on Mondays and Tuesdays with the code LCLOVE2026 at checkout.
  • Students: £10 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with ID, and 20% off standard sessions on other days.
  • SEND sessions: Mondays 3pm to 4pm, a calmer, adapted skate.
  • Blue light workers: 20% off standard sessions for NHS, police, fire and ambulance staff, with ID.

Before you go

  • Children under 3 cannot go on the ice. Under 13s need a ticketed adult (18 or over) on the ice; one adult can supervise up to five children.
  • Child skate aids are for children under 130cm only, first come, first served. Helmets are free.
  • The rink is cashless, the cloakroom is small and charged per item (the plan-your-visit page says £2.50, the FAQ says £2), and there are no toilets at the rink: use the market or the Arndale.
  • It is open to the weather, so the ice can carry surface water. Bring gloves and spare socks.
  • Spectators watch free from a small viewing platform.

Skate Manchester’s FAQ page still prints last winter’s dates (25 October 2025 to 4 January 2026). The opening times page carries the 2026 dates used here.

Getting there from Stockport

The train is the easy way. Trains from Stockport to Manchester Piccadilly take 8 to 14 minutes, several an hour, and an off-peak day return was £6.20 when we checked the timetable for a November Saturday. Cathedral Gardens is next to Manchester Victoria, so from Piccadilly either take the tram to Victoria or Shudehill, or walk across the city centre. The last skating session starts at 8pm. For Christmas week services, see our Stockport Christmas train times page.

If you drive, Skate Manchester points to parking on Chapel Street or near Victoria station, disabled parking on Todd Street, and more than 130 disabled spaces in the Exchange, Arena, High Street and Shudehill NCPs. Check our Stockport roadworks and travel page before you set off.

Planet Ice Altrincham

The nearest indoor rink is Planet Ice Altrincham, Oakfield Road, Station Site, WA15 8EW, beside Altrincham Interchange. Northern runs a direct train from Stockport (platform 2) at 19 minutes past the hour on Saturdays, taking 17 minutes, with an off-peak single at £3.10. Planet Ice’s whole Christmas timetable is already loaded in its booking system.

Prices for a standard public skate: adult (16 and over) or child (4 to 15) £15.40, families of three to five £14.70 each, students £10 with ID booked online, under 4s £3.20, carers free with an Access Card. On Monday to Thursday daytime sessions from 3 November until 10 December the price drops to £11.75. Planet Ice says skate hire is not included, so add it when you book. Under 8s must have an adult on the ice with them.

Date Sessions Price
Mon 26 to Thu 29 Oct (half-term week) Daytime public skate, 10.30am to 4.30pm (to 6pm on the 29th) £15.40
Fri 30 Oct £10 Halloween Skate, 7.45pm to 9.45pm £10
Sat 31 Oct Trick or Treat Skate, 11am to 4pm £15.40
Weekdays in November Daytime skate 10am to 3pm or 3.30pm; After School Skate Thursdays 3.45pm to 6pm; Sub Zero Disco most Fridays 7.45pm From £11.75
Fri 13 Nov Fancy Dress and PJ Party, 7.45pm to 9.45pm £15.40
Tue 8 Dec No public sessions listed
Fri 11 Dec Christmas Jumper Day £15.40
Sat 12 and Sun 13 Dec Skate & Spot Santa, sessions from 11am £15.40
Mon 14 to Thu 17 Dec Public skate 10am to 1pm and 1.30pm to 4.30pm £15.40
Fri 18 to Thu 24 Dec Skate & Spot Santa every day, with evening sessions on most days; Christmas Eve sessions end by 6pm £15.40
Fri 25 Dec Christmas Day skate, 10am to 12pm £10 (under 4s £3.20)
Sat 26 to Wed 30 Dec Public skate from 10am or 10.30am, evenings 27 to 30 Dec £15.40
Thu 31 Dec New Year’s Eve skate, 10am to 6pm; no evening session £15.40
Fri 1 Jan New Year’s Day skate, 10am to 6pm £15.40

The times above are the session windows Planet Ice lists; book a slot within them online.

Christmas Day skating

Skate Manchester is closed on 25 December. Planet Ice Altrincham has one session, 10am to 12pm, sold as a flat “Christmas day skate” at £10, under 4s £3.20. There is only the one, so book early, and plan the journey: no trains ran on Christmas Day last year (see our Christmas trains page), so you will need a car or a taxi. Our parking in Stockport page covers the town end.

Other Christmas days out

For Santa without the skates, see our Santa’s grotto page. The town’s own Christmas start is Spectacular Sunday and the lights switch-on on 15 November, and the markets are on our Christmas markets page.

Still to be published

  • Skate Manchester’s booking fee and which dates are peak and off-peak (shown only when you book).
  • Planet Ice Altrincham’s skate hire price.
  • Any pop-up rink in Stockport itself.

This page will be updated when Skate Manchester opens and again before the Christmas holidays.

Sources