We checked seven ice rinks near Macclesfield, from the Lambing Shed in Knutsford to Skate Manchester, for 2026 dates and prices. Updated November 2026.

Macclesfield has no ice rink of its own in 2026, but seven rinks lie within about 31 miles, and this guide puts their dates, prices and opening hours in one place. Most people will look first at the Lambing Shed near Knutsford, Planet Ice Altrincham or Skate Manchester. Every entry was checked against the rink’s own site or booking system on 3 or 4 November 2026.

The quick answer

Rink Miles Dates Adult ticket Skates
The Lambing Shed, Knutsford (synthetic) 9.6 27 Nov to 24 Dec £15 Included
Planet Ice Altrincham 12.7 All year £11.75 to £15.40 Extra
Skate Manchester 16.4 6 Nov to 3 Jan £15 to £21 Included
Winter Wonderland Stoke 16.4 From 26 or 27 Nov Not published yet Not stated
Golden Square, Warrington 21.4 27 Nov to 4 Jan £12 Included
Planet Ice Uttoxeter 27.1 All year £10.50 to £14.10 Extra
Oaks on Ice, Cheshire Oaks 31.3 Open now to 3 Jan £12.50 to £15 Included

Miles are straight lines from Macclesfield town centre, so the road is longer.

Is there an ice rink in Macclesfield?

No. The town council’s Step Into Christmas page and Visit Macclesfield’s Christmas events page mention no skating, and we found no rink announced anywhere else in the town. If one is announced, we will add it here.

The closest rinks

1. The Lambing Shed, near Knutsford

This is new for 2026: the farm shop on Chelford Road is turning its barn into a Christmas skating rink. It is not real ice.

The surface is Wonder Ice SuperGlide, a synthetic material that the farm describes as particularly good for children, beginners and first-time skaters. Socks and gloves are compulsory, and everyone must sign a waiver before skating.

Under-3s cannot skate but can watch from the side. Arrive 15 minutes before your slot.

Daily session times are not printed on the Christmas page.

Open 27 November to 24 December
Price adults 15 and over £15; children 3 to 14 £12; skates included; penguin skating aid £5, one per booking; booking fee extra
Booking online; five penguin aids per session, pre-booked only
Address Moseley Hall Farm, Chelford Road, Knutsford, WA16 8RB
Website thelambingshed.com/pages/christmas-on-the-farm
Good for first-time skaters, children from 3, private parties, hot chocolate in the barn

2. Planet Ice Altrincham

The nearest real ice to Macclesfield is this permanent indoor rink beside Altrincham Interchange. The cheapest dates we read were daytime sessions on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 November and Thursday 10 December, at £11.75.

Santa-themed sessions run on 12 and 13 December and every day from 18 to 24 December. The calendar shows no public session on 8 December.

Sessions continue on Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Open all year; Saturday 7 November 11am to 1pm and 1.30pm to 4pm; Christmas Day 10am to 12pm
Price adult or child £15.40; £11.75 on the three weekdays above; family of 3 to 5 £14.70 each; under-4s £3.20; Christmas Day £10; skate hire £3, or £8 with a helmet (read in October)
Booking online through the Planet Ice calendar
Address Oakfield Road, Station Site, Altrincham, WA15 8EW
Website planet-ice.co.uk/ice-skating
Good for indoor skating, Christmas Day, Santa sessions

3. Skate Manchester, Cathedral Gardens

The city’s Christmas rink opens on Friday 6 November. It is under cover but open to the weather, and its site warns that rain or mild days can leave a layer of water on the ice.

Sessions last up to 45 minutes, and it asks you to arrive 30 to 40 minutes early. There are no toilets at the rink and the venue is cashless.

The cloakroom charges £2.50 an item.

Cheaper ways in, to 18 December. Children skate free on Tuesdays from 4pm to 6pm when an adult pays for one session. Parent and Mini Skater is £15 for both, weekdays 2pm to 3pm.

The code LCLOVE2026 takes 20% off on Mondays and Tuesdays. Students pay £10 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

A SEND session runs on Mondays, 3pm to 4pm. NHS, police, fire and ambulance workers get 20% off standard sessions with ID.

From Macclesfield. The fastest trains to Manchester Piccadilly took 22 to 23 minutes on the morning we checked, Saturday 7 November, with an off-peak day return at about £13. Cathedral Gardens is next to Manchester Victoria, across the city centre from Piccadilly.

Our Christmas train times page covers the holiday services.

Open 6 November to 3 January, closed Christmas Day; 12pm to 9pm in November, last session 8pm; 11am to 10pm from 1 December, last session 9pm
Price adult or teen £15 to £21; child £13.75 to £15.50; family £44 to £59; skates included; skate aid £5; non-refundable booking fee extra
Booking online or at the box office
Address Cathedral Gardens, Manchester, M4 3BG
Website skatemanchester.com/opening-times-prices
Good for Christmas trip to the city, students, SEND sessions

4. Winter Wonderland Stoke

This funfair and real ice rink returns to Lichfield Street in Hanley, opposite the bus station. Tickets were still marked “coming soon” on 4 November, with no prices or session times.

The home page gives both 26 and 27 November as the start date, so check before you go. Its ice skating page still shows the 2024 season’s dates and times, so ignore those.

There is no parking on site, and the venue says it is fully wheelchair accessible. Stoke-on-Trent station is a mile’s walk away, and trains from Macclesfield took 15 to 22 minutes on the morning we checked.

Open from 26 or 27 November to January 2027; hours not yet published
Price not published on 4 November
Booking tickets coming soon
Address Lichfield Street, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 3JN
Website winterwonderlandstoke.com
Good for funfair rides with skating, bus and train access

Further afield in Warrington and Cheshire

5. Golden Square, Warrington

This new rink in Old Market Square is real ice under cover, run by National Leisure Group. Sessions last 60 minutes, including collecting your skates.

The operator lists a family disco from 6pm to 8pm and a disco skate from 8pm to 10pm every day, plus parent and toddler sessions. Its booking system warns that prices can vary by session, so check the one you pick.

We read the prices on 3 November, and the shopping centre’s own site would not load for us on 4 November.

Open 27 November to 4 January; last day to book is 3 January
Price adult £12; under-16s £10; under-3s free; parent and toddler £12 for one adult and one child under six; skates included; booking fee extra online
Booking online, or on arrival if a session has space
Address Old Market Place, Golden Square, Warrington, WA1 1QB
Website nationalleisuregroup.co.uk/tickets
Good for families, evening discos, parent and toddler sessions

6. Oaks on Ice, Cheshire Oaks

The outlet’s Winter Village has a covered real-ice rink and an outdoor ice path around its oak tree, with a carousel and big wheel beside them. It is already open.

Sessions last 45 minutes, and it warns that weekend and twilight sessions sell first. Children aged 4 to 9 must have a paying adult on the ice.

The site lists Black Friday hours for “Friday 28th November”, a date that falls on a Saturday in 2026, so check before a late November evening visit.

Open to 3 January; November Monday to Friday 10am to 9pm, Saturday 9am to 9pm, Sunday 9am to 7pm; December Sunday 10am to 7pm; Christmas Eve 10am to 6pm; Boxing Day 9am to 9pm; New Year's Eve and New Year's Day 10am to 5pm
Price adult £12.50 to £15; child 10 to 15 £11 to £13; junior 4 to 9 £9.50 to £11; family of 4 £36 to £43; skates included; skate aid £5
Booking recommended; walk-ups if space remains
Call 07337 504200
Address Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet, Kinsey Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 9JJ
Website cheshireoaksonice.com
Good for free parking, Christmas shopping, accessible rink

South into Staffordshire

7. Planet Ice Uttoxeter

The cheapest adult ticket on this list is at this year-round rink in the CineBowl-iSKATE building. Its calendar showed no public session on Tuesday 10 or Thursday 12 November, so check before a midweek trip.

Santa sessions run on 12 and 13 December and every day from 18 to 24 December. Skate hire is extra, which matters when comparing it with the Christmas rinks.

Open all year; Saturday 7 November 11.45am to 8.30pm in four sessions; Wednesday 11 November 9am to 1pm and 4pm to 6pm; Christmas Day 10am to 12pm
Price adult or child £14.10; £10.50 on Wednesday 11 November; family of 3 to 5 £13.10 each; under-4s £3.20; Christmas Day £10; 4% online booking fee; skate hire extra
Booking online through the Planet Ice calendar
Call 01889 566 644
Address Town Meadows Way, Uttoxeter, ST14 8AZ
Website planet-ice.co.uk/ice-skating
Good for lower prices, Christmas Day, Santa sessions

Skating on Christmas Day

Planet Ice Altrincham and Planet Ice Uttoxeter each list one session on 25 December, 10am to 12pm, at £10, or £3.20 for under-4s. Skate Manchester is closed, the Lambing Shed finishes on Christmas Eve, and Oaks on Ice does not list the day. No trains run on Christmas Day, so plan to drive.

Skating with Lapland Manchester

Lapland Manchester at Capesthorne Hall, about 5 miles from the town, includes skating on “Father Christmas’ Frozen Pond” as part of its 4.5-hour booked visit. It is not a rink you can visit on its own, so it is not in the list above.

Rinks we left out or could not confirm

  • Planet Ice Widnes, about 26 miles away. Its calendar is loaded, but the Planet Ice website has carried an undated notice saying it is “temporarily closed”. Check with the rink before travelling.
  • Ice Sheffield, about 31 miles away over the Peak District. It has a public skating rink, but we could not read its current session prices.
  • Trafford Centre. Its home page listed a grotto and carols but no rink on 4 November.
  • Winter Assembly at St John’s, Manchester. We found no 2026 listing from the organisers.
  • Buxton’s Pavilion Gardens. It has hosted a synthetic rink before, but we found nothing for 2026.

How we chose

We have not skated at any of these rinks. We listed the public rinks within about 31 miles of Macclesfield that publish 2026 dates, using each operator’s own website or booking system, and named the one that is synthetic. Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@macclesfieldtimes.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@macclesfieldtimes.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.

More Christmas around Macclesfield

See things to do in Macclesfield, what’s on this month, Father Christmas and grottos, the Christmas markets, Knutsford’s Christmas market, Tatton Park at Christmas, Lyme at Christmas and Christmas dinner in Macclesfield.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Is there an ice rink in Macclesfield?

No. We found no rink announced in Macclesfield for winter 2026. The nearest skating is the Lambing Shed’s synthetic rink near Knutsford, about 10 miles away, and the nearest real ice is Planet Ice Altrincham, about 13 miles away.

Can you go ice skating on Christmas Day near Macclesfield?

Yes. Planet Ice Altrincham and Planet Ice Uttoxeter each list one session on Christmas Day, 10am to 12pm, at £10, or £3.20 for under-4s. Skate Manchester is closed that day and the Lambing Shed’s season ends on Christmas Eve. No trains run, so you would need to drive.

How much does ice skating cost near Macclesfield?

An adult ticket runs from £10.50 on some weekdays at Planet Ice Uttoxeter to £21 at peak times at Skate Manchester. Skates are included at the Lambing Shed, Skate Manchester, Golden Square and Oaks on Ice. Planet Ice charges for hire on top.