We checked 5 ice rinks near Lewes, from Winterland in Eastbourne to Burgess Hill's free rink, for 2026 dates, prices and age rules. Updated November 2026.

Five ice rinks are within reach of Lewes in 2026, and this guide puts them in one place with dates, prices and age rules. We found none in the town itself, so most people land on Winterland in Eastbourne, Worthing Ice Rink, which opens on Saturday 7 November, or Burgess Hill’s free rink. Every entry was checked against the rink’s own site on 4 November 2026.

We have not skated at any of these for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry gives the dates, the prices shown by the rink’s own website or booking system, and the rules that catch families out. Seasonal rinks often price by day and time, so check the figure when you book. Distances are straight-line from Lewes town centre.

Closest to Lewes

1. Burgess Hill Christmas Festival free rink

Not real ice, but free, and the closest skating to Lewes at about 8 miles. Burgess Hill Town Council puts a synthetic rink outside its Help Point on Church Walk for the last two days of its first Christmas Festival.

The festival programme says “Enjoy FREE skating for the whole family”, with skates provided and no advance booking. It is partly funded by Burgess Hill District Lions, and a Christmas snow globe runs alongside it at the same hours.

Open Saturday 28 November 2026, 10am to 8pm; Sunday 29 November, 10am to 4pm
Price free, skates provided
Booking none, turn up
Address Outside the Help Point, 96 Church Walk, Burgess Hill, RH15 9AS
Website burgesshill.gov.uk/the-christmas-festival
Good for free, no booking, synthetic ice, Christmas festival

2. Winterland, Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne

The nearest real ice to Lewes, about 15 miles east, and the closest of all to Seaford at about 10. It is an open-air rink at The Waterfront with a Victorian funfair, Christmas market stalls and two grottos around it. Winterland’s rink page says sessions last 60 minutes, with at least 40 on the ice.

Skaters must be four or over, and skates run from child size 8 to adult 14.

The page says under-8s need an adult on the ice, but its safety rules say children aged 14 and under must be accompanied at all times, so plan for the stricter rule. The home page gives 1 to 31 December, while the rink page lists prices to 2 January.

Tickets are non-refundable. Our sister site Eastbourne Live found the booking system adding a small charge to the headline prices in September, so check the total before paying.

If you are going by train late in the month, buses replace Lewes to Eastbourne trains from about 9pm between 28 and 31 December.

Open from Tuesday 1 December 2026; sessions on the hour from 10am, last at 8pm
Price 1 to 11 December, Monday to Thursday £8 before 3pm and £10 from 3pm, Friday to Sunday £10; 12 December to 2 January, adults £13.50, children (4 to 14) £11.50; carers' discount by email (website, 4 November)
Booking online advised; limited tickets at the rink box office
Address The Waterfront, Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne, BN23 5UZ
Website winterland.onlineticketseller.com/events/160193
Good for wheelchair users on the ice, funfair, Christmas market, Santa's grotto

Along the coast and into the Weald

3. Worthing Ice Rink, Steyne Gardens

A covered rink on Steyne Gardens, just off Worthing seafront, about 17 miles west of Lewes. It is the first of these rinks to open, and its website gives the longest season, running to 21 February.

Sessions are an hour. Skaters must be over four, and penguin aids are for children under 120cm.

Wheelchair users are welcome on any session, and carers skate free without booking. Café Ice serves crepes, hot dogs, chips and hot drinks to skaters and non-skaters.

Online prices are about 6% above the prices at the rink.

Open 7 November 2026 to 21 February 2027; term-time weekdays 1.45pm to 9pm, weekends and school holidays 10am to 9pm; last session 8pm
Price at the rink, adult (16+) £12 off peak, £14.50 peak, £16.50 festive week (19 to 24 December); child (15 and under) £11, £12.50, £14.50; family of four £42, £48, £56; Super Saver £7, Monday and Tuesday afternoons in term time; penguin aid £5 (website, 4 November)
Booking online or at the rink; booking mistakes are not refunded
Address Steyne Gardens, Brighton Road, Worthing, BN11 3EA
Website worthingicerink.com
Good for covered rink, longest season, carers skate free, cafe, lessons, birthday parties

4. Tulleys Farm, Turners Hill

A real ice rink at the Tulleys Christmas Experience, about 16 miles north of Lewes, open on weekends from 21 November and then daily from 19 to 24 December. Sessions last 30 minutes, and the rink stays open in all weathers.

Skates run from child size 8 to adult 12, or you can bring your own, and the booking page lists no separate hire charge. Skating is bought separately from the Santa tickets, and Tulleys advises leaving an hour between a skate and a sleigh ride.

The booking page says under-12s need an adult on the ice, and 12 to 16s need an adult on site. The FAQs ask that all under-16s skate with an adult, so plan for that.

Tulleys does not say whether you can come for skating alone, so ask before you book.

Open 21, 22, 28 and 29 November; 5, 6, 12 and 13 December; daily 19 to 24 December; farm hours 8.45am to 6pm, 4pm on Christmas Eve
Price adult (16 and over) £9.95; child (under 16) £8.95; skating aid £5.95 (booking page, 4 November)
Booking online in advance advised; limited tickets on the day
Call 01342 718472
Address Tulleys Farm, Turners Hill Road, Turners Hill, RH10 4PD
Website tulleyschristmas.co.uk/explore/ice-skating
Good for short sessions, one non-motorised wheelchair per session, Santa Experience the same day

5. Icescape Tunbridge Wells, Calverley Grounds

The furthest here, about 21 miles north-east of Lewes, and the rink with the widest choice of sessions. The Christmas rink in Calverley Grounds has a new name this year. Its What’s On page lists 45-minute sessions with skate hire included and no booking fee online.

The calendar has parent and toddler sessions, half-capacity quiet sessions with no music, adult disco nights and 2-for-1 sessions. Skate aids are for children under 1.4m.

Watching is free.

Open 26 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed Christmas Day; session times vary by day, for example starts from 4pm to 8pm on 30 November and 10am to 8pm on 28 November
Price online a day ahead: off peak adult £15, child (12 and under) £10, family £45; peak £17, £12, £52.50; super peak £19, £14, £59.50; at the box office: off peak £17, £12, £52; peak £19, £14, £59.50; super peak £21, £16, £66.50; skate aid £5 (booking system, 4 November)
Booking online at least a day ahead for the saver price; skate aids at the box office on the day
Address Calverley Grounds, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 1QY
Website icescapetunbridgewells.com
Good for parent and toddler sessions, quiet sessions, wheelchair tickets, free to watch

Not running or not confirmed

  • Lewes, Seaford, Newhaven and Peacehaven: we found no rink for 2026. Lewes Town Council’s and Seaford Town Council’s websites list none.
  • Brighton: the Royal Pavilion rink is not running this winter.
  • South of England Winter Fair, Ardingly (21 and 22 November): the fair’s page lists ice skating at extra cost, about 12 miles from Lewes. On 4 November its “Ice Skating Tickets 2026” link still opened a booking page dated 22 November 2025, so 2026 times and prices are not out. Fair entry is £9.45 for adults if bought by 13 November, £10.50 after.

How we chose

These are the rinks people around Lewes, Seaford and Newhaven search for when the district has none, chosen from the public record rather than on taste. We took real ice within about 25 miles with a 2026 season published by the operator, plus the one free rink nearby. Dates, prices and rules come from each rink’s own website or booking system, read on 4 November 2026; Burgess Hill’s rink is from the town council’s festival programme. We left out Guildford Spectrum and the London rinks as a long trip from here.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@lewespost.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@lewespost.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.

More for Christmas around Lewes:

Frequently asked questions

Is there an ice rink in Lewes this Christmas?

We found none in Lewes, Seaford, Newhaven or Peacehaven for Christmas 2026. The nearest is the free synthetic rink in Burgess Hill on 28 and 29 November, about 8 miles from Lewes. The nearest real ice is Winterland at Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne, about 15 miles from Lewes and 10 from Seaford, from 1 December.

What is the cheapest ice skating near Lewes?

The Burgess Hill Christmas Festival rink is free, with skates provided and no booking, but it is synthetic. On real ice, Worthing Ice Rink’s Super Saver sessions cost £7 at the rink or £7.42 online, on Monday and Tuesday afternoons in term time. Winterland in Eastbourne lists £8 for Monday to Thursday sessions before 3pm from 1 to 11 December, and Tulleys Farm charges £8.95 for under 16s and £9.95 for adults for 30 minutes.

Which ice rink near Lewes is open on Christmas Day?

None that has said so. Tulleys Farm and Icescape Tunbridge Wells are closed on Christmas Day. Worthing Ice Rink and Winterland had not published Christmas Day times on 4 November 2026. No trains run to or from Lewes, Seaford or Newhaven that day.