Last winter's Market Square rink ran 4 Dec to 4 Jan, adults £16. By 30 September no 2026 rink had been announced; last year's was confirmed on 23 September.

No ice rink has been announced for Northampton this Christmas. As of 30 September 2026, West Northamptonshire Council, which ran last winter’s rink on the Market Square, has said nothing about a return, and the booking page at The Old Savoy still shows last season. For comparison, the 2025 rink was announced on 23 September 2025, so this year’s decision, if there is one, is already later than last year’s.

The quick answer

  • Is it back for 2026? Not confirmed. No dates, prices or booking have been published.
  • Last year: Northampton Market Square On Ice, Thursday 4 December 2025 to Sunday 4 January 2026, closed 25 and 26 December and 1 January. Adults £16, children £12, under 5s free.
  • What is confirmed on the square this Christmas: the lights switch-on on Saturday 21 November, per the town council. See our switch-on page.

Where things stand

We checked each partner behind last year’s rink on 30 September:

  • West Northamptonshire Council ran the rink. Its news page has no 2026 announcement, and the page it used for the rink and festive events, westnorthants.gov.uk/events-and-activities/ice-rink-and-festive-events-northampton, now returns “page not found”.
  • Northampton Town Council’s winter ice skating page still describes the 2025 rink and was last updated on 4 December 2025. The council’s 2026 events page, updated on 21 September, lists the Christmas lights switch-on and a Santa’s grotto with Northampton BID at the Grosvenor Centre, but no rink.
  • The Old Savoy, which sold the tickets, still has the 2025 season on its ice skating page.
  • Discover Northampton’s Christmas page still carries the 2025 dates.

None of that means the rink will not come back. It means nobody has said it will. When anything is published we will update this page with the dates, prices and how to book.

How last winter’s rink worked

The details below are for 2025-26 only. A 2026 rink could have different dates, opening hours and prices.

The rink was a covered, real-ice rink, 14m by 22m, on the Market Square, NN1 2DF, with a licensed bar alongside. WNC delivered it with Northampton Town Council, Northampton BID and Discover Northamptonshire. Tickets were sold online by The Old Savoy, and Discover Northampton advertised a 20% early-booking discount for anyone who booked by 31 October.

2025-26 prices, per The Old Savoy:

Ticket Price Notes
Adult £16
Child £12 under 13s with a paying adult
Under 5s free
Family of four £50 two adults, two children aged 5 to 13
Students (university or college) £10
Group, 6 or more £10 each
SEND sessions £7.50 carers free
Schools £7.50 teachers free, one per six pupils
Skating aid hire £5

Blue light, NHS and armed forces staff got 10% off full-price adult and child tickets.

2025-26 opening hours:

Dates Hours
4 to 19 December Monday to Thursday 1pm to 8pm; Friday 1pm to 9pm; Saturday 11am to 9pm; Sunday 11am to 8pm
20 December to 4 January daily 11am to 8pm, open to 9pm on 20 December and 2 and 3 January
Christmas Eve last session 3pm
New Year’s Eve last session 5pm
25 and 26 December, 1 January closed

Did it work?

By the council’s own figures, yes. WNC said in January 2026 that more than 55,000 people came to the Market Square for the rink and the festive programme around it, that ticket and bar sales brought in more than £122,000, and that the programme broke even overall “without placing any additional pressure on core Council services”. It also said footfall in the Grosvenor Shopping Centre was up 19.3% on the year before.

Christmas on the square that is confirmed

Coming into town by car in December? Our parking guide has the car parks and evening charges, and the roadworks and travel page has anything affecting the approach roads.

Sources