Yorkshire’s Winter Wonderland: ‘I went to the North of England’s largest outdoor ice rink - which now has its own village’
The North of England’s largest outdoor ice rink launched in York city centre 20 years ago, just a stone’s throw away from Clifford’s Tower.
Five years later, the 975 sq m ice rink relocated to a larger site to make way for its very own Winter Wonderland ‘village.’ The outdoor ice rink, featuring a 30-foot Christmas tree at its centre, continues to serve as the focal point.
Our reporter Sophie Mei Lan went to try out Winter Wonderland at McArthurGlen Designer Outlet York.
We had spent the morning perusing York Christmas Markets before making our way to our final destination - Yorkshire’s Winter Wonderland. There was a lot of traffic with shoppers already getting into the festive spirit.
The Winter Wonderland looked magical even from the car park with snow-covered Christmas trees aplenty, twinkling lights, and vintage funfair rides towering in the distance. We walked through the main path into this outdoor attraction, which is free to enter.
It had a cosy alpine theme, with mini huts to eat and drink inside, as well as a Christmas trail through the trees and a Santa’s grotto you can book separately.
My teen daughter headed straight to the funfair with her friend while I struggled to get the toddler past the first trail. She was in awe of the little maze of magical characters and animals. This part is all free you pay separately for funfair tokens and for your 45-minute ice rink slot. It’s £15.95 for adults and £14.95 for children and concessions.
Gliding along the outdoor ice rink gave me the wow factor I got when visiting the Rockefeller ice rink in New York.
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We then headed to the The Chalet Bar to watch the skaters and sup on loaded hot chocolate.
After a whizz on some of the vintage funfair rides, it was time for our ice skating slot.
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As dusk fell, the lights twinkled as we skated around the super smooth ice rink. It was definitely beautiful at dusk with the lights in the trees and the giant Christmas Tree lit up in the centre of the rink.
I’ve been to several winter wonderland events, which are usually huge and chaotic, but I’d rather be here any day. All the festive magic you need without thousands of people.
Yorkshire’s Winter Wonderland is a great alpine-style experience, albeit just off the motorway in Yorkshire.