Planet Ice Gillingham opens on Christmas Day, 10am to 12pm, at £10 a skater. Holiday skating runs daily 19 Dec to 4 Jan at £15.40. No pop-up rink in Medway.

Medway’s ice rink is Planet Ice on Gillingham Business Park, and it opens on Christmas Day. Planet Ice’s booking calendar for Gillingham lists one public session on Friday 25 December, 10am to 12pm, at £10 a skater (under 4s £3.20). Around it, the rink runs public skating every day from Saturday 19 December to Monday 4 January, with long daytime sessions and several evening skates. Adults and children pay £15.40 for every session in that run, before skate hire and a 4% online booking fee.

There is no outdoor or pop-up Christmas rink in Medway this year. Visit Medway, the council’s own events listing, shows no skating event between now and 10 January. Planet Ice is the only ice in Medway.

Times and prices on this page come from Planet Ice’s own booking calendar for Gillingham, read session by session on 20 October 2026. Planet Ice can add or move sessions, so check the calendar before you go.

At a glance
Where Planet Ice, Ambley Road, Gillingham Business Park, Gillingham, ME8 0PU
Christmas Day 10am to 12pm, £10 a skater, under 4s £3.20
Christmas holidays Every day, 19 December to 4 January
New Year’s Eve Daytime only, ice closes at 6pm
Holiday, weekend and evening price Adult (16+) £15.40, child (4 to 15) £15.40
Term-time weekday daytime price Adult £11.75, child £11.75
Students (16+) £10, online only, student ID needed
Under 4s £3.20, with an adult on the ice
Families of 3, 4 or 5 £14.70 each at peak times, £10.70 each on term-time weekday daytimes
Carers Free with an Access Card showing +1 or +2
Not included Skate hire; a 4% booking fee is added online

Christmas and New Year session times

Gillingham staggers its daytime sessions: on most holiday days you can start at 9.45am, 10.45am or 11.45am, and all three finish at the same time. Planet Ice’s FAQ says you can arrive at any time during a session and stay as long as you like, so an earlier start simply gives you longer on the ice.

Date Daytime Evening
Sat 19 Dec starts 11am, 12pm, 1pm; ice closes 4.30pm none
Sun 20 Dec starts 11am, 12pm, 1pm; closes 4.30pm none
Mon 21 Dec starts 9.45am, 10.45am, 11.45am; closes 4.30pm 8.15pm to 10.15pm
Tue 22 Dec starts 9.45am, 10.45am, 11.45am; closes 5.30pm none
Wed 23 Dec starts 9.45am, 10.45am, 11.45am; closes 4.30pm 5pm to 8pm
Thu 24 Dec starts 10am, 11am, 12pm; closes 4.30pm 5pm to 8pm
Fri 25 Dec 10am to 12pm, £10 none
Sat 26 Dec starts 9.45am, 10.45am, 11.45am; closes 4.30pm 5pm to 8pm
Sun 27 Dec starts 9.45am, 10.45am, 11.45am; closes 4.30pm 5pm to 8pm
Mon 28 Dec starts 9.45am, 10.45am, 11.45am; closes 6pm 7.30pm to 10.15pm
Tue 29 Dec starts 9.45am, 10.45am, 11.45am; closes 6pm none
Wed 30 Dec starts 9.45am, 10.45am, 11.45am; closes 6pm none
Thu 31 Dec starts 9.45am, 10.45am, 11.45am; closes 6pm none
Fri 1 Jan starts 9.45am, 10.45am, 11.45am; closes 4.30pm 7.30pm to 10.15pm
Sat 2 Jan starts 9.45am, 10.45am, 11.45am; closes 4.30pm none
Sun 3 Jan starts 11am, 12pm, 1pm; closes 4.30pm none
Mon 4 Jan 10.30am to 1pm, 1.30pm to 3.30pm 8.15pm to 10.15pm

On New Year’s Eve the ice closes at 6pm. There is no late New Year’s Eve skate on the calendar, but there is an evening session on New Year’s Day.

Christmas Day is a single two-hour session with its own £10 ticket. The booking page offers only that ticket and the £3.20 under-4s ticket, so there are no family or student prices for it. It shows 400 places, twice the capacity listed for the other holiday sessions we checked, but it is still the one most likely to sell out.

Medway Council’s schools break up on Friday 18 December and go back on Monday 4 January (our term dates page has the grammar school differences).

The week before Christmas

Peak pricing starts early in Gillingham. From Monday 14 December, every public session on the calendar, weekday daytimes included, is £15.40 for an adult or child. That week runs morning sessions from 9.45am to 1pm and afternoon sessions from 1.30pm to 4.30pm (5pm on Tuesday 15 December), plus evening skates on Monday 14 (8.15pm to 10.15pm), Wednesday 16 (7pm to 8.45pm) and Friday 18 December (7.30pm to 10pm). Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December have sessions starting at 11am, 12pm and 1pm until 4.30pm.

Before then: a normal November week

Outside the holidays the rink mixes public skating with lessons and hockey. In the week of 9 November, the calendar shows:

  • Monday 9: evening only, 8.15pm to 10.15pm
  • Tuesday 10: 10.45am to 1pm and 3pm to 4.45pm
  • Wednesday 11: 10.45am to 2.15pm, a Penguin Club session 10.45am to 11.45am, and 7pm to 8.45pm
  • Thursday 12: 10.45am to 1pm
  • Friday 13: 10.45am to 3.30pm, then a Children in Need fancy dress and pyjama party skate, 7.30pm to 10pm
  • Saturday 14 and Sunday 15: 11am to 1pm and 1.30pm to 4.30pm

Term-time weekday daytime sessions are the cheap ones, at £11.75 for an adult or child and £10.70 each for families. Evenings and weekends are £15.40 all year.

Prices, and what you pay on top

These are the prices on Planet Ice’s booking page for Gillingham:

  • Peak sessions (weekends, evenings, and every session from 14 December to 4 January): adult (16+) £15.40, child (4 to 15) £15.40, family tickets £14.70 per person for 3, 4 or 5 people with at least one adult.
  • Term-time weekday daytimes: adult and child £11.75, family £10.70 per person.
  • All sessions: students £10 online only (UNiDAYS, Student Beans or a dated student card), under 4s £3.20, carers free.

On top of the ticket:

  • Skate hire is not included on public sessions, Planet Ice’s FAQ says, except at Inclusive Skate sessions.
  • A 4% booking fee is added when you book online, including on extras.
  • Rescheduling is only possible if you buy the £2.50 Reschedule Package when you book.
  • Skating aids can be hired from £7 an hour, according to the FAQ.

Children under 8 must have an adult on the ice with them, and Planet Ice requires gloves on the ice for all children under 12. The FAQ says the smallest hire skates at Gillingham are clip-on skates for any child size, and the largest adult size is 14.

Getting there

Planet Ice is on Ambley Road, Gillingham Business Park, ME8 0PU, on the Rainham side of Gillingham rather than in the town centre. Planet Ice does not set out parking arrangements for Gillingham on its own pages, so check before you rely on a space on Christmas holiday afternoons.

Our parking in Medway page covers council car parks in the towns, and the roadworks and travel page lists closures on the way in.

More Christmas in Medway

Sources