Last Updated on December 19, 2024
Skating in a winter wonderland
Dancing on Ice, this is not. Windmill arms a-plenty, at Moco Museum’s Ice Rink at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, it’s apparent how few teetering onto the Barbie pink rink are regular skaters. It matters not: the ongoing popularity of seasonal ice rinks in London proves ice skating at Christmas has become a checklist winter activity. Even if you’re partnered with Mr-Bean-on-blades, you can still fantasise, as the cool wind hits your face, that in your dreams you’re holding hands with Christopher Dean doing the Bolero.
Ice skating sessions at the outdoor rink, surrounded by marshmallow pink Moco Museum branding, are one of the activities available at the increasingly successful annual Hyde Park festive theme park attraction. After dark, with the twinkling lights and glühwein, you’d need a frozen heart not to feel Christmassy.
Arriving from the north via Marble Arch, you should allow twenty minutes to weave across Winter Wonderland, longer if it’s busy. To approach the Moco Museum Ice Rink directly, do your best to approach from Hyde Park Corner. It is recommended to arrive at the rink twenty minutes early for your skating slot to get your hire-skates (included) on in good time. Skating sessions last 45 minutes and there are several ice guides on the rink to help if anyone is struggling. The canopy of fairy lights gives the rink a magical atmosphere. Everyone skates anti-clockwise around Hyde Park’s bandstand, and on certain dates, live music will be performed there.
The £5 admission fee to Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is offset if you pre-pay £25 worth (per person) of activities, food or drink within the attraction. Pre-booked ice skating sessions are £11.50 for adults. Pre-booking everything online is the cheapest way to organise your visit. We arrived around 3 pm when queues were short, but lines were longer when we left at 5 pm. Evenings and the peak Christmas period dates are selling fast. Using a mobile app, QR-coded entry tickets get scanned by security at the main entrances. The app stores your ice skating pass but does not let you pre-pay for food. Once admitted further attractions are chargeable as they would be at any funfair.
We were won over by the funfair atmosphere of Winter Wonderland. As well as Zippo’s Circus and traditional carousels, there are German Christmas market-style cabins selling gifts, food and drink. Screams from various white-knuckle rides provide a background soundtrack. Not just for kids, anyone enjoying the nostalgia and ambience of the fair, will find Hyde Park Winter Wonderland a fun place to explore. Expect to pay a tenner to wander through with a hot drink or over fifty pounds per person if you desire a full theme park experience.
Food and drink spaces here are many: the bierkeller-style Bavarian Village dining hall is cavernous, the Christmas Tree Arms pub more intimate. The latter has a covered terrace overlooking the fair. We drank steaming chocolate in a wooden alpine cafe with red gingham curtained booths. All of these were charming spaces we’d be happy to spend time in. The prices were no higher than in other London tourist zones.
We also visited the Moco Museum nearby at Marble Arch – as previously reviewed in more detail by London Unattached’s Adrian. My own impressions of Moco were mixed: works here by big names such as Basquiat and Banksy are not the most impressive things on display. The Warhol pieces, for instance, are bland examples of his – usually more exciting – work.
However, I loved the wall of Queen Elizabeth-as-giant-stamps and the shiny lilac hologram of Kate Moss (each by Chris Levine) made up for the poor Warhols. Robbie Williams’ witty and relatable pictures, about his mental health, were more engaging than the flat Julien Opie hung adjacently. The Tracy Emin signature neon is similar to that in St Pancras’ station but with easier access for selfies. The entire Moco collection is deliberately Instagram-worthy.
The best material is in the basement: walking around Jake Chapman’s “Annihilation” with its freakish beast-snouted child-sized dolls is fascinating and disconcerting. The neon-lit Daan van Hasselt mirror room is hypnotic enough to spend several minutes in. Considering that Tate Modern’s very small, 2024 Yayoi Kusama Infinity Mirror Rooms show ticketed at £10, Moco Museum entry from £16 (albeit rising to £20 with surge pricing) is good value.
Hyde Park Winter Wonderland has enough entertainment to occupy for several hours. With Moco Museum as a warm-up act, you have a full day’s itinerary for a memorable Christmas day out.
Moco Museum
1-4 Marble Arch
London W2 2UH
