Sapphire Ice & Leisure: ice skating in Romford today

Since February 2018 Romford's ice rink has been Sapphire Ice & Leisure, a five-storey leisure centre in the town centre that replaced the old Romford Ice Arena on Rom Valley Way. If you want to skate in Romford today, this is where you go.

Booking and prices: this guide is not the rink's website. Sapphire Ice & Leisure is operated by Everyone Active, and session times, prices, lessons and parties are all on the official Sapphire Ice & Leisure page.

What is there

The centre was built by the London Borough of Havering to give the town a rink again after five years without one. Its boxy, pale facade was designed to suggest a block of ice, and the name marks Queen Elizabeth II's Sapphire Jubilee, her 65th year on the throne, which fell in 2017.

A full-size ice rink, 56 m by 26 m, used for public skating, lessons, figure skating and ice hockey. It is the home ice of the Romford Raiders.
Swimming: a competition-length main pool and a smaller teaching pool, one of them with a moveable floor so the depth can be changed for lessons.
A gym, dance and exercise studios, saunas and a café.
Accessibility: the operator says wheelchair users can be accommodated on the ice, and there is an independent access guide on AccessAble. Ask the centre about adaptive sessions before you go.

More than half a million visits were recorded in the centre's first year, and Havering Council reported over 400 people learning to skate there in that time, which gives an idea of how busy the rink gets.

Public skating

Public sessions run most days, with a mix of general sessions, family-friendly times and evening sessions with music. Sessions are sold by time slot and the popular ones (weekend afternoons, school holidays, Friday and Saturday evenings) sell out, so book online first. Skate hire is normally included or available at the desk. See our public skating guide for what to expect.

Lessons

The rink runs learn-to-skate courses for children and adults, and ice hockey lessons for those who want to play. Courses are usually booked by the term or block and follow the national Skate UK badge scheme for beginners. There is more on how this works in skating lessons.

Parties

Children's skating birthday parties are offered, typically a session on the ice followed by food in a party area. See skating parties for what to ask before booking.

Ice hockey

The Romford Raiders play their home games here in the national league, usually on Sunday evenings in the season, and the Romford Buccaneers play here too. The Raiders' first game at the new rink, on the day it opened, was a sell-out. More in ice hockey in Romford.

Getting there

The centre is in Romford town centre, a short walk from Romford station on the Elizabeth line and Greater Anglia services, and close to the town's bus routes and shopping centres. There is pay-and-display and multi-storey parking nearby; the centre itself has limited parking, so the train or bus is usually easier at busy times.

Before you go: check the session you have booked on the operator's site on the day. Ice sessions are sometimes cancelled or shortened for hockey games, competitions or maintenance.