Altrincham Silver Blades Ice Dome

This new modern ice dome is definitely a great place to come and have a bit of fun on the ice on skates. Also a great place to come and watch Manchester Phoenix in the British Ice Hockey League with a brilliant atmosphere at their games and for those who’ve never seen the full-​blooded nature of Ice Hockey, what a sport!
Come here for a laugh for around £8 to circle the ice rink on hired skates listening to your club favourites as a group or just as a small number of people. Always very helpful staff on the ice to check up on you and First Aid is available for those unlucky enough to have a major fall.

When an old friend and I were looking for something different to do, we decided to see if we could find an ice rink in the local area. Silver Blades fitted the bill, and is open to the public between 11am and 4.30pm for… well, basic gliding around and giggling really. One thing I noted was occasionally you get the odd semi-​professional in there with earphones jammed in, practising their routines. The sight of someone spinning like a top amid all the bum-​sliders and barrier-​crashers is something to behold.
A note of caution though: the boots for hire. My companion decided to… perhaps not wisely… test his out on the carpet by performing a little jump (snow and ice have been as familiar to him as grass and sand since he could toddle, infuriatingly) and the blades snapped off the soles. That didn’t bode well. He got them changed but was of course slightly perturbed by the incident.
Later we stopped by a nearby skate shop, The Hockey Stop, who informed us that the mass-​rental boots are of horrifically bad quality (he described them as ‘wellies with blades glued on’) and if you want to skate regularly you should buy your own. Meh, cynics say it could have been a sales pitch, but after the friend’s narrow escape of having his feet sliced to shreds I was inclined to agree.
Also, skating’s pretty hungry work, and if you’ve come by car there’s a TGI Fridays just down the road which is filling, simple American-​themed fayre.

I remember the thrill of learning to ice skate as a teenager at London’s Sreatham Ice Rink, and recently I went to Altrincham’s and within seconds of just walking through the door the excitement came flooding back! I went on a date, and had so much fun! My sides were aching from laughter by the end of our 2 hour session, and as my skills remained in the past… my derrière was achingly feeling the few (more than 10 (at least!) times it made contact with the ice!
We went late morning, and towards the end of the session, it did get quite busy … and there were the obligatory groups of «youths» getting all caveman trying to impress the girls, but they were just more fall-​on-​your-​arse giggle fodder! A 2 hour session costs from £4 including skate hire and lessons and courses are available every day of the week.

This must be the place.
A little student leadership I was part of at the University of Manchester had a field trip out to the rink. We took a bus for over and hour, and it seemed everyone was friends already, except for me.
At the time, all I could do with skate in a round (and a small, jagged round at that), but at least I could do crossovers to turn. I think the president of the club could skate medium-​well, so people looked to the two of us.
Well not me. They were probably still mad because I was bad at The Weakest Link. I wasn’t educated like them!

Took the kids ice skating one sunday morning as this was the time recommended. Really good fun but got really busy towards the end. kids loved it and good value for money.

I’ve been to the Ice Dome on a number of occasions — including during a school holiday (note: you’ll definitely want to avoid going during any school holiday periods. The queues were literally out the door and the by the time we eventually got in and retrieved our skates, the rink was packed with cocky teenagers spraying everyone with ice!)
Aside from this one unfortunate incident, I’ve had a fab time here, and really felt like I was reliving my youth! Ice Rinks seem few and far between in Manchester, and although the Altrincham Ice Dome isn’t the prettiest of places and could probably do well from a lick of paint, it’s still a fun way to spend the afternoon.
Parking is on a pay and display system, and can be quite busy because the train station is so near.

The closure of the old Altrincham ice rink was much lamented — especially by me — but the new ice dome is much more central to the town and just as much fun. Its got all the usual facilities — café, skate hire, plenty of seating for the ice hockey matches, but no bar — shame !! A 2 hour session costs from £4 including skate hire and lessons and courses are available every day of the week. Ice skating is fantastic fun and you’ll be amazed how quickly you learn to stay on your feet