The council's own tourism site says the Calverley Grounds rink is back for 2026, but no dates or prices are out and the SKATE booking address currently 404s.

The short answer: yes, SKATE is expected back at Calverley Grounds this winter, but as of 6 September 2026 nobody has published a date, a price or a booking link. The council’s own visitor site says the rink is returning. Its festive site still advertises last year. And the address that used to sell the tickets currently lands on an error page.

Here is what is actually on the record, and what is not.

What is confirmed

Visit Tunbridge Wells, the borough council’s tourism site, updated its Christmas page on 27 August 2026 and says: “Calverley Grounds will turn into a winter wonderland again in 2026 with the ever popular ice rink. Enjoy a spot of ice skating, take in the market stalls and other festive activities. Groups of up to eight can enjoy Bavarian Curling during set sessions, or families with little ones can book toddler sessions” (Visit Tunbridge Wells).

That is a first-party statement of intent from the council side, naming the year. It is the strongest evidence available that the rink is on.

The site also has permission to be there. Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s property and estates team holds three standing planning consents for the Calverley Grounds festive site, all of them running until 2028, so no new application is needed each year:

  • 22/01324/FULL, ice rink with changing area, cafe, lighting and Christmas chalets, up to 12 weeks a year, permitted 30 June 2022 and amended in October 2025 to change the rink layout and roof shape.
  • 23/02349/FULL, observation wheel, up to 5 weeks a year, permitted 13 October 2023.
  • 24/02371/FULL, carousel and ticket booth, up to 5 weeks a year, granted at committee on 7 November 2024.

Calverley Grounds also now has its own premises licence, 26/02084/LAPRE, applied for in May 2026 and issued after a public notice period that drew no representations. Both records are on the borough’s planning and licensing registers.

So the “will it happen” question is not a planning or licensing question this year. It is a question of when the operator opens the box office.

What is not confirmed

No 2026 dates. No opening day, no closing day, no session times.

No 2026 prices. Nothing published for adults, children, toddler sessions or Bavarian curling.

No live booking. The short address the rink has used, skatetw.co.uk, currently redirects to a page on the Assembly Hall Theatre website that returns a 404. The theatre runs the ticketing, so that is the page to watch, but it is empty today.

The council’s festive site is a year out of date. festivetw.com, which Tunbridge Wells Borough Council runs, still tells visitors the rink is “open seven days a week from Friday 5th December 2025 (closed Christmas Day)” and still advertises Sleeping Beauty as the Assembly Hall pantomime. Sleeping Beauty was the 2025 show. Search engines are confidently repeating those 2025 dates as though they were this year’s. They are not.

Last year as a guide

The only firm shape we have is the 2025 season, from festivetw.com: the rink opened on Friday 5 December 2025, ran seven days a week, and closed on Christmas Day only. Parent and toddler sessions ran as relaxed, quieter slots with gentle music and soft lighting. Bavarian curling took over the whole rink for selected sessions, for groups of up to eight, and the council warned those slots sold out fast.

If 2026 follows the same pattern, opening would fall in the first week of December and booking would open some weeks before. The planning consent allows up to 12 weeks, which is far more than the rink has used, so a longer season is possible but has never happened.

Getting there and parking

Calverley Grounds is on Mount Pleasant Avenue, TN1 2SH, a five minute walk from Tunbridge Wells station and from the top of the town centre. The Crescent Road gates are the usual way in.

There is no parking at the park. The nearest council car parks are Crescent Road and Great Hall, both a short walk. Note that only six of the borough’s car parks charge the cheaper £2.40 evening rate, so “free after 6pm” is wrong for the town-centre multi-storeys: the details are on our parking page. Check roadworks and travel before driving in.

What else is on at the same time

The rink is one part of a fuller festive programme, most of which now has real 2026 dates: see our pages on the Christmas lights and markets and the pantomime at the Assembly Hall. For the rest of the year, our guide to things to do in Tunbridge Wells has current prices for the paid attractions.

We will update this page the day SKATE’s 2026 dates and prices are published.

Sources