Swindon Ice Rink (Link Centre Swindon)

Swindon ice rink is in Swindon’s Link Centre. It is to the west of Swindon town centre, around a 5-minute drive from junction 16 of the M4.

Link Centre Swindon is a multipurpose facility and home to a number of ice hockey teams, including the Swindon Wildcats of the NHIL National League. It is just one of 41 ice rinks in the UK that are home to competitive ice hockey teams.

Information For Link Centre Swindon

Swindon Ice Rink Parking

There is plenty of free parking around the Swindon ice rink. The rink is directly next to the West Swindon District Centre, a shopping centre with lots of free parking. You shouldn’t have an issue finding a space.

Swindon Wildcats Ice Hockey Team

Swindon Wildcats is an ice hockey team playing in the UK’s NIHL National League.

The NIHL National is a semi-professional league with eleven teams, ten based in England and one in Scotland. This league is the second highest in the UK, with only the EIHL (Elite Ice Hockey League) playing at a higher level.

NIHL National Teams

Usually, the Basingstoke Bison would play in this league, but the team has pulled out of the 2023-2024 season due to rink refurbishments.

The season runs from September to March/April, and the teams will play two (sometimes three) games a week, one home and one away. The most common days for games are Saturday and Sunday, but the team will play some on Fridays or mid-week.

These games include those played in the league and for the Autumn Cup. Most of the cup games are played early in the season.

The league season typically finishes in early April with a playoff weekend where the top 4 teams fight for the league championship.

Swindon Wildcats Ice Hockey Team Contacts

Swindon Wildcats 2 Ice Hockey Team

Swindon Wildcats 2 is an ice hockey team playing in the UK’s NIHL 2 South (Wilkinson) division. The team is based at Swindon Ice Rink at the Link Centre.

The amateur NIHL 2 league is the fourth-highest in the UK, behind the EIHL, NIHL National and NIHL 1 leagues. Thirteen teams compete in the southern division (see below), and nine teams compete in the northern division.

NIHL 2 South (Wilkinson) Teams

The teams charge for entry to games, generally £5-£10 for a non-concessionary adult and reduced rates for children and OAPs.

NIHL 2 South teams compete for the regular season, playoff, and Wilkinson Cup titles. The regular season runs from September to late March and concludes in early April with a playoff weekend for the semi-final and final games.

How Cold Is Swindon Ice Rink?

If you haven’t been to a hockey game before, you need to know that ice rinks are cold places (not a surprise!). And the closer you are to the ice, the colder you will be. Also, hockey rinks in the UK aren’t heated, so temperatures in the arena drop in line with outside temperatures.

For those with some experience of UK rinks, we would rank the Swindon ice rink as warmer than average. However, this is based on balcony-level seating. It is quite a bit colder if you have a rink-side seat.

Swindon Ice Rink Seating & Away Fan Blocks

Swindon Wildcats tickets give you assigned seating. The away fans block at Swindon Ice Rink is block S; if this block is full, the visiting fans spread to neighbouring block W. These are both rink-side blocks. 

The majority of the seating at Swindon Ice Rink is at balcony level. We find the views are best from this level, which is also warmer. Note that Swindon Wildcats games can get full, and seats will sell out for popular games, so buy your tickets in advance.

9 Best Ice Rink Activities To Do At Swindon Ice Rink

Watching an ice hockey game is just one of many things to do at Swindon Ice Rink. There is a wide range of ice rink activities on offer, including:

• Public ice skating sessions
• Ice skating lessons
• Ice hockey lessons
• Join a recreational ice hockey team.
• Join a women’s ice hockey team.
• Ice dancing or figure skating
• Synchronized Ice Skating
• Ice skating birthday parties
• Wheelchair ice skating / disabled ice skating