Ice skating has become a staple tradition for many families at Christmas and pop-up ice rinks are set to appear everywhere from Felixstowe, where skating is free, to Newmarket.

The temporary rinks are being built over the next few weeks - and could be even more popular than usual as the region’s permanent rink at Chelmsford’s Riverside Ice and Leisure is currently closed for refurbishment, and is not due to reopen until spring 2019.

Here is our round-up of Christmas ice rinks.

Felixstowe

Head to the Great Eastern Square the weekend before Christmas where the pop-up rink will open daily from Thursday, December 20 to Sunday, December 23.

Brave the cold from 11am to 7pm from Thursday to Saturday, and from 10am to 6pm on Sunday.

Skating is free and there is no need to book in advance.

Across the weekend there will also be rides for smaller children and stalls serving food and drinks.

Kesgrave

‘Kesgrave on ice’ will come to the town from Saturday, December 1 to Sunday, December 2 - costing £2 per session.

Online booking has now closed for the event, which will take place at the Rupert Fison Square near the Tesco Metro.

Any remaining places will be allocated on the day on a first come, first served basis.

Keen skaters will be able to take to the ice for 45 minutes and can warm-up with a hot drink afterwards.

All children under the age of eight must be accompanied by an adult on the ice – the maximum ratio is one adult per three children.

Newmarket

A four-day Making Magical Memories Christmas Festival is coming to Newmarket from Thursday, November 29 to Sunday, December 2, offering a number of activities, events and shows to get you in the festive spirit.

Organiser of the festival Graham Philpot says that “the ice rink will be eco-friendly”.

People can pull on their skates for £2 a session. Under 12s must be accompanied by an adult on the ice.

There is no option to pre-book the ice rink which will open from 1pm to 8pm on the Thursday, Friday and Sunday. On Saturday the rink will close at the earlier time of 6pm.

For other events such as the pantomime and Christmas shows, pre-booking is compulsory and details can be found on their website.

Sudbury

The Sudbury Christmas fair and light switch on will take place on Friday, November 23 from 5pm to 9pm. For one night only there will be a temporary ice rink for people to enjoy in the town centre.

There will also be fun fair rides, a Santa’s grotto, food stalls and live music.

Norwich

Further afield the skating season will return from Friday, December 14 to Sunday, January 6 at the Castle Mall Gardens in Norwich.

Sessions are available every hour from 10am to 9pm, except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, when the rink will be closed.

To purchase tickets visit their website.

Chelmsford

If you are interested in ice skating lessons Riverside have started a waiting list for when classes resume next year for the Get In! Skate School.

If ice skating and cold weather seem far from fun, why not try one of the region’s roller skating rinks instead?

You can skate at:

• Curve Motion in Bury St Edmunds

• Rollerworld in Colchester

• Area 25 Skatepark in Ipswich

• Rollers at Claremont Pier in Lowestoft

• Dovercourt Skate Rink