Ice Skating in Regent's Park

London, in Christmas, is fully decorated. Despite the greys that invade the city the rest of the year, in this season everything is colour, happiness and light. So, if you want to seem like a Londoner, you will have to practise one of their favourite sports: ice skating. 

In December you can find ice skating rinks all over the city. The most incredible rinks, because of the size and views, are situated in Somerset House, Hyde Park, The Tower of London, or The Natural History Museum. However, one of the favourite rinks for the tourists is the Eyeskate, emplaced in front of the London Eye. 

St. James’s Park. 21st January 2013.

The ice rinks, as we know them, are pretty new. In London, in the Victorian era, the tradition was to skate over the frozen lakes and ponds. However, on the 15th of January of 1867 the unthinkable occurred. When hundreds of people were skating in Regent’s Park, the ice began to weaken and cracked. Around 500 Londoners fell down into freezing water, 12 feet deep. The cold temperatures quickly froze the ice again and finally 40 people died. 

This wasn’t the first time that something similar happened. The day before, the ice broke and 21 skaters plunged into the same lake. This time all of them were rescued saved and sound. 

Londoners learned their lesson and, to avoid future tragedies, they reduced to 4 or 5 feet the lakes' depth.