THE ice rink at Cardiff’s Winter Wonderland attraction has become a victim of the Wintry weather.
While the rink has been closed since Saturday (Nov 14) due to poor weather, the whole attraction was forced to close early today (Tuesday) as Storm Barney, the second major storm to hit the UK in a week, made its presence felt in the capital.
The Met Office has issued a Yellow Alert for wind in Cardiff, meaning that people should be aware of the potential for gusts between 50-60mph and the risk of disruption caused by fallen trees and other debris.
Storm Barney is expected to bring wind speeds of up to 80mph in coastal areas of Wales over the next 24 hours and flood warnings and alerts about high tides and large waves have also been issued.
Cardiff, named in the media as the ‘wettest city in Britain’ according to Met Office figures, is set for persistent rain over the next 48 hours – which isn’t good news for the Winter Wonderland ice rink.
Tim Powell, a spokesman for the attraction, said: “It’s unfortunate, but the mix of very high winds, rain and warm temperatures are the very worst for an outdoor rink. Even putting a roof over the top would not stop the wind’s friction causing problems.”
However, Mr Powell was keen to remind potential visitors that the attraction had plenty of other available activities, including the variety of rides and new Ice Kingdom, a hall of carved ice sculptures.
“Though skating is out at the moment, the weather is set to be kinder over the coming days, and there is still plenty to do on the site,” he said.
Last year a record number of people visited the attraction, despite the weather. Official figures show that 60,000 people used the ice rink and 300,000 visited the various shops, rides and food stalls.
Forecasters said the wind is meant to die down on Thursday, with patchy rain throughout the week and temperatures dropping towards the weekend – which could be good news for the ice.
