GET your skates on! Tickets are on sale for Yorkshire's Winter Wonderland at the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet in York with early-bird discounts available this month.

Running from November 17 to January 6, the annual event will be home to The Ice Factor, the north's largest outdoor ice rink with a 30ft sparkling Christmas tree at its centre.

The rink boasts a 975-square metre surface and is surrounded by an Alpine skate hire chalet; rink-side café; illuminated log cabins; reindeer; Christmas trees and viewing platform. Snowmen and penguin stabilisers are aplenty and a team of highly experienced ice marshals will be on hand.

The Alpine-themed, après-skate, rink-side café, PapaKitchen, has undergone a makeover with a new menu from York café The Perky Peacock that includes homemade dishes, such as chilli and chips, cakes and cookies. This cosy café has windows that run the length of the ice rink and a licensed bar with mulled wine, ales and hot chocolate. New for 2018 are children’s party packages and a dedicated party area inside the café.

The vintage funfair returns with rides dating from the golden era of fairgrounds. Visitors can enjoy a rare Brooklands Dodgems from 1937; a 1930s' Chair-o-Plane; a renovated Ghost Train from the 1950s; an exhilarating 1936 Speedway and two children’s rides, a 1947 Muffin the Mule Autodrome and Hush Hush the Monorail, the oldest ride, made in 1933. Look out too for games stalls with prizes.

Santa Claus will be making his customary appearance with his elves. Visitors can follow a path through the snowy enchanted woodland, where fairytale creatures glow in the dark and trees sparkle with lights to find Santa's log cabin and collect a gift for every child.

Event manager Haydn Hunter says: "This is our 14th season of The Ice Factor and we're delighted to see so many families coming back year after year to enjoy the exhilaration of outdoor skating, plus all the fun of the fair.

"We're the largest outdoor ice rink in the north of England and the wooded backdrop and giant Christmas tree in the centre of the rink make for a wonderful space to skate. Our ice marshals are already excited to be returning for another season."

Tickets for a one-hour skating session cost £10.95 for adults and £9.95 for children; family packages are available for families of three, four or five and special packages for parties, schools, clubs and youth groups, with discounts applying to groups of 20 or more. The early-bird saving of £2 for adult, child and concession tickets will apply if booked by September 30.

Booking is recommended for skating at yorkshireswinterwonderland.com or on 01653 619169, although tickets for skating and the funfair can be bought on site too.

Charles Hutchinson