ONE popular pub is opening its very own pop-up ice rink this year.

An ice rink, hundreds of metres of Christmas lights, thousands of bulbs and towering trees will great visitors to The Black Swan in Helmsley next month

To mark the re-opening of the historic inn a pop-up ice rink is being installed from December 2 to 5 for the community as it celebrates its first Christmas opening. The rink will have mulled wine stands with proceeds going to Helmsley charities.

The 15th century inn, which reopened last month following a multi-million pound refurbishment by owners The Inn Collection Group, has also been transformed for Christmas.

The inn’s much-loved and missed Father Christmas, who takes pride of place on the inn’s roof, has been given a makeover and will be returning to take pole position looking out across Helmsley’s festivities on Market Place.

Dave Walker, general manager at The Black Swan, said: “We are looking forward to giving our customers the most wonderful time of year as we celebrate The Black Swan being open for business once again. When we heard the inn had hosted an ice rink in years gone by, we wanted to recreate this magic and are delighted to be hosting a pop-up ice rink for the community to use, free of charge as we celebrate the start of our christmas celebrations.

“as a group, the inn collection group is known for its amazing decorations, but this year we really wanted to pull out all the stops and go all out for a showstopper christmas spectacle and to make the black swan among the most festive in the country and to support the people of Helmsley who go to such lengths to make the town the festive extravaganza it becomes each year."

The Black Swan’s pop-up ice rink is open from Thursday December 2 - 5 from 12 noon until 8pm each day.

For more information about Christmas at The Black Swan visit https://www.inncollectiongroup.com/the-black-swan/christmas/