Winter Wonderland: Ice sculptures, aerial acrobatics and white knuckle rides

Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park is perfect for getting you into the festive spirit.

The Magical Ice Kingdom was our first stop. Step through the Ice Palace arched doorway and there is a host of beautifully carved ice sculptures.

You can even go on the ice castle ramparts, slide through the snow tunnelled hidden ice slide and see an angry snarling bear carved out of ice.

The Magical Ice Kingdom is kept very cold to keep the sculptures from melting so I and my sons warmed up after with some hot doughnuts and Nutella.

Then it was time for some rides. I opted to stay on the ground while they were spun around, thrown upside down and dropped from a great height.

After that we decided to go on the Giant Wheel.

Our pod played Christmas music while we tried to spot as many landmarks as possible and enjoyed looking down on all the frenetic activity below.

Then it was time for a show so we queued up for Zippos Christmas Circus.

Men started running inside huge wheels suspended in the air and then clambered onto the outer rims and even did somersaults as the wheels spun. It was an incredible performance.

This was followed by a contortionist and a troupe of performers who threw their bodies in the air, under and over each other and ended up as a human pyramid.

There is so much to do at Winter Wonderland. I feel we just got a taster. Ice skating, the Christmas markets and ice sculpting workshops all unexplored. Oh well - there is always next year!

To find out more and book tickets go to: hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/