Stevenston Hockey

Auchinharvie Leisure Centre

📍 Saltcoats Road, Stevenston KA20 3JR

Auchinharvie Leisure Centre is the only full-size public ice rink in North Ayrshire, Scotland, and serves as the home venue for the North Ayrshire Wild, the area's leading ice hockey club, as well as figure skating, recreational skating, and curling programmes. Located in Kilwinning, the centre sits on the edge of the Irvine Bay coastal area and draws visitors from across the Ayrshire region, including Irvine, Kilmarnock, Saltcoats, Ardrossan, and Largs. As a local-authority-run facility, Auchinharvie reflects North Ayrshire Council's commitment to year-round community access to ice sports in a region where outdoor rinks are rare and weather-dependent. The rink measures 56m × 26m and conforms to International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) regulation dimensions for international play. Its ice surface is open to public skating sessions every day of the week, with peak family times on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The spectator gallery seats 600, and the venue regularly hosts North Ayrshire Wild home fixtures in the Scottish National League (SNL). Beyond hockey, the rink supports the Ayrshire Figure Skating Club's test sessions, an annual Christmas ice show that has been a fixture in the local cultural calendar for over two decades, and corporate bookings for Christmas parties and team-building events. Auchinharvie's community programming is one of its defining features. The centre offers free skate hire for under-12s on weekday afternoons, free learn-to-skate taster sessions every Saturday morning, and subsidized Skate School lessons aligned with the British Ice Skating (BIS) Learn to Skate pathway. North Ayrshire Wild's junior section trains on Wednesday and Friday evenings, and the Wild's rec-league teams take to the ice on Sundays. The rink's off-ice facilities include a café, accessible changing rooms, parent viewing areas, and free car parking. For visitors arriving by car, the centre is just off the A78 in Kilwinning, with the A737 and A71 connecting routes from Glasgow (45 minutes) and Kilmarnock (20 minutes). Public transport options include Kilwinning railway station (10-minute walk), with regular ScotRail services from Glasgow Central. The rink's RinkStop profile lists current session times, league fixtures, and contact information, making it easy for hockey organizers, skating coaches, and casual visitors to find the details they need. The Wild's home schedule runs from September through March, with playoff fixtures typically extending into April. The rink has hosted IIHF-sanctioned exhibition games and served as a training camp venue for the Scottish men's under-20 team on multiple occasions. The facility's ice technicians maintain a precise ice profile suitable for both hockey and figure skating, and the venue has invested in LED lighting upgrades in recent years to reduce energy costs and improve on-ice visibility for competitive play. Auchinharvie Leisure Centre has long been regarded as the heart of ice sports in Ayrshire, and the recent investment by North Ayrshire Council in the venue's infrastructure — including new boards, glass, and dasher-board advertising — signals a clear commitment to keeping the facility operational for decades to come. For anyone searching for hockey, figure skating, or public skating in the west of Scotland, the rink remains an essential fixture of the regional ice sports landscape, and RinkStop's comprehensive directory ensures that the venue's programming, contact details, and team affiliations are accurate and easy to find.