Awesome Ottawa: The really old skating rink at Rideau Hall

Rideau Hall sent out a press release last week announcing that the Rideau Hall Skating Rink is open for the season . Several cool (pardon the pun) things about this:

  1. 
 How many heads of state around the world
   

 a) have a skating rink on their grounds
   

 b) open it to the public?
   

 I'm betting the Governor General is the only one.

  2. 
 It's historic. The rink opened in 1872.  Ottawa historian
 [
  Paul Kitchen
 ](http://www.penumbrapress.com/book.php?id=297)
 believes that it is the
 [
  oldest continually operating skating rink
 ](http://video.senators.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=0&id=43719)
 anywhere.  Lord Stanley's (who created the whole Stanley Cup thing) had five sons and a daughter played hockey on the rink over 100 years ago.

  3. 
 [
  It's a beautiful setting
 ](http://www.google.ca/images?um=1&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=638&tbs=isch:1&sa=1&q=skating+rink+at+rideau+hall&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=)
 , surrounded by huge trees, and immaculately maintained.

  4. 
 It is free and open to the public on weekends.
 [
  More info here.
 ](http://ottawastart.com/story/12793.php)









**
 Related:
**
[
 Ottawa Skating Guide
](http://ottawastart.com/skating.php)