There are plenty of situations in which you could expect to find yourself falling on your bottom over Christmas, but ice skating in Bermuda was not the one that first sprang to my mind.

When it was announced back in October there would be a Christmas ice rink in St George’s, I assumed it was some sort of elaborate late April Fool’s hoax.

After all, how could they possibly keep that frozen throughout Christmas and the New Year without a ticket costing as much as an OBA hotel bill?

What I soon discovered after a little sniff of investigative journalism was that the ice rink was not, in fact, made of ice, but from a plastic polymer, coated in resin (sounds very technical, but it magically works).

It’s the same type of synthetic ice used by professional hockey players when they train, and like some sort of Christmas miracle we could be gliding across Somers Garden as if we were South Pole penguins, in the glowing heat of 70F, for the princely sum of $22 (including skate hire). Now, let’s face it, at the cost of less than a tin of Quality Street on island, and infinitely better for your health, it’s a festive treat that couldn’t be quibbled over.

Hoping to maximise my chances of not tumbling to the ground every ten seconds, the middle of the day seemed like a good time to visit, when the ice rink is fairly empty; I reasoned navigating crowds of other Bambi-footed individuals would only make the challenge of standing upright much more, well, challenging!

After flashing passports and navigating the immigration control that is a prerequisite of travelling as far Down Country as St George’s, I located the tented rink, where a handful of youngsters were hurriedly pulling on skates with the help of an abundance of staff, who checked boots were fastened securely and that the little ones made it safely on to the ice.

Many of the children told me they were visiting for their fourth or fifth time – so, as initially the only adult on the rink (and I say that in the loosest sense of the term), I prepared myself to be humiliated by some experienced Torvills and Deans who were barely higher than my knee.

Having ice-skated back in England several years ago, while I wouldn’t call myself an expert, I was hoping I could hold my own in front of the gathering crowds.

But, stepping on to the rink told a different story – with this strange “pretend ice” rink, there was much more resistance than gliding on real ice and I half- stumbled around in circles a few times, clutching desperately to the railings.

Now they say it is a bad workman who blames his tools, but one of the ever-vigilant members of staff soon spotted that I was struggling and suggested it might be that my skates were too blunt (the plastic rink wears them down quickly and they have to be resharpened every hour or so).

After a quick skate swap for a more pointed blade I stepped back on to the rink and, lo and behold, I had my balance back.

It took about 15 minutes to get into my stride, but was soon zipping round, dodging the squealing, giggling (and, might I say, some of them incredibly acrobatic) children who were clearly having the time of their lives, even if it ended up with them, every now and then, on their bottoms!

Exhausted and flushed after my hour, I skated to the safety of one of the rink-side benches to take a breather and spoke to some of the families who were delighted that there was such a festive treat on the island.

“It’s the perfect way of wearing them out after all that sugar,” one grandmother explained conspiratorially, “the visit’s certainly made our Christmas”.

While the evening sessions are more adult-friendly, it really is the children and their fearless delight in falling down that make a trip to the ice rink a day to remember. Oh, and don’t miss out on the fresh lemonade stall next door post-skate – much needed after that aerobic workout.

The rink has been busy, and with a two-year contract in place, is guaranteed to return again for Christmas 2017.

If you haven’t taken the opportunity to visit the ice rink yet then hurry, as you’re definitely missing out on one of the most fun and festive treats Bermuda has to offer.

Slots are still available from today until 15 January. To book your hour between 11am and 8pm visit http://sgs.planningfactory.com.