Britain’s best Christmas markets
Find the perfect Christmas present and enjoy an afternoon drinking mulled wine and eating delicious festive treats, with our guide to the best Christmas markets in the UK in 2019.
Sample delicious festive food and drink and find unique gifts with our guide to the best traditional Christmas markets in the UK in 2019.
York Christmas Market: 14th November–22nd December
Sip on mulled wine, listening to carols and exploring the historic minster in this festive medieval city.
Enter a world of festive delights as @YorkMansionHse is transformed into a Gingerbread House for the Christmas season, complete with winter warming smells, sights and sounds. ????????
… Please don't try and eat the house, though. ???? #YorkChristmashttps://t.co/NlPqpYaewL pic.twitter.com/BoQWc4qEsh
— ???????? Visit Y❄️rk ???????? (@VisitYork) November 17, 2019
Chatsworth House Christmas Market, Derbyshire: 15th November to 3rd December
For true decadence whilst you shop, this historic house in the heart of the Peak District is hosting the perfect festive market. You can indulge in a mulled cider or an array of gourmet treats to tempt your taste buds. You can also explore the Chatsworth shops – the Orangery shop in the garden and the Stables shop – with a wide range of unusual home and fashion gifts, and lots of lovely stocking fillers.
Posted by Chatsworth House on Tuesday, December 11, 2018
More Christmas content:
- Christmas tree guide: how to choose the perfect tree, plus homemade decoration ideas
- Festive guide: easy edible Christmas gifts
- The best plaes in Britain to find Santa’s grotto this Christmas
Belfast Christmas Market: 16th November–22nd December
Try traditional seasonal treats and fairground rides by Belfast City Hall.
Edinburgh Christmas Market: 16th November–4th January
Dine on delicious fare at the Scottish Market, ride the big wheel or get lost in the Christmas tree maze with the twinkling city as your backdrop. edinburghschristmas.com
Santa flew in to spread festive cheer this evening at Edinburgh’s Christmas Light Night 2019! Here are the highlights in case you missed it! ????????✨ #edinburghschristmas #edxmas pic.twitter.com/nhkjFSEdS7
— Edinburgh's Christmas (@Edxmas) November 17, 2019
Chartwell Christmas Market, Kent: 21st – 24th November
Chartwell, the family home and Garden of Sir Winston Churchill, is the place to be for Christmas shopping this year. The Christmas market has something for everyone – food, fashion and homewares, with festive stalls selling everything from cheeses to jewellery and jams to candles. Meanwhile, Chartwell’s gift shop will be selling Churchill’s favourite champagne and cologne alongside stylish decorations. The market is completely free to browse, plus you can complete your visit by wandering through the ground gardens for the price of normal admission.
Winchester Christmas Fair: 21st November to 22nd December
This fantastic fair, with more than 100 chalets, is set at the foot of the Cathedral in Winchester’s stunning historic centre. With pretty decorated stalls, a festive food court and a Christmas Grotto, there is even an open air ice-rink and Alpine Café full of warming treats. Make sure you make a return visit as there will be a new raft of exhibitors half way through the market’s run, to keep things interesting.
Take a rare glimpse into this family owned stately home this Christmas. While you tour the extensive rooms you will be entertained by local musicians and choirs and Father Christmas making a special appearance for the children. Then out into the beautiful Cheshire gardens, to the Marquee and its local craft stalls.
Festive treats including hot meat rolls, soup, mulled wine and mince pies will be on sale in the butler’s pantry.
The Christmas Market at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire: 22nd November – 15th December
This year, Blenheim Palace’s Christmas market will be home to hundreds of little wooded chalets, each filled with a variety of hand-picked gifts from homeware, textile, ceramics, stationery vendors. There’ll be gifts for foodies alongside toys, jewellery, bags, and leather goods, plus works by a range of designers.
More Christmas content:
- Christmas traditions: Advent calendars, decorations, and carols
- Guide to mistletoe: history, how it became a Christmas tradition and how to grow your own mistletoe
- Britain’s best winter beaches
Bath Christmas Market, Somerset: 28th November to 15th December
Clustered along the streets of beautiful Georgian Bath, this festive market with 150 chalets sells everything from fine foods to artisan jewellery. Wrap up and indulge in hot mulled wine and vanilla sugar crepes as you wander the traditional wooden stalls to the merry sound of carols.
Deepdale Christmas Market, Norfolk: 29th November to 1st December
Head to the beautiful North Norfolk Coast this December of the annual Christmas market. Tiny Deepdale may only have 30 permanent residents but that doesn’t stop it exploding with festive life at Christmas when 120 artisan stalls are set up around the village. Enjoy Candi’s Chutney, James Buttifant’s penguins, Marsh Pig, Nelson & Norfolk Tea Company, Breckland Orchard, Cushion Cottage, Gourmet Brownies, Ollands Farm Foods, Boo Boutique, Norfolk Brewhouse, Bringing The Outside In, Holkham Forge, Lilac Nuseries and Reclaimed Time.
Posted by Dalegate Market on Friday, December 1, 2017
Hopetoun House Christmas Shopping Fair, South Queensferry: 29th November – 1st December
Visit the Christmas market at Hopetoun House for a welcome relief from the stresses of the high street chaos. With festive entertainment and more than 60 stalls selling unique and charming gifts and crafts, you can settle and take in the beautiful surroundings and Scottish hospitality. Be sure not to miss the State Dining room, decorated beautifully for the Christmas season.
For the first two weekends of December, Grassington steps back in time for its annual Dickensian festival. If you are seeking local flavour this season then the quaint village of Grassington provides an authentic Victorian experience. With period dress, market stalls, music and carols, it provides a dose of Christmas spirit and goodwill to all!
Upton House Christmas Craft fair, Warwickshire: 30th November and 1st December
With a glass of mulled wine in your hand, enjoy sauntering through the many stalls offering great opportunities for ticking items off your gift list. Children can take part in the Christmas trail and visit Father Christmas.
In the historic grounds of Ludlow Castle you can explore over 100 stalls selling seasonal wares, food and drink, crafts, historical goods and more – all manned by vendors in medieval garb. There’ll be live music, theatre, comedy, juggling and swashbuckling sword fights by heroic knights in the castle all weekend.
Caerphilly Christmas market: 7th – 8th December
Caerphilly Castle provides the magnificent backdrop to this bustling Christmas fair, with funfair rides, mulled wine, street theatre, more than 100 food, craft and gift stalls. There is also a separate farmer’s market and craft fayre being held over the same weekend.
