The 23 Christmas events and attractions you can still book from magical markets to festive train rides
WITH one month until Christmas, the country is already glittering with fabulous festive fun.
So you can start the celebrations now, by walking stunning light trails, jumping on Santa steam trains and shopping at colourful markets.
Trisha Harbord dives into a sackful of family events and attractions.
Santa specials
RIDE the five-mile line featured in 1970 film The Railway Children. Events aboard Keighley & Worth Valley Railway in West Yorkshire include a performance of A Christmas Carol, Elf Explorer with Santa and his elves, a carol service and mince pie specials.
Runs until January 5. From £24. See .
Santa has been weaving his magic on the Kent & East Sussex railway for 50 years. To celebrate, packages for a journey on the decorated carriages from Tenterden have added extras including gifts, family photo, mulled wine and a station winter wonderland.
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Runs until Christmas Eve. Tickets from £30. See .
The big man and his pals are back on the Great Central Railway, handing out pressies and leading singalongs.
Families join the decorated steam train, which will pause at Leicestershire’s Swithland Viaduct for fantastic views of the reservoir, at Loughborough Central Station.
The railway also has Christmas dining events. Runs until Christmas Eve. From £8. See .
Take a Polar Express train to celebrate 20 years of the movie based on the popular children’s book. Several heritage railways are running the adventure, including South Devon, Wensleydale in North Yorkshire and Kent’s Spa Valley.
And it will also depart London Euston for the first time.
Magic markets
YORK’S market is transformed into a colourful wonderland, with 75 decorated alpine chalets selling local crafts and gifts. Runs until December 22.
Also visit Yorkshire Yuletide Village in The Guildhall from December 3-20, for jewellery, art, textiles, soaps and ceramics. See .
Have a glass of gluhwein while listening to live music in Chester. More than 80 market stalls, selling produce surround the giant tree.
Runs until December 22. Pop into the medieval cathedral before January 5 to see more decorated firs. See .
With its lit-up fort, Pembroke Castle’s market in Wales is beautiful. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, it runs for three days from November 29.
Besides 80 stalls, there will be carol singers and musicians – and Santa arrives on the Friday. See .
Canterbury cathedral first hosted a Christmas market in its Kent grounds in 1383 – and now it’s back.
There will be wooden stalls, food and drink outlets, a carousel and live music. Runs until December 24. See .
Terrific trails
THE Royal Horticultural Society is bringing its gardens to life with spectacular RHS Glow trails.
Hyde Hall in Essex, Surrey’s Wisley, Bridgewater in Greater Manchester, North Yorkshire’s Harlow Carr and Rosemoor, North Devon, have all been turned into a kaleidoscope of colour. Adults £12.95, children £6.95. See .
Aglow at Auckland Palace lights up Bishop Auckland skies. The 1.5-mile trail through the County Durham gardens has 22 displays, including a 100-metre light tunnel – the longest in the country – neon trees and Santa’s Village. Open until December 31. Adult £21.75, children £14.75. See .
Sony Music’s My Christmas Trails now include several English Heritage sites, too. At Dunham Massey in Cheshire there is a light display across the lake.
Westonbirt in Gloucestershire is showcasing more than one million twinklers. Dates vary. Adults from £18, children £12. See .
Eleven giant recyclable artworks, inspired by climate action, form the World of Flowers in Derby. Free until December 31. See .
Longleat Safari Park celebrates its Festival Of Light’s tenth anniversary, with thousands of lanterns and bulbs shimmering to music.
On the Wiltshire estate until January 5. Adults from £47.95, children £35.95, including safari park. See
Sparkling shows
Santa is flying into London’s Natural History Museum with a sackload of books. Join him and his elves and reindeer in a fairy-light wonderland to hear him read Christmas classics.
Head to Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent to find The Elf On The Shelf.
Families go through an 11ft door to enter a North Pole-inspired wonderland – with games, tree decorating and snowball throwing – to spread Christmas cheer with the help of Santa’s elves.
Until Christmas Eve. Adults £6.50, children £14.50. See .
Watch toys come to life during a performance of The Nutcracker at Leeds Castle in Kent.
Super skates
SKATE and sing on an outdoor rink in Newcastle city centre. Book a karaoke session to serenade fellow skaters.
There are also silent discos on the ice in Times Square, outside the Life Science Centre. Runs until January 5. From £13.50. See .
For a great skating experience, visit Nottingham’s winter wonderland. There’s a ground-level rink and kids’ version. Thrillseekers will love the Sky Skate – an ice path that takes you over the market square.
Enjoy a drink in the frosty Ice Bar, or grab a mulled wine in the surrounding market stalls. Runs until December 31. From £12.50. See .
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Hop on the ice rink at London’s Somerset House and you could be sloping off to Barbados or the Maldives. Virgin Atlantic Holidays is Skate’s partner this year and anyone visiting can enter a competition to win £5,000 in holiday vouchers.
Choreographer Vanessa Bauer and Virgin crew opened the rink in spectacular style. Virgin is hosting exclusive skating evenings. Runs until January 12. From £10. See .