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.
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 kwvr.co.uk.
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.
Runs until Christmas Eve. Tickets from £30. See kesr.org.uk.
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 gcrailway.co.uk.
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.
Singing chefs tell the story as you meet the film’s characters. Various dates, South Devon ticket from £42.90. See raileventsint.co.uk.
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 visityork.org.
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 visitchester.com.
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 pembrokecastle.co.uk.
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 canterbury-cathedral.org.
Manchester attracts millions of people to its markets in nine locations, including St Ann’s Square and Piccadilly Gardens, until December 22. Stalls in Cathedral Gardens are open until December 31. See visitmanchester.com.
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 rhs.org.uk.
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 aucklandaglow.org.
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 mychristmastrails.co.uk.
Eleven giant recyclable artworks, inspired by climate action, form the World of Flowers in Derby. Free until December 31. See visitderby.co.uk.
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 longleat.co.uk.
BLENHEIM Palace’s immersive Christmas spectacular tells the story of Peter Pan, transporting visitors to the fantastical world of Neverland.
The Oxfordshire Unesco World Heritage site has teamed up with Great Ormond Street Hospital, which will receive part of the ticket sales.
The palace’s opulent state rooms are exquisite and you’ll meet Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook, the crocodile and Tinker Bell.
Runs until January 1. Adults £38, children £22. See blenheimpalace.com.
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.
From December 1-15. Adults free, children £17. See nhm.ac.uk.
Get ready for the wow factor at Great Yarmouth’s Christmas Spectacular & Water Show.
Circus performers, aerialists and acrobats will thrill the audience before the Hippodrome stage becomes a giant pool with fountains and synchronised swimmers.
From December 7 to January 5. Adults from £22, children from £12. See hippodromecircus.co.uk.
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 bluewater.co.uk/elf-shelf-christmas-adventure.
Watch toys come to life during a performance of The Nutcracker at Leeds Castle in Kent.
Uncover surprises as the classic tale to rescue the Sugar Plum Fairy is played out along beautifully decorated rooms in what was once the home of Henry VIII.
There’s a Nutcracker afternoon tea, too. Until January 5. Adults £31.50, children £22.50. See leeds-castle.com.
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 life.org.uk.
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 visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk.
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 somersethouse.org.uk.
