Christmas Markets UKThe 2026 season, market by market

Christmas markets in South East England

23 markets in the guide, 20 with dates this season still to come.

South East England week by week

Scotland — 27 marketsSCOTLAND27Northern Ireland — 15 marketsN IRELAND15North East England — 8 marketsNORTH EAST8North West England — 10 marketsNORTH WEST10Yorkshire and the Humber — 14 marketsYORKSHIRE14Wales — 12 marketsWALES12West Midlands — 12 marketsW MIDLANDS12East Midlands — 10 marketsE MIDLANDS10East of England — 11 marketsEAST11London — 9 marketsLONDON9South East England — 23 marketsSOUTH EAST23South West England — 23 marketsSOUTH WEST23
A glowing gallopers carousel and a Christmas tree covered in white lights at dusk, with visitors gathered below the walls of Rochester Castle
Photo: Chris Whippet, CC BY-SA 2.0

This season, by date

Canterbury Christmas Market

When: Thu 12 Nov – Thu 24 Dec 2026 Opens in 33 days

Daily for 43 days; closes 4pm on Christmas Eve

Canterbury, Kent

Big cityMakersFood & drink

Southampton Christmas Market

When: Thu 12 Nov – Sun 27 Dec 2026 Opens in 33 days

Closed Christmas Day

Southampton, Hampshire

Big cityContinentalFood & drink

Blenheim Palace Christmas Market

When: Fri 13 Nov – Sun 20 Dec 2026 Opens in 34 days

Wider Christmas at Blenheim season runs 13 Nov 2026 – 3 Jan 2027

Woodstock, Oxfordshire

MakersFood & drinkCastle & estate

Folkestone Festive Marketplace

When: Fri 13 Nov – Thu 24 Dec 2026 Opens in 34 days

Fri–Sun only until 20 Dec (opening night 13 Nov 4–8pm), then daily 21–24 Dec

Folkestone, Kent

MakersFood & drinkLight trail Free entry

The Pantiles Boutique Christmas Market

When: Fri 13 Nov – Thu 24 Dec 2026 Opens in 34 days

Fri–Sun only on 13–15, 20–22, 27–29 Nov and 4–6, 11–13 Dec; then daily 18–24 Dec

Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent

MakersFood & drinkLight trail Free entry

Tenterden Christmas Market

When: Thu 19 – Sun 22 Nov 2026 Opens in 40 days

Tenterden, Kent

MakersFood & drinkLive music Free entry

Kent Festive Gift & Food Show

When: Fri 20 – Sun 22 Nov 2026 Opens in 41 days

Detling, Maidstone, Kent

MakersFood & drinkIndoor

Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market

When: Fri 20 Nov – Tue 22 Dec 2026 Opens in 41 days

Open daily for 33 days

Winchester, Hampshire

ContinentalMakersFood & drink Free entry

Ardingly Winter Fair

When: Sat 21 – Sun 22 Nov 2026 Opens in 42 days

Ardingly, West Sussex

MakersFood & drinkIndoor

Christmas in Oxford

When: Sat 21 Nov – Thu 31 Dec 2026 Opens in 42 days

Daily except Christmas Day

Oxford, Oxfordshire

Big cityMakersFood & drink Free entry

Rochester Christmas Market

When: Fri 27 – Sun 29 Nov 2026 (First weekend) Opens in 48 days

Rochester, Kent

ContinentalMakersFood & drink Free entry

West Dean Christmas Market

When: Fri 27 – Sat 28 Nov 2026 Opens in 48 days

Friday afternoon/evening and Saturday

West Dean, West Sussex

MakersFood & drinkCastle & estate

Rochester Christmas Market

When: Fri 4 – Sun 6 Dec 2026 (Second weekend) Opens in 55 days

Dickensian Christmas Festival weekend (5–6 Dec)

Rochester, Kent

ContinentalMakersFood & drink Free entry

Victorian Christmas at Milton Keynes Museum

When: Fri 4 – Sun 20 Dec 2026 Opens in 55 days

Fridays to Sundays only; craft market and bar Saturdays and Sundays only

Wolverton, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

MakersVictorianIndoor

Dickensian Christmas Festival

When: Sat 5 – Sun 6 Dec 2026 Opens in 56 days

Rochester, Kent

Food & drinkVictorianFunfair Free entry

Milestones Christmas Market

When: Sat 5 – Sun 6 Dec 2026 Opens in 56 days

Basingstoke, Hampshire

MakersFood & drinkVictorian

Rochester Christmas Market

When: Fri 11 – Sun 13 Dec 2026 (Third weekend)

Rochester, Kent

ContinentalMakersFood & drink Free entry

Farnham Christmas Market

When: Sun 13 Dec 2026

Sunday only

Farnham, Surrey

MakersFood & drinkLive music Free entry

Every market in South East England, A–Z

  • Ardingly Winter Fair

    Ardingly, West Sussex · South East England

    Sat 21 – Sun 22 Nov 2026

    Sat 9am–5pm; Sun 9am–4pm (2026 FAQ)

  • A brightly painted carousel with gilded horses beneath the stone clock tower and archway of Blenheim Palace's courtyard

    Blenheim Palace Christmas Market

    Woodstock, Oxfordshire · South East England

    Fri 13 Nov – Sun 20 Dec 2026 — Wider Christmas at Blenheim season runs 13 Nov 2026 – 3 Jan 2027

  • A long thatched barn behind a fence and parasols, with a hanging sign and a roadside sign for Broadditch Farm Shop

    Broadditch Authentic Christmas Market

    Southfleet, Kent · South East England

    Fri 13 – Sun 15 Nov 2026

    Fri 3pm–9pm; Sat–Sun 10am–5pm (2026)

  • Canterbury Cathedral's pinnacled towers rising above Christmas market stalls and a red-and-white carousel, with visitors in the precincts on a grey day

    Canterbury Christmas Market

    Canterbury, Kent · South East England

    Thu 12 Nov – Thu 24 Dec 2026 — Daily for 43 days; closes 4pm on Christmas Eve

    Mon–Fri 10am–6pm; Sat 9am–7pm; Sun 10am–5pm; Christmas Eve closes 4pm (2026)

  • A brightly lit carousel at night at the end of Broad Street in Oxford, between old stone college buildings, with people walking along the wet pavement

    Christmas in Oxford

    Oxford, Oxfordshire · South East England

    Sat 21 Nov – Thu 31 Dec 2026 — Daily except Christmas Day

    Market stalls Sun–Wed 10am–6pm, Thu–Sat 10am–8pm; bar, food and entertainment Sun–Mon 10am–8pm, Tue–Sat 10am–10pm; closes 5.30pm on 24 Dec (2026)

  • Olney's Market Place lined with Georgian stone and red-brick buildings and a large tree, under a blue sky with white clouds

    Dickens of a Christmas

    Olney, Buckinghamshire · South East England

    2026 dates not announced yet — usually first Sunday in December, 10am–4pm

    Usually 10am–4pm

  • Rochester's historic High Street at night, with lit shop windows, a garlanded doorway and strings of coloured lights across the narrow street

    Dickensian Christmas Festival

    Rochester, Kent · South East England

    Sat 5 – Sun 6 Dec 2026

    10am–6pm both days (2026)

  • A row of black-and-white timber-framed buildings with steep gables on The Borough in Farnham, beside a Georgian stuccoed building

    Farnham Christmas Market

    Farnham, Surrey · South East England

    Sun 13 Dec 2026 — Sunday only

    10am–4pm (2026)

  • An ornate gilded carousel on Folkestone Harbour Arm, with the sea, white cliffs and the town's hillside behind under a blue sky

    Folkestone Festive Marketplace

    Folkestone, Kent · South East England

    Fri 13 Nov – Thu 24 Dec 2026 — Fri–Sun only until 20 Dec (opening night 13 Nov 4–8pm), then daily 21–24 Dec

    Fri–Sat 11am–7pm; Sun 11am–6pm; 21–24 Dec 11am–6pm; lights switch-on evening 13 Nov 4pm–8pm (2026)

  • The red-brick west front of Guildford Cathedral, with three tall lancet windows, behind a round flower bed and lawn under a blue sky

    Guildford Cathedral Christmas Fair

    Guildford, Surrey · South East England

    Fri 20 – Sat 21 Nov 2026

    10am–4pm (2026)

  • Kent Festive Gift & Food Show

    Detling, Maidstone, Kent · South East England

    Fri 20 – Sun 22 Nov 2026

  • The indoor recreated Victorian street at Milestones Museum under its arched glass roof, with old shopfronts, a steam engine and a cobbled road hung with bunting

    Milestones Christmas Market

    Basingstoke, Hampshire · South East England

    Sat 5 – Sun 6 Dec 2026

    Sat 10am–7pm; Sun 10am–4.45pm (2026)

  • The round, domed Sheldonian Theatre behind railings topped with carved stone heads, on Broad Street under a blue sky

    Oxford Victorian Christmas Market

    Oxford, Oxfordshire · South East England

    2026 dates not announced yet — usually four days (Thu–Sun) in mid-November

    Thu 12pm–8pm; Fri–Sat 10am–8pm; Sun 10am–5pm (2025)

  • Wooden market huts and covered seating strung with warm lights on Broad Street at night, beneath a tall Christmas-tree light sculpture and festive street decorations

    Reading's Christmas Market on Broad Street

    Reading, Berkshire · South East England

    Sat 14 Nov 2026 – Sun 3 Jan 2027

    Mon–Sat 10am–8pm; Sun 10am–6pm (2026)

  • Snow falling on white market marquees and stalls in Rochester Castle Gardens, with shoppers in coats and the great stone keep of Rochester Castle behind

    Rochester Christmas Market

    Rochester, Kent · South East England

    Fri 27 – Sun 29 Nov 2026

    Fri 12pm–9pm; Sat 10am–9pm; Sun 10am–6pm (2026)

  • A large carved wooden bratwurst stall decorated with garlands on Above Bar Street, with shoppers walking past in winter sunshine

    Southampton Christmas Market

    Southampton, Hampshire · South East England

    Thu 12 Nov – Sun 27 Dec 2026 — Closed Christmas Day

    Mon–Wed 11am–10pm (Guildhall Square rides and stalls to 9pm); Thu–Sat 10am–10pm; Sun 11am–7pm; bars to 11pm Fri–Sat; Christmas Eve 10am–7pm; closed Christmas Day (2026; individual stalls may close earlier)

  • Tenterden's broad High Street lined with old tile-hung and timber-framed buildings, with the tall tower of St Mildred's Church rising behind

    Tenterden Christmas Market

    Tenterden, Kent · South East England

    Thu 19 – Sun 22 Nov 2026

    Thu 12pm–6pm; Fri 9am–6pm; Sat 9am–5pm; Sun 10am–5pm (2026; may vary slightly)

  • The Pantiles in Royal Tunbridge Wells, a paved Georgian walk with a white colonnade of shops and cafe tables beneath autumn trees

    The Pantiles Boutique Christmas Market

    Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent · South East England

    Fri 13 Nov – Thu 24 Dec 2026 — Fri–Sun only on 13–15, 20–22, 27–29 Nov and 4–6, 11–13 Dec; then daily 18–24 Dec

    11am–8pm on market days; Christmas Eve 11am–6pm (2026)

  • The low glass-fronted entrance building and shop of Milton Keynes Museum beside a gravel forecourt and lamp posts

    Victorian Christmas at Milton Keynes Museum

    Wolverton, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire · South East England

    Fri 4 – Sun 20 Dec 2026 — Fridays to Sundays only; craft market and bar Saturdays and Sundays only

    Sat–Sun 10.30am–5pm (craft market days); Fri 4.30pm–7pm without the market (2025 hours)

  • Two Christmas trees covered in warm lights in front of the ornate French-château-style facade of Waddesdon Manor, with visitors crossing the forecourt

    Waddesdon Christmas Fair

    Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire · South East England

    2026 dates not announced yet — usually late November to mid-December, as part of 'Christmas at Waddesdon'

    12 noon–7pm (2025)

  • A row of rescued timber-framed medieval buildings with steep tiled roofs beside a gravel path and lawn at the Weald & Downland Living Museum

    Weald & Downland Living Museum Christmas Market

    Singleton, West Sussex · South East England

    Sat 21 – Sun 22 Nov 2026

  • The flint-faced, battlemented front of West Dean House, now West Dean College, with tall chimneys and Gothic windows beside a lawn

    West Dean Christmas Market

    West Dean, West Sussex · South East England

    Fri 27 – Sat 28 Nov 2026 — Friday afternoon/evening and Saturday

    Fri 27 Nov 2pm–8pm; Sat 28 Nov 9am–6pm (2026)

  • A red-and-white candy floss cart and wooden market chalets in the Cathedral Close, with the long nave and tower of Winchester Cathedral behind under a blue sky

    Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market

    Winchester, Hampshire · South East England

    Fri 20 Nov – Tue 22 Dec 2026 — Open daily for 33 days

    Fri–Sat 10am–8pm; Sun–Thu 10am–6pm (2026)