The Christmas Experience at Lotherton Hall

After last year’s sell out success, popular Yorkshire family attraction, Lotherton, has opened the doors on it’s hugely popular Christmas Experience, where Santa and his wife, Mrs Claus, will once again be ready to greet you. 

From Saturday 26 November to Saturday 31 December 2022, The Christmas Experience returns for its seventh enchanting year, with even more festive fun for all the family.

Step inside the Edwardian Hall and follow in the footsteps of the Gascoigne family and their staff, Lotherton’s residents in the 1800’s, to get a glimpse into how this revered household celebrated Christmas in Edwardian times.

The elves have relocated to the courtyard but they still offer a lot of lovely Christmas crafts from decorations to Christmas Eve plates, these craft activities aren’t included in your entrance fee – rather you buy tickets that are used to ‘pay’ for the crafts. 

The newly revamped festive woodland walk through the beautiful grounds of the Lotherton Estate is by far my favourite part of the whole experience, there’s nothing more snug than being wrapped up warm and following the lights to discover the installations along the trail – step inside a Christmas card, try to pull a giant cracker or maybe you’ll find the gingerbread house in the trees! Do make sure you do the walk  while the cafe or stalls are still open so you can get a warm drink after – bit of an error on my part and BOY DID I HEAR ABOUT IT!  

After your walk, you can make your way to the Fairy Dell a tiny lit up secret fairy village alive with fairy chatter and laughter. It really is beautiful and the kids loved looking at all the little houses and shops. I must confess, at one point I found myself standing alone in the dark, surrounded by high pitch fairy chatter and it was a little creepy…

Finally, Santa himself can be just beyond the Wishing Tree,  simply follow the elves down the magical trail to find him in his cabin where you can meet him and maybe even get a pre-Christmas gift if you’re on the nice list. 

As ever, the Christmas Experience at Lotherton was a lovely one and we all left feeling VERY festive indeed after enjoying all the activities.

Tickets for the experience start at just £4.55 which includes entry to the Estate and Hall meaning you can do the festive walk and visit the Fairy Dell, decorating gingerbread with Mrs Claus and the Elf crafts will need to be booked separately. Prices for meeting Santa start at £14.45 – it is a 30 minute experience starting with meeting an elf under the wishing tree and culminating in a meeting with the main man.  You will also get the chance to make some reindeer food and have your photo taken on Santa’s sleigh. 

Even without visiting the Big Man I do feel that the entry cost and even the extra costs for activities is worth it for a lovely visit. It’s also worth bearing in mind that if you are there before 4pm your entry cost will include entry to the wildlife area. 

The Christmas Experience opened on 26 November 2022 and will run until December 31st.  There are a number of visit options available, including the chance for pre-school children to visit Santa in his cabin. 

Early booking is essential as spaces are limited and strictly on a pre-booking only, time-slotted system.

Head to  www.thechristmasexperience.co.uk now to find out more and book a magical trip Christmas season.