Father Christmas dates for Bath 2026: the Holburne grotto from 27 November, Avon Valley Railway Santa Specials from £18, and the Keynsham grotto that is new this year.
Three Father Christmas events near Bath have published 2026 dates and are selling tickets now. One of them, the Santa Specials at the Avon Valley Railway, sells out compartment by compartment and has a published price for every single date, so it is the one to book first if you want a Saturday.
Here is what is confirmed, what it costs, and the one big Bath name that has been listed for December but has not confirmed it itself.
Avon Valley Railway Santa Specials, Bitton: on sale, 13 dates
The Avon Valley Railway runs its Santa Specials from Bitton station, BS30 6HD, about twenty minutes from central Bath and ten from Keynsham. Tickets are on sale now.
Trains depart at 10:00, 11:30, 13:00, 14:30 and 16:00. The round trip takes about 55 minutes: 24 minutes of actual travelling, plus eight minutes at each terminus while the locomotive runs round. Santa comes through the train, then meets each family group again at Bitton, where every child gets a soft toy made for the railway. Mince pie or festive biscuit included.
The published dates and prices, taken straight from the railway’s own fare table:
| Date | Standard, adult or child | Premium, adult or child |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Nov | £18 | £26 |
| 28 and 29 Nov | £22 | £31 |
| 5 and 6 Dec | £23 | £34 |
| 12, 13, 19 and 20 Dec | £25 | £36 |
| 21 Dec | £22 | £31 |
| 22 Dec | £23 | £34 |
| 23 Dec | £25 | £36 |
| 24 Dec | £26 | £37 |
An adult travelling with an under-one on their knee pays £6 more than the single-seat price on every date. Premium seats put you in a first-class carriage with hot chocolate, or a mini festive tipple for adults, and you skip the queue for the photo and the present.
Two booking rules that catch people out. If you book a compartment in a standard carriage, a minimum of five paid tickets is required, and unwanted seats have to be selected as “Empty Seat”. Book seven or more seats anywhere and you get 5% off the lot. Wheelchair users, anyone with access needs, and smaller groups with SEND children who would do better in a private compartment are asked to phone the booking office on 0117 932 5538 rather than book online.
One detail worth planning around: the festive donkeys on the station lawn are open to all Santa Special customers, but if you are on the 16:00 departure you need to see them before you board, not after.
The Holburne Museum grotto, Bath: 27 November to 23 December
Father Christmas’ Grotto returns to the Holburne Museum on Great Pulteney Street, BA2 4DB, running 27 November to 23 December 2026. It is the closest grotto to the city centre, a ten minute walk from the Christmas market end of town.
The listing went live on 21 May and is open for all ages. Tickets run from £10.00 to £14.50 depending on slot, before Eventbrite’s booking fee, which pushes the top end to roughly £16.42. Slots are in the afternoon. Every child gets an elf-made gift and there is a photo with Father Christmas and his elf. The museum’s own website has not yet built a page for it, so the Eventbrite listing is the booking route.
Avon Valley Adventure Park, Keynsham: a real grotto, new for 2026
The Christmas Experience at Pixash Lane, Keynsham, BS31 1TP runs on 5, 6, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 December. Tickets were released on 31 July 2026.
The change this year is that a visit to Father Christmas in his grotto is new for 2026. Groups get a story, a family photograph, then go to Santa’s Toy Factory to choose a gift to take home. Around it sit the puppet shows, the panto-style performance, gingerbread decorating with Mrs Claus, reindeer food, the Elf Express, Santa’s Post Room and the Grinch. Professional photography costs extra, as does everything from the food stalls, the mulled wine and the s’mores.
The park does not publish prices on the event page itself, only through its booking system, and it warns that popular dates and time slots sell out well in advance. Given eleven dates and a brand new grotto, treat the December weekends as the ones that go first.
Listed but not confirmed: No.1 Royal Crescent
Visit Bath lists Father Christmas at No.1 Royal Crescent on 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20 December 2026. We could not confirm it from the museum. No.1 Royal Crescent’s own What’s On page carried nothing beyond the summer programme when this page was written, and the Bath Preservation Trust ticketing system was still showing last year’s “12 Tales of a Georgian Christmas” running 22 November to 4 January 2026 at £16 an adult, marked not available for sale.
The Trust has run Father Christmas at No.1 for years, so it is very likely happening. It is just not bookable yet. Watch no1royalcrescent.org.uk from late October.
While you are in town
The city centre grotto trade clusters around the market, which runs 26 November to 13 December and is free to enter, and the panto at the Theatre Royal, which opens 10 December. If you are combining a grotto with a market trip, park and ride is uplifted for the market period and is genuinely faster than driving in. Tariffs and the free first hour are on our parking in Bath page, and live closures are on Bath roadworks and travel.
Every date and price above was checked against the operator’s own page or booking listing on 6 September 2026.
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