Christmas Markets in Nottinghamshire 2026

In 2026 the Lustre Craft and Design Market at Lakeside Arts and the Southwell Minster Winter Craft Fair open first, both on Friday 6 November: Lustre runs to Sunday 8 November and the Southwell fair to Saturday 7 November. Nottingham Winter Wonderland opens on Thursday 12 November and runs until Thursday 24 December. Craft Fair Contemporary at Nottingham Contemporary is on from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 December, and the Christmas Craft and Gift Fair at Newstead Abbey takes four weekends: Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December, Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December, and Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 December. Each market's card shows the dates.

It differs from market to market. Dogs on leads are welcome at the Southwell Minster Winter Craft Fair, and the Minster welcomes well-behaved dogs on leads inside, in its grounds and in its gardens. Nottingham Winter Wonderland discourages bringing pets because it gets busy, but they are welcome in the outside areas, and assistance dogs are welcome in all its venues. Craft Fair Contemporary welcomes appropriately trained assistance dogs throughout Nottingham Contemporary and permits no other animals in the gallery spaces or events, though well-behaved dogs are welcome in the shop and café. At Lakeside Arts assistance dogs are welcome in all areas of the building, and Lustre has published no rule for other dogs. At Newstead Abbey dogs in the park must be kept on leads and under control, and only assistance dogs, and house-trained puppies in assistance dog training, are welcome in the house and museums.

Lustre, Nottingham Winter Wonderland and Craft Fair Contemporary are free to enter, and so is the Christmas Craft and Gift Fair at Newstead Abbey, though the usual car parking and site entry charges apply there. At Nottingham Winter Wonderland the observation wheel, ice rink, Sky Skate and Ice Bar are booked separately, and Craft Fair Contemporary invites visitors to make a donation. The Southwell Minster Winter Craft Fair asks for a suggested donation of £3, and under-16s go free.

It varies from market to market. Lustre has two free car parks next to Lakeside's DH Lawrence Pavilion, which fill up quickly during busy periods. Southwell Minster has no parking of its own, but several public car parks are a short walk away, among them Church Street, opposite the Minster, with accessible spaces; charges and time limits apply. At Newstead Abbey, site entry or parking charges apply, and mobility parking is in the car park near the House and Abbey entrance. In Nottingham, the nearest public car parks to Winter Wonderland are Lace Market, Trinity Square and Broad Marsh, and the show points to nine park and ride sites with over 6,500 free parking spaces. The nearest council car parks to Craft Fair Contemporary are Lace Market and Broadmarsh.

For several, yes. The University of Nottingham tram stop is right outside Lakeside Arts, and route 34 runs from the city centre to University Park seven days a week. The nearest tram stop to Nottingham Contemporary is Lace Market, a three-minute walk away and one stop from Nottingham Railway Station. Nottingham city centre is well served by buses and trams for Winter Wonderland, and the show suggests the Forest Ground park and ride and then the tram to Old Market Square. Route 26 runs to Southwell from Nottingham roughly every 30 minutes on weekday daytimes and Saturdays. The Robin Hood Line runs from Nottingham via Newstead, and from there it is a one-mile walk down the drive of the estate to Newstead Abbey, which takes about 20 minutes.

The Southwell Minster Winter Craft Fair is open from 4pm to 8pm on Friday 6 November and from 10am to 3.30pm on Saturday 7 November. Lustre is open from 6pm to 8pm on Friday 6 November, from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 7 November and from 10am to 4pm on Sunday 8 November. In November Nottingham Winter Wonderland's market is open 10am to 6pm Sunday to Thursday and 10am to 8pm Friday and Saturday; in December, until the 24th, it is open 10am to 8:30pm Sunday to Thursday and 10am to 9pm Friday and Saturday, and its rides, bars and ice rink keep different hours. Craft Fair Contemporary has a Launch Evening from 5pm to 8pm on Friday 4 December, with the bar open until 9pm, then opens from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sunday. The fair at Newstead Abbey is open from 10am to 4pm on each of its days.

It varies from market to market. Southwell Minster is wheelchair friendly apart from its Historic Library, its north and south doors open electronically from low-level touch pads, a lift gives access to the Chapter House and the State Chamber, and an accessible toilet is in the Archbishop's Palace next door. Lakeside's buildings and most of its spaces can be reached without lifts or ramps, with level-access toilets inside all of the buildings and free accessible parking spaces next to the DH Lawrence Pavilion. Nottingham Winter Wonderland says its site is largely pushchair and wheelchair friendly, though the Ice Bar is not and the observation wheel cannot take wheelchairs. At Nottingham Contemporary two accessible toilets are on the lowest floor, including a Changing Places toilet that needs a RADAR key, and a wheelchair can be borrowed. At Newstead Abbey wheelchair access is to ground-floor locations only, for instance the Medieval Cloisters, where the fair is held, and manual wheelchairs can be collected from house reception, subject to availability.