Christmas Markets in the South West 2026

In 2026 the Gloucester Quays Christmas Markets and the Dorset Winter Food & Drink Fair open first, on Saturday 7 November: Gloucester Quays opens every weekend from then to Sunday 20 December, and the Dorset fair is on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November. The Christmas Cotswold Fair in Todenham is on from Monday 9 to Thursday 12 November, opening in the evening only on the Monday. Exeter Cathedral Christmas Market runs from Friday 13 November to Sunday 13 December, and A Dorset Christmas at The Tank Museum, the Bishop's Palace Christmas Artisan Market and the Mendip Christmas Fair are all on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November. The Rural Living Show takes Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November. Bath Christmas Market opens on Thursday 26 November and closes on Sunday 13 December, Buckfast Abbey Christmas Market from Thursday 26 to Saturday 28 November, and Hestercombe Christmas Market on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 December. Wells Christmas Market is on the weekend of 12 and 13 December, and in Totnes the Christmas Market and Late Night Shopping takes place on three Tuesday evenings in December, the 8th, 15th and 22nd. Each card shows the dates.

Some South West markets welcome dogs on a lead, while others do not allow pet dogs. Buckfast Abbey welcomes dogs on a short lead, and Exeter allows dogs on leads in the market's open-air areas, but only assistance dogs inside the Cathedral. The Dorset Winter Food & Drink Fair welcomes well-behaved dogs on leads in its marquee and the gardens, but not in the house. Pet dogs aren't allowed in the Cornwall Christmas Fair at the Eden Project, and only assistance dogs may go into Westpoint's main exhibition hall. Only guide dogs are permitted at the Christmas Cotswold Fair. The Cornish Winter Fair says it is not a suitable place for dogs, and The Rural Living Show does not permit dogs at its venue, though assistance dogs are very welcome. At Healeys Cyder Farm the farm's own rule is dogs on leads, kept out of production areas, and it has not said whether dogs may come to the market. Bath Christmas Market, Wells Christmas Market, the Totnes market, Charlestown and the Christmas Fayre at Bedruthan have given no dog rule.

Bath Christmas Market, the Gloucester Quays Christmas Markets and Healeys Cyder Farm Christmas Market are free to enter, and the Cornish Winter Fair has free entry and free parking. Buckfast Abbey charges for entry, but anyone arriving on its free Christmas shuttle bus gets in free. Other markets, such as the Bishop's Palace, Hestercombe, The Tank Museum, the Dorset Winter Food & Drink Fair, the Christmas Cotswold Fair, the Christmas Fayre at Bedruthan and The Rural Living Show, sell tickets, with children under 12 free at the Dorset fair, under-3s free at Bedruthan and under-16s free at the Rural Living Show. Wells Christmas Market, the Totnes market and Charlestown have published no entry charge.

It varies from market to market. The Tank Museum has a large free car park, and parking is free at Buckfast Abbey, Westpoint, the Mendip Christmas Fair, the Eden Project, Healeys Cyder Farm, Charlestown Christmas Market, Athelhampton House and The Rural Living Show. Bedruthan's Christmas Fayre has visitors park in the village of Mawgan Porth and ride a shuttle to the hotel, both included in the ticket. The Christmas Cotswold Fair has free field parking, and pre-paid parking on hard ground can be added when you buy a ticket. The Bishop's Palace has no car park of its own, but it is a short walk from the central car parks in Wells. For Bath and Exeter, the markets recommend Park & Ride, and Bath's roads are closed throughout its market. In Totnes, parking in the town-centre car parks is free after 6pm, and the Park and Ride costs nothing.

For some, yes. Buckfast Abbey provides a free Christmas shuttle bus on each of its three market days, linking Totnes, Buckfastleigh and Ashburton. Cathedral Green is within walking distance of the Exeter Central and Exeter St Davids stations. Gloucester Quays is 20 minutes on foot from Gloucester railway station, and Wool station is 1.5 miles from The Tank Museum. Totnes runs a free shuttle bus to and from its station on the market evenings, and Wells Bus Station is roughly five minutes' walk from the Market Place, with services arriving from Bath and Bristol.