Hartlebury Castle's Santa's grotto is £18.50 a child on 12, 13, 19 and 20 December; the craft fair is 21 November and the elf trail runs to 23 December.
Hartlebury Castle, eight miles north of Worcester off the A449, has published its full 2026 Christmas programme. Santa’s grotto runs on four weekend days, 12, 13, 19 and 20 December, at £18.50 a child. Before that come a Christmas craft fair on Saturday 21 November and The Great Elf Trail from Tuesday 24 November to Wednesday 23 December. Everything below is from the castle’s own event pages, read on 18 October.
The quick answer
- Santa’s grotto: Saturday 12, Sunday 13, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 December. Child £18.50, adult £12, booked online only, with a gift for each child.
- Cheapest Christmas visit: the elf trail, whole site admission plus 50p, 24 November to 23 December (not on the grotto days).
- Craft fair: Saturday 21 November, booked sessions at 11am, 2pm and 5pm. Adults £5, children £2.50, a hot drink included.
- Pets: Santa Paws on Monday 21 December, £6.50 a pet.
- New this year: the castle says “our previous Santa is not available. However, we have a wonderful new Santa this year!”
- Where: Hartlebury, near Kidderminster, DY11 7XZ. Free parking.
Santa’s grotto and the Elf Academy
“Welcome to Elf Academy (with Santa’s Grotto)” runs on Saturday 12, Sunday 13, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 December. Each family gets a ten-minute private visit with Santa, a gift for each child, and as many photographs as you like. Around it, children make a wooden toy to take home, learn an elf dance, decorate a biscuit and wrap a present, then follow the Christmas trail through the castle.
| Saturdays (12 and 19 Dec) | Sundays (13 and 20 Dec) | |
|---|---|---|
| Grotto visits | 10am to 4.50pm | 10am to 2.40pm |
| Elf Academy | 11am to 4pm | 11am to 3pm |
| Ticket | With Santa's grotto | Without the grotto |
|---|---|---|
| Child | £18.50 (0 to 16, up to 6 a group) | £10 (18 months to 16) |
| Adult | £12 (at least 1 a group) | £12 |
| Child, Guardian or Worcestershire Resident pass | £10 | £8 |
| Adult, Guardian or Worcestershire Resident pass | £6 | £6 |
Under-18-month-olds go free without the grotto (no trail or activities). There is a £1.50 booking fee per transaction. Grotto tickets must be booked online; tickets without Santa are “online booking advised”. Annual tickets and Historic Houses passes are not valid, and one carer per paying ticket goes free with documentation (Hartlebury Castle, Welcome to Elf Academy).
Party with Santa on the two Sundays, 13 and 20 December, at 3.30pm, adds party games, a story, a present, jelly and ice cream. Booked on its own it is £18.50 a child and £12 an adult, or a grotto ticket can be upgraded for £12.50 a child. The Bishop’s Palace closes at 3pm on those Sundays to set up (Hartlebury Castle, Party with Santa).
The Great Elf Trail
From Tuesday 24 November to Wednesday 23 December, children hunt for elves hidden around the Bishop’s Palace and the Worcestershire County Museum, which are decorated for Christmas with an 18-foot tree in the Saloon. The trail costs 50p on the door on top of whole site admission. Whole site tickets are not sold on the grotto and party days (12, 13, 19 and 20 December), when you need an event ticket instead (Hartlebury Castle, The Great Elf Trail).
Whole site admission, which covers 12 months, is £15.25 for adults, £13.25 for over-60s and students, £8.75 for children aged 5 to 16 and £40.50 for a family of two adults and three children; under-5s are free (Hartlebury Castle, plan your visit). The castle opens Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm and 11am to 5pm at weekends, and closes for the winter after 23 December.
Christmas Craft Fair, 21 November
Saturday 21 November, in three booked sessions: 11am to 1pm, 2pm to 4pm and 5pm to 7pm. Craft stalls, live festive music, and the whole castle open. Tickets are £5 for adults (with a mulled wine or hot chocolate), £2.50 for children aged 5 to 16, and free for under-5s and Guardian pass holders. They must be bought online; if the fair reaches capacity there will be none on the door. The stallholder list is “coming soon” (Hartlebury Castle, Christmas Craft Fair).
Concerts, theatre and workshops
- Christmas at the Castle with Daniel J Collins. Saturday 28 November, 4.45pm to 6.15pm. £15, under-18s £12, with a mince pie and mulled wine. Run by an outside hirer (Hartlebury Castle).
- A Christmas Wassail. Saturday 5 December, 3.30pm and 7.30pm, by the Crescent Theatre Company. £25 with mulled wine and a mince pie; none on the door (Hartlebury Castle).
- The Snowman Concert. Sunday 6 December, 11.30am and 2.30pm, with Worcestershire Winds Concert Band and Santa in the interval. Adults £11.50, children £9.50, under-2s free on a lap (Hartlebury Castle).
- Festive Wreath Making. £32, about two hours. The 4 and 10 December sessions have sold out; 9 December had one space left on 18 October, and there are sessions on 11, 15 and 17 December (Hartlebury Castle).
- The Twelve Days of Christmas. Tuesday 22 December, 2pm and 6.30pm, a three-actor farce by Operation Moonlight. Adults £17, children £15 (Hartlebury Castle).
Santa Paws, 21 December
On Monday 21 December, from 10am to 12 noon and 12.40pm to 4pm, pets and their families meet Santa in ten-minute sessions. Pet £6.50 (with a gift and treat), child £12 (with a gift), adult £5; Worcestershire Resident and Guardian pass holders pay only for pets and children. It must be booked online. Pets are not allowed in the Bishop’s Palace, and the County Museum is closed that day (Hartlebury Castle, Santa Paws).
Getting there
Hartlebury Castle is off the A449 in Hartlebury, about five miles south of Kidderminster and eight miles north of Worcester. Parking is free for cars and coaches (Hartlebury Castle, plan your visit). Check Worcester roadworks and travel before setting off, and our parking in Worcester page if you are combining it with a trip into the city.
More Christmas near Worcester
The Commandery’s grotto, Webbs and the other Santa visits are on our Santa’s grotto page. The National Trust houses have their own pages: Christmas at Croome and Hanbury Hall. In the city, the Victorian Christmas Fayre is 3 to 6 December.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Santa at Hartlebury Castle? £18.50 a child and £12 an adult, booked online, on 12, 13, 19 and 20 December. Each child gets a gift. Worcestershire Resident and Guardian pass holders pay £10 a child and £6 an adult.
When is the Hartlebury Castle Christmas craft fair? Saturday 21 November 2026, in booked sessions at 11am, 2pm and 5pm. Adults £5 with a hot drink, children £2.50.
Is the Hartlebury Castle elf trail free? No. It is 50p on top of whole site admission (adults £15.25, children £8.75), from 24 November to 23 December.
Sources
- Hartlebury Castle, Christmas at the Castle, Welcome to Elf Academy, Party with Santa, The Great Elf Trail, Christmas Craft Fair, Santa Paws and plan your visit, all read 18 October 2026
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