Chester, Winchester & York during Christmas holiday season?

Just to be clear, do you plan to do this over the actual Christmas holidays, or just in the run up to Christmas?

Either late Nov/early Dec as last year, or the first 2 weeks of Dec. I consider mid-Nov to end of Dec to more or less be the holiday season since many of the London Christmas events/decor begin in the latter part of Nov. Would only go to non-London locations if their Christmas celebrations have begun.

Winchester is a nice city, and the cathedral is magnificent.
The Christmas market, in the cathedral precincts, was a great disppointment. Rather commerial and not very Christmassy.

Chester is similar to York. They do have a small Christmas market in front of the town hall. The cathedral, clock, walls and river are very nice any yimof the year.
Will you have children with you. Pantos are primarily aimed at children, but you will find lots of accompanying adults there also, so there are lots of jokes fof them that go over the kid's heads.

Grassington Christmas Market (used to be called the Dickensian Festival) is on Saturdays 28 November and 5 December, and the Christmas Lights switch on at 4pm on Friday 27 November. It's a proper local market, very different to seeing Grassington in the summer.
Skipton also has a good Christmas Market- dates to be confirmed but should be 6 and 13 December.
Harrogate Christmas Fayre (dates to be confirmed) should be around 4 to 13 December or very close dates to that. (and from Harrogate you can visit Ripon Cathedral- where doubtless they will have special events on).

I stayed in Harrogate one year (not at the Agatha Christie Hotel!! (The Old Swan), but just up the street at The Cairn Hotel) to do Grassington and Skipton and their Christmas Fayre was pretty good as well. Very enjoyable. I was there on a Turkey and Tinsel Package- on a big bus tour, but like Rick's, about 2 dozen on board).

Ripon also has 3 museums- the Workhouse Museum, the Police Museum and the Courthouse Museum (until 1889 Ripon was a Liberty within Yorkshire, so had it's own justice system, quite an interesting if obscure nugget of history).

Fountains Abbey/Studley Royal also did interesting things at Christmas last year- https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/fountains-abbey-and-studley-royal-water-garden/christmas-at-fountains-abbey

Leeds also has a Christmas Market, but from what I've seen of it in the daytime seemed to be distinctly underwhelming.
My theme is that there is more interesting stuff happening in the Dales, not just in York.

If you haven’t been you might want to try to get to Chatsworth for Christmas. It’s decorated to the nines and has a Christmas market on site. It all sells out in advance so needs some planning. I haven’t been but it’s well known here due to behind the scenes TV shows.

The train from London to Chester is very easy and just over two hours on the through Avanti service.
It’s not always the most reliable, they have a definite habit of cancelling the Chester to London Euston through service but it’s easy enough to get the local train from Chester to Crewe and catch a London train there.

There is a Christmas market every year by the town hall and cathedral but it’s not very special. There is no real history of Christmas markets so it’s a bit of a modern invention.

There are a number of winter/Christmas themed parades through the centre of towns in the weeks running up to Christmas. Again a bit of a modern invention, we certainly didn’t have them when I was growing up, but apparently they are informed by parades etc that took place in earlier/ medieval times.

The local theatre, the Storyhouse, will definitely have some Christmas themed shows and a panto.

https://www.storyhouse.com/

It’s a bit early for the exact dates for these events so it’s worth keeping an eye on local websites for example
https://chester.com/christmas/

Thank you, everyone, for your info.
LinC, thanks for the Winchester market, info. Stuart, I'd love to spend another vacation in Ythe Dales--I imagine the Christmas spirit would be in full swing and oh, so picturesque.

briwire - no children on this trip. We saw a panto in Windsor last year and found it a delightful, stress relieving, crazy end to our trip (and just plain interesting to observe). It's certainly not a requirement of a holiday trip for us, but would look at ones available and convenient. None seemed to appeal to us in advance last year, but our last day, walking back to the hotel in Windsor, we bought our tickets right before the show. We had attended a couple of intense theatre productions in London, so the panto was quite a change. As a family involved in community theatre, I found it interesting to read this about pantos "For regional venues, they are financial lifesavers—generating up to 45% of annual income and subsidising year-round drama."

Other comments I read "wonderful relief from the madness of the current world" "severely weird"-----yes, we kept shaking our heads at the strangeness that has not caught on across the pond. I'm not sure I could handle one every year, but I do like the thought that ticket revenue helps to keep the theatres open the rest of the year.

Emma - thank you for the information about Chester. We've been wanting to go for quite some time. Whether it makes sense to make the trek during the festive season remains to be seen.

Harrogate has a theatre- which has a Panto on this year- https://www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk/events/sleeping-beauty-magical-family-pantomime/

and even Skipton has a little theatre- no word on what if anything they are doing at Christmas- https://www.skiptonlittletheatre.org.uk/

and, although not seasonal, I love that Skipton still has a traditional movie theatre, not a modern multiplex-
https://skipton.nm-cinemas.co.uk/skipton/now/

as does Keighley- https://keighley.nm-cinemas.co.uk/keighley/now/

(Northern Morris is a small circuit of old style movie theatres, in Cumbria and Yorkshire).

Just to say the journey from London to Chester isn’t that much of a ‘trek’.
At two hours on an intercity train it’s really not that much longer than more local London journeys on slower trains. My commute in London was always more than hour and 90 min wasn’t that unusual to go 10miles.
Once you are there it’s all walkable. In the winter Chester also has the advantage of the Rows, covered walkways on the main central streets which really come into their own when there is ‘weather’

Thanks again, everyone, for your comments and continuing comments.

Well, flights are booked (arrive on a Friday in Nov); country house in Wells is booked (2ndTuesday - Monday). Although the 6 nights in Wells are to primarily to chill before heading home (husband retires just before trip), we already have several things we want to do in the area, including a day or two in Bath--a revisit to the Baths for my husband, bookstores, a gallery visit, the Christmas market for atmosphere, etc. We'll probably roam around nearby villages new to us, get back to the country house for afternoon tea, and take evening dinners in town. Hopefully, there still will be time for some Scrabble games and reading in the snug and for gazing out across the fields to the cathedral in town.

I think we'll leave Winchester for a longer visit to that area in a spring or fall, and York/Yorkshire for a Christmas season without London (or mostly:)

As usual, the days are already looking to fill quickly as we get bites of Christmas around London---Covent Garden, Leadenhall Market, Spitafields, Sloane Square/Chelsea, etc. I got a ticket to the exhibition of QEII: Her Life in Style (almost didn't get---timeslots filled as I was looking, so I'll need to move along at a good pace) which determines we won't leave London before our first Wednesday. Operation Mincemeat and Six are on our potential show list but I have not secured tickets. Was thinkiing we might try to do Witness for the Prosecution this time, but I see that only the front row and much further back are available. (Has anyone sat in the front row around the stage?) The Lives of Others looks interesting, too. And would love to see The Snowman (seeing the World of the Snowman exhibit at the VAG in Bath) Decisions, decisions! There are so many shows we'd love to see.

We're still considering a few days in Chester as it's a new location for us; it's a couple of hours by train (we've missed train trips since we've had a car for our more recent visits); it has a cathedral; it'll sport some Christmas spirit.

I'm wondering if we should head to Chester on Wednesday evening after I see the QE exhibit (rather than a morning train). Accommodation will be less expensive than London and we'd be able to hit the ground running the next day. Perhaps head back to London on Saturday during daylight (is the train ride scenic or will we just read or rest on the trip?) so we could have 3 nights back in London before heading to Wells. Or maybe we will be trying to get another show in on Wed night. After Wells, we have one night before our flight out on a Tuesday afternoon. We will stay in Reading (visit the Tapestry copy?), Windsor (love the Sir Christopher Wren hotel, decent price) or at the airport.

Thanks for thoughts about my ramblings...
Cheryl

I've just been looking at the Chester trains. Even the evening peak trains from Euston have good value Advance Fares- in 2 months time £50 before railcard discounts.
I think the last one I would want to be on is the 1702 as that is booked to be the last 10 car train (divides at Chester, where half the train terminates). Everything direct after that is 5 car. The 1802 Wrexham train especially always looks to be a very busy train, when I've seen it boarding.

On the Saturday you'd need to see (12 weeks out) if there is any engineering work scheduled that day. I wouldn't call the Trent Valley dramatically scenic, more pleasantly so. It has it's moments but isn't going to win any awards for scenery.

Coming back on the Saturday it should be around £29 per person Advance Fare before railcard discount.

Whether the London to Chester route is scenic depends on your expectations. I think it is a good example of English countryside with some good stretches of pretty views.
It also has some interesting sights flying by:

The Ovaltine factory at Kings Langley https://threeriversmuseumtrustblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/17/the-ovaltine-factory-kings-langley/
Berkhamstead Castle https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/berkhamsted-castle/
Beeston Castle https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/beeston-castle-and-woodland-park/
Shot Tower as you get into Chester station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Shot_Tower

If you have any interest in history/geography it’s worth looking out for the ridge and furrow marks you can see along to route. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_and_furrow
Also the small ponds in fields that I have only recently found are called Marl Pits https://www.historyofuptonbychester.org.uk/marlpits.html

Thanks, Stuart. Perhaps it's unrealistic to take an evening train as I could be at the exhibition until close to 1730 when it closes (the earliest timeslot I could get was 3:45. Maybe we'll grab a show that night---Are early trains to Chester (maybe 7:29 ) generally busy?

Thank you, Emma!

It’s not unrealistic to take an evening train. They might be busy but if you have a booked seat it should be OK. Grab some snacks from M&S at the station and have a train picnic.

While straight through trains are more convenient, a journey with one change at Crewe is easy enough and would give you more options when booking. The train from Crewe to Chester is usually a shuttle from platform 9/10 so easy to get onto and quick to Chester.

I'm not seeing a 1927 train, but a 1933. 1900 used to be the end of the evening peak (ticket wise), so there was a big rush of people on first trains after 1900.

But given Advance Tickets even in the peak that has become much less so, so after 1900 the trains are much less busy.

So there is a 1933 Crewe 2109/2123 Chester 2144,
2002 direct (5 car)
2033 Crewe 2213/2223 Chester 2244
2110 Crewe 2307/2333 Chester 2352
2200 Crewe 0010/0020 Chester 0041 (that train is behind the Caledonian Sleeper!!)

The 1933 and 2033 are for Manchester Piccadilly, the 2110 to Preston and the 2200 to Liverpool- so they are all 9 or 11 car trains. Much more room to spread out in.

If you miss the last train at 0010 (a through train from Cardiff) then the railway has to provide a taxi at their expense. The caveat to that is it can take a while to source a taxi- as they won't just use one off the rank, but one they have a relationship with,

I had a (not at all unusual) case recently of a 90 minute wait for a taxi very late at night, in spite of there being ones on the station rank, because it was being sent from about 50 miles away. That keeps happening, I've never liked late night taxis and currently like them even less.

If you have any spare time in Chester, how about a short train ride to Liverpool. It's a large city but has lots to see. Good shopping, museums, restaurants, theatres and two enormous and very different Cathedrals. Chester's close enough to be connected to the local rail system called Merseyrail. The locals are great to talk to and have a distinctive accent.
Liverpool doesn't tend to have much in the way of Christmas markets, but is well lit and decorated for the festive season. There may even be a play on at one of the theatres that have a matinee performance. I've seen Ghost Story and Fawlty Towers there in the last year.
On the way from London/south, you would probably pass through Birmingham, which is a massive bustling city. Not much of a tourist destination but it has an enormous Christmas market spreading through its streets, IMO the largest in the country.

Hi Cherie -

Not that it’s wildly applicable now, but for future reference we stayed in Winchester overnight last month and we were all rather taken by our accommodation, The Wykeham Arms. It’s a pub and a ‘proper’ one at that, and despite looking tiny from the front, like the TARDIS, it’s much bigger on the inside! Restaurant was particularly good. There’s a car park behind it, although the only thing that might give you pause is the width of the surrounding streets (single car width) and the subsequent somewhat tight entry/exit in and out of the car park. Other than that, it’s less than five minutes walk from the cathedral and you can take a route that passes Jane Austen’s final residence, literally a minute’s walk away, round the street corner..

Recommended, but if reserving for a future trip, check it out nearer your departure/booking dates. Things unfortunately change, although, frankly, The Wykeham Arms looks like last time there was any significant change there was c1920! Give me a shout if you need the full address and/or they do have a website.

Ian

Between Chester and Liverpool on Merseyrail you also have Port Sunlight, a really pretty workers village built for the staff at Lever Brothers. It has a good art gallery , the Lady Lever, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they were holding events in the run up to Christmas. If you get a dusting of snow the village would look magical.

For the Lady Lever Art Gallery then Bebington is the closer station.

I also recommend visiting the Village Museum (where you get a discount as a senior) to learn a lot more about the village and Levers as a company. Also Christ Church (the most Church of England looking United Reformed/Congregational Church you will ever see) has a cafe- I had a pretty good meal of scouse and then a Port Sunlight bun there last week). You will only find in 2 or 3 cafes in the Village- not in any shop.

Port Sunlight also has a claim to fame as the first official time that Ringo Starr played in the Beatles- at a venue which still exists- called Hulme Hall. If you can manage to get in (as I did last week) there is a little display inside about that event (and it's wartime history). It was a dance for the local Horticultural Society.

The village also has a little theatre (the Gladstone Theatre) which may have seasonal events on. Behind it is a very new cafe- the 'Cobble and Hay'- in the former works stables.

In the Museum there is a gallery devoted to the Beatles and their connections to the Wirral- Paul McCartney had a childhood home at Claughton Village, and John Lennon in Rock Ferry. Ringo Starr spent time in 1954 to 1955 at Heswall Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital with pleurisy, Brian Epstein (their manager) ran a furniture store in Hoylake (and quite a lot more Wirral connections, too long to write here), except they played the (long vanished) 5,000 seat Tower Ballroom in New Brighton 26 times.- second only to the Cavern Club.
The fact that New Brighton had a 5,000 seat venue is testament to what a big seaside resort it once was. To someone with deep Wirral connections a lot of that is really quite interesting.
The tower was something like Blackpool Tower- in it's time the tallest structure in the UK.

Wow! Thanks for all the additional options!

If I understand correctly, a good time to purchase train tickets is 2 months before we need them; is that correct? I probably will ask for confirmation shortly before I purchase.

Thanks!

Yes, normally I do about 6 weeks out, if I'm organised for medium distance journeys like this. I'm pretty convinced that's the sweet spot. At 6 ish weeks out I often get superbly good prices.
I might do longer for Cumbria to Canterbury in November, if the incredible hotel deal I've found is still there 12 weeks out. Trying to balance hotel prices and train prices.
For as close as next Thursday I can see as low as £33 before railcard discount on mid evening trains London to Chester.

ianandjulie, I just checked out the Wykeham Arms--it looks like our kind of place! Will definitely check it out when we make plans to head to Winchester.

If my plans are set in stone, I book advance tickets immediately they become available. For the Chester route, best to look on the Avanti West Coast site (although you could book on any train operator). You will see the dates that are too far in advance to be greyed out so it will give you an idea of when to book. That way you could reserve the seat you want and in the best carriage for you. I think carriage A is designated a "quiet" carriage.
If you are feeling really confident as well as saving money with a railcard, you could also try split ticketing. For example, if your Chester train passes through Coventry, you might find that two tickets, one from London to Coventry then another from Coventry to Chester works out cheaper. Same train, same seats. Needs careful planning though.

Something which has just cropped up in my inbox for when you are in Wells- Christmas High Tea on the East Somerset Railway- https://eastsomersetrailway.com/events/view/christmas-high-tea-train-ride?fbclid=IwY2xjawTWyI5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFkcURjcFpYMTRCZW8xQ0FRc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHsD8FEAwZjAQz9awZ2gyjl1Y1mM8zTGO4Svp_2kW6NlZk9_Rgzv849_ilDKU_aem_V7zn0BEJ8ggjsPjR83UoFw

The East Somerset is one of the less well known preserved steam railways, and is only 20 minutes drive from Wells

Thanks, Stuart, for the Train Tea information. I sent them a note to enquire about vegetarian options.

They said they could accommodate vegetarian, so we'll need to decide if we want to do this, and which day, Sat or Sun.