Christmas in the UK

There are Christmas markets in Birmingham - the Frankfurt (Germany) Christmas Market, in London, on the South Bank, and skating in many out door places. There are a number of National Trust properties which get all dressed up for Christmas, with decorated trees in some period of time like Edwardian, Victorian, etc., many have wagons or carriages pulled by horses, Christmas carols and special Christmas meals, and then, at the end of the season they have "Putting the House to Bed" programs as the houses are shut up for the winter. The shop front decorations in London, especially Regent Street, Oxford Street and Carnaby Street can be good fun. If you drive through the Cotwolds you will see small trees attached to the front of shops and simple but elegant lights. Yup - come on....

We spent 10 days in UK last Christmas-it was wonderful. If you can get up to York - I think it would be worth it but we enjoyed Bath and London tremendously during this time as well. We did do a tour of Stonehenge and surrounding area that was delightful. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

I was there a few years ago...left the day after Christmas and spent New Years and about a week after and it was great. Stayed mostly in the Cotswolds area, but did take a drive up the coast and to Edinburg as well. It was actually better weather than I thought, with some days very pleasant when the sun came out. I did not mind the shorter days, but the sun does go down really early... if I remember right it was almost dark by around 4, but it just added to the whole experience for me. I liked Bath, but was more fond of York, but it was all wonderful and I liked the fact that there were not a ton of tourists and I was seeing England at a different time of year.

Thanks Nigel! We started looking at tickets this weekend as a matter of fact! Thanks Terry, being from Seattle I'm not too worried about the weather, us Washingtonians are used to 4 seasons in one day! We are hoping to spend both Christmas and New Years in the UK, and I would love to get up to Edinburgh again! Stephanie, where did you stay in Bath? Any recommendations? We were looking at renting a flat for a few days since we will be there over Christmas and it gives us the ability to cook for ourselves. Anything that is a must see in Bath around Christmas besides the market? We will miss it by about a week seeing as we won't get to Bath until the 22nd. Thanks again for all the input!

If you are considering going to Edinburgh (or anywhere else in Scotland) for New Years, you should make reservations quickly. It is a big deal for the Scots. They call it Hogmanay and have all kinds of parties, celebrations, fireworks, bonfires, etc. It is a big family time and there are lots of celtic traditions surrounding it. Hotels book up really early.

I don't know how old your children are but maybe a visit to a Christmas Pantomime. Fun for all the family! The link shows this year's offerings in the UK (including Bath) http://www.bigpantoguide.co.uk/index.php