Kick Start your Christmas
Kick-start your Christmas with Father Christmas, hands-on Yuletide Arts and Crafts, the Christmas Trail, and lots of outdoor fun.
Meet Father Christmas!
Father Christmas will be available on Saturdays in December and Monday 23rd at intervals between 10.30 and 3.30 . Admission to the grotto is free. Normal park admission applies.
Yultide Arts and Crafts
Join us for an authentic taste of Yuletide this Christmas season when our Saxon Village will be alive with the Yuletide spirit.
Yule or Yuletide (“Yule time”) originates in the cultures of early medieval Europe. Many of the familiar features of the Christmas Season such as the Yule Log, Christmas lights and the Christmas Wreath owe their origins to the beliefs and practices of the Saxons.
This year you can bring some of those traditions back to vivid life in our Saxon Village with a host of opportunities to get hands-on with Yuletide themed activities*
- making tree decorations with wood-carving and turning
- making Christmas wreaths with natural materials
And of course, our resident Saxons will be around to tell you all about the origins of Christmas while you toast a marshmallow over the village fire.
Activities will be available on weekends, 10am to 3:30pm, from the 7th December to Christmas Eve. Then daily for the rest of the season from the 27th of December.
Presents for the Animals!
From Saturday 21st to Christmas Eve our keepers will be bringing the Christmas cheer to our animals. Follow the timetable for feeding to see the animals get their Christmas presents***.
* Some activities will entail a small charge for materials
** Weekdays only
*** Check daily timetable for details
Winter Activities
Timetable of events for Christmas coming soon!
Winter Timetable
Daily Animal Talks*:
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11am Red Squirrel (in the walk-through enclosure)
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11:45am Wolves
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12:30pm Red Fox
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3pm Otters
Play Barn open ’til 3:30pm
Saxon Village open ’til 4pm**
Weekends:
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1:15pm Falconry display
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Saxon Village activities – ask staff on arrival
Please note that times may change at short notice. Please ask on arrival. On weekdays the Saxon Village may be closed to the public for visiting school groups. Please ask before arrival.