Christmas Markets in Alnwick

Most Northumberland towns get one Christmas market if they are lucky. Alnwick gets two proper fairs inside four days, in two of the best rooms in the county, plus a market that trades twice a week anyway and a light trail that runs for six weeks.

The two fairs are on consecutive weeks in November, which makes them easy to treat as separate trips rather than a choice.

The Alnwick Garden Christmas Fair

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November 2026, 10.30am to 3.30pm, in the Pavilion at The Alnwick Garden, Greenwell Road, Alnwick NE66 1HB.

The important detail: it is free, and you do not need a Garden entry ticket to get in. The Garden's own wording is unambiguous on that, and it applies to the Pavilion Cafe as well. So this is the one to bring people to who would not otherwise pay to go through the gates.

The Garden has not published a stallholder list or count for 2026 yet.

Best for:

Two fairs, two different trips. The Garden's is free, daytime and on a weekend. The Castle's is midweek and ticketed. If you are choosing one, the Garden fair is the easier ask for a group; the Castle fair is the better room.

Alnwick Castle Christmas Fair

Alnwick Castle runs its fair over two days in the Guest Hall, Alnwick NE66 1NQ, and splits it into an evening and a daytime event.

Preview Evening is Tuesday 24 November 2026. It includes a welcome drink on arrival, canapés and seasonal refreshments, and first pick of the stallholders before the doors open properly. The price had not been announced as of late September.

Market Day is Wednesday 25 November 2026, family-friendly, with food and refreshments available and handcrafted gifts from local artisans. It is held in aid of Smile For Life. Tickets were not yet on sale when we checked.

Both are midweek, which is worth planning around if you work away from the town.

Alnwick Market runs twice a week regardless

Alnwick Market is not a Christmas market, but it is the thing that makes December in Alnwick work. It trades every Thursday and Saturday in the Market Place, Alnwick NE66 1HP, and the town council's listing has it running through to 31 December 2026.

Opening times and stall numbers are not published, so treat it as a daytime market and go in the morning. For anything specific, the market's contact address is alnwick.market@gmail.com.

The Market Place is also the centre of the shopping run below, so the Saturday market and the independents are genuinely the same trip.

Winter Lights at The Alnwick Garden

20 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, ticketed, with timed entry slots.

Prices start at £11.50 Saver, £18.00 Standard and £20.50 Premium. The ticket covers the Garden's light trail and Lilidorei, which you can visit anytime after 4.30pm either before or after your allocated slot. The Garden bills it as two attractions on one price.

It is the region's most reliable December booking, and it sells out on the good dates, so book before you plan the rest of the day around it.

Where to shop in the town itself

Alnwick's independents are dense enough that you can do most of a Christmas list on foot from the Market Place.

For food: Turnbull's Food Hall for hampers and the counter, The Cheese Room for the cheeseboard, Market Place Butchery for the bird, and The Farm Bakery for everything you did not plan for. Sweet Solstice and The Chocolate Spa cover the stocking end.

For presents: Barter Books in the old station is the obvious one and needs no argument, Brightwater Gallery and The Alnwick Gallery for art, Alnwick Yarn Company for anyone who makes things, and Conroy Jewellers for the serious one.

Flowers by Julie does wreaths and table arrangements, and The Market Tavern is on the Market Place when you have had enough.

Our guide to the best independent shops in Alnwick covers the full run, and charity shops in Alnwick is worth a look for the sort of thing the fairs do not sell.

Christmas markets within reach

Northumberland has an unusually good spread of festive fairs in November and December, and most are inside an hour of Alnwick.

• Brocksbushes, Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 November 2026
• Blanchland Artisan Christmas Market, Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November 2026
• Belsay Hall, the penultimate weekend in November, then Saturdays and Sundays from 5 to 20 December 2026
• Ford and Etal, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November 2026
• Errington Reay Festive Fair, Sunday 29 November 2026
• Forage at Rigg and Furrow, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December 2026
• Hexham Abbey Christmas Fair, Saturday 12 December 2026

The Sill and Hauxley had not confirmed dates at the time of writing.

Further afield, Newcastle Christmas Market runs Thursday 19 November to Wednesday 23 December 2026 and is free to browse, and Durham Christmas Festival is Friday 4 to Sunday 6 December 2026, with a ticketed craft marquee on Palace Green.

For the wider regional picture, see Christmas in the North East.

What is not confirmed yet

As of late September 2026, the following had not been published:

• Alnwick Castle Christmas Fair ticket prices, and the on-sale date
• Stallholder numbers for either fair
• Alnwick Market's December opening times
• An Alnwick Christmas lights switch-on date
• Dates for The Sill and Hauxley

We will update this guide as those are announced.

Know an Alnwick Christmas event we have missed? Get in touch via our contact page.