Plan Your Visit

To help you plan your visit please check the opening and closing across the estate on the date of your visit.

27 Nov - 20 Dec (Mon - Fri)

21 Nov - 20 Dec (Sat & Sun)

Mon 21 & Tues 22 Dec (School holidays)

Christmas Eve

23 - 26 Nov and 27 Dec - 3 Jan

The single most important thing on this page.

Visiting Santa?

If you have booked a Santa visit, please arrive at least 40 minutes before your Santa slot. This is not a polite suggestion. This is the gentle reality of parking, walking through the estate, getting little legs ready and arriving at Santa's door without a flushed face and a flustered grown-up.

For example, if your Santa visit is at 10:00 am, you need to arrive on the estate by 9:20am, and we ask you to be on site by then.

If you do have time to spare once you are at The North Pole, check in with the elf and see if you have time to:

• Pop to use the toilet (especially important for excited little ones)
• Check out the Elf Village
• Toast a marshmallow at the firepit.
• Take a moment to gather everyone before the big visit

You must be ready to checked in and waiting to enter 5 minutes prior to your timed slot.

If you arrive after your Santa slot, we cannot move your Santa visit and you may miss earlier parts of your experience. We are not able to offer refunds for missed Santa slots, so please do build in time for traffic and pram-wrangling.

Got Estate Entry only tickets?

Your booking confirmation with have an arrival time, you can arrive any time within the hour window. For example, if you are booked in at 10:00am you can arrive any time between 10:00am - 11:00am.

If you have a Magic Show ticket booked we advise you to follow the guidance above for Santa and arrive 40 minutes early. If you arrive at the Hall prior to your Magic Show booking you could view the Hall first before checking in.

Address: Lotherton, Aberford, Leeds, LS25 3EB

What3words: ///limelight.petal.reserving

Lotherton is just off the A1(M) at junction 47, about 20 minutes from Leeds city centre and easily reachable from York, Wakefield and Harrogate.

By car: Free parking is included with every ticket. Follow signs for The Christmas Experience as you arrive at the estate. Our team will guide you to a space in our field car park. Our hard standing car park is reserved for access and blue badge holders.

By public transport: Lotherton has limited access via public transport. The nearest bus stop is at Aberford, a 40 walk from the estate gates. The nearest train station is Garforth, a 10 minute taxi journey to the estate gates.

Blue badge parking: Dedicated blue badge bays are available closest to the welcome point. Please show your badge to the team on arrival.

Map:

The Christmas Experience is mostly outdoors and woodland underfoot, so the right kit makes a real difference. We recommend:

• Warm coats, hats and gloves (Yorkshire in December has opinions about weather)
• Sturdy shoes or wellies for the woodland paths
• Layers for the children, who will be running one minute and standing still the next
• Pushchairs are welcome on most paths, but please be aware pushchair access to the Hall and Santa's North Pole is not allowed due to space.

We do our best to keep the magic alive whatever the weather. Rain, shine or snow, the experience goes ahead.

You will find seasonal treats throughout your visit, from steaming hot chocolate to gingerbread and proper warming meals at our café. Marshmallows for the firepit are available to buy on site. You are welcome to bring a small snack for little ones, but we ask that you save bigger picnics for after your visit so we can keep the magic flowing through the estate.

Food outlets are:

• The Courtyard Cafe - serving hot and cold meals and snacks
• The Stables Pizzeria Takeaway (weekends and school holidays) - located at the end of the Courtyard and you are welcome to eat your pizzas under the stretch tent (not Yurt) in the Elf Village
• The Shepherds Hut Takeaway
• The Yuletide Yurts - situated in the Elf Village serving hot and cold drinks, alcoholic beverages and snacks. no food purchased in other areas must be consumed here.

We want every family to enjoy The Christmas Experience. Most of the estate is accessible to wheelchairs and pushchairs, though some woodland paths are uneven. Due to limited space pushchairs are not allowed in the Hall and suring Santa's North Pole sessions.

Weekends and school holidays are busy at The Christmas Experience. However weekdays are quieter and we run a relaxed session for children with additional needs. More information here.

Babies and toddlers age two and under are free for Estate Entry, but do need their own free ticket when booking.

Babes in arms do not need a ticket when accompanying a sibling when visiting Santa, however they must not partake in the activities with Mrs Claus and they will not receive a gift from Santa. If you would like your little one to receive a gift from Santa, please book them a Santa ticket. 

Buggies are welcome throughout the estate and on the 12 Days Walk. Due to limited space pushchairs are not allowed in the Hall and suring Santa's North Pole sessions.

We understand. Traffic happens, toddlers happen, life happens. Here is the honest truth about lateness:

• If you arrive after your Estate Entry slot but before your Santa visit, you may still make your Santa moment if you can get to the North Pole quickly.
• If you arrive after your Santa visit start time, we cannot move you to a later slot and we cannot refund your Santa ticket. We may be able to bring you into the experience wherever it has reached, but you may miss earlier parts of the journey.
• Estate Entry is more flexible. As long as you arrive before our last entry time of the day, you can still explore the 12 Days Walk and the rest of the estate.

The best way to avoid any of this is to plan to arrive 40 minutes before your Santa slot. We know it sounds like a lot. We promise it disappears in marshmallows and elf-spotting before you know it.