Cheltenham Christmas Market 2026: A Cotswolds Winter Weekend

If you’d rather buy gifts from the people who made them, this market is perfect for browsing slowly. The Cheltenham Christmas Market mixes local craft producers with festive food and mulled wine, all set among the town’s Regency terraces. It’s compact enough for an afternoon, which leaves time to go skating or settle into one of the town’s restaurants afterwards.

Cheltenham Christmas Market 2026

Dates

Status: Confirmed
Dates: 10th to 23rd December 2026
Last checked: October 2026

Update: Dates were announced in September. Sign up for our newsletter to be notified of changes.

Source: Verified by Ultimate Christmas Markets via Visit Cheltenham.

Plan Your Visit

Location and Times

Location: The Promenade
Opening times: 10am to 5pm
Christmas Day: Closed

Travel and Accommodation

Recommended Tour: Regency ghost walk
Parking: Please take public transport to help limit congestion.
Where to stay: No131 The Promenade is located directly at the event.

Amenities and Attractions

Admission: Free
Lights switch-on: Pittville Pump Room: 27th to 29th November. Full details.
Santa: Locations.
Ice skating: Imperial Gardens. Plan your visit.
Reason to visit: A family-friendly event with unique shopping.

Accessibility

Accessible: Yes.

Convenient Hotels

The market fills the pedestrianised Promenade, a few minutes’ walk from the Town Hall. This is also one of the best areas to stay in Cheltenham, so if you can find a hotel nearby, you’ll have everything at your door. I suggest staying at No131 The Promenade in this area.

Read our complete guide to the Christmas markets in the UK.

Recommended Tours

Cheltenham’s Regency terraces take the ghost-story treatment well, and the older corners tucked behind them even better. The Regency ghost walk runs ninety minutes after dark, and it is the only guided walk in town. New listing, so you would be among the first.

Visitor Feedback

What Visitors Loved

• The setting does a lot of the work, with wooden chalets strung along the tree-lined Promenade between the Regency terraces.
• Local makers are the draw, and their handmade stalls feel more personal than the imported stock at bigger city markets.
• It’s easy to turn into a full afternoon, with the ice rink in Imperial Gardens and the independent shops of Montpellier and the Suffolks all within walking distance.

Common Complaints

• It’s a compact market, so anyone expecting the scale of Bath or Birmingham may find it small. An hour or two is plenty.
• Food leans on the familiar chalet line-up of crêpes, waffles and German sausages, so save a proper meal for one of the town’s restaurants.
• The format has changed several times over the years, so older guides and listings often give the wrong dates or describe a different market.

The Bottom Line

Treat this as a relaxed browse for handmade gifts rather than a destination market, and build the rest of the day around skating, the independent shops and a long lunch. Weekday afternoons are the calmest time to take a proper look at the craft stalls.

Event Location

What to Expect

Around 40 wooden chalets line the pedestrianised Promenade, with local craft producers alongside Christmas gift stalls and a handful of food and mulled wine stands. It’s compact, so an hour or two covers it at a browsing pace, and it’s an easy one to bring children to.

Food at the Stalls

• Mulled wine and cider: Mulled wine is the default, but in apple-growing Gloucestershire it’s worth asking for hot spiced cider instead.
• Hog roast rolls: Pork slow-roasted for hours until it falls apart, served in a crusty roll with apple sauce and stuffing.
• Pies: Hand-held pies with meat or vegetarian fillings, perfect for an easy lunch on the move.
• Gloucestershire cheese: If there’s a cheese stall, look for Double Gloucester and the rarer Single Gloucester, which can only be made in the county.
• Crêpes, waffles and German sausages: The international street food that turns up at most British markets, good for a quick warm-up.
• Mince pies: The British festive staple, along with other seasonal bakes.

What to Buy

• Pottery: Mugs, bowls and vases from studio potters, the stalls most visitors linger over.
• Glassware and jewellery: Handmade pieces from local craftspeople, small enough to pack.
• Art prints: Original artwork and prints by regional artists, a good gift that doesn’t take up luggage space.
• Handmade decorations: Wooden and glass tree decorations to replace the mass-produced baubles.
• Cotswold gin: The area around Cheltenham is home to several small distilleries that craft exceptional gins.
• Cotswold honey: Rich, aromatic honey from local beekeepers.
• Woollen goods: Scarves, hats and gloves, a nod to the wool trade that built the Cotswolds.

Responsible Travel Tips

• Use the Arle Court park and ride: If you’re driving in, leave the car at the Arle Court Transport Hub off the A40 and take the 100 bus, which reaches the town centre in about 12 minutes. The hub has more than 100 electric vehicle charge points.
• Arrive by train: Cheltenham Spa station is about a 20-minute walk from the centre, or take Stagecoach bus D into town.
• Cycle the Honeybourne Line: This traffic-free path (National Cycle Network Route 41) links the station area with the town centre on an old railway line, about 10 minutes by bike.
• Time your visit for a farmers market Friday: The Cheltenham Farmers Market sets up on the Promenade on the second and last Friday of each month, so the second Friday of December lands during the Christmas market. Look for meat, cheese, bread and vegetables from Gloucestershire and Cotswolds producers.
• Shop the independents: The Suffolks and Montpellier, both about a 10-minute walk from the Promenade, are full of independent shops and cafés. The Suffolks also holds its own one-day designers and makers market, usually on a Sunday in late November.