The Christmas Experience

Name: Florence Nightingale Bicentenary: Inspiration to Genius
Start: 2020-03-01
End: 2021-10-17

Date/Time

03 December 2020 - 03 January 2021

Venue Lotherton

Tags Event, Family, Under 5s,

The Christmas Experience at Lotherton returns for its fifth year, with Santa and his elves ready to welcome visitors from across Leeds and beyond.

This year will see Santa move into the Elf Village to allow for plenty of room for visitors to meet him and maintain social distancing. We have put hygiene and social distancing measures in place to ensure that Lotherton is COVID-19 secure.

Visit The Christmas Experience website

Opening Times

Please note that the opening dates and times of The Christmas Experience vary.

Find out more

Book Tickets

To ensure that we can comply with social distancing rules on our site, there will be restrictions on the number of visitors on the estate visit at one time. Every visitor (including Lotherton members) must have a pre-booked ticket before visiting, no payment will be taken on the gate.

Please ensure all visitors have either a Santa ticket (children) or a Christmas Experience estate entry (adults and children without Santa tickets).

How to book as a Lotherton member

You must book an entry slot if you are a member as the estate will be at a limited capacity until 3 January 2021.

Choose your selected entry date on the Booking page
Choose your entry time slot (9.30 – 11am, 12.30 – 2pm or 3.30 – 5pm)
Select Adult General Estate Entry (member) and enter the quantity of adult members
Select Child General Estate Entry (member) and enter the quantity of child members
Continue to checkout, you will not need to pay for tickets.
Please remember to bring your membership card and email confirmation of this booking.

Before booking please read the COVID Safe page.

Book tickets here

Santa at The Christmas Experience Lotherton

What’s on

All ticket holders must purchase a General Entry ticket, this is limited to groups of up to six people maximum.

Book general entry

Santa visits

This year Santa and his elves are taking up residence in the Elf Village. We have two experiences on offer for older children and pre-schoolers:

Under the Wishing Tree

Come on down to our elven bivouac to meet Santa, Snowy Flake and his friends under the magical wishing tree for stories and elf tales . Visit Dizzy Bells in Reindeer Emporium and take home some magical reindeer feed for Rudolph on Christmas Eve. Pop by and say hello to Postmaster Pippin McJingles in Ye Olde Post Office Central to ensure your letter to Santa is safely on its way. Finally meet the main man himself in Santa’s Cabin for a special Christmas one to one, and a little present for the journey home.

Running from 3pm weekdays and all day on the weekends and school holidays. Booking is required. This experience is about 40 minutes in total. Adults will be required to book a timed entry for The Christmas Experience.

Book this experience

Santa’s Cabin – Pre-schoolers

For the smallest of little people, we are offering an opportunity to say hello with Santa in his cabin and receive a special Christmas gift. This is a great opportunity for little people’s first visit to Santa, who may struggle engaging in the full 40 minute ‘Under the Wishing Tree’ experience.

Running Monday to Friday from 11am – 2pm until 18 December.

Book this experience

Important information

– Pre-booked tickets are required for all visitors including members

– All visitors require a Christmas Experience estate ticket

– There will be no further activities in the Elf Village, other than Santa experiences

– All over 11s will be required to wear face masks and we ask all families to maintain social distancing

12 Days Walk & Fairy Dell

Come take a stroll on our magical woodland walk, follow our twinkling lit paths and you’ll discover the enchanting installations of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Gaze in awe at the beautiful golden pears, say ‘bonjour’ to our French Hens, listen to the calling birds, run through our gold rings or make our ladies dance! Explore all of the interactive stations, offering something for each family member to enjoy. Each station will be cleaned regularly but please use the hand sanitiser stations provided before and after use.

Uncover our secret fairy hideaway, tip-toe through the dell to catch a glimpse of our fairies in their new village and listen to their giggles and whispers. Take a peek at their tiny village, the cinema, church, windmill, count all the little doors in the rock gardens and get caught up in their magical world.

Five gold rings photographed on a long exposure to make them look blurred at The Christmas Experience Lotherton

Wildlife World

Wildlife World, tells the story of the world’s natural heritage. It is a continued development of the original Bird Garden which has been a part of the estate since the 1980s.

Meet playful Humboldt penguins as they splash about in their pool. See flamingos in their habitat and say hello to the resident tapir and capybara.

Please note face coverings must be warn when exiting Wildlife World (through the shop). Close daily at 4pm, last entry 3.15pm.