Winter in Wales 2026: dates and prices for Christmas markets, ice rinks, light trails and Santa trains

Cardiff's Winter Wonderland opens on Thursday 12 November and is free to enter, the city's Christmas Market opens the same day, and Santa trains across Wales run from £20 a child. Every date and price below was checked on the organiser's or venue's own website on 25 October 2026. Where a price is not yet published, we say so. This is a researched selection, not a review: we have not visited these events this season. We will update it as organisers publish prices and add events that have not yet announced 2026 dates.

Cardiff: Winter Wonderland and the Christmas Market

Cardiff's Winter Wonderland runs from 12 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed on 25 and 26 December. The ice rink, Ice Walk and a new curling experience are in the grounds of Cardiff Castle, with the Giant Wheel, funfair and après-ski bar on the City Hall lawn. Entry is free and attractions are paid for individually. Skating must be booked online in advance; there are no walk-up sessions, and skating prices had not been published on 25 October. The Cardiff Christmas Market runs in the city centre from Thursday 12 November to Wednesday 23 December, Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm and Sunday 10am to 5pm, staying open until 7pm on Thursdays in December. Some listings give different dates and a different location; these are the organiser's.

Light trails: Bute Park and Margam

Christmas at Bute Park, a light trail behind Cardiff Castle, runs from Thursday 19 November to Thursday 31 December 2026, with timed entry slots. The organiser offers 20% off with the code BUTE20 until 31 October. Luminate at Margam Country Park, near Port Talbot, runs from Wednesday 25 November 2026 to Saturday 2 January 2027, with entry slots from 4.30pm to 8pm and a trail that takes 60 to 90 minutes. Tickets must be booked in advance and parking is £5 a car. Other listings give 20 or 24 November as the opening date; the operator's own page says 25 November.

Swansea Winter Wonderland

Swansea Winter Wonderland, with an undercover ice rink and fair, opens at the National Waterfront Museum on Thursday 19 November, 5pm to 10pm on the opening night, and runs until 3 January. It is closed on 25 and 26 December. Prices had not been published on 25 October.

Santa trains: six railways, fares from £20

Six Welsh heritage railways have published Christmas dates for 2026. The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway runs Santa Specials from Llanfair Caereinion on 12 to 22 December, at £24 for an adult and £20 for a child, with an SEN-friendly day on 16 December. Pre-booking is essential. The Llangollen and Corwen Railway runs Santa Specials through the Dee Valley on selected dates from 28 November to 24 December. A seat is £32; a first-class compartment for up to six is £222 and a private compartment for up to eight is £264. The railway says every 2025 Santa Special sold out. The Brecon Mountain Railway at Pant, near Merthyr Tydfil, runs The Polar Express from 13 November to 23 December, at £34.95 off-peak, £42.95 standard and £49.95 peak, the same price for adults and children. Its page carries a sold-out notice alongside its booking link, so check availability for your date. The Talyllyn Railway at Tywyn runs Santa Specials on 19, 20, 23 and 24 December, plus lunch, carol and Victorian Christmas trains on other December dates. The Vale of Rheidol Railway in Aberystwyth runs A Ticket to Christmas from 16 to 23 December: a steam return to Capel Bangor, then time with Santa at its Engine Shed museum. Neither had prices on its own page on 25 October.

Pantomimes

Beauty and the Beast is the New Theatre Cardiff pantomime, from Saturday 5 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, with tickets from £23.50. Sleeping Beauty plays Venue Cymru in Llandudno from Saturday 12 December to Saturday 2 January, with a BSL and audio-described performance on 28 December and a relaxed performance on 30 December. Snow White is this year's Swansea Grand pantomime; check the theatre's box office for dates and prices.

Fairs, markets and castles

The Royal Welsh Winter Fair is at Llanelwedd on Monday 30 November and Tuesday 1 December; advance tickets are cheaper than paying on the gate. Caerphilly's Christmas Market fills the town centre on Saturday 21 November and is free. Cadw's Santa Has Lost His Reindeer trail runs at Caernarfon Castle on 19 and 20 December, 11am to 3pm, included in normal admission (adult £14.90, family £47.70, under-fives free). Chepstow Castle has drop-in Christmas craft sessions on the same weekend, 10am to 3pm.

Boxing Day, New Year and the Mari Lwyd

The Tenby Boxing Day Swim starts on North Beach at 11am on Saturday 26 December. Saundersfoot's 41st New Year's Day Swim starts at 2pm on Friday 1 January 2027, with registration at £5 for adults and £3 for under-16s. In January, the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea holds its Gŵyl y Mari Lwyd on 10 January.

Still to be announced

These ran last winter but had no 2026 dates published by 25 October: the Nos Galan road races in Mountain Ash, Powis Castle's Christmas projections, Erddig's after-dark evenings, the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Santa trains, the Theatr Clwyd pantomime and Christmas at St Fagans. We will add each one when the organiser confirms.