Seasonal guide
The North York Moors at Christmas
Christmas here is booked in October, not December. The Santa Express sells by date and the price climbs as the big day gets closer, Castle Howard asks you to pre-book, and the railway swaps its ordinary timetable for festive specials. This is what is on, what it costs where a price is published, and what a winter day on the moors is actually like.
The Santa Express runs from Pickering, with festive steam and a gift for every child.
The Santa Express, and why the date you choose changes the price
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway runs its Santa Express on ten days in 2026, and the fare is not the same on all of them. The opening weekend, 28 and 29 November, costs £29.50 a head. The two middle weekends, 5, 6, 12 and 13 December, cost £34.50. The final run, 19, 20, 22, 23 and 24 December, costs £39.50. That is £10 a person more for the identical hour-long trip between Pickering and Levisham, simply for going in the week before Christmas rather than the end of November. For a family of four that is £40, which buys a good lunch in Pickering afterwards.
Every child gets a 20cm gingerbread man plush toy and a festive book, passengers meet Santa and his elves on board, and there are platform activities including fete games and a Christmas Emporium. Carer tickets are £17.50, wheelchair user tickets are bookable online, and one booking fee of £1.50 applies per booking rather than per ticket.
What else the railway runs in winter
This is the part visitors most often get wrong. The railway does not run its ordinary timetable through the winter, so arriving in December hoping for a normal day out on the line will not work. What runs instead is a programme of festive specials, each booked separately. Alongside the Santa Express the railway names its Christmas North Yorkshire Pullman dining train, Winter Fish and Chips services, Tinsel Tipple, Christmas Afternoon Tea, Christmas Charters, and short winter breaks in the Goathland camping coach. Dates and prices for those are not published on the railway's Christmas page, so check directly with the railway before you build a day around one.
Whitby Christmas Festival
Whitby Christmas Festival runs from 13 to 15 November 2026 at the Marina Front Car Park on Langbourne Road. Expect local vendors, gifts, traditional food, live music and a fireworks display. Note the dates: this is a November festival, not a December one, which is earlier than people tend to assume. I have not been able to confirm whether entry is free, so check with the organisers before you set off.
Christmas at Castle Howard
Castle Howard dresses its house for Christmas from 12 November to 3 January, and the 2026 show is Victorian and Dickens-inspired, with projections, soundscapes and theatrical surprises through the rooms. Adult tickets run from £24 to £40 and children from £12 to £20 depending on the date and time you pick, with a 5.5% booking fee online. All tickets must be pre-booked, and walk-ups are subject to availability.
One thing worth knowing before you plan a day around it: Castle Howard sits outside the National Park, near Malton. It is a fine Christmas outing, it is simply not a day on the moors.
Dark skies, the best of the whole year
Winter is the peak of the dark-sky season here. The nights are long and the skies are among the darkest in the country, and the Scarborough and Ryedale Astronomical Society runs public stargazing evenings at Dalby Forest on the first Friday of most months from October to March. If you are choosing between a December afternoon and a December evening, the evening is the one the moors do better than almost anywhere else in England.
Christmas across the villages
Beyond the big ticketed events, the moors do Christmas the village way: Christmas markets, carol services and village Christmas lights through December. Thornton-le-Dale switches on its own lights, and our sister site covers them at thorntonledale.org. Village events are announced locally and late, so it is worth checking parish and village websites in the week before you travel rather than months ahead.
What winter on the moors is really like
Plan around the daylight. The days are short, and the high moor roads are exposed and take longer than the map suggests, which matters if you have a timed ticket at the other end. Leave more time than you think between a morning train and an afternoon plan, and expect the light to go early. In return you get quiet villages, pub fires, and the best skies of the year. Our plan your visit page covers the practicalities, and where to stay covers finding a base.
When to book
If you take one thing from this page, take this: book in October. The Santa Express is £10 a head cheaper on its opening weekend than in the week before Christmas, Castle Howard requires pre-booking and prices by date and time, and the popular dates on both go first. Everything here should be confirmed with the organiser before you travel, and prices and dates above are the 2026 ones as published by the organisers.
North York Moors at Christmas: your questions answered
When do the Santa specials run on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, and what do they cost?
The Santa Express runs on ten days in 2026: 28 and 29 November, then 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 22, 23 and 24 December, with departures at 10:30, 12:00, 13:30 and 15:00. Tickets are £29.50 per person on 28 and 29 November, £34.50 on 5, 6, 12 and 13 December, and £39.50 on 19, 20, 22, 23 and 24 December. Carer tickets are £17.50, wheelchair user tickets are available online, and there is a £1.50 booking fee per booking.
Do you have to book Christmas events in the North York Moors in advance?
Yes for the two big ones. The Santa Express is booked online by date and departure time, and the popular dates close to Christmas go first. Christmas at Castle Howard states that all tickets must be pre-booked, with walk-ups subject to availability. Booking in October rather than December is both cheaper on the railway and far more likely to get you the day you want.
What is open in the North York Moors at Christmas?
The railway does not run its ordinary timetable through the winter, it runs festive specials instead, so a visitor turning up expecting a normal day out on the line will not find one. Alongside the Santa Express the railway names a Christmas North Yorkshire Pullman dining train, Winter Fish and Chips services, Tinsel Tipple, Christmas Afternoon Tea, Christmas Charters and short winter breaks in the Goathland camping coach. Christmas at Castle Howard runs from 12 November to 3 January, though Castle Howard sits outside the National Park, near Malton.
Where are the Christmas markets in the North York Moors?
Whitby Christmas Festival runs from 13 to 15 November 2026 at the Marina Front Car Park on Langbourne Road, with local vendors, gifts, traditional food, live music and a fireworks display. Across the moors the villages hold their own Christmas markets, carol services and Christmas lights through December.
Is the North York Moors worth visiting in winter?
Yes, if you plan around the daylight. The days are short and the high moor roads are exposed, so journeys take longer than the map suggests. The compensation is the sky: winter is the peak of the dark-sky season here, and the Scarborough and Ryedale Astronomical Society runs public stargazing evenings at Dalby Forest on the first Friday of most months from October to March.