Seven confirmed Christmas markets, from Sewerby and Pocklington on 22 November to Beverley's 120-stall festival on 13 December, with times and parking.

The East Riding has seven confirmed Christmas markets for 2026, running from Sunday 22 November at Sewerby Hall and in Pocklington to Sunday 13 December, when Beverley holds the Festival of Christmas and Bridlington Spa has its Festive Fair on the same day. Every date below was read from the organiser’s own page on 6 October 2026.

The biggest by a distance is Beverley’s: one day, free, more than 120 stalls. Cottingham’s is the next largest, and its parish council says about 17,000 people came last year.

The dates at a glance

Date Market Times Entry
Sun 22 Nov Sewerby Hall Festive Market 10am to 4pm Free
Sun 22 Nov Pocklington Christmas Festival 1pm to 5pm Free
Fri 27 Nov Driffield Festive Night and Christmas Market From 2pm, switch-on just before 7pm Not stated
Sun 29 Nov Cottingham Christmas Festival 10am to 4pm Not stated
Thu 3 Dec Howden Shire Hall Christmas Late Night Opening 4pm to 8pm Not stated
Sun 13 Dec Beverley Festival of Christmas 10am to 4pm Free
Sun 13 Dec Festive Fair at Bridlington Spa 10am to 3pm Free

“Not stated” means the organiser has not said whether entry is free. None of these markets has published a ticket price, and street markets like Driffield’s and Cottingham’s are usually open to walk into, but we only list free where the organiser says so.

Beverley Festival of Christmas, Sunday 13 December

The organisers call it “the UK’s biggest single day Christmas market”, and 2026 is its 30th year. It runs from 10am to 4pm with more than 120 stalls across Saturday Market, Wednesday Market and North Bar, plus Flemingate’s own stalls. The parade, with Santa and his reindeer, leaves Wednesday Market at 10am and moves down Toll Gavel to Saturday Market, where Santa stays until mid afternoon. (Beverley Festival of Christmas)

Getting there is the hard part, and the organisers say so. Their plan your visit page gives:

  • Free park and ride from Beverley Racecourse, York Road, HU17 8QZ: 500 spaces, two buses, first bus 9am, last bus back from Beverley 5pm. The buses drop off on Wylies Road outside North Bar.
  • Blue Badge parking at Princes Gardens car park, off Champney Road, HU17 8HS.
  • Coaches park free at School Lane, HU17 9AW, but only if booked in advance through transport.support@eastriding.gov.uk.
  • Road closures and parking suspensions will be in place on the day. The organisers say “full details … to come”, so these are not yet published.

Our full page on the Beverley Festival of Christmas has the area by area programme and the St Mary’s carol times, and our parking in Beverley page covers the town’s car parks.

Sewerby Hall Festive Market, Sunday 22 November

Sewerby lists the market for Sunday 22 November, 10am to 4pm, free and with no need to book: festive gift stalls, a farmers’ market, seasonal food and live entertainment. The hall, gardens and zoo open as normal that day, with Fairytales at Christmas in the house, for which the usual admission applies. (Sewerby Hall and Gardens) Sewerby Hall is near Bridlington, YO15 1EA. Our Sewerby Hall Christmas page has the Fairytales dates and prices.

Pocklington Christmas Festival, Sunday 22 November

Pocklington Town Council’s festival runs from 1pm to 5pm, with stalls between Railway Street and Market Street, a funfair on Railway Street, a stilt-walking elf, and Santa’s grotto at Little Beas. The council has published the stage times:

  • Lucy’s Pop Choir, 1.05pm to 1.50pm
  • Pocklington Singers, 2pm to 2.25pm
  • Dangerous Steve, 2.30pm to 3pm, and again 3.30pm to 4pm
  • An act still to be confirmed, 3pm to 3.30pm
  • Malton White Star Band, 4pm to 5pm, including the lights switch-on

Roads close from 7am to 6pm: The Pavement, Railway Street, Regent Street, Deans Lane, Market Place and part of Market Street, from outside the Beach House to the Co-op, with access kept to the Feathers car park. (Pocklington Town Council) The council also says Pocklington Arts Centre will host its annual Christmas market, with stalls, entertainment and a community cafe indoors, as part of the festival. (Pocklington Town Council)

Driffield Festive Night and Christmas Market, Friday 27 November

Driffield’s market opens at 2pm in Market Place, with stalls selling gifts, wreaths and hot food, a snow machine, free face painting, Santa’s grotto, and the funfair on Middle Street. Just before 7pm the Mayor switches on the town’s Christmas trees at the Plaza of Lights, with a countdown by Great Driffield Radio. The town council has not published a finish time. (Discover Driffield)

Cottingham Christmas Festival, Sunday 29 November

Cottingham Parish Council runs its festival from 10am to 4pm in the village centre. It plans about 70 outdoor market stalls, craft stalls inside the Civic Hall, food and drink units, children’s activities, music on the Market Green, and tables and chairs for visitors. It runs a free park and ride bus, but its event page does not yet say where the bus leaves from. (Cottingham Parish Council)

Cottingham’s shops also hold a late night shopping event on Thursday 10 December, open until 8pm. (Cottingham Parish Council)

Howden Shire Hall Christmas Late Night Opening, Thursday 3 December

Howden Shire Hall’s annual late opening runs from 4pm to 8pm with more than 30 stalls of Christmas goods, Santa in his grotto, Christmas music from the City of Hull brass band, and the community cafe and bar open. The hall is at 11 Market Place, Howden, DN14 7BJ. (Visit Howden, Howden Shire Hall)

Festive Fair at Bridlington Spa, Sunday 13 December

Bridlington Spa’s Festive Fair runs 10am to 3pm, free entry, with gift and food stalls, winter decor, entertainment and free children’s craft sessions. Trade bookings go to Pink Pigeon Events, the same contact as Sewerby’s market. (Bridlington Spa box office) The Spa is on South Marine Drive, YO15 3JH. It falls on the same day as Beverley’s festival.

Not yet announced

  • Bridlington Old Town. The Old Town has held a Christmas fayre and lantern parade in past years, but the organisers’ own website carries only an old December programme with no 2026 date. We will add it when they publish one.
  • Hornsea. Hornsea’s switch-on is on Friday 27 November (see our Christmas lights page), but no Christmas market has been announced alongside it.

More Christmas days out

These are not markets, but they are the other big festive dates in the district: Christmas at Burton Agnes Hall from 14 November, Burton Constable’s Winterlight light trail from 3 December, Beverley Minster’s Christmas Tree Festival from 4 December, and the Bridlington Spa pantomime from 12 December. For road closures before you travel, see our roadworks and travel page, and for the week’s listings, What’s On in Beverley this month.

Sources