Christmas at Chatsworth House in England

I am loving Christmastime in Europe. It just feels so much more magical than anywhere else. So of course when I heard about one of the UK’s most elaborately decorated hot spots I had to go! (For another Christmas stately home, check out my post on Castle Howard) Christmas at Chatsworth House is something right off the pages of a fairy tale… and this year it was. The theme was “Once Upon a Time”. Past themes have been The Nutcracker, Charles Dickens, and Alice in Wonderland.

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Christmas at Chatsworth

Getting to Chatsworth House.

Located in Derbyshire in Northern UK, it’s easily accessible from Manchester (only about 1 hour 10 minute drive from the city center). The closest town is Chesterfield and buses consistently run to Baslow (closest stop)… the walk is a little over a mile and there’s a public footpath that leads straight to the house.

Tickets and Parking.

You need to purchase your ticket in advance. It’s not any cheaper online, but the entries are timed and the slots fill up quickly. You want to avoid disappointment. Also, the parking is included in your Chatsworth House ticket, so you can skip the £10 parking fee (£20 on weekends!!! WHAT?!). My advice is to get the first time slot (which is 11am) and then get in line about 20 minutes prior because they only let a handful of people in at a time, so you can have the 11:00am time slot, but if you are in the back of that line you’re not getting in for another 15 minutes.

Tips and Other Info.

Buy your ticket in advance and get the earliest time slot.
Go on a weekday! (Weekends are just insane!)
If you drive, skip the first parking entrance and go to the next one (it’s closer to the house!)
Once you complete the house walk-through, head on over to the Christmas Market on the property.
Expect to spend an hour in the house and a couple of hours in the Christmas Market.
Don’t rush yourself through the house. You might feel like you are being ushered through because there’s a lot of people, but take your time. You don’t want to miss anything!
The Christmas celebrations run through January 6th, 2019.
Adults are £25.00 and children under 16 are £15.00.

Christmas at Chatsworth House.

The house is set up with heavily themed and marvelously decorated rooms, each one a different fairy tale or childhood story. You journey begins with the Once Upon a Time story while you are waiting in line. If you have purchased your tickets already (you should have) then you stop by the ticket office and pick up your physical ticket. There are three different lines to choose from, two have times and the other one is for the Friends of Chatsworth (people who have memberships). Make sure you get in the correct line!

You learn the story about Arthur the Dragon and he’s the first character you when you walk into the house. There’s also mini stuffed Arthurs around the different rooms which is a fun game to play if you have kids.

The fun thing about the rooms is how different all the displays are. Of course, you expect Cinderella to be grand, and the pumpkin carriage is one of the highlights of the tour.

Some of the displays are even in rooms, but in the hallways connecting the larger rooms. There’s also no poster that states which room belongs to what fairy tale, so I hope you’ve brushed up on your childhood stories! The Charlotte’s Web hallway has hundreds of lights strung from the ceiling mimicking a spider’s web. So cool!

There are Christmas trees everywhere (literally, every open space, every turn, every corner…) and they are all decorated differently and beautifully. The great hall is already amazing, but when you add 3 Christmas trees to it… WOW! (The top of the great stairs stands the Wizard of Oz Emerald City Christmas tree). You may even have a run-in with the Piped Piper and he will share some of his stories with you.

I really liked the subtlety of the Mary Poppins room and the perspective of James and the Giant Peach. The story of Sleeping Beauty is creatively executed and The Princess and the Pea room is adorable!

On Thursdays and Fridays, Chatsworth does Twilight Evenings where you can enjoy live music, twinkling lights, and of course, wine! Which makes Christmas at Chatsworth House even more magical!

Once you have completed your house walk-through, you can check out the gardens because they are beautiful (yes, even in the winter time) and there’s not too many people checking them out, so why not take advantage?

The Christmas Market is the last stop and it’s always busy! So be prepared to navigate through more crowds, but enjoy all of the food (bubble waffles for the win!), mulled wine, live music, and specialty shops!