There’s nothing better on a crisp, winter afternoon than a nice festive stroll with the family (especially on Christmas Day) so we want to tell you about some of the best festive walks in Leeds and the surrounding areas.
Bolton Abbey is located near Bradford and is a spectacular, naturally beautiful day out at any time of year. A full day of exploration is in store whenever you visit Bolton Abbey with the ruins to explore adventures to be had in the nearby woods and the famous steppingstones to (carefully) hop, skip and jump over.
At Christmas, the setting is especially atmospheric, and with events like the Christmas trail, nativities, and even visits from Father Christmas himself, a Christmassy trip to Bolton Abbey will be the perfect festive treat for the entire family.
The Bolton Abbey 12 Days of Christmas trail runs from the Saturday 18 December to the Monday 3 January, so there’s plenty of time to take the family down for some festive, outdoor fun.
12 Days of Christmas Walk. / Image: Bolton Abbey
The trail is a beautiful walk through Strid Wood, a heartwarming, fairytale-like forest on the grounds. This is a lovely family activity within itself, but to keep the little ones entertained throughout you’ll have to put your detective hats on and keep your eyes peeled to find clues along the way. Once you’ve collected your clues, a recipe for an amazing gingerbread Priory will be revealed.
After a lovely winter stroll, you can take your recipe home with you, partake in a spot of Christmas baking, and let the festive fun continue throughout the day.
12 Days of Christmas Walk. / Image: Bolton Abbey
After the trail, if you’re not ready to head home just yet, Bolton Abbey has plenty else in store to keep you and the whole family entertained. With lots of other walks to complete, a couple of shops to visit, a post office, and plenty of tea rooms, cafes, and restaurants, there’s plenty to keep you entertained if you’re wanting to experience a whole day of festive fun at Bolton Abbey.
If you’re wanting to visit Santa though, you’ll need to book in advance as this is a firm favourite for local families, and with dates up until and after Christmas, there’s still time to get booked in!
To find out more information, including where to buy tickets, visit the Bolton Abbey website.
Leeds Christmas Markets is returning to the city centre in just two months' time and some major plans and changes have been announced.
Although Pop Princess Zara Larsson might want us to believe "Summer isn't over yet", it's safe to say that the recent downpours we've had across West Yorkshire disagree.
Leeds Christmas Markets are also ringing in the new season with a jam-packed video posted to social media announcing all the current plans and changes for its 2026 schedule.
This year, outdoor events company Thor’s Tipi are stepping up as the all-new operators of this Christmastime spectacular and are organising a celebration where 'even if you’re not from Yorkshire, you’re going to leave being from Yorkshire'.
Leeds Christmas Markets are returning to Leeds City Square from Thursday 19 November with plenty of Yorkshire-centric stalls / Credit: The Hoot Leeds
Although Leeds locals already know that Yorkshire is 'God's Own Country', the Leeds Christmas Markets team are making sure that the county is represented through its food, drinks and wider stalls.
In a video uploaded to its social accounts, foodie expert and Little Bao Boy Founder James 'Jimmy Chews' Ooi was given the honour of revealing all these exciting plans.
Informing everyone that "You best come hungry", Ooi noted that some of the phenomenal vendors taking part include La Grassa and The Savvy Baker.
Real Markets Yorkshire and Stump Cross Caverns are also getting into the Christmas spirit and setting up their own stalls at Leeds City Square this November.
La Grassa is just one of many familiar foodie faces returning to Leeds Christmas Markets / Credit: The Hoot Leeds
Rated restaurants and bars are contributing to the festive frenzy too, like Cabaret Thursdays at Italian restaurant Bibi's and beer garden destination Green Room are hosting singalongs at Leeds Christmas Markets.
There will be plenty of activities for families happening all around the unofficial capital of West Yorkshire like elf-themed scavenger hunts, various elves on various shelves and lots of live music.
If it wasn't apparent already, in the words of Jimmy Chews himself, there's about to be "So much Christmas that Mariah Carey is going to look like the Grinch".
Leeds Christmas Markets are returning to Leeds City Square from Thursday 19 November and there will be plenty of exciting announcements to the upcoming celebrations ahead of the big day.
Popular TV channel playing Christmas films 24/7 is now back on air in the UK
Emily Sergeant
Think it's too early for 'C word'? Never mind, you've already clicked on this article.
Sure, we may only be into our second full week of September, but given the fact the weather these past couple of days hasn't exactly screamed summer, it already feels like the festive season is around the corner - but whether or not you think it’s too early to be talking about Christmas, it’ll soon be too tricky to escape from.
Especially not when the famous TV channel showing festive film favourites non-stop is now back on air in the UK.
Yes, you heard that right - Christmas films, 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
If you’re ready to wave goodbye to summer, and in welcome autumn and winter with open arms, then there's arguably no better way of getting into the festive spirit than with the long-awaited and highly-anticipated return of the TV channel that's charmed audiences for over half a decade now.
GREAT! Christmas the UK’s biggest seasonal channel, and it's now live on Sky, Freesat, Freeview and Virgin Media.
You can expect almost four months of back-to-back seasonal movies.
The 24-hour feel-good and free-to-air channel will be bursting with non-stop Christmas spirit, and will be showing a heartwarming lineup of festive films - including some absolute fan-favourite classics that make it to screens every year without fail, alongside some cheesy Hallmark classics, new channel premieres, and so much more.
Viewers will find GREAT! Christmas on Freeview channel 51, Sky 319, Sky (Glass/Stream) 317, Virgin channel 424, and Freely channel 47.
Kate Perou -
20th December 2023 
