A declaration before we start: I LOVE Christmas. Give me a wooden chalet, a paper cup of mulled wine and a sausage I didn't need, and I'm a happy boy. So this month's guide is unashamedly biased. I could have left them out...but I'd want to know about them if I was on the other side of this so that's my decision and its final!
November has 29 festivals, fairs and shows in it, and for good measure those 20 Christmas markets as well.
If you read October's guide, the first thing you'll notice is that the drinking hasn't stopped. Of the 29 festivals, 17 are about drink: eight beer and cider festivals, five whisky festivals, two gin and rum festivals and a wine festival. November carries straight on where October left off, just with the heating on.
What has changed is the food. The outdoor town-centre food festival, the kind that fills a high street with stalls, has all but packed up for the year. There are three left in this guide, all run by the same touring operator in Somerset and Dorset. In their place comes Christmas. The first of the big city markets opens in Birmingham on 5 November, which is Bonfire Night, and by the end of the month there are markets running from Exeter to Edinburgh and Belfast. Several carry on into the new year so they'll be in the December guide too.
A few things surprised me. The Egham Beer Festival is on its fiftieth edition and happens in a private members' club that lets everybody in. Clovelly, on the north Devon coast, holds a festival for a single fish. Stalybridge has a beer festival where the ticket covers every drink you have. And the cheapest way into two of the grandest settings on the list is to go on the quiet day: Harewood's Christmas market is £3 on a Friday, and Hyde Park Winter Wonderland has £1 slots from Monday to Thursday in November.
The festivals are listed week by week. The Christmas markets come after them, in the order they open, because they run for weeks and not for a weekend. Every date was checked against the organiser's own website or ticket page, or the local tourist board's. A good number of prices and opening times had not been published when I wrote this, and where that is the case I have said so and not guessed.
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50 events in this guide
The map loads from Google. Nothing is sent to them until you open it.
The first week: to Sunday 8 November
Wales Whisky Fest — Llandudno, Conwy (30 October – 1 November). A weekend of whisky on the North Wales coast that starts in October and finishes in November, so it sneaks into this guide. It opens with a dinner on the Friday and the main tasting sessions are on the Saturday, at 12:30 and 4pm, at The Imperial Hotel. The organisers say they have frozen the ticket price from last year. Book a session before you travel.
Belfast Beer & Cider Festival — Banana Block, Belfast (5–7 November). CAMRA Northern Ireland's festival, at Banana Block in east Belfast. It runs Thursday to Saturday, noon to 10.30pm each day. Buy tickets in advance; CAMRA members get in for less.
Alloa Real Ale and Cider Festival — Alloa Town Hall, Clackmannanshire (6–7 November). No tickets and no booking: you pay £10 on the door, and you can come and go with your glass and programme. CAMRA members get in free with a card and pay £3 for the glass. Friday from 1pm, Saturday from noon, both until 10.30pm. Over-18s only.
Bury Beer Festival — The Met, Bury, Greater Manchester (6–7 November). A beer festival inside an arts centre, in the Derby Hall at The Met. There are four sessions, at noon and 6pm on the Friday and the Saturday. Tickets are £9, or £8 for CAMRA members from The Met's ticket office.
Gin & Rum Festival Newcastle — Newcastle Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne (7 November). The first of three November dates for the touring Gin & Rum Festival, and the setting is the draw: it is held inside Newcastle Cathedral. The same festival is in Edinburgh on 21 November and Sheffield on 28 November. Ticket prices are on the booking page.
Harewood Christmas Market (first weekend) — Harewood House, near Leeds, West Yorkshire (6–8 November). The first of two weekends at Harewood, and the cheap way in is the Friday: £3 if you book online, against £8 to £10 on the Saturday or Sunday. It is dearer on the day, and entry is in timed slots between 10am and 2pm. Harewood promises the region's best street food alongside the stalls. The ticket does not include the house.
Dorset Winter Food & Drink Fair — Athelhampton House, near Dorchester, Dorset (7–8 November). More than 60 small producers and makers in a marquee and the formal gardens of Athelhampton House: Dorset cheeses, preserves, baking and craft drinks, with hot food and live music both days. It is £5 if you book ahead and £7.50 on the day, with under-12s free. Open 10am to 3pm, last entry 2.30pm. The house itself is closed during the fair, and dogs on leads are welcome.
Glasgow's Whisky Festival — Hampden Park, Glasgow (7 November). Glasgow's own whisky festival, at Hampden Park. One day only. Check for tickets before you make plans.
The second week: 9 to 15 November
Egham Beer Festival — Egham United Services Club, Surrey (11–14 November). The fiftieth Egham Beer Festival. It is held at a private members' club that has been winning CAMRA awards since 2008, and it is open to everyone: £7 on the door, or £6 if you carry a CAMRA, CIU or NUS card. Wednesday and Saturday from noon, Thursday and Friday from 10am, with live music from 8.45pm on the Friday and Saturday.
Kidderminster Beer and Cider Festival — Kidderminster, Worcestershire (12–14 November). Behind Aggborough Stadium, in the Harriers' social club. An advance ticket is £16 and £10 of that comes back as bar tokens, with a refundable glass deposit; anything you do not spend is refunded. Thursday 2pm to 10pm, Friday noon to 11pm with live music, and Saturday from noon until 9pm or until the beer runs out. Designated drivers get in free with two soft drinks.
Southend Beer and Cider Festival — The Palace Hotel, Southend-on-Sea, Essex (12–14 November). Also known as Beer by the Pier, and in a new home this year at The Palace Hotel. It is £5 on the door and free for CAMRA members with a card. Noon to 10pm on all three days.
FOAM Beer Festival — Stalybridge Civic Hall, Greater Manchester (13–14 November). The ticket is £52 and that is all you pay: it covers entry, a tasting glass to keep and every beer you drink during the session. There are three sessions, on Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening, and last pours are half an hour before each one closes.
eat:Yeovil — Middle Street, Yeovil, Somerset (14 November). eat:Festivals is a touring operator that sets up one-day markets of local producers in West Country town centres, and this is the Yeovil date. Stalls run along Middle Street and The Triangle. They trade 10am to 4pm at most of their events.
Clovelly Herring Festival — Clovelly Harbour, Devon (15 November). A festival for one fish, on the quay of a village that used to live off it. There is herring from the stallholders, a maritime historian who brings his Kipperland exhibition and sells the kippers and bloaters he smokes, flax and net-making demonstrations and a net-making competition. Live music and free face-painting for children too. There is no separate festival ticket, but you pay to enter Clovelly itself on any day of the year: £10.90 for adults, £6.25 for children aged 7 to 16, under-7s free, or £27 for a family of four. That includes parking and a free return visit within seven days. In November the village is open 10am to 4pm.
The third week: 16 to 22 November
Ely Cathedral Christmas Gift & Food Fair — Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire (19–21 November). A Christmas fair held inside one of England's great cathedrals, Thursday to Saturday. It is gifts as well as food and drink, and new makers are promised for this year. Times and ticket prices were not published when this guide was written.
Belfast Whiskey Week: Whiskey Weekender — multiple venues, Belfast (20–22 November). Three days of whiskey in Belfast, spread across multiple venues in the city, so the pin on our map marks Belfast and not a front door. Belfast Whiskey Week runs tastings, masterclasses and walking tours, and this weekender includes a mini-expo. The programme and tickets had not been released when this guide was written.
Manchester Wine Festival — Manchester Central, Manchester (20–21 November). Run by the wine merchant Laithwaites, so know what it is: a retailer's tasting on a very large scale. There is a Friday night session and Saturday sessions with masterclasses. Go in by the Exchange Foyer, and do not turn up more than 15 minutes early.
English Whisky Festival — The Bond, Birmingham (21 November). English whisky only, and in its fifth year. General admission is £50 and doors open at noon. There are five masterclasses at £15 each, from Cooper King, Abingdon, Three Ridings, Cotswolds and Lancaster. Over-18s only.
Gin & Rum Festival Edinburgh — Central Hall, Tollcross, Edinburgh (21 November). A touring festival, now in its eighth year, that brings more than 120 gins, rums and tequilas to a hall on the edge of the city centre. Tickets start at £11.24 and include a reusable steel cup and a guide. There is a cocktail bar, a DJ and a band, so expect a night out more than a quiet tasting.
South of England Winter Fair — South of England Showground, Ardingly, West Sussex (21–22 November). A Christmas fair first and a food event second, but the Food & Drink Hall has more than 40 exhibitors, from a cheesemonger and a cider maker to shortbread, hot sauce, venison jerky and English wine. Adults are £10.50, or £9.45 if you book by 13 November, and under-16s go free with a paying adult. Saturday 9am to 5pm, Sunday 9am to 4pm. Fairground rides, the grotto and ice skating cost extra.
TB Watson Whisky Festival — Easterbrook Hall, Dumfries (21 November). Run by TB Watson, the Dumfries whisky shop, at Easterbrook Hall. Tickets are £43. The list of exhibitors was still being confirmed when this guide was written.
eat:Weston — Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset (21 November). The Weston date for the touring eat:Festivals markets, and the one with a roof: stalls are inside the Winter Gardens as well as out on the Italian Gardens. Local producers, one day only.
The last week: 23 to 30 November
Dudley Winter Ales Fayre — Dudley Town Hall, West Midlands (26–28 November). CAMRA's winter ales festival in the Black Country, Thursday to Saturday at the Town Hall. Session times and prices had not been published when this guide was written, so check the branch's page.
Eat & Drink Festival Christmas — Olympia, London (26–29 November). The food and drink hall of the Ideal Home Show Christmas at Olympia, over the same four days as the NEC show. Ticket prices are on the show's booking page.
Festive Good Food Show — NEC, Birmingham (26–29 November). The biggest ticketed food show of the month, over four days at the NEC. General tickets are £25 and are for a set day, and the organisers say the best prices go to those who book early.
Harewood Christmas Market (second weekend) — Harewood House, near Leeds, West Yorkshire (27–29 November). Harewood's second weekend, on the same terms as the first: £3 on the Friday if you book online, £8 to £10 on the Saturday or Sunday, more on the day, and timed entry between 10am and 2pm.
Gin & Rum Festival Sheffield — Trafalgar Warehouse, Sheffield (28 November). The same touring festival that visits Edinburgh a week earlier, in a warehouse in the city centre. Doors open at 12.30pm. Ticket prices are on the booking page.
National Botanic Garden of Wales Festive Fayre — National Botanic Garden of Wales, Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire (28–29 November). A festive fayre in the middle of the National Botanic Garden of Wales, 10am to 3pm on both days and free once you have paid to get into the garden. The garden had not published the full details when this guide was written, so check what is on before you travel for the food alone.
eat:Shaftesbury — Park Walk, Shaftesbury, Dorset (28 November). The last eat:Festivals market of November, on Park Walk. Local producers, one day only.
Royal Welsh Winter Fair — Royal Welsh Showground, Llanelwedd, Powys (30 November – 1 December). A Monday and a Tuesday, and mostly about livestock: this is a farming show. But it has a food hall of Welsh producers. Advance tickets are sold online.
Christmas markets that open in November
The markets below run for weeks, not a weekend, so they are listed by opening date. Most have not published every detail yet.
Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market — Victoria Square and New Street, Birmingham (5 November – 24 December). The first of the big city markets to open, on 5 November, and it runs every day to Christmas Eve. The stalls are on Victoria Square and New Street.
Bristol Christmas Market — Bristol city centre (6 November – 23 December). Open from Friday 6 November to Wednesday 23 December, which makes it one of the earliest to start. The food is the draw: Yorkshire pudding wraps, hog roast, hot fruit crumble, churros and German bratwurst. The Jäger Barn Bar has live music from local performers Thursday to Sunday, and there is a second, quieter bar at the Cabot Circus end.
Manchester Christmas Markets — ten sites across Manchester city centre (6 November – 22 December). Ten sites across the city centre, from Albert Square and St Ann's Square to King Street, Exchange Square and Cathedral Gardens. Most close on 22 December; Albert Square and Cathedral Gardens stay open to 3 January.
Canterbury Christmas Market — Cathedral Precincts, Whitefriars and St Georges, Canterbury, Kent (12 November – 24 December). Free to enter, no ticket needed, and spread over three parts of the old city: the Cathedral Precincts, Whitefriars and St Georges. It opens at 10am on Thursday 12 November and runs every day for 43 days. Father Christmas and a few of the activities need booking and paying for.
Cardiff Christmas Market — Cardiff city centre (12 November – 23 December). Cardiff's market makes a point of local artists, designers, craftspeople and food producers. It opens on Thursday 12 November and runs to Wednesday 23 December. The organisers publish a market map on their site.
Leicester Christmas Market — Leicester city centre (12 November – 27 December). One of the few that carries on after Christmas Day: Thursday 12 November to Sunday 27 December.
Nottingham Winter Wonderland — Old Market Square, Nottingham (12 November – 24 December). In Old Market Square from 12 November, with an ice rink, an ice bar and an observation wheel as well as the stalls. In November the market is open 10am to 6pm Sunday to Thursday and to 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays; the December hours are longer and the stalls trade until Christmas Eve.
Sheffield Christmas Market — Fargate, Pinstone Street and The Moor, Sheffield (12 November – 26 December). Free, and it runs the length of the city centre: log cabins from Town Hall Square down to the bottom of The Moor. The Pinstone Street cabins are open 10am to 8pm every day and the Alpine bars from 11am to 10pm.
York Christmas Market — York city centre (12 November – 21 December). Open Wednesday to Monday, 10.30am to 7pm, and note the gap: it is closed on Tuesdays. It runs from 12 November to 21 December.
Blenheim Palace Christmas Market — Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire (13 November – 20 December). Part of Christmas at Blenheim Palace, from Friday 13 November to Sunday 20 December. Read the booking page first: Blenheim describes Christmas as a separately ticketed event, and parking is charged and has to be booked in advance.
Exeter Cathedral Christmas Market — Cathedral Green, Exeter, Devon (13 November – 13 December). On the green in front of the cathedral, with a stated focus on West Country produce alongside street food and themed bars. Monday to Wednesday 10am to 7pm, Thursday to Saturday 10am to 9pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm. It finishes earlier than most, on Sunday 13 December.
Belfast Christmas Market — Belfast City Hall, Belfast (14 November – 22 December). Free, and in the gardens of City Hall, with an outdoor food court of international cooking and street food. It opens at noon on Saturday 14 November and closes at 6pm on Tuesday 22 December. Monday to Wednesday 10am to 8pm, Thursday to Saturday 10am to 10pm, Sunday noon to 6pm; the bars stay open an hour later except on Sundays.
Edinburgh Christmas Market — East Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh (14 November – 3 January). Free to enter, in East Princes Street Gardens, and open 10am to 10pm every day except Christmas Day. It runs right through to 3 January, with bars and food huts as well as the stalls.
Chester Christmas Market — Town Hall Square, Chester (18 November – 22 December). In Town Hall Square from 18 November to 22 December. Sunday to Wednesday it is open 10.30am to 6.30pm, and Thursday to Saturday until 8pm.
Hyde Park Winter Wonderland — Hyde Park, London (19 November – 3 January). Not a market so much as a fairground with food, and you need a ticket to get in. The cheap way is a £1 off-peak slot, Monday to Thursday in November, or free entry when you book £25 of rides, attractions or food in the same order. Every day from 19 November to 3 January except Christmas Day.
Leeds Christmas Market — City Square and Millennium Square, Leeds (19 November – 23 December). Two parts. City Square has the stalls, street food and winter bars, open 10.30am to 7pm Sunday to Thursday and to 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Millennium Square and Victoria Gardens have Bavarian-style cabins, rides and an ice rink.
Newcastle Christmas Market — Grey's Monument, Newcastle upon Tyne (19 November – 23 December). Free, and gathered around Grey's Monument, along Grey Street, Grainger Street and Nelson Street. Thursday 19 November to Wednesday 23 December.
Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market — Cathedral Close, Winchester, Hampshire (20 November – 22 December). In the Close beside the cathedral. Free, with no booking needed, from Friday 20 November to Tuesday 22 December.
Liverpool Christmas Market — St George's Plateau, Liverpool (21 November – 3 January). On St George's Plateau, in front of St George's Hall, as part of Skate St George's: local traders, an ice rink and a rooftop bar pouring mulled wine and hot chocolate. Open daily from Saturday 21 November to Sunday 3 January. Opening hours and ticket details had not been published when this guide was written.
Bath Christmas Market — Bath city centre, Somerset (26 November – 13 December). The shortest season of the big ones: 18 days, from Thursday 26 November to Sunday 13 December. Monday to Wednesday 10am to 7pm, Thursday to Saturday to 8pm, Sunday to 6pm.