Roast chestnuts, champagne cocktails, turkey and tinsel and carols around the Christmas tree conjure up visions of Peak District Festive packages shared with family and friends.
The Peak District is open to visitors all year round, through every season and in all weathers.
In spring and summer there are wild flowers in abundance and fields containing flocks of lambs bursting with new life and energy. In the autumn we have golden forests and wonderful sunsets behind picturesque hilltops and distant Peaks. In the winter though we have fun!
The week over Christmas and New Year is for most people a time to celebrate, but it can also be a convenient break in the dark days of winter and the chance to escape to the country, to chill out and explore and to experience one of many Peak District Festive Packages that are on offer. Have you every tried missing out on Christmas lunch and going for a winter picnic instead – why not try it!
Christmas and New Year shopping can be a chore with many high street shops selling the same gift packs and goodies. In the Peak District we have countless individual shops, craft workshops and small rural enterprises making novel and new ideas. Why walk shoulder to shoulder in some busy hypermarket and huge retailer outlet when you can shop in comfort and ease to find that something special which will be treasured and appreciated. Peak District Festive Packages can easily include a spot of retail therapy, a trip to the sales and the chance to indulge in some Christmas activities.
Towns and villages take Christmas and New Year to heart, and are often bedecked with sparkling colourful lights and decorations with Christmas trees in all directions. Peak District Festive Packages could include an illuminated tour to see elevated Christmas trees decorated with fairy lights adorn the high streets and thousands of coloured bulbs brighten up and decorate an otherwise drab city centre.
New Year does not have to be a pub crawl around a heaving nightclub or city centre. Have you ever experienced welcoming in the New Year in a country pub with a roaring log fire over a few pints of real ale, where the local residents make you feel welcome and at home?
The Peak District is packed with age old traditions and quaint country customs, and never more so than around Christmas and New Year. Where else can you sing carols by candlelight in caverns, take part in a Christmas Cracker Fell Race, sail downriver on a Boxing Day Raft Race or listen to The Devil’s Arse Sings! And what you may ask is a Christmas mummer or guiser all about? Peak District Festive Packages can be an enlightening experience with a taste and sample of living in the country.
Some Peak District villages put on a pantomime around Christmas and New Year, when village men dress up as women and girls become lads – we’re a strange lot! Youlgrave pantomime is particularly popular and as polished and professional a production as you are likely to find.
Many accommodation providers offer sensational Peak District Festive Packages or short break stays, with turkey and tinsel as standard. So why not read through our listing below to find a warm winter welcome and somewhere special to stay.