Much Wenlock Christmas Fayre is on Saturday 5 December, 10am to 5pm, with about 150 stalls and free entry. Full timetable, Santa's hours and park and ride.

The Much Wenlock Christmas Fayre is on Saturday 5 December 2026, from 10am to 5pm, and entry is free. The organisers expect around 150 stalls on top of the town’s own shops, with music and entertainment all over the town centre. The day ends with a candlelight procession down the High Street at 4.30pm and carols by candlelight on the Town Square at 4.45pm (Much Wenlock Christmas Fayre).

The quick answer

  • When: Saturday 5 December 2026, 10am to 5pm.
  • Cost: free entry.
  • Santa: in his grotto at Croft Design from 11am to 3pm.
  • The finale: candlelight procession from the High Street at 4.30pm, carols on the Town Square at 4.45pm.
  • Parking: use the park and ride from Grange Fencing or William Brookes School. The organisers say restrictions apply in town and a parking enforcement officer will be on duty.

Is it on this year?

Yes. The fayre’s home page and its 2026 leaflet both give Saturday 5 December 2026, 10am to 5pm. The entertainment page and the leaflet carry the full 2026 programme, published at the end of October (Much Wenlock Christmas Fayre: 2026 leaflet).

The day hour by hour

Times below are from the 2026 leaflet. Four stages run at once: the Town Square, the Corn Exchange, Church Green and Holy Trinity Church.

Time What Where
10am to 10.30am Opening of the fayre: Much Wenlock Mayor and Town Crier, Bel Ablaze stilt walker Town Square
10am to 10.45am High Variety Saxophone Group Corn Exchange
10am to 10.45am Much Wenlock Primary School Choir Church Green
10am to 10.30am The Gallery Singers Holy Trinity Church
10.30am to 12.30pm Oakengates Salvation Army Band Town Square
10.30am to 11am Brown Clee Community Choir Holy Trinity Church
10.45am to 11.30am Wem Taiko Drumming Church Green
11am Santa arrives in his grotto Croft Design
11am to 12pm Much Wenlock Male Voice Choir Corn Exchange
11am to 1pm Concordia Ladies Choir Holy Trinity Church
11.30am to 12.15pm Black Eyed Susans Church Green
12pm to 1.45pm Ukes United Corn Exchange
12.15pm to 1pm The Chainsaw Bloke, wood sculptor Church Green
12.30pm to 1pm Got2Sing Town Square
1pm to 2pm Ironmen and Severn Gilders Morris Dancers Town Square
1.15pm to 2pm Key Change Choir Holy Trinity Church
1.15pm to 2pm The Haberdashers’ Abraham Darby Church Green
1.45pm to 2.30pm Darby Singers Corn Exchange
2pm to 2.45pm Of One Accord Holy Trinity Church
2.15pm to 3pm Wem Taiko Drumming Church Green
2.30pm to 3.15pm The Gallery Singers Corn Exchange
2.45pm to 3.45pm Ironmen and Severn Gilders Town Square
3pm Santa returns to Lapland Croft Design
3pm to 3.30pm Laurelle Rond, singer and harpist Holy Trinity Church
3pm to 3.30pm Voca Bella Church Green
3.30pm to 4pm Dave Foster, singer and guitarist Church Green
3.30pm to 4.15pm The Haberdashers’ Abraham Darby Corn Exchange
3.45pm to 4.30pm Rock Choir Town Square
4.30pm Candlelight procession, High Street to Town Square High Street
4.45pm Carols by candlelight Town Square
5pm Close of fayre
6pm Last park and ride buses

For the procession, the organisers ask you to bring a battery lantern and join at the top of the High Street.

On all day

  • Children’s fair rides on the High Street and the Back Lane car park.
  • Bel Ablaze, a stilt walker, around the Town Square, High Street, Sheinton Street, the Bull Ring and Church Green.
  • The Edge Activity Centre, with a 10m climbing wall, on the High Street.
  • Face painter on Church Green.
  • Santa in his grotto at Croft Design, 11am to 3pm.
  • Street organ from Paul and Karen on the High Street.
  • Holy Trinity Church: refreshments, entertainment and a Christmas tree festival, with the bell tower open from 11am to 3pm.
  • The Guildhall: free to visit from 11am to 4pm, with local crafts, children’s activities and an exhibition from a local woodworking artist

(Much Wenlock Christmas Fayre: entertainment).

Neither the website nor the leaflet gives a price for Santa’s grotto or the fair rides.

Parking and the park and ride

The organisers say parking “is at a premium” and that some of the town’s normal public car parks are not open to the public on the day. The leaflet is blunter: “Please use P&R, restrictions will apply and a parking enforcement officer will be on duty” (Much Wenlock Christmas Fayre: location and parking).

  • Park and ride sites: Grange Fencing, Coates Quarry, Stretton Road, TF13 6DD, and William Brookes School, Farley Road, TF13 6NB.
  • Bus times: the leaflet says regular buses from 10am to 6pm; the website says they run continuously from 9.30am to 6pm. Either way, the last buses leave at 6pm, an hour after the fayre closes, and you can ride as often as you like.
  • Drop-off point: the Fox Inn at the top of the High Street, for both sites.
  • Also listed: Wenlock Motors, Bridge Road, TF13 6BB.
  • Coaches: William Brookes School, and three spaces on Station Road, TF13 6JE.
  • Dogs: only guide dogs are allowed on the buses.

The 2026 parking page and leaflet give no parking charge. Earlier versions of the parking page asked for £5 a car at the official car parks; that line has gone, so the price for 2026 is not published.

Wheelchair users and Blue Badge holders

  • The William Brookes School bus has a lift for wheelchair users who cannot transfer. Space there is limited, so the organisers ask wheelchair users who can transfer to a seat to use the other park and ride.
  • William Brookes School, St Mary’s Lane and Falcons Court car parks have a few disabled spaces.
  • There is a disabled drop-off and pick-up point on the High Street outside Salon Ten, near the Fox.

Help on the day

  • Lost children and lost property: the main entrance of Holy Trinity Church.
  • First aid: Community First Responders on the Church Green, behind the Guildhall.
  • Stewards and marshals wear high-visibility clothing and carry radios.
  • Phone: 01952 727779; email enquiries@wenlockchristmasfayre.org.uk

(Much Wenlock Christmas Fayre: information).

The same weekend elsewhere

The fayre clashes with Gander’s Christmas Market on the Square in Shrewsbury (5 and 6 December), Oswestry’s Christmas Parade on the Saturday morning and Walcot Hall’s market on the Sunday. All of them are on our Christmas markets page and the What’s On this month listings.

Check roadworks and travel before setting off; the A458 and A4169 both run into Much Wenlock. Car park tariffs for the rest of the county are on our parking in Shropshire page.

Questions

Is the Much Wenlock Christmas Fayre on in 2026? Yes, on Saturday 5 December, 10am to 5pm.

Is it free? Entry is free. The organisers give no price for the grotto or the fair rides.

What time is the candlelight procession? 4.30pm, from the top of the High Street to the Town Square, followed by carols at 4.45pm.

What time is Santa there? In his grotto at Croft Design from 11am to 3pm.

Where do I park? Use the park and ride from Grange Fencing (TF13 6DD) or William Brookes School (TF13 6NB). Some town car parks are closed to the public on the day.

Sources