St Michael's Hospice grotto at Bartestree runs 2 to 21 December 2026, from £24 a child, with SEN and baby nights. Plus the Enchanted Group show, 5 to 24 Dec.

Hereford’s biggest Santa’s grotto, St Michael’s Hospice’s Santa’s Grotto and Village of the Elves at Bartestree, runs from Wednesday 2 to Monday 21 December 2026, and tickets are already on sale from £24 per child. The hospice warns that it has sold out before. A second grotto with a live show, run by the Hereford-based Enchanted Group, has dates of 5 to 24 December.

The quick answer

  • St Michael’s Hospice, Bartestree HR1 4HA: 2 to 21 December. £24, £28 or £32 per child depending on the date, with up to two adults included.
  • Cheapest dates are the early-season pass, Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 December. The peak price applies on Saturday 12 December and from 17 to 21 December.
  • SEN night Monday 7 December, baby nights 8 and 14 December, and an adults-only preview on Wednesday 2 December.

St Michael’s Hospice: dates and prices

All figures are from the St Michael’s Hospice grotto page, read on 25 September 2026.

Ticket Dates Price
Adult preview night Wednesday 2 December £12.50 per adult
Early-season pass Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 December £24 per child
SEN night Monday 7 December £24 (1 child, up to 2 adults), £43 (2 children, up to 3 adults), £64.50 (3 children, up to 4 adults)
Baby night Tuesday 8 and Monday 14 December £12 per baby aged 4 to 23 months
Mid-season pass Wednesday 9 to Wednesday 16 December, except 12 and 14 December £28 per child
Peak-season pass Saturday 12 December, and Thursday 17 to Monday 21 December £32 per child

The small print:

  • Each booking includes up to two adults, and up to four more can be added at extra cost.
  • Babies under four months go free; four to 23 months are £12.
  • There are discounts for more than one child, with a maximum of five children per booking.
  • Every transaction carries a £1 booking fee.
  • The SEN, baby and adult nights are shorter or different from the full experience. Baby nights are for single-child families with a child under 23 months.

What you get at Bartestree

The hospice describes an experience of up to an hour through its decorated gardens. Children collect a passport and “Elvish Knots” to spend in the village, walk through Candy Cane Lane and the Avenue of Light, take a train ride to the enchanted wood, make reindeer food, decorate gingerbread, and meet Santa, then choose a present from the toy store.

Also included, according to the hospice: a chocolate coin and a chocolate-coated marshmallow. Hot food is served in its Departure Lounge between 4pm and 8pm each night. Money raised goes to the hospice.

Enchanted Group: Jack Frost Saves Christmas

The Enchanted Group, registered in Madley near Hereford, is running its grotto for a third year from 5 to 24 December 2026. This year’s show is called Jack Frost Saves Christmas, with the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Nutcracker, and it is followed by a family visit to Santa. Each child chooses a gift and gets a Nice List coin, reindeer food to make and an activity pack. The whole experience lasts up to 90 minutes.

Last year the grotto was held at the Green Dragon Hotel. The Enchanted Group’s 2026 page does not name the venue or list prices, so check the booking page before you plan the trip.

Other Christmas dates in Hereford

  • Christmas lights switch-on: the city’s show in High Town has been on the third Sunday in November in recent years. See our Christmas lights switch-on page.
  • Christmas market: six dates in High Town from Friday 4 to Sunday 20 December. See Hereford Christmas market.
  • Pantomime: Cinderella at the Courtyard from 27 November to 3 January. See Hereford pantomime.
  • Hereford Cathedral: the Mappa Mundi museum’s Christmas hours and the cathedral’s festive concerts are on our Hereford Cathedral at Christmas page.

Still to be confirmed

The Enchanted Group’s 2026 venue and ticket prices. We will check again in late October and add any other Hereford grottos that publish their 2026 dates.