St Michael's Hospice grotto at Bartestree runs 2 to 21 December 2026, from £24 a child. The Enchanted Group show, 5 to 24 Dec, is £23.50 a child plus £1.50 fee.
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.
- Enchanted Group show and grotto: 5 to 24 December, £23.50 a child and £13.50 an adult plus a £1.50 booking fee each; venue still to be confirmed.
Updated 24 October: the Enchanted Group has put its tickets on sale: £23.50 a child and £13.50 an adult for the show and grotto, or £12 a child for a shorter Santa-only visit, each plus a £1.50 booking fee. Its 2026 venue is still not clearly stated (details below). The hospice’s dates and prices are unchanged.
St Michael’s Hospice: dates and prices
All figures are from the St Michael’s Hospice grotto page, read on 25 September 2026 and re-read on 24 October 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.
Tickets are on sale on the Enchanted Group’s DigiTickets booking site, read on 24 October 2026. Every ticket carries a £1.50 booking fee on top:
| Ticket | Show and grotto (up to 90 minutes) | Santa-only visit (10 to 15 minutes) |
|---|---|---|
| Child | £23.50 | £12 |
| Adult | £13.50 | £3.50 |
| Under 12 months | £6 (watches the show, gets a gift) | £6 |
The Santa-only visit is aimed at children who find sitting through a show hard: reindeer food in “Santa’s Post Office”, the Nice List, a present and a coin. Booking protection, which allows a refund or exchange if you email by 9am on the day, is an optional £5.
The venue is the one thing still unclear. Last year the grotto was held at the Green Dragon Hotel on Broad Street. The Santa-only listing on the booking site says the group is “returning to The Green Dragon Hotel” this year, but its main grotto page says Santa will be “joining us at our new location”, and the hotel’s own page still describes the 2025 grotto. Check where your slot is when you book.
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 (see above). We will check again in early November and add any other Hereford grottos that publish their 2026 dates.
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