Ruislip Lido Railway runs Santa trains on 5, 6, 13 and 19 December at £20 a seat. Manor Farm's grotto is Sunday 22 November, £14 a child with two adults free.

The first Santa of the season near Uxbridge is at Manor Farm in Ruislip on Sunday 22 November, and the Ruislip Lido Railway’s Santa Specials run on 5, 6, 13 and 19 December. Both are already on sale, both need booking, and the railway warns that its trains sell out. (Ruislip Lido Railway, Hillingdon Council)

The quick answer

  • Ruislip Lido Railway Santa Specials: Saturday 5, Sunday 6, Sunday 13 and Saturday 19 December 2026. £20 for adults and children alike, £4 for babies under 18 months, booking essential.
  • Manor Farm Christmas Festival, Ruislip: Sunday 22 November, 10am to 4pm. £14 a child with up to two adults free, including timed entry to Santa’s grotto.
  • Rudolph’s Runny Nose: The Santa Show, Compass Theatre: Sunday 13 December, 10am. £15 adults, £13 under-16s with a small gift from Santa.

Ruislip Lido Railway Santa Specials

The railway’s own description: you board at Willow Lawn station, by the Water’s Edge and the car parks, at the time on your ticket, and ride about 12 minutes through the woods and round the Lido to Santa’s grotto at Woody Bay station. Every child gets a chat with Santa and a family photo opportunity, and then everyone, “grown-ups too”, gets a present. You can stay at Woody Bay as long as you like and catch any train back. Adults are offered a complimentary hot drink and mince pie in the Turntable Tea Room. (Ruislip Lido Railway)
Dates Sat 5, Sun 6, Sun 13, Sat 19 December 2026
Trains run regularly from about 11am until 5.50pm
Allow about 75 minutes
Adult £20
Child, 1 to 15 £20
Baby, under 18 months £4
Booking essential, via the railway’s ticket site

Three things worth knowing:

  • Adults pay the same as children because adults get a present too. A family of two adults and two children is £80.
  • It is outdoors. The railway says plainly that “even Santa himself cannot control the weather”, and there can be a short queue for the grotto.
  • The railway’s timetable marks 20 to 24 December as special-event days as well, but its Santa page lists only the four dates above. Watch its events page in case extra dates are added.

Willow Lawn car park is a council car park and is one of the few that operate on bank holidays. (Hillingdon Council)

Manor Farm Christmas Festival, Ruislip

Sunday 22 November 2026, 10am to 4pm, in and around the Great Barn at Manor Farm, Eastcote Road, Ruislip. £14 per child, with free entry for up to two adults. The ticket covers (Hillingdon Council):

  • Christmas crafts all day
  • drop-in festive storytelling all day
  • Santa’s grotto, with timed entry
  • a Christmas sing-along with Elsa from Frozen, 1pm to 2pm

It is free for two children with a family Hillingdon Heritage membership. The council asks for ticket questions to go to bunker@hillingdon.gov.uk.

This is the earliest date here by a fortnight. It is also the day after Saturday 21 November, the date the Uxbridge BID’s own record points to for the town’s Christmas lights switch-on, which it has not yet announced. See our Uxbridge Christmas lights page.

Rudolph’s Runny Nose: The Santa Show, Compass Theatre

Sunday 13 December 2026, 10am to 10.45am, at the Compass Theatre, Glebe Avenue, Ickenham UB10 8PD. A 45-minute stage show set in Santa’s workshop on Christmas Eve, for families with children aged 3 and over. Adults £15, under-16s £13, and the children’s ticket includes a small gift from Santa. (Hillingdon Council)

It is the same morning as a Lido Santa Special, so the two can be done in one day. The Compass’s pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, runs from 3 to 31 December: see our Uxbridge pantomime page.

Other Christmas days out with a family angle

  • Keep Calm It’s Christmas, Battle of Britain Bunker, Saturday 5 December, 10am to 4.30pm: wartime Christmas crafts, family tours, a storytelling session and a sing-along. Covered on our Battle of Britain Bunker in winter page.

Still to be confirmed

  • Santa’s grottos at The Chimes and The Pavilions shopping centres in Uxbridge: neither has announced one for 2026.
  • Whether the Ruislip Lido Railway adds Santa dates between 20 and 24 December.
  • The Uxbridge Christmas lights switch-on date, expected to be announced in early October.

Sources