So what should you do if you're going to travel this year to spend Christmas with loved ones, and how might services be affected? However, this still amounts to a reduced service, the operator said, with this year's Christmas Day timetable covering about 55% of the locations compared with 2019. There are also annual Christmas rail works to contend with - though the majority of the network has been cleared of engineering works in a bid to avoid disruption. It’s open from noon, although the lights only shine from dusk.• Selected dates from 14 Nov-3 Jan, child/adult/family from £8/£16/£40 (discounts for NT, RHS, Artfund and HHA members and local residents), waddesdon.org.uk, Previous Christmases were designed in-house at Castle Howard, but this year it has joined forces with Projection Studios, which has previously lit up York Minster, Blackpool Tower and Buckingham Palace. Christmas in the UK isn't for everyone, so for those looking to jet off for a sunny holiday, Express.co.uk has gathered together a list of the best options for 2020… To keep Santa safe, he’s going to be performing from a distance rather than interacting, and won’t hand over any prezzies. The new Ignite trails, boasting “light, lanterns, fire and fantasy”, aim to showcase features of the individual parks and gardens. With winding paths, large wooded grounds and views across the Derwent valley, it’s another perfect venue for the ¾-mile Christmas walk-through, featuring fiery fish and willow sculptures.• Kingston Lacy 11-13, 18-24 and 26-30 Dec, child/adult/family/parking £10/£15/£45/£7 (free parking for NT members), nationaltrust.org.uk. Dance through the interactive music zone, gaze up at space-themed installations in the astronomy zone and pay tribute to key workers with a new local heroes series of sculptures.• Selected dates from 20 Nov-3 Jan, child/adult/family from £13/£20/£60 (20% discount for keyworkers), lightopiafestival.com, In any season, there are several landscapes condensed into wooded Wollaton Park, just west of central Nottingham: lakes full of waterlilies, avenues of purple rhododendrons and herds of deer roaming grassy parkland. Malton, Yorkshire’s self-proclaimed foodie capital, is the nearest town, so expect purveyors of artisanal refreshments in festive vans along the route. The current travel quarantine rules will end in mid December, and will be replaced by a five-day testing plan, the Transport Secretary is expected to … If you're trying to figure out where you can go in 2020, look no further than Christmas in Branson, a magical spectacle beginning like clockwork on November 1 each year. London King's Cross station will be closed for six days from Christmas Day as a £1.2bn upgrade of the East Coast Main Line continues. And this year there will be no squeezing on to a packed train carriage. It will involve illuminating a huge rose window made from recycled bottles that previously appeared outside Durham Cathedral. A country escape that feels a world away from the UK . Now there is a Christmas tree festival and light show planned for winter. A phalanx of dragons guards the food court and Christmas images are beamed on to Heaton Hall. EasyJet said it had already taken the decision to increase the number of seats on offer between London and Belfast, and London and Scotland over the Christmas period. However, breaking the travel rules during lockdown will result in £200 … Video, A man who invited the world over for dinner, Star Wars supports host Arielle after racist abuse, PM talks to Biden in first call since inauguration, Minister who promoted 'Covid syrup' tests positive, Covid restrictions will be eased from 23 to 27 December. • Selected dates from 21 Nov-4 Jan, child/adult £10/£15 (big discounts for members), rhs.org.uk, For 2020, Longleat has replaced the annual lantern festival with a new Land of Light installation. Check. This means that overall the UK is planning to spend £24.2 billion on festive gifts this year. Find things to do at Christmas in London 2020, from London Christmas markets, shopping and ice rinks to London Christmas lights and festive activities. With new installations, a new route, wider footpaths and 50 incandescent lanterns, the north-west’s largest park is hosting its second annual festival of light. Beside the walkways that meander through the zoo, crossing bridges into 11 themed areas, there will be – for the ninth year running – lanterns and huge illuminated animals: towering giraffes and swaying jellyfish, glowing frogs, colour-changing chameleons and a show-stopping giant octopus. Long watch: Is this Russian cult leader a fraud? And, since the Christmas market is cancelled, this year’s trail ends, for the first time, with a grand light-show finale in the Great Court.• Selected dates from 20 Nov-3 Jan, child/adult/family from £13/£19/£60 (£1 off for pass holders), blenheimpalace.com, A rainbow of floodlit trees and sparkling walkways are staple fare for winter light trails, and Westonbirt’s kid-friendly show also has flashing lights, smoke effects and a forest of candy canes. Leonardslee gardens are known for their wallabies, first introduced in 1889. Covid-19: Three households can mix over Christmas in UK, Eleven pulled out alive in China mine rescue. Read more: Best Christmas markets in Europe for 2020 All very well, but will we ever meet? However, Network Rail engineering works are taking place from 23 December to 4 January, with some railway lines closing to allow the work to take place. Flaming torches, lasers, glowing snowflakes and stirring seasonal music are also quite likely to feature. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The park around Blenheim Palace is one of Capability Brown’s largest landscape designs and the formal gardens at its heart are tailor-made for the mesmerising light trail that winds through them each winter. There are new installations on this year’s trail, which takes in the rose garden, and the spectacle includes a canopy of stars, treetop waterfall, cherry blossom walkway, neon-wrapped trees and flaming sculptures. You don't always have to leave the UK for a great Christmas. A spokesman said it would be putting on larger aircraft if needed, "where possible". The nearly-mile-long trail, back for a third year, is less about big set pieces and more about lighting natural features as it weaves through all of the Grade I-listed gardens. Visitors start near the elephant bridge and walk through a shining cactus desert, head over the rainbow to explore the air, the savannah and the bottom of the sea on a one-way route around the zoo. Having postponed its popular theatrical Christmas spectaculars, which usually draw coachloads of fans, Thursford promises instead an immersive “all new indoor wonderland trail: a maze of engines, fairytale characters” and “one of the UK’s biggest kinetic light displays.”• Selected dates from 20 Nov-3 Jan, £16.50 per person (£18 if booked after 18 Nov), thursford.com, Palatial vistas at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire. Thousands of pea lights went into building the twinkling tunnel of light, and the scented fire garden provides a meditative change of pace after the frenetic lasers.• Selected dates from 27 Nov-3 Jan, child/adult/family/parking £13.50/£19/£60/£7 (free parking for NT members), nationaltrust.org.uk, The National Trust has introduced two new illuminated trails this year at Kingston Lacy and Gibside. Iceland’s the perfect holiday destination for travellers in search of … Walk-through displays of Christmas lights have sparkled ever brighter in the UK’s grand gardens over the lpast decade or so. .css-1xgx53b-Link{font-family:ReithSans,Helvetica,Arial,freesans,sans-serif;font-weight:700;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:#FFFFFF;}.css-1xgx53b-Link:hover,.css-1xgx53b-Link:focus{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}Read about our approach to external linking. Members of Leeds-based theatre company Tutti Frutti will be playing enchanted animals in an epic tale of frost and festivity that complements the journey through the gardens. This year Waddesdon is revising the route of the walk-through musical Winter Light trail and staying open later to give people a chance to space out. Picturesque clumps of trees? The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The Christmas lights illuminate the main shopping Oxford Street in central London on November 2, 2020. Video, 00:02:28 Christmas celebrations to go … Check, check, check. Covid: What are the UK's lockdown rules and when will they end? As is standard every year, there are no train services running on Christmas Day and only a very limited number of services running on a small number of routes on Boxing Day. Glowing animal lanterns include the wallabies, other creatures that live in the grounds and a mythical Leonardslee forest fire dragon. There are lasers, pulsing vines, a flaming-torch-lit rose garden and several new installations for 2020, including fire sculptures floating in the water garden and Blue Neuron, a kinetic light sculpture made from recycled plastic bottles, that sends blue light dancing through the branches. The windows of the main house are to be lit like an Advent calendar and the grounds decorated with festive trees, the current exhibition of outdoor stained-glass panels and a giant reindeer. Mr Shapps said Sir Peter was carrying out a "rigorous assessment" of transport services to ensure "everything possible is being done to help". These events are well-suited to Covid regulations: they take place outside in spacious grounds or parkland, so it’s relatively easy to socially distance, and they always did involve reserving tickets in advance. Safety preparations include sanitiser, distance-monitoring stewards and mapped-out spaces on the large south lawn so people can watch the light show safely.• 27 Nov-31 Dec, child adult from £10/£15 plus booking fee, castlehoward.co.uk, Giant candles and kaleidoscopic snowflakes are the order of the season for the second year running in the National Trust’s huge gardens at Belton House. Baroque architecture? Meanwhile, under the government's latest Christmas travel plans, admin fees of up to £10 for changing advance tickets are being waived to encourage people to comply with the new restrictions. Positive signs for France-UK Christmas travel Changes are coming in both the UK and France which should make it easier to make family visits across the Channel 23 November 2020 Christmas celebrations to go ahead in Bethlehem. I spoke to a lot of people in the rail industry today who said Christmas travel shouldnt be a problem...I really doubted that but took their word.Look at this... London to Newcastle. A stay at this Kentish nature reserve is 2020’s answer to taking off on safari for a Christmas getaway – the 600 acres here are home to lions, tigers, bears and giraffes at which to gaze during a bracing tour. The operator said it will focus on major cities, towns and airports and expects demand for services to grow as more guidance about what we can do over Christmas is released by the government. Known as "America’s Christmas Tree City," Branson’… Christmas rules 2020: What are the new rules on mixing? Yes, we will and we can (restrictions … They often include tunnels of fairy lights and themed illuminations (animal-shaped lanterns at Chester Zoo or glowing flowers at the RHS gardens). .css-14iz86j-BoldText{font-weight:bold;}Christmas is often a frantic time for travel, with people rushing across the UK to be with loved ones for the holiday season. To allow for distancing, the zoo has had to reduce the number of tickets available and several dates are already sold out.• Selected dates from 13 Nov-23 Dec, child/adult from £13.50/£16, chesterzoo.org, Ushaw’s huge gardens, a few miles west of Durham, have been a lifesaver for some local residents during the past few months. There’s also a glowing lantern trail through Kew’s wilder sister garden at Wakehust, home to the UK’s tallest living Christmas tree – soon to be wreathed in lights.• Selected dates from 18 Nov-3 Jan (mostly Wed to Sun, most weekends sold out in Nov and Dec), child/adult/family from £12/£19.50/£57, kew.org, All four RHS gardens are offering Glow Trails this Christmas, with Hyde Hall in Essex the latest to join the fun. The mile of illuminations will include old favourites like the cathedral of light, laser garden and festive finale beamed on to Inverleith House. The closure of King's Cross on Christmas Eve for major engineering works has now been postponed from the afternoon until the end of service, to ease congestion for people making getaway journeys out of London. The Rail Delivery Group, which represents operators, advised people to keep checking for tickets and consider signing up for notifications from rail operators, some of whom will confirm when more fares are available. The AA said it was not "overly concerned" that traffic congestion would occur on roads. Megabus said extra seats will be available from all the largest university campuses, cities and towns for students travelling home for Christmas, including Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham,… Three December weekends will be brightened by imaginative installations, live music and family-friendly theatrical performances, employing more than 50 artists, technicians and other staff. The paper that helped the homeless. The RAC said its breakdown team is planning for the roads to be busy during the five-day period when coronavirus restrictions are eased, though it said it "remains to be seen" what the appetite for journeys would be this year. A survey it conducted found two-fifths of drivers had already cancelled festive travel plans. This will slash the cost of many journeys on its network - for example, passengers buying a fully-flexible fare from Manchester to London during what is usually a peak period will be charged £64.40 instead of £180. Discover a Georgian Christmas experience in Blickling Hall, north of Aylsham, and explore the enchanting garden of lights. Seven zones will present spectacular sound and light shows with displays of luminescent flowers, fountains, storms and peacocks. There’s even a bespoke Glow menu (from £20) at the Terrace restaurant, serving cranberry G&Ts, roast turkey and spiced winter fruit compote. Browse the best festive … This applies to tickets that were bought for specific trains before England's Covid tiers were announced on 26 November. What will England's new lockdown rules be? VideoLong watch: Is this Russian cult leader a fraud? "We are operating flights in line with demand, which we will be monitoring over the coming days and are able to adjust our flight schedule accordingly," a spokesman said. The estate is home to a herd of fallow deer, and a larger-than-life glittering deer sculpture greets visitors. Refreshments are on sale as usual and, although they won’t be given out this year, visitors can bring or buy their own lanterns. The Coach House tearooms (and Stables gift shops) will be open and there are firepits too for toasting marshmallows.• Selected dates from 18 Nov-13 Dec (not Mon or Tue), from £8/£13/£34 for kids/adults/families, helmingham.com (click “what’s on”/calendar” to book), The open spaces and lakeside walks in Leonardslee’s Grade I-listed gardens have been particularly popular with local residents recently. Christmas at Belton, Lincolnshire Giant candles and kaleidoscopic snowflakes are the order of the season for the second year running in the National Trust’s huge gardens at Belton … There is a new light maze and electric forest (pictured), as well as the usual giant baubles and fire garden. Iceland. Chiltern Railway will also run additional services on 27 December, and East Midlands Railway will run a full intercity timetable over the Christmas period. Finder UK. Section BBC News. He is assessing whether road, rail and air networks are prepared enough for the onslaught of travellers during the festive window. But Irish airline Aer Lingus said it would be operating a "much-reduced schedule" due to a "lack of demand" for air travel. Sold out on 21 and 22 December, as far as I can see on every single train. And some operators will prevent passengers from boarding without a pre-booked ticket. Three households can mix over Christmas in UK. .css-1snjdh1-IconContainer{display:none;height:0.875em;width:0.875em;vertical-align:-0.0625em;margin-right:0.25em;}Long watch: Is this Russian cult leader a fraud? UK nixes Christmas gatherings, shuts London shops over Covid ... Dec. 19, 2020. And works on the West Coast Main Line will be completed earlier than planned on 27 December. Best ruby port to enjoy for Christmas 2020 Our wine expert and tasting panel tasted 11 ruby and crusted ports to find the best. 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