Jodrell Bank Christmas: What Santa Sees from 14 November

Jodrell Bank’s Christmas programme for 2026 is out. It runs from Saturday 14 November to Wednesday 30 December, and the centrepiece for families is What Santa Sees, a short festive show in the Space Dome, on weekends from 14 November and every day from 21 to 23 December (Jodrell Bank: Festive fun).

The quick answer

• What Santa Sees: weekends 14 November to 20 December, then Monday 21 to Wednesday 23 December. £5, 15 minutes, best for ages 3 to 10. You need an admission ticket as well.
• Celtic Christmas Strings: Sunday 6 December, 7.30pm, £11 to £13.
• Stars and Stones puppet show: Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 December, £6 on top of admission.
• Admission online: adults £17.10, children £11.90, under-4s free. Parking is included.

What Santa Sees

Jodrell Bank describes it as a sleigh ride through the night sky on Christmas Eve, following the reindeer “from the shining moon to the changing constellations”. It is a 15-minute Space Dome show, recommended for ages 3 to 10, and it is back “by popular demand” (Jodrell Bank: What Santa Sees).

The festive programme page gives the ticket as £5; the event listing shows a range of £2 to £5 without saying who pays the lower price. Dome tickets are added at online checkout to an admission booking, or bought on arrival. November weekends have two showings a day; from 5 December there are three.

Celtic Christmas Strings, 6 December

On Sunday 6 December at 7.30pm the Irish harper Máire Ní Chathasaigh and the guitarist Chris Newman play their Christmas show under the Space Dome screen: traditional Irish and Scottish music, swing, bluegrass and baroque, and festive tunes in their own arrangements. Tickets are £11 to £13. The concert is run with Cheshire Rural Touring Arts (Jodrell Bank: Celtic Christmas Strings).

Stars and Stones, 19 and 20 December

Goofus Theatre brings a new puppet show, Stars and Stones, to the Space Dome on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 December, at 11.15am, 12.45pm and 2.30pm. It is a story of a girl, a mysterious standing stone and “ancient magic”, set 3,000 years ago and told with puppetry and music. Tickets are £6, and you need a valid admission ticket as well (Jodrell Bank: Stars and Stones).

Between Christmas and New Year

From 28 to 31 December the centre is running daytime showings of its Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon Space Dome show as an add-on to a visit (Jodrell Bank: Festive fun). The festive programme itself is listed as ending on 30 December.

Admission, hours and parking

Jodrell Bank opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, last entry 3.30pm, the hours on its own site; the 21 December Santa showings mean it is open that Monday too. Online prices, which are 10% cheaper than paying on the day, are (Jodrell Bank: Booking):

Every ticket is now an Annual Ticket, so the same booking covers free return visits for 12 months. That does not cover event tickets: the dome show, concert and puppet show are paid for separately. Parking is free and included, the centre’s FAQs say (Jodrell Bank: Visitor FAQs).

Getting there

The address is Bomish Lane, Lower Withington, Cheshire SK11 9DL, in the countryside west of Macclesfield. Jodrell Bank’s own site warns of “ongoing local roadworks” and asks visitors to allow extra time; check our roadworks and travel page before you set off. Making a day of it with Step Into Christmas in town on 28 November? Our parking in Macclesfield page lists the car parks and their charges.

What is still to be confirmed

• Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year opening. Jodrell Bank has not published its holiday hours on the pages we checked on 14 October.
• Who qualifies for the £2 What Santa Sees ticket.

More Christmas near Macclesfield

• Santa’s grottos around Macclesfield, including the Silk Museum and Tatton
• Tatton Park at Christmas
• Lyme at Christmas
• Macclesfield’s Christmas markets

Sources

• Jodrell Bank: Festive fun at Jodrell Bank
• Jodrell Bank: What Santa Sees
• Jodrell Bank: Celtic Christmas Strings
• Jodrell Bank: Stars and Stones
• Jodrell Bank: Booking and prices
• Jodrell Bank: Visitor FAQs