Lyme's house reopens for The World at Christmas, daily 27 November to 24 December, 11am to 3pm last entry. Adults £20.90, no booking; tea £30, candlelight £35.
Lyme’s house, closed on weekdays for most of November, reopens every day from Friday 27 November to Thursday 24 December for The World at Christmas, a set of rooms each decorated after a different country’s Christmas. Around it the National Trust has a festive afternoon tea, a Christmas concert in the chapel and a candlelit one after dark. Everything below comes from the National Trust’s own Lyme pages and ticket site, checked on 7 October 2026.
The quick answer
- The World at Christmas: daily, 27 November to 24 December, 11am to 3pm last entry. Normal admission, no booking needed.
- Admission: £20.90 an adult, £10.50 a child aged 5 to 17, £52.30 for a family with Gift Aid (£19, £9.50 and £47.50 without). Under-5s and National Trust members are free. You pay at the admissions hut; tickets cannot be pre-booked.
- Festive afternoon tea: 15 dates from 30 November to 18 December, £30 a person, booking essential.
- Christmas concerts: Wednesday 2 December in the chapel (£22), and a candlelit evening on Thursday 10 December (£35).
- Closed on Christmas Day. From 26 to 31 December the house is shut but the garden and park are open.
The World at Christmas
The Trust describes it as “a Christmas voyage around the globe”: the house is transformed by Handmade Theatre, with rooms “each inspired by diverse Christmas traditions from across the world”. It was made from sustainable materials with the help of local schools, community groups and volunteers (National Trust: The World at Christmas).
- When: every day from Friday 27 November to Thursday 24 December 2026.
- Times: from 11am, last entry 3pm.
- Booking: not needed. It is included in the house, park and garden ticket.
The Trust’s Christmas page also promises choirs in the Courtyard over the season, but it has not published dates for them (National Trust: Lyme). We will add them when it does.
Opening times, November to New Year
The day-by-day calendar on Lyme’s page gives this pattern (National Trust: Lyme):
| Dates | House | Garden | Park and car park |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 Nov | 11am to 3pm | 10.30am to 3pm | 8.30am to 5pm |
| Mon 2 to Thu 26 Nov | Closed | 10.30am to 3pm | 8.30am to 5pm |
| Fri 27 Nov to Thu 24 Dec | 11am to 3pm, daily | 10.30am to 3pm | 8.30am to 5pm |
| Fri 25 Dec | Closed | Closed | Closed |
| Sat 26 to Thu 31 Dec | Closed | 10.30am to 3pm | 8.30am to 5pm |
So if you want to see the house decorated, the window is the four weeks before Christmas Eve. A visit between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve gets the garden and the 1,400-acre park, not the house.
What it costs
Tickets are sold only at the admissions hut on arrival, unless you are a group of 15 or more. Prices with Gift Aid first, then without (National Trust: Lyme):
| Ticket | House, park and garden | Park and garden only |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, 18 and over | £20.90 / £19.00 | £9.90 / £9.00 |
| Child, 5 to 17 | £10.50 / £9.50 | £5.00 / £4.50 |
| Family, 2 adults and up to 3 children | £52.30 / £47.50 | £24.80 / £22.50 |
| Family, 1 adult and up to 3 children | £31.40 / £28.50 | £14.90 / £13.50 |
Under-5s go free, and so do National Trust members. Both tickets include the car park, so there is no separate parking charge on top. Carers and companions come in free.
Festive afternoon tea
Served in the Servants’ Hall on 15 dates between Monday 30 November and Friday 18 December, with two sittings on each, the first at noon. It is £30 a person, and normal admission charges apply on top. The tea comes with a glass of non-alcoholic bubbly, a winter soup, sandwiches, festive sweet treats, scones and unlimited tea and coffee (National Trust: Festive Afternoon Tea).
Booking is essential, online or on 0344 249 1895. You book by table, not by head: a party of six needs a table for four and a table for two. A deposit is taken when you book and the balance is paid on the day.
Christmas concerts in the chapel
Two Christmas concerts are on the National Trust’s ticket site, both in Lyme’s chapel and both bookable now:
- Festive Christmas Concert in the Chapel, Wednesday 2 December. A daytime concert, £22, with a tea or coffee in the interval. Normal admission applies as well (National Trust: Concerts in the Chapel). The autumn concert in the same series ran from 1.30pm to 3.15pm; the Trust has not printed the December start time on its event page.
- Christmas Concert by Candlelight, Thursday 10 December. After hours, so no admission ticket is needed. Arrival from 6pm, music from 6.30pm, £35 including a glass of prosecco or a soft drink (National Trust: Candlelight Concerts).
The chapel’s ground floor has one step, with a ramp available. A Regency Concert by Candlelight on Thursday 12 November is in the same series, at the same price.
Getting there without the car
Lyme is at Disley, SK12 2NR, north of Macclesfield off the A6. The National Trust gives free park and garden entry, and 10% off in its cafés, to anyone who shows a valid bus or train ticket, or a bike helmet (National Trust: Lyme).
- Train: Disley station is half a mile, about 20 minutes’ walk, from the entrance, then another mile to the house. A volunteer-run shuttle runs most days from 10.30am to 4pm from the admissions hut; call 01663 762023 to check it is running.
- Bus: the 199 Skyline stops at Burton Road West, a five-minute walk from the entrance. The Trust quotes £3 each way.
Driving, use SK12 2NR in the sat nav for the car park. The park and car park close at 5pm in winter. For roadworks on the way, see our roadworks and travel page; if you are going into Macclesfield afterwards, car parks and charges are on our parking in Macclesfield page.
Other Christmas days out near Macclesfield
Tatton Park’s Christmas mansion, Yuletide light trail and opening hours are on our Tatton Park Christmas page. Santa visits at Tatton, Lapland Manchester at Capesthorne and Brookside are on our Santa in Macclesfield page, and the town’s Christmas Treacle Markets are on our Christmas markets page.
What is still to be confirmed
- Dates and times for the choirs in the Courtyard.
- The start time of the 2 December chapel concert.
- Whether the volunteer shuttle will run on every December day.
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