Wetherby races on Boxing Day, Catterick races on New Year's Day, and the week in between, 27 December to 3 January, is a busy one within an hour of Thirsk. Two pantomimes are still playing, Castle Howard keeps its Christmas show open until 3 January, and the walks start at the bottom of Millgate.
Everything below was checked on 27 October 2026 against each organiser's own page, and every date is for this winter, 2026 into 2027. We're at 87 Market Place, and the drive times start from our door. For anything nearer the town, what's on in Thirsk carries the listings.
The week at a glance
| Day | Date | What is on |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday | 26 December | Wetherby, day one of the Christmas meeting |
| Sunday | 27 December | Wetherby, day two |
| Monday | 28 December | Catterick, the Christmas meeting |
| Wednesday | 30 December | End of Glow's run at Harlow Carr |
| Friday | 1 January | Catterick, New Year's Day meeting |
| Sunday | 3 January | Last day of the York panto and of Castle Howard's Christmas |
Racing over the holiday
Wetherby is about 35 to 40 minutes south down the A1(M), and its Yorkshire Christmas Meeting runs over two days. Boxing Day, Saturday 26 December, has gates from 10am, the first race at 11.50am and a seven-race card built round the Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase. Sunday 27 December has the same gate time, a first race at 12.25pm and the Castleford Handicap Chase as its feature. On both days the last race goes at 3.20pm, and children get circus-skills workshops in the Paddock Marquee. The hospitality packages for both days have already sold out, so general admission is the way in.
Catterick is closer, about 25 minutes up the A1, and it races twice in the holiday. The Sky Bet Christmas Meeting is on Monday 28 December, gates from 10am and the first race at 12.07pm. Then comes the New Year's Day Meeting on Friday 1 January, gates from 9.30am and the first race at 11.20am, the earliest first race of the week.
Pantomimes still running into January
York Theatre Royal has Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs from 4 December until Sunday 3 January 2027. Thirsk to York is 16 to 23 minutes on the train, so leave the car at home for this one.
The Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond, about 35 minutes north, has The Pantomime Adventure of The Little Mermaid from Friday 4 December. The theatre's own page gives two closing dates, Sunday 3 January in one place and Saturday 9 January in another, so ring the box office on 01748 825252 before you plan around the later one.
If you missed Rural Arts' Goldilocks at the Town Hall in December, our Christmas guide has the run of things before the 25th.
Big houses and gardens after Christmas
Castle Howard, about 35 minutes away, runs A Dickens of a Christmas from 12 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. It brings Dickens's novels to life with projections and soundscapes, a big fire to warm up by, and Scrooge and a ghost or two to meet. Every Christmas ticket there must be booked ahead, so this is the one to sort out before you set off. Our Castle Howard page has the route and the parking.
RHS Harlow Carr in Harrogate, about forty minutes' drive, lights the garden for Glow on selected dates from 26 November to 30 December 2026, so the last few evenings fall in this week. The garden itself is open every day except Christmas Day.
Fountains Abbey is also about 35 minutes away. New Year's Day falls on a Friday this time, and Fountains keeps a shorter week in winter, so read our Fountains Abbey page before you drive over on the 1st.
For steam, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway lists its Christmas North Yorkshire Pullman for November, December and January, leaving Pickering at 12:45 for about two and three-quarter hours of dining. The Pullman's exact dates are on the railway's booking page, and the Santa trains finish on Christmas Eve. Pickering is about 50 minutes from Thirsk, and our railway page has the line itself.
New Year's Day walks
The easiest walk in Thirsk starts two minutes from the square. Go down Millgate to Cod Beck, follow the water north past The Holmes to Norby Weir, and either turn back there or carry on along the seven bridges walk, a wooded path that crosses and recrosses a stream on a string of small footbridges. The other way out of town is south through Sowerby, where the lime avenue starts about twelve minutes from our door and the Flatts give you a flat two to three miles.
For a view, Sutton Bank is about fifteen minutes' drive east on the A170. James Herriot called it the finest view in England, and the Kilburn White Horse is a mile and a half along the edge. Dogs are welcome on short leads. Our walks collection has the rest, with distances.
A New Year's Day sea dip needs the coast, and we have not yet found one with a 2027 date published. The nearest cold water is Woodland Wild Swim and Sauna at Carlton Miniott, six minutes' drive west, where you book a lake swim and a sauna slot online.
Getting about that week
Trains run to York roughly hourly for the panto, but the racecourses, Castle Howard, Harlow Carr and Sutton Bank all need a car. Our guide to getting around has the trains, buses and the taxi number.
If the weather turns
Late December is short on daylight, and the light on Sutton Bank is going by four. In cloud the view from the top can disappear altogether, and midwinter jump meetings can be lost to frost or a waterlogged course, so check the racecourse's site on the morning before you drive. If the day is a washout, our rainy-day page has the places in town that keep you dry.
Where we fit
We close on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, open again on Sunday 27 December, and run normal hours through New Year's Eve. New Year's Day is our day off, and we are back on Saturday 2 January from 8:30. The full list is in our Christmas and New Year hours. That week is a good one for afternoon tea after a morning walk, and the menu has soup and toasted cheese scones for anyone coming in off the bank.
