Ross-on-Wye's Christmas lights go on at 4.30pm on Sunday 29 November at a free Fayre, 11am to 5pm, with Santa on Hill Street. Market 5 Dec, carnival 19 Dec.
Ross-on-Wye’s Christmas Fayre and lights switch-on is on Sunday 29 November 2026, from 11am to 5pm, in the town centre around the Market House. It is free and not ticketed. Ross-on-Wye Town Council, which runs it, has also listed a Christmas market under the Market House on Saturday 5 December and the Christmas Carnival, with Santa’s torchlit parade, on Saturday 19 December from 4pm.
Updated 31 October: the town council’s 2026 Fayre listing now confirms the lights switch-on at 4.30pm and Santa’s grotto at The Venue on Hill Street. Who switches the lights on has not been announced.
Updated 10 November: two more village events are on the council’s calendar for Sunday 6 December, the Walford Village Hall Christmas Fayre with Santa arriving by husky sleigh, and the Yew Tree Winter Market at Peterstow (below). The Fayre’s switch-on star has still not been announced.
Updated 7 November: the council’s calendar now lists the Christmas Tractor Run on Sunday 20 December, leaving Ross Cattle Market at 5pm, with its full route and times (below). The Fayre details and the carnival running order are unchanged.
Is it on this year? Yes. All three are on the town council’s own events calendar for 2026. The council calls the Fayre “the annual Christmas Fayre and light switch-on event in the Town Centre”. Its 2026 listing, updated on 27 October, gives the switch-on as 4.30pm and puts Santa in his grotto at The Venue on Hill Street, with live music from brass bands to solo singers and street entertainment through the day. What it has not published yet is who presses the button and the trader list. Last year’s details are below, and we will update this page when the council announces this year’s.
The Christmas Fayre and switch-on, Sunday 29 November
| 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Date | Sunday 29 November |
| Time | 11am to 5pm |
| Where | Ross town centre, around the Market House, HR9 5BX |
| Cost | Free, not ticketed |
| Switch-on time | 4.30pm, per the council’s 2026 listing |
| Santa’s grotto | The Venue, Hill Street |
| Run by | Ross-on-Wye Town Council |
What last year’s looked like. The council’s announcement for the 2025 Fayre, on Sunday 30 November 2025, gave these details:
- More than 80 traders along the streets, with gifts, crafts, seasonal produce and hot food, plus street entertainment and live music through the day
- Station Street given over to street food stalls for the first time
- Santa’s grotto at The Venue on Hill Street, run by and in aid of Age UK Wyvern
- A free giant snow globe photo point in Crofts Court
- The switch-on at 4.30pm, when that year’s chosen star lit up the Market House and the town Christmas tree. Ross Rotary helps fund the tree
The 2026 listing matches that shape: 4.30pm switch-on, grotto at The Venue. The trader count, the Station Street food and the switch-on star are the details still to come.
The Christmas market, Saturday 5 December
The town council lists a Christmas Market on Saturday 5 December, 9am to 3pm, with traders “selling everything from baked goods and street food to handmade gifts” and live music or entertainment. It is the only Ross Christmas market date on the council’s calendar so far. Last year the council ran three, on 6, 13 and 20 December, so more Saturdays may be added.
The ordinary Ross market runs under and around the Market House every Thursday, 8am to 3pm, and Saturday, 8am to 2.30pm, according to the council’s market page.
The Christmas Carnival, Saturday 19 December
The council’s listing for the Ross on Wye Christmas Carnival says: “Watch a torch lit parade welcoming Santa to Ross before getting a chance to meet him yourself!” It runs from 4pm to 5.15pm at the Market House, it is not ticketed, and there is a free goody bag for every child under 13.
The 2026 running order is not out yet. In 2025 the council’s listing gave carols by St Mary’s Church Choir at 4pm, Ross Town Band at 4.30pm, and Santa’s torchlight parade arriving at the Market House at 5pm.
The Christmas Tractor Run, Sunday 20 December
The town council’s calendar lists the Ross-on-Wye Christmas Tractor Run on Sunday 20 December: decorated tractors touring Ross and the surrounding villages to raise money for the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity. The listing warns that timings are approximate and the route may change, so arrive a little early. Its published times include:
- Ross Cattle Market, departure, 5pm
- St Mary’s Village and Alton Road, 5.10pm
- The Gresleys 5.20pm, Tudorville 5.30pm, Walford Church 5.40pm
- Hom Green 6pm, Archenfield Road 6.05pm, Walford Road and Roman Way 6.10pm
- Broad Street 6.20pm, Ledbury Road 6.30pm, Three Crosses 6.40pm
- Brampton Road, Brampton Abbotts and Gatsford 6.55pm
- Old Gore and Upton Bishop 7.10pm, Rudhall and Bromsash 7.30pm, Lea 7.40pm
- Gloucester Road and Edde Cross Street 7.50pm, back at Brampton Road and Three Crosses about 8pm
Other Christmas dates around Ross
These are also on the town council’s calendar:
- Upton Bishop Christmas Fayre, Saturday 5 December, 10am to 12pm, Millennium Hall, Upton Bishop, HR9 7TU. £2. Stalls, games, teas, a tombola, a raffle and a visit from Father Christmas.
- Walford Village Hall Christmas Fayre, Sunday 6 December, 11am to 2pm. Santa arrives by husky-drawn sleigh at 12 noon, then opens his grotto from 12 to 2pm. There are 18 indoor stalls, face painting, a raffle and tombola, and mince pies.
- Yew Tree Winter Market, Sunday 6 December, 12pm to 3pm, at The Yew Tree in Peterstow, about two and a half miles west of Ross. Local stalls, mulled cider, wood-fired food, a children’s craft table and a guided orchard walk.
- Christmas choral concert with the Oriel Singers, Sunday 6 December, 3pm, St Mary’s Parish Church, HR9 5HN. £20. Wye Valley Music with createROSS.
St Mary’s Christmas Tree Festival runs every two years and was last held in 2025, so it is not expected this year.
Parking and getting there
Council car parks in Ross are free all day on Sundays, so parking for the Fayre on 29 November costs nothing. Herefordshire Council’s tariff for The Maltings (HR9 7AA), the central car park, lists “Sunday: All day Free”. On Saturdays, for the market and the carnival, The Maltings charges £1.50 for up to an hour, £3 for two and £4.60 for three, with a three-hour maximum. The first 30 minutes are free in every council car park, but you still need a ticket from the machine. Ross has 826 council spaces in all, including the Corn Exchange, Crossfields, Red Meadow, Kyrle Street and Edde Cross Street car parks.
Wilton Road and Royal Parade are closed until 11 December for the rock face works below the cliff, so allow for the diversion if you come in from the Wilton side for the Fayre or the 5 December market. Our Wilton Road closure story has the detail, and the Hereford roadworks and travel page covers the rest of the county. For Hereford’s own car parks, see parking in Hereford.
Christmas in Hereford
Hereford’s own Christmas dates are on separate pages: the Hereford Christmas lights switch-on, the Hereford Christmas markets, and Cinderella at the Courtyard. Our What’s On in Hereford page has the next six weeks across the county.
Sources: Ross-on-Wye Town Council, events calendar entries for the Christmas Fayre, Christmas Market, Christmas Carnival, Christmas Tractor Run, Upton Bishop Christmas Fayre, Walford Village Hall Christmas Fayre, Yew Tree Winter Market and the Oriel Singers concert, plus its 2025 events and its announcement The Countdown to the Annual Ross Christmas Fayre Begins and market page; Herefordshire Council, Ross-on-Wye car parks and The Maltings car park. All checked 17 October 2026.
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