Right then, Christmas has officially escaped containment.
Markets are opening, festive lights are appearing and eating enormous quantities of chocolate outdoors suddenly counts as a respectable weekend activity.
This week we’re deliberately roaming a little further. We’ve got chocolate in Leicestershire, Christmas markets in Derbyshire, Nick Heyward inside Lincoln Cathedral, a gloriously unhinged rave weekend on the Lincolnshire coast, steam trains in Loughborough and some pretty decent gigs in Nottingham and Derby.
Basically, staying in is going to need a very good excuse.
⭐ EDITOR’S CHOICE
DERBYSHIRE: Bakewell Christmas Market
Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 November | 9am–5pm | Bakewell
Here’s your signal that Christmas has properly started.
Bakewell Christmas Market fills the town centre this weekend with more than 100 stalls and gazebos, festive food and drink, brass and silver bands, choirs, a DJ and street entertainment. Best of all, admission is free.
And you’re in Bakewell.
Pie afterwards?
Obviously.
🎟️ BEST EVENTS THIS WEEKEND
LINCOLNSHIRE: Nick Heyward – The 12 Dates of Christmas
Saturday 14 November | Lincoln Cathedral
This could be rather special.
Nick Heyward, the former Haircut One Hundred frontman behind Fantastic Day and Love Plus One, brings his festive tour to the spectacular surroundings of Lincoln Cathedral on Saturday evening. The show is listed for 6.45pm.
Sometimes it’s the venue that turns an interesting gig into a genuinely tempting one.
This is one of those times.
[TICKETS]
LEICESTERSHIRE: Last Hurrah Steam Gala
Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 November | Great Central Railway, Loughborough
Something completely different.
The Great Central Railway is holding its Last Hurrah Steam Gala across Saturday and Sunday in Loughborough.
For railway enthusiasts, it’s an obvious pick. For everyone else, there’s something rather lovely about spending a cold November day watching steam locomotives charging through the Leicestershire countryside.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE: Squeeze + Billy Bragg
Saturday 14 November | Motorpoint Arena Nottingham
Quite the Saturday night double bill.
Squeeze arrive in Nottingham with Billy Bragg, giving you Cool for Cats, Up the Junction, Tempted and one of Britain’s great singer-songwriters thrown in for good measure.
Your dad may already have tickets.
You may also already have tickets.
[Tickets]
🗺️ FIVE PLACES YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE DISCOVERED YET
Not everything needs a ticket. Here are five excuses to point the car somewhere interesting this weekend.
1. Tattershall, Lincolnshire
You probably know the castle, but this weekend there’s another reason to head towards Tattershall.
Tattershall Farm Park is hosting a Christmas Market & Craft Fair on Saturday.
Pair that with a wander around this historic corner of Lincolnshire and you’ve got yourself a pretty decent November day out.
2. Wirksworth, Derbyshire
One of those places that’s perfect for aimless wandering.
Steep streets, stone buildings, independent shops and bags of character make Wirksworth particularly good when autumn starts turning into winter.
Our method is simple: park, wander and stop somewhere warm when cake presents itself.
3. Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire
Melton is one of Britain’s great food towns, so make time for the town centre, its independent shops and, obviously, something involving pork pie.
Chocolate-coated version optional.
4. Louth, Lincolnshire
Louth doesn’t shout about itself quite as loudly as some of the East Midlands’ better-known market towns.
That’s part of the appeal.
It’s handsome, historic and packed with independent businesses, making it a particularly good destination for a slow weekend wander.
And on Friday evening, there’s an appropriately quirky reason to visit too…
More on that shortly.
5. Bakewell, Derbyshire
You’ve probably been.
But have you properly explored it?
This weekend’s Bakewell Christmas Market is an excellent excuse to venture beyond the obvious Bakewell pudding shops and nose around the town’s courtyards, delis, pubs, cafés, shops and historic streets.
🎸 LIVE MUSIC PICKS
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE: Squeeze + Billy Bragg
Saturday | Motorpoint Arena Nottingham
Our big Nottingham pick for the weekend and one of the strongest double bills anywhere in the region.
LINCOLNSHIRE: Nick Heyward – The 12 Dates of Christmas
Saturday | Lincoln Cathedral
Eighties pop inside one of the region’s most spectacular buildings.
That’s already more interesting than your average Saturday-night gig.
LINCOLNSHIRE: Zoe Rahman Trio
Saturday | The Blue Room, Lincoln
Prefer something more intimate?
Jazz pianist Zoe Rahman and her trio are listed at The Blue Room in Lincoln on Saturday evening.
One for anyone wanting considerably fewer arena-sized choruses.
[TICKETS]
DERBYSHIRE: Dub Pistols
Friday | Hairy Dog, Derby
The weekend starts noisily in Derby with Dub Pistols listed among Friday night’s live offerings.
Reggae, dub, hip-hop and big beats feel like a considerably better way of beginning the weekend than watching Gogglebox.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE: Embrace
Sunday | Rock City, Nottingham
This feels exactly like the sort of band Rock City was built for.
Embrace bring Sunday night to a suitably anthemic conclusion, with The Rolling People and The Bunny Suit also on the bill.
[Tickets]
🍴 FOOD & DRINK
Make Bakewell the food trip
Bakewell Christmas Market promises plenty of festive food and drink among its 100-plus stalls. [visitpeakd…strict.com], [whatsonbak…well.co.uk]
Then you’re surrounded by Bakewell’s cafés, pubs, delis and shops afterwards.
Not exactly a hardship.
👨👩👧 FAMILY FRIENDLY
Last Hurrah Steam Gala – Loughborough
Steam engines are one of those things capable of appealing equally to a four-year-old and their 74-year-old grandad.
The Great Central Railway’s gala runs on both Saturday and Sunday.
And unlike an awful lot of November days out, at least nobody can complain there isn’t anything interesting to look at.
Tattershall Farm Park Christmas Market & Craft Fair
If Lincolnshire is closer, Tattershall Farm Park has its Christmas Market & Craft Fair on Saturday.
Farm park plus Christmas market feels like an extremely efficient way of keeping both children and accompanying adults occupied.
👀 ONE MORE THING…
Derbyshire has gone VERY early on Christmas
If you’d been hoping to ignore Christmas until December, we’d probably avoid Bakewell this weekend.
There are three festive markets operating around the Bakewell area.
Alongside Bakewell Christmas Market, you’ve got Chatsworth Christmas Market and Haddon Hall Mercatum Christmas Artisan Market.
Chatsworth Christmas Market is running throughout this weekend as part of its 7 November to 13 December season, while Haddon Hall Mercatum Christmas Artisan Market is also open.
So you could, theoretically, spend an entire day travelling between Christmas markets.
We’re not saying you should.
We’re just pointing out that you could.
🎬 SOMETHING DIFFERENT
It’s Nice Up North – 20th Anniversary Screening
Friday | Riverhead Theatre, Louth
Here’s your niche pick.
A 20th-anniversary screening of cult British comedy documentary with John Shuttleworth ‘It’s Nice Up North’ takes place in Louth on Friday night, with tickets listed at £15.
An offbeat little option to kick off a weekend on the Lincolnshire Wolds.
[Details]
