Full day of Christmas festivities in Whaley Bridge for lights switch-on event

Santa will be arriving by boat, there will be a lantern parade, carols and a Christmas tree festival as part of the event on Saturday November 27.

The fun and festivities will start at 10am at the Whaley Basin where a monthly craft market is happening.

Nev Clarke from the Transhipment Warehouse said: “Everything we do we do for the kids.

"Last year there wasn’t anything going on and a lot of children missed out on the excitement and build up to Christmas. I’m glad we are able to put things on again this year and get the community together again.”

At 2.30pm Santa will arrive by canal boat before making his way through the town to his grotto in the Mechanics Institute.

At 3pm the grotto and the Christmas market will start at the institute.

Later on at 4.30pm the lantern parade will start at the Goyt Road entrance to the Memorial Park before travelling through and then leaving at the Reservoir Road entrance before heading down to the station car park.

Jane Wright is the secretary for the Friends of the Memorial Park, which has been hosting a lantern parade since 2015.

She said: “There's something very special about the lantern parade.

"The park has no electricity and when it gets dark it’s not a place children really experience at night time so the parade lights up the darkness and lets them explore things they would never normally do.

"The parade is always really popular – even when it has been chucking it down we have still had around 150 people.

"It’s a nice activity which people can bring their lanterns to year after year and is a chance for families to make memories with their children.”

When the parade has reached the station car park, the carols will begin before the Christmas tree is switched on at 5.30pm.

Also going on throughout the day is the Christmas tree festival in the Holy Trinity Church where groups and organisations can create or decorate a tree to reflect the work they do. That event opens on Friday November 26 and will run until Sunday 28.

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