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Cornwall does Christmas well. Harbour towns string lights across the water, Truro fills up with wooden cabins, and a cider farm outside Newquay turns into a winter fair. For locals and Christmas holidayers alike, the Christmas markets in Cornwall are one of the best reasons to visit in winter.
We’re based near Redruth, right in the middle of the county, so we’ve put together our pick of the best Christmas markets in Cornwall, including a couple of local favourites just down the road from the park. Most run from mid November until just before Christmas, but dates shift a little each year, so it’s worth checking the organiser’s website before you set off.
Truro Christmas Market
Truro hosts the biggest Christmas market in Cornwall. Each year Lemon Quay, in the heart of the city, fills with rows of alpine-style wooden cabins run by Cornish makers and producers, selling handmade gifts, local food and drink and plenty of festive treats. There’s street food, live entertainment and mulled wine to keep you warm while you browse.
The market usually opens in late November and runs every day right through to Christmas Eve, so it’s ideal if you’re visiting later in December or need some last-minute presents. On market days, extra Christmas stalls set up along Boscawen Street, and the city stays open late on Wednesday evenings in the run-up to Christmas, which is the best time to see the lights.
If you’re after something handmade, look out for the Made in Cornwall Christmas market, held inside Truro Cathedral itself towards the end of November. It’s a lovely setting and a good place to find gifts you won’t see anywhere else.
Truro is an easy drive from Globe Vale, so it works well as a day out or an afternoon of shopping followed by dinner back at the park.
Healeys Christmas Market, near Truro
Healeys Cornish Cyder Farm at Penhallow, between Truro and Newquay, holds the only Christmas market in Cornwall set on a working farm. It runs every weekend from mid November through to the week before Christmas, and it’s usually one of the first Cornish Christmas markets to open.
The cobbled courtyard is decked out in lights, local makers sell crafts, homeware and stocking fillers, and choirs and musicians play Christmas songs throughout the day. Grab a mug of mulled cyder, which is brewed on the farm, and pick up a freshly cut Christmas tree on your way out. Children love the storytelling sessions and the farm animals, and adults can try the cyders in the farm shop.
Entry and parking are free, which makes it a great budget-friendly day out for families.
Padstow Christmas Fayre
Padstow’s Christmas Fayre (formerly the Padstow Christmas Festival) is one of the best-known Christmas events in Cornwall and a must for food lovers. It usually takes place over four days at the start of December, with an artisan market on the harbourside full of Cornish food, drink, art and crafts.
What sets Padstow apart is the cookery. Some of Cornwall’s best-known chefs, including Rick Stein and Paul Ainsworth, have hosted demonstrations at the fayre, and there’s live music, carols, a lantern parade and fireworks over the harbour. Entry to the fayre is free, though some demonstrations need booking in advance. It gets busy, so arrive early if you can.
Fowey Christmas Market
Fowey Christmas Market is held over a weekend in early December and spreads across the town, from the Town Quay through the narrow streets around the Town Hall. Around a hundred stalls sell handmade decorations, gifts and local produce, and the weekend opens with a parade led by Father Christmas and the town band. With the harbour lit up and pubs and cafés dotted along the route, it’s one of the prettiest Christmas markets in Cornwall and a good choice for families.
Falmouth Festive Weekend
Each December, Falmouth puts on a Festive Weekend with a Christmas market, an artificial ice rink, a giant snow globe and festive characters wandering the streets, plus live music throughout. It’s a great family day out, and Falmouth’s independent shops and harbourside cafés make it easy to spend the whole day there. The town also holds its Christmas lights switch-on with a parade in late November.
Jubilee Wharf Christmas Fair, Penryn
For something smaller and more creative, Jubilee Wharf Christmas Fair in Penryn takes place over a weekend in mid December and has been running for nearly two decades. The wharf sits at the head of the Penryn River, overlooking the tidal waterway, and the fair has stalls both indoors and out.
Local makers sell ceramics, jewellery, prints, textiles, natural skincare and plenty more, all handmade in Cornwall. There’s food and drink in the Muddy Beach Café on site, and entry is free.
If you’re visiting earlier in the season, the Makers Cornwall Christmas Fair, also in Penryn, usually takes place in early November and features dozens of Cornish artists and makers.
Christmas Markets Near Redruth
You don’t have to go far from Globe Vale to get into the Christmas spirit. Redruth in Lights is the town’s annual festive celebration, usually held on a Saturday in late November or early December, with a Christmas market in the town centre, a lantern parade, Father Christmas’s grotto and the switching on of the Christmas lights.
Krowji in Redruth, Cornwall’s largest creative hub, also opens its doors for Christmas Open Studios over a weekend in late November. Dozens of artists and makers welcome visitors into their studios, so you can buy gifts directly from the people who made them.
Winter in Cornwall doesn’t just begin and end at Christmas! There’s loads of things to do during the colder seasons, find out more in our Winter in Cornwall blog.
Globe Vale Holiday Park is open all year round, including the campsite open at Christmas on our all weather hard standing pitches. Join us for a festive holiday with special treats at our onsite bar and restaurant The Shaft Inn.
