Skipton Christmas lights are switched on at the end of November, and Northern Dance Centre Skipton lists the 2026 switch-on for Sunday 29 November. Most visitors treat it as a quick stop for a festive photograph on the High Street.
The better plan is to treat the switch-on as the start of a fortnight. Skipton Town Council runs its Christmas market on two Sundays, 6 and 13 December, and the town sits under a castle that has stood for more than 900 years. Add a canal path and a branch canal built to carry limestone, and the lights are the smallest thing in town.
The High Street is wide, the market has run along it since the Middle Ages, and the castle stands at its top.
Region: North Yorkshire, Skipton (Craven)
Best for: Christmas lights, market stalls, castle and canal walks
Getting there: Skipton station, Broughton Road, BD23 1RT, run by Northern; the High Street is BD23 1AJ
Time needed: An evening for the switch-on, or a full Sunday for the market
Skipton Christmas lights: what is confirmed for 2026
Northern Dance Centre Skipton titles its 2026 listing “Skipton Christmas Lights Switch On, Sunday 29th November 2026”. Sunday is the day the town has used before. Welcome to Skipton lists the 2025 switch-on on Sunday 30 November, and Yorkshire Air Ambulance lists the 2021 event on Sunday 28 November.
The lights went on at 5pm in 2025, according to Welcome to Skipton, and at 5pm in 2021, according to Yorkshire Air Ambulance. The 2025 day opened with a Santa Fun Run on the High Street, followed by live entertainment, music, food and drink, and a Christmas market with themed stalls. The 2026 programme has not been published, so these are the facts of the pattern, not this year’s plan.
Skipton Town Council works with the Skipton Business Improvement District to provide Christmas lighting displays across the town centre each year. The council’s page names High Street, Sheep Street, Otley Street, Newmarket Street, Keighley Road, Swadford Street, Coach Street, Water Street and Mill Bridge as streets that carry displays, so the lights are not limited to one stretch. Walk the High Street first, then take a loop through Sheep Street and Coach Street.
By 5pm in late November, the light has gone, and the display does its work against a dark sky above the stone buildings.
Where to Stay: Herriots Hotel, Broughton Road, BD23 1RT. It describes itself as an independent family hotel established in 1990, a five-minute stroll along the canal path from the centre of town.
Worth Knowing: Skipton Town Council and the Skipton Business Improvement District jointly fund the town’s Christmas lighting displays, according to the council’s own page.
The High Street and its medieval market
Skipton Market runs on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday all year, generally from 9am to 4.30pm, and extra days are added before Christmas. Welcome to Skipton says the stalls sit on the cobbled setts between the main road and the footpaths, alongside the High Street shops. The market dates to medieval times, when a royal charter allowed the Lord of the Honour of Skipton Castle to hold a fair on the High Street.
The same cobbled street that carries the stalls on market days carries the crowd at the switch-on.
The switch-on falls on a Sunday, so it is not a market day. That suits the evening. The street is clear for the stage, the lights and the crowd, and the traders are the independent shops that stay open around it.
Where to Stay: The Skipton Hotel, Keighley Road, BD23 2TA. It has 96 bedrooms across five floors, sits on the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, and is pet friendly by arrangement.
Worth Knowing: Skipton Market’s own page records that extra market days are added before Christmas.
Skipton Castle and the three-year siege
Skipton Castle, BD23 1AW, says it is over 900 years old and one of the most complete and best-preserved medieval castles in England. Its own site records that it withstood a three-year siege during the Civil War, and that a recently uncovered ancient well helps to explain how the garrison survived the siege of 1643 to 1645.
That is the detail most visitors miss. The castle at the head of the High Street held out for three years, and archaeology is still turning up how it managed it.
The castle is open every day from 10am, with last admission at 4pm and closing at 5pm. It is closed from 23 to 25 December. Adults pay £12.80, children aged 5 to 17 pay £8.60, under-fives go free, over-65s pay £11.80 and a family ticket for two adults and up to three children over five is £41.80. Dogs are allowed on a short lead, except in the tearoom and shop. Go in the afternoon of the switch-on, and you leave as the lights come on.
Where to Stay: Herriots Hotel puts you on the canal path, five minutes from the centre of town.
Worth Knowing: The castle’s own site says the ancient well was recently uncovered, helping to explain how the garrison survived the siege from 1643 to 1645.
The Springs Branch: a canal built for limestone
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal runs through Skipton, and a side branch leaves it for the castle’s old quarries. The Inland Waterways Association says the Springs Branch opened in 1773, the same year Lord Thanet got permission to build it. He lived in Skipton Castle, and the main canal did not pass near the limestone quarries on his estate, so he built a branch to reach them. It was known as the Thanet Canal.
The branch runs about half a mile from the main line to the remains of the loading chutes, and was originally about a third of a mile long.
A canal path walk makes a sensible daytime plan before the lights. Herriots Hotel describes the canal path as its route to the town, and The Skipton Hotel sits on the canal bank. Use the AllTrails app for the route in daylight, as paths in late November are dark by the time the lights come on.
Where to Stay: The Skipton Hotel is located on the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
Worth Knowing: The Inland Waterways Association says a rock fall in January 2016 still restricts the Springs Branch.
Skipton Christmas market: 6 and 13 December
Skipton Town Council runs the Christmas market on Sunday 6 and Sunday 13 December 2026, from 10am until 4pm on both days, according to Your Skipton in a report dated 22 July 2026. The information on stallholders and entertainment was expected closer to the date.
The market has a track record. In 2025, Welcome to Skipton advertised over 100 festive stalls, regional artisan makers, producers and crafters, a festive music stage, and food and drink including mulled wine, boozy hot chocolate, mince pies, hot roast chestnuts and German bratwurst. Those are 2025 listings, so use them as a guide to scale.
If you want the lights and the market in one trip, the two events are a week and a day apart. Come on 29 November for the switch-on, and return on 6 or 13 December for the stalls. Our Yorkshire Christmas markets guide covers the other dates around the county.
Where to Stay: Herriots Hotel is a short canal-side walk from the High Street, and its phone number is 01756 792781.
Worth Knowing: The Skipton Christmas market is run by Skipton Town Council, and the 2026 stall list had not been announced when Your Skipton reported the dates.
Getting to Skipton
Skipton station is on Broughton Road, BD23 1RT, and is managed by Northern. National Rail lists 100 parking spaces at the station and a ticket office open Monday to Saturday from 05:50 to 18:20 and Sunday from 09:00 to 16:30. The ticket office closes at 16:30 on a Sunday, so buy your return ticket earlier in the day if you plan to stay for a 5pm switch-on, or use the ticket machines.
Herriots Hotel shares the BD23 1RT postcode with the station, so arriving by train and staying the night is a short walk.
Where to Stay: Herriots Hotel takes direct bookings through its own site, or by phone on 01756 792781.
Worth Knowing: Skipton station has step-free access to all platforms, according to National Rail.
Practical Tips
- Go on Sunday 29 November for the switch-on, and visit the castle in the afternoon before the lights come on.
- Return on Sunday 6 or 13 December for the Christmas market, 10am to 4pm.
- Buy your return rail ticket early on the Sunday, since the station ticket office closes at 4.30pm.
- Use the AllTrails app to plan a canal path walk in daylight before the lights.
- Book a room early; Herriots Hotel and The Skipton Hotel both sit on the canal.
- Our Grassington village guide is the natural second stop if you are staying a night in the Dales.
Responsible Visiting
Stay on the pavements when the crowd fills the High Street. Keep clear of the canal edge in the dark, particularly with children. Spend with the independent shops that stay open around the switch-on. Take litter home.
Reader Q&A
When is the Skipton Christmas lights switch-on in 2026?
Sunday 29 November 2026, according to Northern Dance Centre Skipton. In 2025, the lights went on at 5pm.
When is the Skipton Christmas market in 2026?
Sunday 6 and Sunday 13 December 2026, from 10am until 4pm, run by Skipton Town Council.
How many stalls does Skipton Christmas market have?
The 2026 number has not been announced. The 2025 market advertised over 100 stalls.
When is Skipton regular market?
Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, generally from 9am to 4.30pm, with extra days added before Christmas.
Is Skipton Castle open at Christmas?
Yes, except 23 to 25 December. It is open every day from 10am, with last admission at 4pm, and adults pay £12.80.
Where to Stay
Herriots Hotel, Skipton. An independent family hotel on Broughton Road, BD23 1RT, five minutes along the canal path from the centre.
The Skipton Hotel, Skipton. A 96-bedroom hotel on Keighley Road, BD23 2TA, on the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and pet-friendly by arrangement.
When the lights are off, and the stalls are packed away, the castle is still at the top of the street, and the canal still runs behind the town the way it has since 1773.
