Bridlington Yuletide Fayre fills the Old Town with costumed traders, street music and a lantern walk to the Priory and back, on a Sunday at the turn of November and December.
Most visitors know Bridlington for its harbour, sands and seafront. The Old Town is the historic centre of the town, and in winter it is the half that is worth the walk.
On one Sunday at the turn of the month it closes the High Street to traffic. Shops turn into Victorian scenes, stalls line the pavement, buskers and a gaslight jazz trio work their way up the street, and at half past four the lanterns come out. Local people make them in workshops beforehand, and the parade carries them to the Priory and back.
It is run by volunteers and funded in part by raffle tickets, which is why it feels like a street party rather than a promotion.
Region: Bridlington Old Town, East Riding of Yorkshire
Best for: Families, couples, anyone who likes a costume-and-lantern event with real history behind it
Getting there: Bridlington Old Town, High Street, YO16. The lantern walk has assembled at the Black Lion and runs along High Street to Bridlington Priory
Time needed: A day, from the stalls in the morning to the lanterns at half past four
Bridlington Yuletide Fayre: Dates and What to Expect
The Old Town fayre has fallen on the Sunday nearest the start of December for four years running. Bridlington Echo reported it on Sunday 4 December 2022. Another Echo report gave Sunday 3 December 2023. In 2024 it was Sunday 1 December, and in 2025 it was Sunday 30 November, from 11am to 6pm.
The 2026 date has not been announced.
The 2025 event was called Ye Olde Town Yuletide Fayre and Lantern Walk. The Mayor of Bridlington opened it at 11am; the street was closed to vehicles for the day, and the lantern parade began at 4.30pm, according to the Echo and The Scarborough News.
The street is the venue.
Where to Stay: Bobbies’ Retreat is at 20 High Street, a Grade II-listed house dating to about 1820, in the Old Town Conservation Area, according to its Sykes Cottages listing.
Worth Knowing: The fayre has been held on a Sunday for each of the last four years, and the street is closed to vehicles that day.
The Fayre on the High Street
The format is simple. Businesses along Old Town Street recreate scenes from the past in traditional costume, according to the Echo, with quirky, unique stalls set up within the shops themselves, alongside street entertainment and food outlets.
In 2025, the performers included the Gaslight Trio Band, Bridlington Gold Radio, East Coast Majorettes, the Hornsea Sea Shanty group, Hooked on Harmony and the Dignity Musical Organ, and the Out of the Fire Theatre Group, which performed at the Black Lion. A grand raffle ran for £5 per strip of tickets, hosted by four Old Town businesses. The Echo says the raffle money covers road closures, traffic management, ambulance cover and insurance, and that the event is run entirely by volunteers.
In 2023, when it was still billed as the Dickensian Festival, the programme ran from 10.30am with vintage Christmas music on Bridlington Gold Radio at the end of High Street, an accordionist, a busking violinist, a one-man performance of A Christmas Carol at the Black Lion Music Hall, and Dickens readings on the hour at The Book Nook Shop, according to the Echo.
Go in the late morning. The street is quietest before noon, and fullest around the lantern walk.
Where to Stay: Bobbies’ Retreat sleeps five across three bedrooms and features a wood-burning stove and a rear courtyard, according to its listing.
Worth Knowing: The Echo says the 2025 event follows the summer Vintage Festival, which the same volunteer group ran.
The Lantern Walk
The lanterns are the finale. In 2025 the walk began at 4.30pm, organised by Joy Verda and Destination Old Town volunteers, according to the Echo and The Scarborough News. The route ran along High Street to Bridlington Priory and back.
The lanterns are handmade. Local people make them in workshops before the event, and the Echo describes dozens of huge ones and some smaller ones. The Scarborough News reported shapes including a mermaid, ships and jellyfish.
In 2024, the procession assembled at the Black Lion and set off at about 4.30pm, with the event winding down around 5.30pm, according to the Echo. The pattern is clear: start at the Black Lion at half past four, finish in an hour.
Stand on the High Street rather than at the Priory. The lanterns come down the street together, and the light reaches the shop fronts.
For a different Bridlington winter event, our Bridlington Ice Trail guide covers the hand-carved ice trail in the town centre, which takes place in mid-November.
Where to Stay: Bobbies’ Retreat is on the High Street, the route of the lantern walk.
Worth Knowing: Local people make the lanterns. The Echo gives a contact for anyone who wants to create or sponsor one, and the workshops take place before the event.
From Dickensian Festival to Yuletide Fayre
The event has changed its name more than once. The Echo called it the Dickensian Winter Festival in 2022, when stalls, pubs, cafes and shops opened at 10am for a full day of events until 4pm, organised by the Regeneration of Bridlington Old Town (ROBOT). In 2023 it was the Dickensian Festival, with a Mayor switching on the Christmas tree lights at 4pm at the corner of Gordon Road.
In 2023 the programme also included a Dickensian YardFest, with costume, craft and food stalls in the Old Town’s rear courtyards and back yards while the High Street stayed open, and free lantern-making workshops for under-16s at the Black Lion on four Sundays in November, from 11am to 4pm, according to the Echo. In 2022, the photographs show hot roasted chestnuts and festive stalls along the High Street.
In 2024 it became the Old Town Christmas Fayre and Lantern Parade, with the stalls open from 10am, and in 2025 the Yuletide Fayre and Lantern Walk. ROBOT and Destination Old Town, a group of residents and small business owners who promote the area’s arts, culture and heritage, now run it together.
The costume theme has stayed. The Echo’s 2024 piece describes shops recreating scenes from the past with old-world charm, a Dickensian idea under a newer title.
Where to Stay: Bobbies’ Retreat says the house won the East Riding of Yorkshire Council Chairman’s Award in May 2025 for its contribution to the local historic environment.
Worth Knowing: The 2023 Dickensian Festival listed a Santa drive-through run by Bridlington Round Table.
Bridlington Priory and Bayle Gate
The lantern walk heads for the Priory, and it is worth knowing what it is walking to. Fabulous North says the priory was founded in 1113 as an extensive monastic complex, and that the nave survived the priory’s closure to begin a new life as the parish church, a role it has held for over 300 years. British Listed Buildings gives the same founding date, around 1113, for Augustinian canons, and lists the church as Grade I, first listed on 7 September 1951.
Only the nave and parts of the towers survive from the stone priory church, according to British Listed Buildings, and most of the fabric dates from the 14th and 15th centuries.
The other survivor is Bayle Gate, a fortified entrance that Fabulous North says is now a museum. British Listed Buildings lists it as a Grade I building in the Old Town.
The Priory holds an Advent Fair on the same day as the fayre, according to the Echo, so you can warm up inside between the stalls and the walk. The Priory’s own listing for the 2024 event described an Advent craft fair with stalls selling handmade gifts, food and drink, live music and a special Advent service. In 2023 the Advent Craft Fair ran from 12pm to 3.30pm with free entry, and included a live nativity pop-up in which the Rector played the Angel Gabriel, according to the Echo.
Where to Stay: Bobbies’ Retreat is in the same Old Town Conservation Area as the Priory.
Worth Knowing: Fabulous North says repairs to the Priory church cost £27,000 in 1874.
Practical Tips
- The fayre has fallen on the Sunday nearest the start of December. The 2026 date has not been announced.
- In 2025 the stalls ran from 11am to 6pm, and the lantern parade began at 4.30pm.
- The lantern walk has assembled at the Black Lion and runs along High Street to the Priory and back.
- Use the AllTrails app to plan a coastal walk, for example along the front, before the stalls open.
- Wrap up warm. The street is closed to traffic and open to the weather, and the parade is after dusk.
- Buy a raffle strip. At £5, it pays for the road closures and insurance that keep the street open.
Responsible Visiting
The Old Town is a living street with homes above the shops. Keep clear of doorways, take lanterns away from the pavement edge and carry your rubbish out. Shop in the Old Town businesses, because they set the stage for the event.
Reader Q&A
When is Bridlington Yuletide Fayre in 2026?
The 2026 date has not been announced. It ran on Sunday 30 November 2025 and Sunday 1 December 2024.
Is it the same as the Dickensian Day?
Yes. The Old Town event was billed as a Dickensian Festival in 2022 and 2023, then as a Christmas Fayre in 2024 and a Yuletide Fayre in 2025.
What time is the lantern walk?
In 2025 it began at 4.30pm, and in 2024 it set off at about 4.30pm from the Black Lion.
Is it free?
No ticket is listed for the street. The organisers fund the event through a raffle, with tickets at £5 a strip, and the stalls are run by individual traders.
Who runs it?
ROBOT (Regeneration of Bridlington Old Town) and Destination Old Town, both volunteer groups.
Can I make a lantern?
Yes. Local people make the lanterns in workshops before the event, and the Echo gives a contact for people who want to take part.
Where to Stay
Bobbies’ Retreat, Bridlington Old Town. A Grade II listed house of about 1820 at 20 High Street, sleeping five across three bedrooms, with a wood-burning stove and a rear courtyard.
When the lanterns have gone out, the High Street clears, and the Priory nave stands at its end in the dark.
