Christmas at Saltram 2026

Staff at Saltram decorate the trees in the Red Roomready for Christmas time. — Decorations adorn Saltram's Georgian mansion once again | © Steve Haywood

Christmas at Saltram is back for the festive season with four beautifully transformed rooms in the mansion as well as magical displays in the garden follies. Get stuck into a Christmassy family trail in the crisp winter air and find plenty of moments for hot chocolate and festive treats inside the garden under a second cosy tipi.

Christmas at Saltram 2026

Come and explore a smaller route of beautifully dressed rooms within the mansion, where Father Christmas has set up a second address to the North Pole, transporting you to his South Devon home for the festive season.

Then head on out to the gardens for more magical displays in the garden follies, a fun family trail and games and plenty of moments for hot chocolate and festive treats.

Please note, Father Christmas is a very busy man at this time of the year, so he will be up in the North Pole, but he has kindly opened his Saltram takeover for visitors to enjoy.

All visits to the house will need to be booked via Saltram’s website in advance to guarantee entry this Christmas. (Tickets are not yet live, please check back mid October to book tickets)

The festivities commence on Friday 20^th November through to Sunday 3^rd January 2027

Christmas experience inside the house

Come and explore a smaller route of beautifully dressed rooms within the mansion this Christmas.
Father Christmas has set up a second address to the North Pole, transporting you to his South Devon Grotto for the festive season. Don’t forget to book your ticket to visit the house this Christmas.

*Tickets aren't quite ready yet, check back here mid October to book your tickets*

A portion of the house will remain closed as exciting National Lottery Heritage Funded work begins installing a lift to the first floor, platform lifts and new ramps to create a step-free route through more of the house from summer 2027.

Christmas in the garden

This Christmas the garden is the place to stretch your legs and enjoy the fresh winter air on a walk, with plenty of festive extras along the way.
Head on up to the orangery for all the festive feels, cuddle up under our second festive tipi with Christmas music and festive treats.

The orangery and castle folly will be decorated perfect for those family photos around the grounds.
(Bookings not required for garden only visits).

Christmas food and drink

Winter courtyard café

Feel festive by settling down with a festive treat under our courtyard tipi filled with fairy lights and surrounded by Christmas trees. Snuggle up with family and friends with a hot chocolate and a mince pie in the winter courtyard café this Christmas.

Chapel Cafe

The Chapel café inside Saltram’s garden will be offering festive tea and cake on vintage crockery with views across the lawn to the house. The Chapel cafe is the perfect location for a Christmassy slice of cake with tea on cosy sofas this festive season.

Image shows ice skating shoes, a violin and wrapped presents as part of Father Christmases toy making area at Saltram — Christmas decorations this festive season at Saltram | © Steve Haywood

Accessibility at Saltram

We aim to make Saltram as accessible and welcoming as possible:

Parking: Accessible and disabled parking spaces are available.
Paths and mobility: Level paths in the garden are suitable for wheelchairs. An all-terrain Tramper is available to book - please email us at saltram@nationaltrust.org.uk to reserve.
Hearing support: Audio induction loops are installed in the café and Welcome Centre for visitors with hearing aids.
Toilets and baby changing: Adapted toilets with baby-changing facilities are located in the Stables. An additional disabled toilet is available at the Park Café.

Saltram access statement

Find out more about accessibility before your visit to Saltram

Our AccessAble page with more detailed information is available here

A man and woman in winter wear sat with a dog in a cafe undercover — Visitors relax with their dog in the Winter Courtyard café at Saltram, Devon | © National Trust Images/Steve Haywood

Christmas FAQ’s

Why are only a few rooms of the house decorated, rather than the usual Christmas route?
In 2025 we received the fantastic news that Saltram had been awarded £4.5 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, helping us make Saltram more accessible for more people.
There's a great deal of work taking place over the next four years, and some of the major improvements to the house begin this winter. This includes installing a lift to the first floor, platform lifts and new ramps to create a step-free route through more of the house from summer 2027.
Because of this work, we're only able to open and decorate four rooms in the house this Christmas. We know some visitors will miss the usual route, but these improvements will mean more people can experience more of Saltram in the future, including at Christmas!

You said last year that the house would be closed this Christmas. Why has this changed?
With a project of this scale, construction programmes and timings can change as plans develop. We had originally expected the house to be closed while this work took place.
As the schedule developed, an opportunity emerged for us to safely open four rooms during the Christmas period. Rather than keep the house completely closed, we wanted to make the most of that opportunity and give visitors the chance to enjoy Christmas inside Saltram while the wider work continues.

Do I need to book for my visit this year?

To visit the four decorated spaces in the house this year you will need to pre-book a house ticket. You do not need a ticket just to visit the gardens.

Can I bring my dog?

You can bring your dog to Saltram’s garden, but not inside the decorated house. We ask that all dogs in the garden are kept on short leads, that you stick to the paths and pick up any mess. Dog route maps are free to pick up at the Welcome Centre.

What is access like inside the house?

The decorated house route for Christmas this year will be entirely wheelchair accessible, without turning back on the flow of visitors. For full information on access information across Saltram please visit our access page and do get in touch for any further information you might need prior to booking a visit.

How much does a ticket cost?

There is no extra cost to visit the decorated house and garden this Christmas, but admission prices do apply for non members. Please see the Prices section of the website.

Will there be late night lights this year?

There will be no late night lights offer again this year. These large scale events are very costly to host and to organise. They need additional health and safety supports to open up safely in the dark, which would not be possible for Saltram just at this time. If we do this type of event again we want to do it right.

Booking FAQ’s

Do I need to book to just visit the garden, parkland or stables café?

If you are only visiting the garden, parkland, or stables café you will not need to book a ticket in advance, tickets are for house visits only.

What do I need to bring on arrival?

You will need to show your booking confirmation on your phone or printed out to our team at Welcome Centre upon your arrival as well as your membership card if you are a member.

What does the booking slot mean?

This year the half an hour slot time is for your arrival at the welcome centre and your house queue joining time. If you wish you walk the gardens or have some coffee in the café please do so before or after your house slot allowing plenty of time.

Will members need to book?

Yes, members will need to book a timeslot to guarantee a visit to the house this Christmas, but member entry is still free.

Do I have to pay to park and do I need to book a parking ticket?

Parking is £3 per vehicle or free for National Trust members, you won’t need to book a parking ticket. We recommend arriving at Saltram with plenty of time before your house entry timeslot to ensure that you have time to find a parking space, our car park is particularly busy this time of year.

Can I cancel my tickets?

We have a 'No cancellations/refunds' policy, unless the event has to be cancelled, in which case all bookings will be refunded for the relevant time/date. Tickets cannot be transferred to another event, date or time. Tickets are for your use and cannot be resold.

Will I be let in without a booking? / What if I just turn up?

Without a booking we won’t be able to guarantee entry to the house this Christmas. If we’re not fully booked on the day of your visit, you may be able to book a ticket on the day itself. However, to avoid disappointment we recommend booking your ticket as far in advance as possible to ensure that you get to experience the house in all its Christmas splendour.

What happens if the property closes due to bad weather?

We are all facing into adverse weather increases with the climate crisis, so there may be times where Saltram is not safe to open to the public and we have no choice but to close and refund tickets. If this should happen you will be contacted as soon as we are able to, to notify you of any closure and refund procedures.
Due to the capacity of our car park and safe visitor numbers to the house we are not able to honour cancelled tickets on another day. We encourage you to try and re-book for another date wherever possible. We of course apologise for disappointment this might cause, but safety simply has to come first in these instances.