The Vyne's Twelve Days of Christmas runs 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027: house 11am to 3pm, garden trail free with admission. Closed 24 and 25 December.
The National Trust’s Christmas at The Vyne, just north of Basingstoke at Sherborne St John, is Twelve Days of Christmas, running from Saturday 21 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. The house opens 11am to 3pm and the gardens 10am to 4pm, and it is closed on 24 and 25 December. The decorations, the garden trail and the Christmas bingo are free with normal admission, and National Trust members get in free.
The quick answer
- Dates: 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
- Hours: house 11am to 3pm, gardens 10am to 4pm.
- Cost: no extra charge on top of admission. Adults £18, children 5 to 17 £9, families £45 (£19.80, £9.90 and £49.50 with Gift Aid). Under 5s and members free. Parking is free for everyone.
- Early close: on 24 and 26 November the house, shop and tea-room shut at 2.30pm and the gardens at 3pm, with last entry at 2pm.
What Twelve Days of Christmas is
The Trust’s Christmas at The Vyne page describes a house dressed room by room around the carol, with many of the decorations handmade by The Vyne’s volunteers. Going through the ground floor in order:
- Stone Gallery: a dressing-up station where you can put on a uniform and pose with the twelve drummers drumming and eleven pipers piping.
- Further Drawing Room: ten frogs in waistcoats, leaping between lily pads.
- Large Drawing Room: nine illuminated paper dresses made by the artist Jennifer Collier, the centrepiece of the display.
- Vestibule: a life-size cow and milk churns for the maids a-milking.
- Saloon: the geese a-laying and swans a-swimming.
- Bookshop: a cuddly partridge and a tree hung with crocheted pears to finish.
Inside, visitors can play a free game of Christmas Bingo, ticking off the gifts and characters from the carol as they spot them.
The garden trail
Outside, the Christmas Garden Trail has ten games based on the carol, aimed at ages 2 and up. The Trust’s examples: leap over hurdles like a lord, dance with the ladies, help the maids milk a cow, return the partridge to its pear tree and wheelbarrow golden eggs back to Mother Goose. There are photo spots along the way. Like the bingo, it is free once you are in.
Prices and tickets
There is no separate Christmas ticket: it is normal admission, taken from The Vyne’s own page.
| Ticket | With Gift Aid | Without |
|---|---|---|
| Adult (18+) | £19.80 | £18.00 |
| Child (5 to 17) | £9.90 | £9.00 |
| Family (2 adults, up to 3 children) | £49.50 | £45.00 |
| One-adult family | £29.70 | £27.00 |
Under 5s go free, as do National Trust members. Groups of adults pay £17.10 each.
Opening hours and closures
- House: 11am to 3pm during the Christmas run, ground floor.
- Gardens: 10am to 4pm.
- Closed: Thursday 24 and Friday 25 December.
- Tuesday 24 and Thursday 26 November: the house, shop and tea-room close at 2.30pm and the gardens at 3pm, last entry 2pm, for a volunteer event. Both fall in the first week of the Christmas run, so avoid those afternoons.
Food and shopping
The Brewhouse tea-room serves one-pot meals and soups, plus hot chocolate, mulled wine and mince pies. The gift shop stocks Christmas decorations, cards, calendars and festive food and drink.
Getting there and parking
The Vyne is at Vyne Road, Sherborne St John, Basingstoke RG24 9HL. Parking is free for all visitors. Two things from the Trust’s visitor notes are worth knowing in winter:
- The grass overflow car park closes in wet weather, and cars are then limited to the hard standing. It usually needs several days of dry weather to reopen, so on busy December weekends arrive early.
- Blue Badge parking is limited. There is a drop-off point on the south drive in front of the house, and wheelchairs can be reserved on 01256 883858.
By bike, The Vyne is under a mile off National Cycle Network Route 23, which the Trust puts at 8.1 miles from Basingstoke. Driving out of town, check our roadworks and travel page first; for the town centre side of a day out, see parking in Basingstoke.
Dogs are welcome on short leads in the gardens but not in the house.
Other Christmas days out in Basingstoke
- Festive Friday, the town’s Christmas lights night, is 20 November, the evening before The Vyne’s run opens: see Basingstoke Christmas lights switch-on.
- Milestones Christmas Market is 5 and 6 December: see Milestones Museum at Christmas and Basingstoke Christmas markets.
- Beauty and the Beast is at The Anvil from 10 December: see Basingstoke pantomime.
Everything on this page was checked against the National Trust’s own pages for The Vyne on 28 September 2026. The Trust says house opening is subject to volunteer availability, so check its page on the day before you travel.
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