We visit Canterbury Cathedral’s first Christmas market in more than 200 years

Canterbury Cathedral is hosting a Christmas market in its grounds for the first time in more than 200 years - but was it worth the wait?

We sent reporter Millie Bowles along to find out…

The last event of this kind to be held in the Cathedral’s precincts was shut down in 1813 following concerns of “indecency and tumultuous conduct”.

But as I walked through Christ Church Gate with a friend on Monday evening, there was no sign of such behaviour.

Scaffolding on the entrance slightly taints the magic as you first arrive, but this is for repair and conservation work and cannot be helped.

Construction aside, the gate makes for a beautiful first glimpse of the twinkly lights and vibrant stalls at this free-to-enter event.

The imposing place of worship towers high above the market in an eerie but almost fairytale-like way.

My eye is first drawn to the beautiful carousel and stalls, of which there are 20 in total, decorated with twinkly lights.

They include crafts, gifts, fudge, personalised ornaments, cheese and several others.

We had a walk around, accompanied by the familiar sound of Michael Bublé, and took in the sights.

The market includes a marquee in the middle which houses a few extra outlets and a small but cute mini golf course.

There is also a selection of seating including picnic tables and comfy sofas.

After a wander, we decided to get some food.

A stall promising ‘Christmas in a cup’ was intriguing, but unfortunately, there was no vegetarian option for me.

Next, I thought the veggie burger and halloumi fries at the crispy duck stand sounded great, but the stallholder told me they had a technical issue and had to pack up.

“We didn’t want to close early,” he stressed.

I settled on a three-cheese toastie and my friend had a ‘potato tornado’ from the same stall - a spiralled deep-fried spud on a stick.

I was charged a reasonable £11 for the pair.

While the order was being prepared, I grabbed my first mulled wine of the festive season from the bar.

It was rather quiet this evening, but I had my suspicions as to why.

Upon asking the lovely barmaid, she told me its opening event on Friday was packed, but business had been steady since.

The hot beverage was everything I was hoping for; warming, spiced and festive.

It was £7.50 for a large glass, and a bottle of water was £1.50.

Soon the toastie was ready and, while a hot sandwich is not a hard thing to make, this was a good one.

It had a mouth-watering ‘cheese pull’, with generous amounts of melting mozzarella, cheddar and Red Leicester.

My friend was a little disappointed with her paprika-flavoured ‘tornado’ and on tasting a slice I agreed it was quite bland and could do with some salt.

It was a treat to sit inside and out of the rain with the backing track of Christmas tunes and the sound of children playing on the mini golf course.

After finishing our food, we were ready to check out the stalls again.

But, to our disappointment, most places had begun shutting for the night.

The market closes at 6pm every day with the exception of Sundays when it shuts at 4pm.

Since it wasn’t busy, only a few stalls seemed to be open at 5.50pm.

Thankfully, we managed to get to a woman selling baked goods in time to buy a slice of Kinder Bueno cookie pie just as she was packing them away.

Luckily I work in the city, but by the time I had walked there, we only had 45 minutes at a push to enjoy the sights.

We didn’t even have a ride on the carousel or play mini golf as we just didn’t have time.

It was quiet and I wonder if this is because people can’t physically get there on a weekday.

If you work nine to five outside Canterbury, you would never make it there in time for a worthwhile visit.

At nearby Folkestone Harbour Arm, the market - which only runs Friday till Sunday - is open until 8pm.

Similarly, Rochester Castle’s offering is open until 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 6pm on Sundays.

Tonbridge Christmas Village runs from Thursday to Sunday until 8pm.

Rockhopper Events, which is behind Canterbury’s market, says its opening hours were chosen to stay in line with the stalls it also runs in the rest of the city centre.

“For year one, we've decided to operate in line with the closing times for the established section of the market,” a spokeswoman said.

“Our reasoning behind this is to establish a connected offering throughout all three sections and we are also mindful that there are local residents to consider.

“It does look beautiful at night. The Cathedral is such an impressive building and there are opportunities to occasionally visit later in the evening this year.”

“We have had such an overwhelmingly positive response to this year's Christmas market and the newly extended section that we are already responding to trading and coach company enquiries for 2025.

“Should Canterbury Cathedral decide it would like to renew our contract for next year, we may do a few more later evening events with its permission.”

I will certainly have my fingers crossed that there will be more opportunities to enjoy the attraction in the evenings next year.

All in all, it is great to see this truly magical market back, and it is definitely worth a visit.

You might have to keep an eye on the clock, though.

Canterbury Cathedral’s Christmas market is open Monday to Friday 10am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 6pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm until Christmas Eve