Christmas at Silverstone runs 11 to 31 December, closed Christmas Day. Lap of Lights from 4.30pm, from £50 a car; Santa's Garage, skating and curling prices.

Yes, it is on this year. Silverstone’s Christmas event, with the Lap of Lights drive-through light trail on the Grand Prix circuit, runs from Friday 11 December to Thursday 31 December 2026, closed on Christmas Day, according to the circuit’s own announcement of 23 October. Tickets are on sale now, and two Santa’s Garage dates had sold out by 11 November.

Overview

  • When: 11 to 31 December, not 25 December. Lap of Lights sessions from 4.30pm; Santa’s Garage from 1pm, 11 to 24 December only.
  • Where: Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, NN12 8TN. Use the Main Entrance for the Lap of Lights.
  • Price: Lap of Lights from £50 a car, not per person. Santa’s Garage from £18, Ice Trak skating from £8.50 a person, curling from £33 a lane.
  • Book ahead: every experience is timed and tickets are non-refundable. On 11 November Silverstone’s booking page marked two Santa’s Garage dates and twelve curling dates sold out; Lap of Lights and Ice Trak showed no sold-out dates.

Updated 11 November: Christmas at Silverstone now flags two Santa’s Garage dates and twelve curling dates as sold out, and racing simulator sessions as partly sold out. The overview page still prices Lap of Lights from £55 a car and the Lap of Lights page from £50.

Lap of Lights

You drive your own car round two miles of the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit after dark, past light installations at corners such as Maggotts, Becketts and Stowe and laser shows over the Wing pit lane. The Lap of Lights page counts more than 7,000 lights, ten installations and 35 laser shows; the circuit’s 23 October article says nine installations. You stay in the car the whole time.

Price. Tickets are per car, so a full car pays the same as a driver on their own. The Lap of Lights page and the 23 October article both say from £50 a car; the Christmas at Silverstone overview page says from £55, so expect the price to vary by night. A Family Bundle of Lap of Lights, Ice Trak and Santa’s Garage booked together saves 10%.

How long. The drive takes about 30 minutes. Silverstone asks you to arrive 30 minutes before your slot and to allow about an hour in total.

The rules, from Silverstone’s Christmas help pages:

  • The driver needs a full, valid driving licence. Passengers do not.
  • The speed limit on the circuit is 5mph, and safety helpers watch the whole lap.
  • Everyone stays in the car with their own seat and seatbelt. Children cannot sit on a lap.
  • There are no toilets on the track, so go before you set off.
  • Motorbikes are not allowed. Vans and people carriers of up to eight seats are fine; minibuses must be booked through the help desk. The height limit is 4 metres, which matters if you have a roof box.
  • One booking is one lap. A second lap needs a second slot.
  • Dogs can come, but only inside the car; they cannot get out on site.
  • The lap uses strobe lighting and lasers, which may affect anyone sensitive to flashing light. Silverstone says there is no UV this year.
  • If you miss your slot, staff will try to fit you into a later one, but only if there is space.

Santa’s Garage

Santa’s Garage is a 40-minute walk-through in the F1 garages: a briefing, an Elf Toy Workshop where children “become Elf Engineers”, then a meeting with Santa, and every child takes home a gift. It runs 11 to 24 December, with sessions from 1pm, according to the Santa’s Garage page.

The event page says tickets are from £18 and that “every child ticket includes a free adult”. Silverstone’s help centre gives a lower starting price of £15 a child, covering up to two adults, with under-2s free alongside a paying child. Check the price on the night you book. The experience sold out in 2025. It is accessible for wheelchairs and pushchairs, and the help centre says a one-to-one photo with Santa is not guaranteed.

Allow at least 90 minutes between a Lap of Lights slot and a Santa’s Garage session if you do the drive first, and an hour if you see Santa first.

Ice Trak and curling

Ice Trak puts a skating rink inside the pit garages. Sessions last 45 minutes and cost from £8.50 a person. The rules: skaters must be at least 3; children aged 3 to 12 need an adult on the ice with them, at no more than three children per adult; penguin skate aids are for children up to 120cm. The garages are covered but not heated, so dress as if you were outdoors. Bags are not allowed on the ice, and a missed session cannot be rebooked.

Curling is new this year, on a synthetic surface rather than ice. A lane takes up to six people for about 30 minutes and costs from £33 a lane.

There is also karting on the new Kart Silverstone track (from £35, ages 6 and up, 115cm minimum), racing simulators from £15 and the Silverstone Museum from £23.20. Lap of Lights and Santa’s Garage ticket holders get 10% off karting and a museum discount. The festive food area needs no ticket.

Getting there

The address is Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, NN12 8TN, off the A43. For the Lap of Lights and karting, follow signs to the Main Entrance; for activities at the Wing and Escapade, the South Entrance. Blue Badge parking is available; stewards direct you to it.

Silverstone’s getting here page warns of “major roadworks between Towcester and Silverstone on the A43” that may add time to the journey. Our roadworks and travel page tracks the A43 closures. From Northampton, the circuit is reached via the A43 from the M1. Silverstone’s buses run only for its big race weekends, so plan to drive.

Other Christmas lights and skating near Northampton

  • Delapré Abbey’s Winter Light Trail is a walking trail, 27 November to 3 January, tickets from £12.50. See our Delapré Abbey Christmas page.
  • WinterFest on Northampton’s Market Square opens with the lights switch-on on 21 November. No ice rink has been announced there; our ice rink page has the latest.
  • Every grotto, including Delapré’s and the Grosvenor Shopping one, is on our Father Christmas page.
  • Going into Northampton as well? Our parking guide has the town centre car parks and charges.

Sources