Kenwood stays free all winter, open 10am to 4pm from 26 October and shut 24 to 26 December. Father Christmas is on December weekends at £15 a child.

Kenwood is free to visit all winter. From Monday 26 October the house opens 10am to 4pm every day and the grounds 7am to 4pm. It closes completely on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, then reopens on Sunday 27 December and runs its normal hours through New Year, including New Year’s Day. The one paid event on the winter calendar so far is Father Christmas at Kenwood, on the first three weekends of December at £15 a child. The Neverland light trail that filled the grounds last winter is not coming back.

The quick answer

  • Free entry, all winter. The house is open 10am to 4pm daily from 26 October; the grounds 7am to 4pm.
  • Closed 24, 25 and 26 December. Open as normal on 31 December and 1 January.
  • Father Christmas: weekends 5 to 20 December, £15 a child (£12 for members), booked in advance.

Opening hours, October to March

These are the hours English Heritage lists for Kenwood on its prices and opening times page, read on 25 September 2026.

Dates House and shops Grounds Café
5 to 24 October 10am to 5pm 7am to 6pm 9am to 5pm
Sunday 25 October 10am to 4pm 7am to 4pm 9am to 4pm
26 October to 23 December 10am to 4pm 7am to 4pm 9am to 4pm
24, 25 and 26 December Closed Closed Closed
27 December to 31 January 10am to 4pm 7am to 4pm 9am to 4pm
February 10am to 4pm 7am to 5pm 9am to 5pm
1 to 16 March 10am to 4pm 7am to 6pm 9am to 5pm

English Heritage marks New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day as normal opening days, with the house open 10am to 4pm on both.

Note that the Kenwood grounds, not only the house, are listed as closed over the three Christmas days. The rest of Hampstead Heath, which is run by the City of London, is a separate site.

What it costs

Kenwood is free. English Heritage says you can book a free day ticket online until 8.45am on the day, and after that walk-up tickets are available subject to space. The site is cashless, so bring a card for the café and shops.

The only paid extras on the site’s own listings are:

  • Highlight Tours, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 11.30am and 2.30pm, one hour, £10 for adults, £5 for English Heritage members, children free. No booking; pay on the day. From the things to do page.
  • Father Christmas in December (below).

The 15-minute Spotlight Talks on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays are free. The volunteer-run secondhand bookshop in Mansion Cottage opens Thursday to Sunday, noon to 4pm.

Father Christmas at Kenwood

English Heritage’s event page lists:

  • Dates: weekends only, Saturday 5 to Sunday 20 December 2026. That is 5 and 6, 12 and 13, and 19 and 20 December.
  • Sessions: 10.20am, 11am, 11.40am, 12.20pm, 1.40pm, 2.20pm and 3pm.
  • Price: £15 per child, or £12 for English Heritage members. Tickets must be booked in advance.
  • What happens: group storytelling, then each child meets Father Christmas, can have photographs taken, and is given a traditional present.
  • The rule to know: places are limited to one accompanying adult per child. Extra adults may be let in on the day if there is room. Arrive at least 15 minutes early.

For the borough’s other grottoes, the Camden Market and King’s Cross programmes are tracked on our Camden Christmas market and lights page.

Autumn events before the winter hours start

The Kenwood events listing has four free events in October, all without booking:

Date Event Time
Sun 4 October Autumn Craft Fair, in the Service Wing by the Brew House Café 11am to 3pm
Sun 4, Tue 6, Tue 13, Sun 25 October Lord Mansfield: Slavery and Justice guided tour, meet under the portico at 10.25am 10.30am to 11.30am
Sat 10 October Organs and Strings concert by Saraband 2pm
Sun 18 October Jacobean choral singing with the Thames Chamber Choir 2pm

The choral afternoon asks for donations on the day.

No light trail this Christmas

The Neverland light trail ran in the Kenwood grounds from 21 November 2025 to 3 January 2026, according to its producer’s event page. It will not return. English Heritage told the Camden New Journal on 1 May 2026: “We can confirm that the Halloween and Neverland light trails will not be returning to Kenwood in 2026.” If you see a 2026 Kenwood light trail advertised, check it against English Heritage’s own listings first.

Getting there

From English Heritage’s directions page:

  • Address: Hampstead Lane, NW3 7JR.
  • Bus: the 210 stops near Kenwood; the H3 passes within a short walk.
  • Tube: Golders Green or Archway, then the 210.
  • Overground: Gospel Oak or Hampstead Heath, then a walk across the Heath.
  • Parking: charges apply, free for English Heritage members. Blue Badge holders park free in any space, and there are five marked Blue Badge bays. Only cars that fit a 4.6m by 2.3m bay can park, and the car park is shut outside opening hours, so at 4pm in winter.

With the grounds closing at 4pm from late October, allow time to walk back across the Heath before dark.

Still to be confirmed

  • Any further December events at Kenwood. The events listing had only Father Christmas on 25 September; English Heritage adds dates through the autumn.
  • Hours after 16 March 2027, which English Heritage has not yet loaded.

Our things to do in Camden page covers the rest of the borough, and our Camden Christmas travel page has the Overground closures around Gospel Oak and Hampstead Heath over the holiday.