Live festive music
Get into the festive spirit with seasonal music and colourful lighting in the cellarium.
- Booking not needed
- Free event (admission applies)
Stand beneath the vaulted ceiling in the cellarium and enjoy listening to festive music filling the air from 2-3pm. Afterwards, take a stroll to see the abbey lit up in white lighting and spot twinkling fairy lights in the trees.
Live choirs and bands performing in the abbey cellarium...
Saturday 30 November: The White Rosettes
Sunday 1 December: Phoenix Concert Band
Saturday 7 December: Ilkley Moornotes Community Choir
Saturday 14 December: Love Pop Choir
Saturday 21 December: Leeds Festival Chorus
Sunday 22 December: York Musical Society
Saturday 28 December: Ripon Choral Society
Sunday 29 December: Bradford Concert Band
The abbey will be illuminated every weekend until 5 January and every day of the school holidays, excluding Friday 3 January when the estate will be closed. On days when there are no live choirs, recorded music will be playing through the abbey ruins.
Please note: this event finishes at 5pm. Lights will be turned off at this time and car parks close at 5:30pm.
Times
Prices
Event ticket prices
This event is free, but normal admission charges apply for the venue.
Check admission pricesThe basics
- Suitability
Children welcome
- Meeting point
Entry through any admissions point. The abbey is a 15 minute walk from the visitor centre, with a steep incline, a 5 minute walk from the West Gate entrance or a 30 minute walk from Studley.
- What to bring and wear
We are an outdoor site so please dress appropriately for the weather and wear sturdy shoes as the ground is uneven in places.
- Accessibility
If you'd like a seat for the music performance, please let a member of staff know. Mobility scooters are available to hire until 3pm. Wheelchairs are also available. The abbey is 350 meters from the level access west gate entrance. Access to the abbey is across a level grassy green. When the grass is particularly wet this can be impassable for wheelchairs, mobility scooters and prams.
- Other
Please note that on days when there are no live choirs, recorded music will be playing through the abbey ruins.
Upcoming events
Winter Tales trail
Explore frozen lands and follow heroes and heroines on epic journeys on the Winter Tales trail.
Winter garden and abbey tour
Join one of our volunteer tour guides to see the abbey as the Georgians once did; incorporated into the dramatic designed landscape.
Winter abbey tour
Join one of our volunteer tour guides to discover more about the largest monastic ruins in the country.
Winter Tales: live storytelling
Get into the festive spirit with a group story telling session of Winter Tales written by author Dawn Casey, led by one of our volunteers.