Whippersnappers' Winter Wonderland grotto in Dulwich Park runs 29 November to 23 December 2026. Child £29.50, adult £18.50, online booking only, now open.

Dulwich’s own Santa’s grotto is Whippersnappers Winter Wonderland, in the old Victorian park keeper’s lodge at Old College Gate, Dulwich Park, opposite the Picture Gallery. The charity Whippersnappers has run it every Christmas since 2012, and the 2026 dates are out: Sunday 29 November to Wednesday 23 December, with booking already open.

The quick answer

  • Is it on this year? Yes. Whippersnappers’ own page lists “2026 DATES: Sunday 29th November to Wednesday 23rd December”, and its Bookwhen calendar is taking bookings for every session.
  • Where: Whippersnappers College Lodge, Old College Gate, Dulwich Park, College Road, SE21 7BQ.
  • Price: £29.50 a child, £18.50 an adult. Every child needs an adult with an adult ticket. Online booking only.
  • Best for: ages 3 to 7, with older and younger brothers and sisters. For under-3s there is a separate, shorter Santa Meet and Greet (below).
  • How long: about 1 hour 15 minutes, but allow up to 1 hour 45.
  • Refunds: none for cancellations after 23 November.

Which days it runs

The sessions below are read from Whippersnappers’ booking calendar on 5 October 2026. Groups start every 15 minutes or so.

Day First and last session
Sunday 29 November 2pm to 4.30pm
Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December 10am to 4.30pm
Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December 10am to 4.30pm
Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 December 10am to 4.30pm
Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 December 10am to 4.30pm
Wednesday 23 December 10am to 12.30pm

There are no weekday sessions for the Winter Wonderland before 21 December. The only weekday slots before then are the baby and toddler mornings.

Whippersnappers says the event “will likely sell out” and advises booking well ahead. On 5 October the calendar showed no session marked full. We will check again in November and say here when the weekends go.

What you get for the ticket

This year’s theme is Santa’s Express and the “Bauble City Christmas Festival”; the story changes every year (last year was Christmas in Space). Families go round in small groups, about 15 minutes in each area:

  • hot chocolate, or mulled wine for adults, with a mince pie or shortbread at the Woodland Café on arrival, and a photo in Santa’s sleigh
  • a “train journey” in the cabin, with popcorn
  • crafts with the elves in the yurt
  • decorating a gingerbread biscuit with Mrs Claus, which you collect on the way out
  • face painting by the Christmas Tree Fairy, and a wish for Santa
  • Father Christmas upstairs, with a personalised present for each child

Santa’s helper takes a family photo on your own phone, so bring it charged. A toy shop downstairs stays open through the run.

Who needs a ticket

The rules are from Whippersnappers’ 2026 FAQ:

  • Every child taking part needs a child ticket, and there is no sibling discount.
  • Babies in arms under 12 months go free only if they are not joining in and are coming with an older brother or sister. A baby coming on their own pays the full child price.
  • Children over 12 can go on an adult ticket. If they want the gingerbread and a present from Santa, book them a child ticket.
  • Carers of a disabled child can get a carer ticket with proof (carer ID card, Blue Badge, DLA or PIP). Book through the system or email cburghard@whippersnappers.org.

Access

The ground floor and the garden are step-free and there is a lift. Santa is upstairs, though, and because the lift cannot be used in an evacuation, the upper floor is limited to children under 35kg who a parent or carer can carry down. Whippersnappers asks families who need it to email so that the Santa visit can be moved downstairs. No pets.

For under-3s: Santa Meet and Greet

Whippersnappers runs a separate, quieter session for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers in the same lodge: a hunt for Santa’s sleigh in the woods, food for the reindeer, then songs with Santa in a Victorian parlour upstairs. It lasts about 40 minutes, with a maximum of 20 people a group.

  • Dates: Tuesday 8, Wednesday 9, Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 December, at 9.30am, 10.30am and 11.30am.
  • Price: £29.50 for a child and one adult; £13.50 for a sibling (with a present) or an extra adult. Babies in arms need a ticket for this one.

Getting there and parking

The lodge is right by Old College Gate on College Road, the main entrance across from Dulwich Picture Gallery.

  • Train: North Dulwich or West Dulwich, Southwark Council says; the Friends of Dulwich Park name North Dulwich as the nearest.
  • Bus: the P4 runs along College Road and the P13 along Dulwich Common (Southwark Council). The 12, 40, 176 and 185 stop by Dulwich Library on Lordship Lane, a short walk along Eynella Road.
  • Car: there is a car park inside the College Road entrance, and parking along the driveway, but charges apply and the Friends warn that “on busy days, especially at weekends, the car park is often full”. December weekends are exactly that. Street parking rules for the Village are on our parking in Dulwich page, and any closures nearby will be on Dulwich roadworks and travel.

The park’s own gates close at about 4.30pm in winter, the Friends say; the lodge sits on Old College Gate itself.

More Christmas in Dulwich

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