Nothing in Bromley borough has published a 2026 grotto yet. Two just outside it are already taking bookings, with dates and prices. Here is what each costs.

Grotto tickets are the one Christmas booking that runs out early, and on 6 September 2026 no venue inside the borough had published a grotto at all. Two just outside it are already selling, both with 2026 dates and prices on their own websites, and one of them opened its books on 26 August.

This page is deliberately blunt about which is which. Everything below was read from the operators’ own pages on 6 September. Where a venue has published nothing, it says so rather than repeating last year.

Ruxley Manor, Sidcup: 7 November to 24 December

Ruxley Manor Garden Centre, Maidstone Road, North Cray, Sidcup DA14 5BQ, is five miles from Bromley town centre and three from Orpington, over the boundary in Bexley. Its grotto is the earliest opener in the area.

  • Sessions from 7 November to 24 December 2026, several a day.
  • Booking opened on 26 August at 10am, so it has already been on sale a fortnight.
  • Priced by group, not per child: 2 guests £38, 3 £45, 4 £60, 5 £72, 6 £82, 7 £92, 8 £102, with extra single tickets at £15.
  • The visit takes in making reindeer food with the elves, building a Polar Bear Navigator with Mother Christmas, a private family visit and photo with Father Christmas, a gift, and a golden ticket to pick a present from the toy workshop.

There is a separate SEN grotto, priced identically, with reduced music and lighting and no over-stimulating acting from the elves, sensory toys offered as an alternative during the activities, and staff briefed by a SENCO specialist from Grace’s Day Nursery. Its sessions are:

  • Mornings, 9am to 9.45am: 21 and 28 November, 5, 12 and 19 December
  • Evenings, 7pm to 7.30pm: 25 and 27 November, 2 and 4 December

That is nine sessions for the whole season, which is why it goes first.

Ruxley also runs a Christmas VIP shopping night on Friday 9 October, 6pm to 9pm, £5 a head, with tickets going on sale on Wednesday 9 September at 10am. If you want it, that is three days from the date on this page.

Coolings, Knockholt: woodland grotto, priced per person

Coolings Lifestyle, Main Road, Knockholt TN14 7LJ, is four miles from Orpington and seven and a half from Bromley, just into Sevenoaks district. Bookings for Santa’s Woodland Grotto 2026 are open.

  • Child £20 to £28, adult £10 to £14, newborn £6.50 to £8, the price varying by date.
  • About 60 minutes, walking through themed rooms, posting a letter to Santa, Mrs Claus’ kitchen and toy rooms, ending in a private visit with Father Christmas.
  • Every child ticket includes an age-appropriate gift and free entry to Willow’s Birds of Prey and Wildlife Trail, which Coolings values at up to £29.99 for two adults and two children aged 5 to 16, usable the same day or on another date through December 2026 and January 2027.

The booking page carries a live calendar rather than a published date range, so the run length is not stated anywhere on the site. It warns that sessions sell out.

A pricing warning. These two are not comparable on the headline number. Ruxley charges for the group, Coolings charges each person, so a family of four is £60 at Ruxley and somewhere between £60 and £84 at Coolings depending on the ages and the date.

Inside the borough, nothing yet

  • The Glades has published nothing for Christmas 2026. Its events page, read on 6 September, still ends with the August programme, and last year’s Christmas listing now returns a 404.
  • Chislehurst Caves does not run a grotto, and it is worth knowing why before you drive there hopefully. The caves open every day during local school holidays with one stated exception: Christmas and the New Year, when they close.
  • Crystal Palace Park’s what’s on has nothing listed past 27 September.

Bromley town centre’s festive programme is run by the Your Bromley business improvement district, and the only thing it has dated so far is the Christmas lights switch-on on Sunday 15 November, which is free and needs no ticket. The Chislehurst Christmas market is Sunday 22 November.

If you want a show rather than a grotto

The Churchill Theatre has two family Christmas runs on sale, both from its own booking pages: Hansel and Gretel, The Christmas Escape, Saturday 5 to Tuesday 22 December, from £14, and the pantomime, Sleeping Beauty, Saturday 5 December to Sunday 3 January, from £28. The panto, its cheap seats and its six access performances are set out on our Bromley pantomime page.

What we will update, and when

  • Any grotto inside the borough. The Glades is the one to watch and it has published nothing.
  • Coolings’ actual run dates, which are only visible inside the booking calendar.

Parking for the town centre is on our parking in Bromley page, and anything dug up between you and a grotto will be on Bromley roadworks and travel.

Sources

All checked 6 September 2026.