Bingham's fayre and lights are set for Friday 27 November. Ruddington's big three-day market has published nothing since 2023. What is on and what is not.
One Rushcliffe Christmas market has a confirmed 2026 date: Bingham, Friday 27 November. The borough’s best known festive market, the three-day Ruddington Village Christmas Market, has published nothing for 2026 and nothing verifiable since 2023.
Here is the position on each, checked on 6 September 2026.
Bingham: Friday 27 November, fayre and lights together
Bingham Town Council posted its Christmas Fayre listing on 1 September 2026, giving the date as Friday, 27th of November 2026. Its events listing carries the Christmas Lights Switch On on the same date.
That is the whole of what has been published. No start time, no venue and no stall list exists yet. The town council’s own office is at The Old Court House, Church Street, Bingham NG13 8AL, and its phone number is 01949 831445, but the council has not said where the fayre itself will be.
Two dates in one evening is the useful part. If you are going for the switch-on, you are going to the fayre, and the other way round. Expect the detail in late October or early November, which is when Bingham has released it before.
Ruddington: the monthly market is the safe bet
Ruddington’s monthly market is a fixture and is easy to plan around. Ruddington Village Market publishes a simple rule on its own homepage:
“First Saturday of the Month* 9am - 2pm”
“*No market in January”
Ruddington Village Community Partnership, which runs it, states the same on its own site: every first Saturday of the month, February to December, on the Village Green.
Under that published rule, the December 2026 market falls on Saturday 5 December, 9am to 2pm, on The Green. No organiser has confirmed that date individually, so treat it as the pattern rather than an announcement.
The big three-day Ruddington market: no 2026 announcement
This is the one people search for, and it needs saying plainly.
The Ruddington Village Christmas Market was a three-day event across the village: the Christmas Village on The Green with a covered stage and Blitzen’s Bar, indoor makers’ markets at St Peter’s Church, Ruddington Methodist Hall, the Framework Knitters’ Museum and St Peter’s Rooms, a street food zone on High Street and Church Street, a vintage fairground and live music. At its peak the organisers advertised over 170 stalls.
The last run we can verify from contemporaneous reporting was 2023, on Thursday 30 November, Friday 1 December and Saturday 2 December, running 4pm to 9pm on the Thursday and Friday and 11am to 5pm on the Saturday.
The problem is what has happened to the sources since:
- The market’s own Christmas page still advertises those 2023 dates as if they were upcoming. It has not been updated.
- Its trader application page for the Christmas market is still live, still warning that “all traders, new or existing, MUST reapply”, with no year attached.
- RVCP’s own website does not list a Christmas market among its projects at all. It lists the monthly village market, the Rudd Awards, the Community Fund and the pop-up cinema club. Its most recent news post is dated January 2025.
- Ruddington Parish Council describes “a Christmas Market each December, with stalls, activities and entertainment taking place all around the village”, but points readers to the market’s website for dates, and that website is the one frozen on 2023.
So: the format existed, the parish council still describes it as an annual thing, and nobody has said it is cancelled. But there is no 2026 date, and no 2024 or 2025 date we could verify either. If you are planning a trip around it, wait for an announcement rather than a repeat of an old one, and check the market’s social feeds before travelling.
West Bridgford: the indoor market sits inside the switch-on
West Bridgford does not run a standalone Christmas market. Its festive market is part of the Christmas lights day: an indoor market at Lutterell Hall, Church Drive, NG2 6AY, alongside food and drink stalls along Central Avenue.
The 2026 date for that has not been announced either. The full picture, including the 2025 programme and the stalls that appeared, is on our West Bridgford Christmas lights switch-on page.
5 December is the crowded day
If the monthly Ruddington market runs to pattern, Saturday 5 December 2026 is the busiest day in the borough’s calendar, because two ticketed events land on it as well:
- Santa’s Steam Train Adventure at the heritage railway in Ruddington, four departures through the day. See our Great Central Railway Santa specials page.
- The Sky Kingdom drone light show at Trent Bridge, doors 5pm. See our Trent Bridge drone show page.
Ruddington village and the heritage centre share the same approach roads. If you are doing the market and the train on the same day, allow for it.
Getting there and parking
Bingham’s fayre is a Friday evening in the town centre, so the town centre car parks are the ones to aim for. Ruddington’s market days put pressure on the streets around The Green and High Street, and the village asks visitors to walk in where they can.
West Bridgford’s own car parks and their tariffs are covered on our parking in West Bridgford page, and anything closing a road in the run-up is on our roadworks and travel page.
Summary
| Market | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Bingham Christmas Fayre and lights switch-on | Fri 27 Nov 2026 | Confirmed by Bingham Town Council, 1 Sep 2026. Time and venue TBC |
| Ruddington Village Market, December | Sat 5 Dec 2026, 9am to 2pm | Follows the published first-Saturday rule, not separately announced |
| Ruddington three-day Christmas Market | None | No 2026 announcement. Organiser pages frozen on 2023 dates |
| West Bridgford indoor market, Lutterell Hall | None | Part of the lights switch-on, which has no 2026 date |
We will update this page as each is announced. On past form, Bingham’s detail lands in late October and West Bridgford’s in early November.
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