Mid Sussex Christmas Markets 2026: 8 Dates From 7 November

Mid Sussex has eight Christmas markets and fairs with a 2026 date or a firm annual pattern, running from Saturday 7 November to Tuesday 8 December. The biggest is the Winter Fair at Ardingly on 21 and 22 November, the only one that charges for entry. The longest is Burgess Hill’s four days of chalets on Church Walk from Thursday 26 November. All the others with published details are free to enter.

The dates at a glance

South of England Winter Fair, Ardingly: 21 and 22 November

The South of England Agricultural Society’s Winter Fair is on Saturday 21 November, 9am to 5pm, and Sunday 22 November, 9am to 4pm, at the showground on Selsfield Road, Ardingly, RH17 6TL.

• Tickets: adults £9.45 and seniors or students £8.10 if bought by 13 November. After that, adults pay £10.50 and seniors or students £9.
• Children: under 16s go free with a paying adult, with a suggested £2 donation.
• Society members: free.
• Parking: free at the showground. Most of it is on paved roads, but it spills on to grass when busy.
• Extras: street food, live music and a giant snow globe are included. The children’s funfair, Santa’s grotto, the willow weaving and chocolate decorating workshops and the ice skating all cost extra.

The society warns that tickets are limited and have sold out in previous years, so it recommends booking ahead. Gate sales happen only if tickets remain. Most of the fair is indoors, but the showground is an outdoor site. Its ticket page still carries last year’s footnote with a 14 November 2025 deadline alongside this year’s; the 13 November 2026 date is the one that applies. (South of England Agricultural Society, Winter Fair)

Burgess Hill Christmas Festival chalets: 26 to 29 November

Burgess Hill Town Council’s chalets line Church Walk for four days, and the council has lengthened the hours after feedback on 2025’s event:

• Thursday 26 November: 11am to 7pm (the lights switch-on is this evening)
• Friday 27 November: 11am to 7pm
• Saturday 28 November: 10am to 8pm
• Sunday 29 November: 10am to 4pm

All the chalets and the trailer and van spaces are booked. The full programme of acts has not yet been published. (Burgess Hill Town Council, Christmas Festival 2026) Our Burgess Hill Christmas Festival page covers the switch-on and will carry the schedule when it appears.

The same weekend, Burgess Hill Theatre Club holds a Christmas Craft Fair on Sunday 29 November, 10am to 4pm, at Burgess Hill Theatre, with gifts, cards, decorations, mulled wine and food. Entry is free. (Burgess Hill Town Council, What’s On)

Haywards Heath Christmas Festival: Saturday 28 November

Haywards Heath Town Council has confirmed Saturday 28 November and that the festival is free to attend, with stalls selling Christmas gifts, food and crafts. It has not yet published opening times or venues. In 2025 the stalls were spread across Centenary Hall, the United Reformed Church and Haywards Heath Baptist Church, linked by a Christmas window trail. One listings site already shows 12pm to 5pm; the council has not confirmed that, so treat it as unconfirmed. (Haywards Heath Town Council, Christmas Festival) More detail on the Haywards Heath Christmas Festival page.

East Grinstead: a winter fair on 7 November, the market on 6 December

Chequer Mead Theatre’s Winter Fair is on Saturday 7 November, 10am to 4pm. Entry is free and there is no need to book. The stalls are already sold out. (Chequer Mead Theatre, Winter Fair)

East Grinstead Christmas Market is on Sunday 6 December, 11am to 3pm, at East Court, College Lane, RH19 3LT, run by the town council. East Court is the Georgian mansion about half a mile from the High Street, and the market uses the mansion and Meridian Hall. The council is still taking expressions of interest from stallholders. (East Grinstead Town Council, Christmas Market) The town’s lights go on two weeks earlier, on Saturday 21 November: see the East Grinstead switch-on page.

Lindfield Christmas Festival Night: Tuesday 8 December

Lindfield Parish Council’s events calendar gives Tuesday 8 December 2026 for its Christmas Festival Night, when the High Street stays open late with street stalls and fairground rides. (Lindfield Parish Council, Christmas Festival Night)

The village magazine Lindfield Life says it “will return on 1st December 2026”. The parish council runs the event, so we are going with its date, but the two do not agree and we will update this page when the council publishes the times. (Lindfield Life)

In 2025 it ran from 6pm to 9pm, and the High Street was closed to traffic from 5pm to 9.30pm. Expect a similar closure this year.

Cuckfield Christmas Street Festival: date not yet announced

Cuckfield’s Christmas Street Festival has not been announced for 2026, and it is not on the parish council’s events calendar, which runs to April 2027. It is an established fixture on the first Friday of December: Friday 6 December 2024 and Friday 5 December 2025, both 5.30pm to 9pm on the High Street, with food and drink stalls, charity stalls, a craft fair at the Old School, Santa’s grotto and late opening at the shops. If the pattern holds, 2026’s would be Friday 4 December, but that is our inference, not an announcement. (Cuckfield Parish Council, Christmas Street Festival 2025) (Cuckfield Parish Council, December 2024)

Not on this list

Borde Hill near Haywards Heath has no Christmas market in its 2026 events listing. Its Christmas offer is a trail and Santa’s grotto from 5 December, covered on our Santa’s grotto page, plus wreath-making workshops. Listings sites still advertise a Borde Hill market on “11 and 12 December”, which matched a Saturday and Sunday in 2021, not this year.

Parking and getting there

Ardingly’s showground has free parking. Everywhere else uses Mid Sussex District Council’s pay and display car parks, with the exception that every East Grinstead car park is free from 10am on switch-on day, Saturday 21 November. Our Mid Sussex parking page has the car parks and charges by town, and the roadworks and travel page carries any road closures once they are published.