Short answer: Lostwithiel's Dickensian Evening is on Thursday 10 December 2026, from 6pm to 10pm. The town dresses up in Victorian costume, the shops stay open late, and the streets fill with stalls and music. Lostwithiel has a main-line station in the town, so the train is the easiest way in.
Once a year, Lostwithiel, Cornwall's old stannary town on the River Fowey, goes back to the 1800s for a night. Shopkeepers and townspeople dress up in Victorian costume, the streets fill with stalls, music and food, and the whole town feels like a Christmas card.
Thursday 10 December 2026, 6pm to 10pm. It's free to wander.
By train. Lostwithiel railway station is on the main line between Plymouth and Penzance, a short walk from the centre, and it saves you the hunt for a parking space on a busy night. If you drive, arrive before 6pm.
Yes: early evening, free and walkable. Bring layers, because it's an outdoor event in December.
Fowey is fifteen minutes away and has its own Christmas market weekend; see Fowey at Christmas. Restormel Castle is just outside Lostwithiel.
More: Cornwall's Christmas markets · what's on in Cornwall in December.
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