Carlton Towers Christmas House Tour & Cream Tea

Carlton Towers opens its doors for a Christmas house tour on Thursday 3 December, from 10:00am to 12:00pm. It's one of those mornings where you get to see the estate dressed for the season, with the state rooms filled with towering Christmas trees and seasonal decorations alongside the house's usual centuries of history.

The tour is guided, so you're not just wandering through on your own. You'll be taken through the State Rooms, the elegant Picture Gallery, the historic Armoury, and the house's Priest's Hiding Hole—all of them decorated for Christmas. Once the walk is done, you sit down to a festive cream tea.

If you're after something a bit more substantial, the estate also runs a Festive High Tea. That's a traditional British sitting with festive finger sandwiches, warm scones with clotted cream and preserves, homemade cakes and sweet treats, savoury pastries, freshly brewed tea or coffee, and a complimentary glass of Carlton Towers Sparkling Wine. It's a separate thing from the tour, so you can pick the one that fits your morning.

The Christmas house tour runs from 10:00am to 12:00pm on 3 December at Carlton Towers Estate in York, and it costs £29.50 per person.