London’s only marina switches on its Christmas lights for free on Thursday 19 November, with Santa, the Yeomen Warders and a Victorian-style market on Marble Quay from 7 November.
Most Christmas light switch-ons follow the same script: a local celebrity, a big red button and a crowd stamping their feet in the cold. St Katharine Docks does it differently. London’s only marina has jazz, a festive singalong, the Yeomen Warders of the Tower of London and Santa, all next to a basin full of yachts. Best of all, it’s completely free, on Thursday 19 November.
How the night plays out
Things kick off at 5pm. The waterside favourites will be serving hot food and drinks, and the band from St Kat’s Jazz Sessions will be playing live Christmas music, so the singalong should sound better than most. At 5.45pm the Yeomen Warders stroll over from the Tower next door and bring some royal pageantry to the quayside. Santa arrives at 6.45pm to greet families, give out gifts and pose for Christmas photos.
Then comes the main event. At 7pm, Santa joins the Yeomen Warders and estate representatives for the countdown to the Grand Christmas Light Switch-On. The marina’s maritime-inspired lights come on, the Christmas tree outside the Dickens Inn lights up with them, and a musical finale closes the night. A Beefeater and Father Christmas counting down together is about as London as Christmas gets.
A Victorian market on Marble Quay
If you can’t make the 19th, you’ve got weeks to soak up the atmosphere anyway. The Victorian-inspired Christmas Market is back in a new spot on Marble Quay, running from 7 November to 3 January. It’s open daily from 11am to 8pm, and entry is free.
The stalls sell hand-crafted Christmas decorations, classic British foodie favourites and the kind of unique gifts that save you from a last-minute panic on the high street. There’s also a sprinkling of snow whatever the weather, which in a London December is something of a minor miracle.
Stay for dinner
If a market snack won’t do, the dock’s waterside restaurants and bars are serving seasonal menus. You can grab a blanket, settle in and eat while looking out over the water and the yachts. The setting helps too: the dock was designed by Thomas Telford in the 1820s, so the history and the nautical charm come with your mulled wine. For more ideas, see our guide to celebrating the festive season at St Katharine Docks.
Put Thursday 19 November in the diary and get there for 5pm to grab a good spot before the countdown. Opening times and the full events calendar are on the St Katharine Docks visitor page, and the marina posts updates on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
