Hellfire Caves' grotto opens 22 November, £20 a child; Chinnor's Santa steam trains run from 28 November at £24.50; Odds Farm from £35, SEN dates set.

Three places near High Wycombe have already put their 2026 Santa visits on sale: a steam train from Princes Risborough station, a grotto inside the Hellfire Caves at West Wycombe, and the Christmas Cracker at Odds Farm Park. All three price by date.

The quick answer

Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway Santa Steam Specials: 28 and 29 November, then December weekends and 22 and 23 December; £24.50 in November, £29.50 in December, adults and children alike, from Princes Risborough Platform 4 (Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway). Odds Farm Christmas Cracker: selected dates 27 November to 24 December, from £35 (Odds Farm Park). Hellfire Caves grotto: 22 November to Christmas Eve, £20 to £24.50 a child, £10 an adult (Hellfire Caves).

Updated 27 October: the Hellfire Caves have published the full grotto timetable, opening Sunday 22 November, and an adult price; Odds Farm has named its five SEN-only dates.

Santa Steam Specials from Princes Risborough

The Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway runs its Santa trains from Princes Risborough station, Platform 4 (sat nav HP27 9DN) to “Santa’s Enchanted Workshop and Grotto” at Chinnor, which the railway calls the North Pole station. The railway says it is holding prices at 2025 levels this year (Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway).

Dates Price per person (adult, senior or child 1 to 12)
Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November £24.50 (early season, £5 off)
Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December £29.50
Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December £29.50
Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 December £29.50
Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 December £29.50
  • Departures: 10.30, 12.30 and 14.30 on every date. The round trip takes about 1 hour 35 minutes.
  • Included: the steam train ride, a visit to Santa, and a mince pie or biscuit with tea, coffee, hot chocolate or a Fruit Shoot, served at Chinnor. Each child ticket (1 to 12 years) includes a present. Babes in arms under one need no ticket and still get a small gift. Teenagers and adults get no present.
  • Face painting for 3 to 11 year olds while the train is at Chinnor.
  • Seating: allocated, at tables of four; a booking that is not a multiple of four may share a table.
  • Buggies cannot go on the train; leave them on Platform 4 or in the car.
  • Wheelchairs: one space only, in a separate area, for one wheelchair user and one carer.
  • Dogs: small dogs on a short lead are allowed on the train but not in the grotto.
  • Parking: Chiltern Railways’ pay and display at Princes Risborough station.
  • The railway may swap in a diesel locomotive if a steam engine is unavailable.

Bookings: 07979 055366, 10am to 4pm, or bookings@chinnorrailway.co.uk; the volunteer back office asks for 48 hours to reply. After Christmas the railway runs “Winter Warmers” trains on 27 and 28 December and 1 and 2 January.

Christmas Cracker at Odds Farm Park, Wooburn Common

Odds Farm Park runs its Christmas Cracker on selected dates from 27 November to 24 December 2026, with booking slots from 8.45am to 6pm. Every ticket includes a full day at the farm park (Odds Farm Park).

  • Price: standard tickets from £35; member tickets from £22.
  • What a child gets: a private family visit with Santa in the grotto, a cuddly bear to make and take home, and a free toy chosen from Santa’s Toy Shop.
  • Shows: Christmas character shows in the Show Barn, illuminated tree shows and the farm’s “A Cappella Penguins”.
  • SEN-only sessions run on 28 November and 6, 11, 13 and 16 December. Families with additional needs can also come on any other date; on SEN dates the rest of the farm park stays open to other visitors.
  • Prize draw: tickets booked before midnight on 31 October 2026 are entered into a draw for £500 towards Christmas.

The farm park is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and open on the Tuesdays of the Christmas holidays (opening times).

Santa’s Grotto in the Hellfire Caves, West Wycombe

The Hellfire Caves close to general visitors in the run-up to Christmas and turn the tunnels into a Santa’s Grotto: an elf-led trail through the caverns, a Grinch to watch out for, a present from Father Christmas for each child, and photo booth photos (Hellfire Caves).

  • Dates and times:
  • 22, 28 and 29 November, 10am to 4pm
  • 5, 6, 12 and 13 December, 9am to 5pm
  • 8 to 12 and 15 to 19 December, 3.30pm to 7.30pm
  • 20 to 23 December, 9am to 5pm
  • Christmas Eve, 9am to 1pm
  • Price: children of all ages £20 to £24.50 depending on the date, including the gift; adults £10.
  • Tickets are non-refundable; exchanges for another date may be possible.
  • The caves are not suitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs, and pushchair parking is provided (visiting).

The first grotto day is Sunday 22 November, as the Christmas page has said all along; it now lists that date in its timetable too. General admission reopens from 27 December to 3 January, 10am to 4pm daily.

New in the town centre: Tiny Twinkle Town at Eden

Updated 13 October: Eden has announced a new Christmas attraction for young children.

Not a grotto, but the one new thing for small children in High Wycombe itself this Christmas. Eden is opening Tiny Twinkle Town, a miniature pretend-play town for children aged one to eight, with a toy department store, a beauty parlour, a fashion house, a café and “reindeer parking” for ride-on reindeer, plus some of the town’s “festive residents” (Eden).

  • Dates: weekends from Saturday 28 November, then daily from Monday 21 December to Christmas Eve.
  • Sessions: 30 minutes, at 11am, 11.45am, 12.30pm, 1.45pm, 2.30pm and 3.15pm. Arrive 10 minutes early; latecomers are not let in.
  • SEN sessions: every Sunday at 11am.
  • Price: £5 plus booking fees, with all ticket money going to Heart of Bucks’ together against poverty campaign. Booking is required.
  • Where: first floor, near Boots, with the entrance opposite K1 Barbers; there are stairs and a lift.

Wycombe Museum also has a Santa’s grotto at its Christmas Craft Fayre on Sunday 22 November, 11am to 4pm, at £3.50 a child; entry to the fayre is free (Wycombe Museum).

Still to be confirmed

  • Odds Farm’s exact Christmas Cracker dates: the farm lists “selected dates” from 27 November; the ticket site shows which are bookable.
  • Sell-outs. Chinnor’s booking page still offered a booking link for every departure on 27 October. We will note it here when the weekend slots go.

Also on Wycombe Today: Peter Pan at the Wycombe Swan, the Christmas lights switch-on, Hughenden at Christmas and Christmas trains and travel.