Wokingham Christmas Lights On 29 Nov, Woodley 28 Nov

Two switch-ons in the borough are confirmed for 2026, and they fall on consecutive days. Woodley turns its lights on Saturday 28 November, Wokingham town centre follows on Sunday 29 November. Both dates come from the organisers themselves, not from listings sites.

Twyford and Winnersh have not published 2026 dates yet. Twyford’s was on the first Friday of December last year and Winnersh’s on the last Saturday of November, and both sets of 2025 details are below so you know when to look.

Wokingham: the lights go on at the Winter Carnival

Wokingham does not hold a separate switch-on. It is the finale of the Winter Carnival, run by Wokingham Lions Club in the town centre on Sunday 29 November 2026, 10.30am to 5.30pm, with the town closed to traffic all day.

The Lions have not published a 2026 running order. In their official 2025 programme, the end of the day looked like this (Winter Carnival 2025 programme, PDF):

• 4.15pm, Santa, the Mayor and the Mini Mayor lead the countdown to the switch-on, on the main stage in Market Place
• 4.35pm, Community Carols with St Sebastian Wokingham Brass Band and the Wokingham Singers
• 5.00pm, laser show in Market Place as the finale
• 5.30pm, fairground rides close

Press coverage last year put the switch-on at 4.30pm rather than 4.15pm. We have used the Lions’ printed programme, which is the first-party document, and it carries its own caveat that the timetable can change on the day.

Practical point: there is no free parking. The council withdrew it for the carnival and for the Woodley events from 2025, and every council car park in the borough charges on Sundays. See parking in Wokingham for the full tariff and the car parks nearest Market Place.

Woodley: carols first, then the lever

Woodley Town Council has its Christmas Carol Concert and Lights Switch On on Saturday 28 November 2026 in the town centre. The council calls it “the official start to the countdown to Christmas in Woodley” and says the Town Mayor, alongside special guests, switches on the lights. No start time has been published for 2026, and the listing gives an email contact for town centre manager Brian Fennelly rather than a programme (Woodley Town Council).

For a sense of the shape of the evening, the event has run the same way for years. In 2022 residents were told to “gather around the Centre Stage area from 4.30pm to enjoy an hour of carol singing and festive refreshments” (Wokingham.Today, 24 November 2022). In 2023 the concert was held in the Crockhamwell Road precinct, opened by the town mayor, with a countdown introduced by Brian Fennelly and the lever pulled by the winners of the winter extravaganza poster competition, three local children. Carols were led by the Sainsbury Singers and Woodley Concert Band, and refreshments were served by JAC and the Woodley and Earley Lions (Wokingham.Today, 26 November 2023). That year the lights themselves were brand new.

Entry has been free in past years.

Woodley Christmas Extravaganza, Sunday 6 December

A week and a day after the switch-on, Woodley holds its Christmas Extravaganza, which the town council confirms for Sunday 6 December 2026 in the town centre. It promises festive stalls, activities and a likely appearance from Father Christmas, and it is also organised by the town centre manager (Woodley Town Council).

Again no 2026 times. It has run 10am to 3pm in past years, with stalls opening at 10am and an official opening at 11am, entertainment from local groups, and Santa in his sleigh for a set window in the middle of the day. In 2022 he was near the NatWest from 11.30am to 2.30pm and entry to both Woodley events was free.

One warning: coverage of these events points readers to woodleytowncentre.co.uk. That site now returns a 404. Use the town council’s own events pages instead.

Twyford and Winnersh: last year’s dates, no 2026 announcement

Twyford Together switched on the Tree of Christmas Wishes at Bell Corner on Friday 5 December 2025, 5.30pm to 6pm, and its page still shows that date rather than a 2026 one (Twyford Together). Wokingham MP Clive Jones did the honours, the tree was decorated with ornaments made by children at The Colleton Primary, Charvil Piggott and Polehampton Junior schools, and the switch-on ran straight into Twyford Together’s Christmas Fayre. The council closed London Road from the crossroads to Jubilee Corner that evening for it (Wokingham Borough Council, 6 November 2025).

Winnersh Parish Council combines its switch-on with a Christmas Craft and Gift Market at Winnersh Community Centre. In 2025 that was Saturday 29 November, 4pm to 7pm, with free mulled wine and mince pies, hot dogs from the 1st Winnersh Scouts, carols from Bearwood and Winnersh primary schools, close-up magic and free children’s crafts (Winnersh Parish Council). The 2026 listing is not up yet.

Both usually confirm in late October or early November. We will add their dates here as soon as they publish.

Free buses, maybe

Since the council stopped suspending parking charges, free bus travel has been its festive offer. In 2025 it made single fares free on all local bus journeys starting in the borough on Sunday 30 November for the Winter Carnival and on the weekends of 6/7, 13/14 and 20/21 December, and said the offer still applied if you travelled outside the borough although the return might not (Wokingham.Today, 14 November 2025).

Nothing has been announced for 2026, and the funding has come from a Department for Transport grant each year rather than from the council’s own budget, so it is not automatic. We will update when the decision is published.

Before you set out

• Parking in Wokingham for tariffs, space counts and which car parks are free
• Roadworks and travel for closures on the approaches
• Wokingham Winter Carnival for the full carnival day
• Wokingham fireworks for 7 November, three weeks earlier