Every year, the three floors of Doddington Hall are brought to life with a special display for the festive season. The theme for 2023 is the Twelve Days of Christmas, which brings together a series of seasonal scenes created through a collaboration between the hall’s creative team, artists, volunteers and students. We went along to see the decorations, and in this article we take a peek inside to give you a flavour of what you can expect.
Doddington Hall: a quick background
Doddington Hall is a spectacular Elizabethan Hall in the village of Doddington, just 5 miles outside Lincoln. The hall has been a family home for over 400 years and is set within a beautifully kept estate.
The grounds of Doddington Hall feature five acres of gardens, a farm shop, café, restaurant, and shops. It makes for a great day out at any time of year.
We love Doddington Hall in spring and summer for the scenic walks around the estate and nearby; it’s also close to Skellingthorpe Woods, which is one of our favourite walks in Lincoln. But winter as an especially magical time at Doddington, as you can count on the family and team at the hall to create something fresh and imaginative to animate the Christmas season.
Here’s a little look at what they’ve been busy preparing for 2023.
Twelve Days of Christmas at Doddington Hall
You’re probably familiar with the classic Christmas carol The Twelve Days of Christmas. The decorations at Doddington Hall provide an heart-warming take on it with a series of scenes in various rooms across the three floors of the building.
These scenes have been created as part of a collaborative effort between a talented team of creators who work at the hall, along with local artists, volunteers and Lincoln College students.
The interior of Doddington Hall has seen a lot of history. The creators of the Twelve Days of Christmas scenes have taken great care to recreate the Christmas atmosphere as it has been felt between these walls over the centuries.
There’s also a focus on sustainability, with many of the materials used in the displays taken from natural features around the grounds or repurposed from other uses.
When can you visit the decorated hall?
The Twelve Days of Christmas is open as follows:
- 18 November to 17 December: Wednesday to Sunday, 11am–4pm on weekdays and 10am–4pm on weekends
- 18–22 December: daily, 11am–5pm
You need to book a timed slot in advance. Tickets cost £15 for adults, £8.50 for children, or £40 for families.
A glimpse at the imaginative decorations
Let’s take a little snapshot of some of the scenes you will find across the hall’s three floors.
The trail begins in the dining room on the ground floor of the hall, where you will first step inside the dining room. A long table is laid out for Christmas dinner with lords a-leaping all around, and a huge, twinkling tree at one end of the room…
The ground floor living room is glowing with a cosy Christmas warmth…
Even the stairways and hallways are full of enchanting charm. Look out for musical staircases, and penguins and snowmen beneath frosty mountains…
On the first floor you can wander inside two bedrooms with resplendent four-poster beds, surrounded with festive decor. There’s a mesmerising aura around the twirling dancing ladies…
Continue to the top floor, where turtle doves are nesting cosily, and drummers drumming along a magnificent hallway of fir trees…
…and there’s plenty more to see, including a partridge in a glowing pear tree, and an array of festive delights outside in the Bauble Barn.
Holiday cottages at Doddington Hall
If you want to make a whole weekend of your festive experience at Doddington, you can book to stay stay in one of the holiday cottages on the estate.
A stay at one of these cottages includes complementary tickets to the Twelve Days of Christmas! There’s a dog-friendly cottage available as well.
Getting to Doddington Hall
Doddington is easy to reach by road from Lincoln. Come off the A46 onto the B1190, and follow it all the way into the village. The hall is just set back from the main road, and there is free parking for visitors in a large car park, which you can’t miss.
Book your tickets for the Twelve Days of Christmas here.
Has this inspired you to get into the festive spirit in Lincoln? Find more ideas in our rundown of fun things to do in Lincoln in December.
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