The tiny UK hamlet named after Christmas – with the country’s best Xmas tree grower & the ‘Church of Nativity’
IF Santa was planning a relaxing mini break in Britain, Christmas Common would surely be top of the list.
Set in Watlington in Oxfordshire, the hamlet attracts visitors every December thanks to its festive name.
It helps that it’s also home to one of the country’s best Christmas tree growers and has a particularly Christmassy-sounding church.
It’s not sure how the hamlet got its name, but according to BBC’s Countryfile, there are three possible reasons.
It could be that the hamlet was named after a local family who had the surname Christmas, or perhaps it was named after a Christmas Day truce that was declared during the English Civil War, in 1643.
But Christmas Common could also have been named after the holly trees that previously grew in the hamlet and its surrounding areas.
While only a handful of residents live in Christmas Common, the hamlet’s population has leaned into its festive name.
The tiny hamlet is home to Tree Barn – a family-owned business that grows Christmas trees.
Tree Barn has been crowned the winner of the Best Tree three times by the British Christmas Tree Growers Association.
The small business also supplied the outside tree to Number 10 Downing Street in 2011, 2013, and 2015.
In addition to selling award-winning Christmas trees, Tree Barn also sells items like wreaths, stockings, stocking fillers, and other festive decorations.
But this isn’t the hamlet’s only festive claim to fame, because it’s also home to the “Church of the Nativity”.
Designed by the architect Walter Cave, the church was built in 1889, to save local residents from walking two miles to the parish church in Watlington.
But the property is now a private residence, and no longer open to members of the public.
Other activities in Christmas Common include a hike up Watlington Hill – a National Trust site with countryside views.
There are also several nearby walking routes, including the Oxfordshire Way, the Chiltern Way, and the Icknield Way.
For those visitors who’ve built up an appetite while walking, then there’s also the Fox and Hounds.
The historic country pub is 500 years old and serves up a range of pub classics, including sausage and mash, pies, and burgers.
The easiest way to reach Christmas Common is in the car because the town has limited public transport links.
Christmas Common is a 40-minute drive from Oxford, and it’s a 30-minute drive from Reading.
While there aren’t any hotels in the tiny hamlet, there are other accommodation options down the road.
One of those is The Fat Fox Inn in Watlington, a local bed and breakfast, where a room costs £117 per night, based on two people sharing a room.
And this isn’t the only place that has strong Christmas ties, an abandoned village in Ireland is said to be the burial place of Father Christmas.
Jerpoint Park, which is now a working farm and heritage site, is home to 27 buildings including an old courthouse, a woolen mill, and a brewery.
Meanwhile, tickets for London’s Winter Wonderland have already gone on sale too.
The winter attraction will run for six weeks in the capital’s Hyde Park, with a variety of attractions, activities, entertainment, food, and drinks on offer.
The attraction will be open from November 17, 2023, until January 1, 2024.
Here’s the record-breaking new children’s attraction where it’s Christmas all year round.