6 winter dates in Britain and Ireland you can't move

Winter in Britain and Ireland runs on dates. Miss one and you wait a year ❄️ No. 2 is my favourite: nothing else in a British winter looks like a sky full of starlings. 1️⃣ Newgrange, Ireland: the solstice sunrise lights the tomb's chamber on 19 to 23 December. Entry is by a lottery drawn each autumn, so plan for 2027 2️⃣ The starlings (pictured: Gretna): November to February, at dusk. Ham Wall in Somerset runs a hotline, 07866 554142, and wants you there by 14:00 3️⃣ Bath Christmas Market: 26 November to 13 December, in the centre around the Abbey 4️⃣ Belfast Christmas Market at City Hall: 14 November to 22 December, free to walk in 5️⃣ Edinburgh: Christmas from 14 November to 3 January, then the Hogmanay street party on 31 December, age 12 and up. Tickets rise in price as they sell 6️⃣ Inverness on 21 December: about six and a half hours of daylight, with sunset around half past three. London gets nearly eight Before you go: Newgrange needs pre-booking for everyone, babies included, and is closed 24 to 27 December and 1 January. Edinburgh Castle is shut on the 25th and 26th. And Skellig Michael has no landings until the boats return in May. 👉 Swipe for all six, and what's shut on the days you'd go. Save this for your trip and send it to who you'd go with. Which one would you build a trip around? 👇 📷 Adrien Olichon, Roan Lavery, Bradley Pritchard Jones, K. Mitch Hodge, Chris Flexen / Unsplash · caroline legg / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0