OXFORD University’s Botanic Garden is set to hold its first ever Christmas Fair.

The Oxford Botanic Garden will install a heated marquee to usher in the festive season and feature music a range of bands.

There will also be mulled wine, cider, beer, coffee and hot chocolate; homemade mince pies and other seasonal sweets; and a wide range of stalls selling gifts.

Visitors can also stroll around parts of Britain’s oldest Botanic Garden during the Fair which includes trees and medicinal plants, and a sculpture of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland sitting in an ancient Mulberry tree.

Professor Simon Hiscock, director of the Oxford Botanic Garden said: "The idea behind the Christmas Fair is to encourage people to visit who have never been to the Garden before.

"Many people do not even know we have a botanic garden here in the centre of Oxford.

"So by holding events like this, and offering local businesses the chance to hire the Garden for evening events, we hope to bring ourselves closer to the community."

The Christmas Fair will run from 10am to 8pm on Saturday December 3, and 10am to 4pm on Sunday December 4.

Admission is £5 for adults, £3.50 for concessions, and free for accompanied children under 16.

The Garden will celebrate its 400th anniversary in 2021, and in the build-up to the anniversary it is highlighting one plant of scientific or cultural significance a week for 400 weeks.