A very special guest from the North Pole arrived at Cogges Manor Farm when spellbound children met Father Christmas and his elves in Santa’s workshop.

Christmas is now in full swing on the Witney farm with the goats meeting visitors in their festive antlers during the opening weekend.

Rooms in the Manor House have been decorated with a panto theme.

Children can try on a fancy hat at the Mad Hatter’s tea party, or imagine flying through the air on a magic carpet, step into the land of the Lost Boys, and marvel at Captain Hook’s treasure chest.

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A Christmas robin leads the way on a wintry trail around the farm, and there is baking on the range in the Manor kitchen.

The farm is hosting crafts workshops from cardmaking to peg doll angels for the Christmas tree and there's a chance to visit the stable and meet the ponies, goats, ducks and hens, guinea pigs and farm cats. 

As dusk approaches, the Festive Light Trail brings magic to the grounds, and visitors can keep warm with mulled wine tastings and mince pies in the Manor Kitchen. 

Autumn Neagle, from Cogges, said: “It’s been a fantastic start to the festive season, with over 50 stalls and around 3,000 visitors attending the Christmas Market fundraiser for Cogges despite the cold weather on Sunday.

"The raffle raised a further £600, with amazing prizes donated by the stall holders, local businesses and a fabulous knitted version of Cogges, complete with animals and a scarecrow, all hand made by the volunteers."

She added: "Cogges is the most perfectly magical place at this time of year, you can only imagine the Christmas festivities here over the centuries.

"When I see children meeting Santa for the first time in this special place, it reminds me of why this time of year is so special."

Cogges Kitchen Café is open throughout December and a pop up Christmas Shop sells gifts, decorations and stocking fillers.

Cogges is managed by a charity and relies on the help of volunteers and a small team.

General manager Guy Reed said: “I’m so thankful to our visitors, team and hundreds of volunteers who continue to support this special place every day.

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"I came on board earlier this year, and the most important task was to deliver a fantastic events programme and re-establish Cogges as an exciting venue for all the family."

"We went into this year knowing that the scale of the challenge we faced was immense, we are a small organisation competing against much larger venues with deeper pockets and greater resources to pull upon.

"However, despite this and cost of living pressures on families, we are in a much better position than we were last year.

"Next year I am confident that we can continue to build on these successes and continue to evolve."

Christmas at Cogges: weekend 9&10, daily 15-23 December

DAYTIME (10-3pm, last entry 1pm) 
LATER, with Festive Light Trail (4-7pm, last entry 6pm). 

https://www.cogges.org.uk/Event/christmas-cogges