What's on this weekend in the UK: November 27-29

Weather forecast

Winter has well and truly arrived. Temperatures across the UK will linger around the high single figures for much of the weekend, while most of the country - especially in the north and west - will see rain on Saturday morning. After those showers, the majority of the UK will be dry but overcast for the weekend, with a little more rain expeced in the northwest on Sunday.

1. Kick start the festive season

With less than a month to go until Christmas, the festive season kicks into action in earnest this weekend with Christmas markets and attractions opening around the country. Of note is the Ultimate Christmas Fair in Liverpool for this weekend only, featuring scores of retailers, a wintry food market as well as gospel singers and carols. For more information visit theultimatechristmasfair.co.uk. London’s alternative Christmas park, Winterville (winterville.co.uk), also opens this weekend in Victoria Park, featuring an outdoor cinema (book in advance), ice rink, circus and crazy golf. Christmas markets are also opening in Bath, St Albans and Lincoln, to name a few.

2. Get your skates on

The ice rink in Brighton, by the Royal Pavilion  Photo: Getty

Elsewhere, Santa’s Grotto at the Bolton Winter Festival opens, along with the city’s ice rink at Victoria Square, complete with a second rink for children and the opportunity to try your hand at curling. For the best and most convenient ice rinks for you across the UK, check out our guide to Britain’s best – including the one at the Brighton Pavilion, as above - and London’s best.

3. Take the kids to Lapland (UK)

For a more full-on Christmas experience, sleigh bells and whistles included, this immersive theatrical day out offers both spectacle and hands-on fun, plus a personal visit to Father Christmas at the end. First comes a tour by his costumed “elves” through a beautifully constructed version of Lapland (in a forest near Ascot, Berkshire; laplanduk.co.uk). This includes a spell in the elves’ workshop to help make toys, and a visit to Mother Christmas’s pantry, where the children are given gingerbread to decorate.

A truly magical experience @LaplandUK #Christmas pic.twitter.com/Ujl6q6Utga

— Anaiza (@AnaizaFurniture) November 25, 2015

The elves stay in character and maintain the theatre throughout, encouraging participation from the young “helpers” (your kids) who have come to assist with Father Christmas’s preparations. There’s also an Elf Village complete with ice skating, festive food and drink, and huskie dogs to stroke, plus reindeer to meet and magical snowy woodland paths leading between each part.

• Plan a trip to the real Lapland

3. Celebrate Churchill

Blenheim Palace, where Churchill will be remembered this weekend  Photo: Fotolia/AP

Finally, something detached from the festive season. This weekend, Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire will be hosting a commemoration of Sir Winston Churchill, to mark his birthday. There will be a Churchill impersonator, as well as the chance to explore the Churchill Exhibition in the stately home, and enjoy a special Churchill Afternoon Tea.

Or visit another of Britain's many excellent and fascinating stately homes - these are the best.

4. Practise your espionage

To mark the release of Steven Spielberg’s new film, Bridge of Spies, described as a “mature and classically handsome thriller, swirling with novelistic intrigue” by Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin, you could just head to the cinema. Instead, you could conduct your own tour of London’s spy sites, including numerous buildings once used by MI5 and MI6, and the haunts of a number of spies, both friend and faux. Or, if you have a little more time on your hands, why not travel to Berlin to see the real Bridge of Spies.

A memorial service on Glienicker Bridge  Photo: GETTY

5. See behind the fourth wall

In Eastbourne, award-winning set and costume designer John Napier will present his first major exhibition at the Towner Art Gallery. ‘Stages, Beyond the Fourth Wall’ opens on Sunday and will include set and costumes from Napier’s work on Equus, Cats, Starlight Express and Les Miserables, alongside some of his artwork. For more information visit here.

6. Mark Thanksgiving

Starting today, Plymouth will mark Thanksgiving by celebrating its special relationship with America, born when the Mayflower set sail from the city in 1620 in search of the New World. There will be speeches, a choral performance and the switching on of the new illuminations of the Mayflower Steps. There will be a parade of lanterns this evening led by Plymouth City Pipe Band, ending with a service at the Minister Church of St Andrew.

#Illuminate Event TODAY. FREE, Join us and 'share the light' https://t.co/ENBR8jOBAA pic.twitter.com/BL7xZVIHOr

— Mayflower 400 UK (@mayflower400uk) November 26, 2015

See here for our guide to how and where to celebrate Thanksgiving in London - or in your kitchen with our sample menu (warning: it's a lot of food).

7. Follow Alice down the rabbit hole

This week marks 150 years since the first publication of Lewis Carroll’s surreal tale of adventure, Alice in Wonderland. There are several ways to join in the celebration – read the book (always advisable), or visit Oxford, where Alice Liddell, the book’s inspiration, grew up and Carroll – aka Charles Lutwidge Dodgson – studied and taught at Christ Church college for half a century. Or indeed head to Whitby or Llandudno, both towns with various associations with the author. For guidance and more places associated with Alice, see our guide and feature on the book’s 150th birthday.

8. Splurge on sushi and sake

This was deliberately not included in a round up of the other Christmas goings-on because, frankly, it deserves its own spot. The Hyper Japan Christmas Market at Tobacco in London is as much as a celebration of the festive season as it is a celebration of all things Japanese. Between shopping, classical dance, traditional Japanese handicrafts, sushi workshops, flower arrangement classes and the 2015 Sushi Awards, there’s more than enough to satisfy those with an interest in the country and its culture. There is also a hot dog eating challenge and the Sake Cocktail Awards. Phew.

9. Explore artists' studios in Brighton

A photo posted by Artists Open Houses (@artistsopenhouses) on Nov 22, 2015 at 7:55am PST

Brighton kicks off the festive season in a less than usual manner, with an Artists Open Houses Christmas Festival. Jewellers, sculptors, painters and more from around the seaside resort will allow the public into their studios, workshops and homes to see what goes on behind the canvas. Visitors will also have the opportunity to purchase works, including, of course, hand-made Christmas cards, wreaths, tree decorations and other gifts. Be sure to check the details of openings of the various locations at aoh.org.uk.

10. Support British tennis in its first ever Davis Cup final

The final of the Davis Cup this weekend – Britain’s first ever appearance in the tennis competition's crescendo – is historic for that reason alone. However, this year’s final, versus Belgium, will take on an extra edge as it’s played in Ghent, Belgium, a nation currently on high alert of a terrorist attack. The matches – five in total – will hopefully show the bonding and healing power of sport once more. Coverage will be across the BBC and Eurosport.

Andy Murray in practise for this weekend's Davis Cup Final  Photo: Getty

Here's everything you need to know.

11. Watch a classic

Dr Zhivago, the classic, five Oscar-winning, historical romance is re-released by the BFI this weekend to mark its 50th anniversary. Friday’s screening at the BFI is followed by a Q&A sessions with actress Rita Tushingham. For more information, visit bfi.org.uk.

12. See Matisse in Liverpool

An exhibition of Henri Matisse's cut-out art at Tate Modern in London last year was the most successful in the gallery's history, attracting a record 562,622 visitors. Organisers will be hoping for a similar level of enthusiasm for Tate Liverpool's new exhibition, Works to Know by Heart: Matisse in Focus, which opened last week. More than 50 years' worth of his creations will be represented and it will be the only chance to see The Snail outside London as, due to the delicate nature of the work, it is unlikely to leave the capital again.

The Snail by Matisse  Photo: TATE