The Bishop's Palace and Gardens in Wells will once again be providing visitors with the chance to celebrate the magic of the Christmas season with festive events, outdoor Illuminations, festive workshops, Father and Mother Christmas, music and food throughout the month of December.

The rooms of the medieval Palace building will be decked out in their Christmas finery with seasonal foliage from the Palace Gardens creating stunning adornments to complement the historic interiors. Visitors will enter the Entrance Hall with its roaring fire and explore the rooms of the Palace, which will also include the return of the popular local Schools Eco-Exhibition.

Outside visitors can explore the magical inner gardens which will be illuminated with festive decorations and Christmas Illuminations during special late night openings, including 1st (Member's Only), 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th December. The Illuminations begin at 3.30pm on the late opening evenings and last entry will be 6.30pm, with the inner gardens open until 7.00pm.

The Bishop's Table café will be serving its festive menu and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings Denela's Bakery will also be tempting visitors with their delicious hog roast!

Father and Mother Christmas will be returning to meet local families (very limited tickets available).

Storytellers will also be sprinkling some Christmas magic with tales of Christmas past on 11th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st December (11.00am & 1.30pm). Great for big and little kids alike, no booking is required.

On 10th and 17th December (11am, 12.30pm and 3pm) Wells Theatre Company will perform an epic reading of the classic Dickensian tale "A Christmas Carol" within the atmospheric Undercroft. Again, no booking is required.

The 'Swing into Christmas' concert on Saturday December 3rd (7.30pm) welcomes the popular John Prescott back to the Palace. John and the Capitol Band will perform a wide repertoire of songs from the great American songbook, the perfect way to kick off December and get into the Christmas cheer. Tickets are £17.50 for the 90 minute concert (including interval) and available via the Palace's website.

And creative types may be tempted by two festive workshops – wreathmaking on Saturday 3rd December (10am-1pm or 2pm-5pm) and candle making on Sunday 11th December (11am-2pm).

Entrance to all events and activities (excluding the concert and workshops) is included with any standard admission to The Bishop's Palace which allows for 12 months of return visits on any normal sightseeing day. More details at www.bishopspalace.org.uk