Free Christmas Parking 2026: Council Dates in Rugby, Royston, Cheltenham and More

Rugby Borough Council lists 14 free parking days in its town-centre car parks, starting on Saturday 21 November 2026, and four other councils have posted dates of their own. North Hertfordshire District Council makes Royston’s council car parks free from 8am on 23 November to 6pm on 24 December. Cheltenham, Lyme Regis and Folkestone & Hythe have shorter lists. A printable keeps every free date for the five towns in one grid, and the table below gives the rules and exclusions from each council’s own page, read on 6 November 2026.

Free Christmas parking dates by town

Town	Council	Free dates	Hours	Where	Catch
Rugby	Rugby Borough Council	Weekends 21-22 Nov, 28-29 Nov, 5-6 Dec, 12-13 Dec, 19-20 Dec; then Mon 21 to Thu 24 Dec (14 days)	All day	Ten council car parks: North Street, Little Church Street, Railway Terrace, Old Market Place, John Barford, Newbold Road, Town Hall/Evreux Way, Gas Street, Chestnut Fields, Westway	Not private car parks or Warwickshire County Council on-street parking
Royston	North Hertfordshire District Council	Mon 23 Nov to Thu 24 Dec	From 8am on 23 Nov to 6pm on 24 Dec	Angel Pavement, Market Place, Priory Gardens, The Warren, Civic Centre and the on-street charging bays in Market Hill	The current 2026/27 tariffs resume after the subsidy period ends
Cheltenham	Cheltenham Borough Council	Thu 3 Dec and Thu 10 Dec	From 3pm	Chelt Walk, St James Street, Rodney Road, High Street, Town Centre East, Royal Well, Sherborne Place, Bath Parade	Not the Regent Arcade car park; Town Centre East closes at 8pm
Lyme Regis	Lyme Regis Town Council	Sun 8 Nov, Sat 21 Nov, Sat 12 Dec, Sun 13 Dec, Thu 24 Dec	No times given	Dorset Council car parks and the Woodmead car park	Sun 13 Dec is Woodmead only; Monmouth/Cabanya car park is excluded
Folkestone, Hythe and Romney Marsh	Folkestone & Hythe District Council	Sat 5, 12 and 19 Dec	No times given; check the signs	Council car parks, and on-street pay-and-display bays are waived	Controlled parking and limited waiting (free) restrictions still apply; terms apply

Which towns are free on each date?

Computed from the table above, with weekdays checked against the 2026 calendar. Royston is free throughout 23 November to 24 December, so it is on every row from 23 November; on any day not listed below it is the only one of the five.

Date	Free in
Sun 8 Nov	Lyme Regis (Remembrance Sunday)
Sat 21 Nov	Rugby, Lyme Regis (Christmas lights switch-on)
Sun 22 Nov	Rugby
Mon 23 Nov	Royston, from 8am
Sat 28 Nov	Rugby, Royston
Sun 29 Nov	Rugby, Royston
Thu 3 Dec	Cheltenham (from 3pm), Royston
Sat 5 Dec	Rugby, Folkestone & Hythe, Royston
Sun 6 Dec	Rugby, Royston
Thu 10 Dec	Cheltenham (from 3pm), Royston
Sat 12 Dec	Rugby, Lyme Regis, Folkestone & Hythe, Royston
Sun 13 Dec	Rugby, Lyme Regis (Woodmead only), Royston
Sat 19 Dec	Rugby, Folkestone & Hythe, Royston
Sun 20 Dec	Rugby, Royston
Mon 21 to Wed 23 Dec	Rugby, Royston
Thu 24 Dec	Rugby, Lyme Regis, Royston (until 6pm)

Friday 25 December, Christmas Day, is outside every offer listed here, and so is Boxing Day. For the bank holiday dates, see our story on UK Christmas bank holidays 2026. The December 2026 printable calendar and the November 2026 printable calendar have room to mark your own dates.

What does Rugby’s free parking cover?

Rugby Borough Council said on 23 October 2026 that the offer launches on Saturday 21 November, “the day of the Christmas lights switch-on”. It gives “all-day free parking on weekends: 21–22 Nov, 28–29 Nov, 5–6 Dec, 12–13 Dec, and 19–20 Dec”, plus all day on 21, 22, 23 and 24 December, which the council calls the “final four shopping days”. That adds up to 14 free days. “The offer only applies to the council-operated car parks listed”, so private car parks and Warwickshire County Council’s on-street parking are not included. The town also has a Christmas market on Saturday 28 November, per the council.

What is free in Royston?

North Hertfordshire District Council’s page, last updated on 2 November 2026, says: “Parking charges will be ‘free’ between the period 8am on 23 November 2026 to 6pm on 24 December 2026.” It covers Angel Pavement, Market Place, Priory Gardens, The Warren, Civic Centre and the on-street charging bays in Market Hill. The change was requested by Royston Town Council and the Royston First Business Improvement District (BID). The page says “the current parking tariffs for 2026/27 will resume after the subsidy period ends.” The page lists no free days for Hitchin, Letchworth Garden City or Baldock.

How does Cheltenham’s free parking from 3pm work?

Cheltenham Borough Council’s September 2026 news release announces “free parking from 3pm across most of our town centre car parks on 3 and 10 December”. Both are Thursdays and are tied to late-night shopping; the release gives no closing time for the shops. The named car parks are Chelt Walk, St James Street, Rodney Road, High Street, Town Centre East (which closes at 8pm), Royal Well, Sherborne Place and Bath Parade. The council says “the free from 3pm offer does not extend to Regent Arcade carpark.” The town’s Business Improvement District (BID) funds the offer, and the celebrations begin on 21 November with the lights switch-on. Christmas market dates elsewhere are in our story on Manchester and Birmingham Christmas markets.

Which days are free in Lyme Regis?

Lyme Regis Town Council’s page “Free parking dates 2026”, dated 30 April 2026, makes parking free “in all Dorset Council car parks, as well as our own Woodmead car park” on its listed dates. Those still to come are Sunday 8 November (Remembrance Sunday), Saturday 21 November (Christmas lights switch-on), Saturday 12 December (Big Christmas Weekend) and Thursday 24 December (Christmas Eve). On Sunday 13 December, the second day of the Big Christmas Weekend, it is “Woodmead car park only, not Dorset Council car parks”. The page adds that “Monmouth/Cabanya car park is excluded from these dates.” It gives no times.

What is free in Folkestone, Hythe and Romney Marsh?

Folkestone & Hythe District Council said on 29 October 2026 that council car parks are free on “the three Saturdays leading up to Christmas”: 5, 12 and 19 December, across Folkestone, Hythe and Romney Marsh. It adds that “on-street pay-and-display bays will once again be waived.” The council also says: “Controlled parking and limited waiting (free) restrictions are still in place on the days listed above.” The page gives no times or car park names, so check the signs, and the council notes that terms apply.

Are other towns offering free parking?

Other councils had not posted 2026 dates we could read, including Taunton, Hastings, Preston, Wolverhampton and Barnet. Check your own council’s parking page before you travel, and compare shopping dates in our story on Black Friday 2026 in the UK.