Leamington Spa & district · Local news you can trust
Father Christmas is at Kenilworth Castle on the three weekends from 5 to 20 December 2026: £12 a child, seven sessions a day, booked ahead. Times and booking.
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Crime
Leamington Shoplifting Up 72%, Trebled in Leamington South
Police recorded 246 shoplifting offences in Leamington from March to July, up from 143 a year earlier. In Leamington South they rose from 42 to 141.
Events
What's On in Leamington: Warwick Mop, Halloween, Fireworks
Warwick Mop is 16 and 17 October, Lord Leycester ghost tours start the same night and Kenilworth fireworks are 7 November at £14. Every date, time and venue.
Crime
Warwick School Incident: Three Arrested, Teen Cut to Face
Three people are in custody after a car was driven towards a teacher outside a Warwick school on Shelley Avenue. Police now say a young teenager was cut to the face.
Council
Warwick District Barbecue Ban and New Dog Rules From 4 Nov
Barbecues and fires are banned in every public place in Warwick district from 4 November, and dogs must be leashed in more parks. £100 fines.
Parks
Jephson Gardens Wins a 2026 National Landscape Award
Jephson Gardens' upkeep has won a 2026 BALI National Landscape Award, one of four for public parks, in the year it held its 20th straight Green Flag.
Council
Cost of Living Fund: £3,000 Grants Close Wednesday 30 Sep
Groups in Warwick district have until Wednesday 30 September to bid for up to £3,000. Bids are scored out of 9, and 5 or less is unlikely to be funded.
Bins
Leamington Christmas Bins: 2026 Dates Not Out Yet
No bins go out on Friday 25 December or Friday 1 January. Warwick District's 2026 table is not out yet, so here is last year's, plus trees and tip hours.
Schools
Leamington School Term Dates 2026/27: Break Up 18 December
Warwickshire schools break up on Friday 18 December and return on 4 January. Half terms, INSET days, and the five local schools that set their own dates.
Trains
Leamington Christmas Trains: Last Ones Around 8pm on 24th
Chiltern's last Christmas Eve trains have left Marylebone at about 8pm, with none on Christmas or Boxing Day. What 2025 looked like and what is due.
Christmas
Leamington Christmas Markets 2026: Seven Sundays on Parade
Leamington's Christmas market runs on the Parade on seven Sundays, 1 November to 20 December, 10am to 5pm. Plus Kenilworth's Festive Hub and Warwick's markets.
Christmas
Santa Near Leamington 2026: Hatton From £31, Castle From £29
Hatton's Father Christmas runs weekends from 28 November and daily 19 to 24 December, children from £31. Warwick Castle's Stories with Santa is from £29.
Council
Warwick District Council This Week: LGR Bill, Housing Target
Full council votes on Wednesday on billing the Government for reorganisation and on a lower housing target. Plus a £38.62 an hour fee for big EIR requests.
Leamington, Warwick and Whitnash have grown into one another along the Leam and the Avon, and Kenilworth sits a few miles up the road with a character of its own. Around them are Lillington, Cubbington, Radford Semele, Bishop’s Tachbrook, Barford and Hampton Magna.
The council for all of it is Warwick District Council, which is based in Leamington even though it carries the county town’s name, and which is due to be replaced on 1 April 2028 by a new South Warwickshire unitary covering this district and Stratford-on-Avon together. Between now and then, and after it, our job is the same: read the registers and the committee papers, and write down what they actually say with a link to the source.
Every fact links back to the document it came from.