❄️ A Dickens Of A Week In Wycombe

Good morning, Wycombe!

It’s the Wycombe Pulse, already down a full advent calendar as I reserve self control solely for the first 2 weeks of January.

The town is buzzing this week:

🚂 1 Bank Street’s mega Christmas lights switch-on
🎨 A talk from Wycombe’s very own “Banksy” on his street murals
🏛️ A community campaign day to help save the former council offices on QVR

Plus all the festive fun you can shake a candy cane at: wreath workshops, Christmas tree festivals, markets, storytelling, grottos…and a whole line-up of winter warmers, from cocktail making to carols to live music.

🎄 A Christmas Carol at Rackleys Barn – your ultimate festive night out ✨

If you’re looking for a proper Christmas treat this year, this is the one. For one night only, the breathtaking Rackleys Barn opens its doors for Opera Holland Park’s spellbinding production of A Christmas Carol — and it’s pure festive magic.

Think: a beautifully restored country barn in the Chilterns, atmospheric lighting, Victorian carols drifting through the air, and Dickens’s iconic ghost story performed by world-class singers and musicians. It’s intimate, immersive and unlike anything else happening locally this season.

And it gets better…
After the show, you’re invited to a sparkling reception with canapés, where you can mingle with the cast and raise a glass to the season. 🍾

📍 Rackleys Barn, Cadmore End
🗓️ Monday 15 December
⏰ 6.30pm (show at 7pm)
🎟️ £95 – includes post-show reception

👉 Book now: https://operahollandpark.com/book-online/128601/

Tickets are limited — secure your place for an unforgettable festive evening.

Editor’s Highlights

🎨 Free Talk: Public Art in High Wycombe with Dan Wilson
📍Trinity United Reform Church | 🗓️ Wednesday 10th December | ⏰ 7.30pm
Join the High Wycombe Society and celebrated local artist Dan Wilson as he shares the stories behind his Wycombe murals, followed by festive refreshments.

🎄 Mayor’s Festival of Carols
📍 All Saints Church | 🗓️ Sunday 7th December | ⏰ 4.30pm
A warm community carol service raising funds for Cancer Research UK, with a special performance by the Ukrainian Choir.

🍪 Parent & Toddler Biscuit Decorating
📍 Cupcake Kangaroo Cafe | 🗓️ Tuesday 9th December | ⏰ various times
Festive biscuit decorating with Rachel’s Creative Cooking for under-5s and their grown-ups.

🎩 Lecture: A Dickens of a Christmas
📍The Hub, Easton St | 🗓️ Monday 8th December | ⏰ 10am
Discover how Charles Dickens helped shape the modern Christmas — from plum pudding to Scrooge.

🌲 Holly Foraging
📍Common Wood | 🗓️ Saturday 6th December | ⏰ 10am-12pm
Cut your own holly (or let them cut it for you!) to make festive decorations.

🎅🏻 Festive Fun

🎶 ‘Hey for Christmas’ – Siglo de Oro & Spinacino Consort
📍Little Missenden Church | Fri 5 Dec 8pm
A 17th-century Christmas brought to life with carols, lute songs and winter dances.

💒 Christmas Craft Fayre
📍 All Saints Church | Sat 6 Dec, 10am-3pm
Free entry!

🎭 Snow White and the Curse of the Ice Queen Panto
📍 Hughenden Village Hall | 4-6 Dec
The latest production from The Valley Players.

🎄Brickies Christmas Extravaganza
📍The Bricklayers Arms | Sat 6 Dec, 12pm onwards
Stalls, Santa’s grotto, meat raffle, live music and more.

🐑 Festive Adult Farm Night
📍Odds Farm Park | Fri 5 Dec, 6.30-10.30pm
A nostalgic, kid-free festive night out.

🧠 Christmas Quiz Night
📍The Wrights Meadow Centre | Fri 5 Dec, 6.45pm. 

🥗 Wreath Making Workshops

🎄 Hazlemere C of E School - Tonight, 7.30pm
🎨 Peterley Manor Farm - Tonight, 6.30pm & Sat 6 Dec, 9.30am
🌿 Oxmoor Farm - Tonight, 6.30pm & Sun 7 Dec, 10.30am
🎀 Moc & More Hazlemere - Fri 5 Dec, 7pm
💐 Patch - Fri 5 Dec, 7pm
🥗 Hills Cafe - Sat 6 Dec, 6pm
❄️ Micklefield Community Centre - Sat 6 Dec, 10am
🌟 Hughenden Valley Village Store - Tues 9 Dec, 7pm

🎄 Christmas Tree Festivals

• Great Missenden Parish Church | Sat 6 (10-5) & Sun 7 (11.30-4.30) Dec

• Holy Trinity Church Penn | Sat 6 (2-5) & Sun 7 (2-4.15) Dec.

🔎 Family Fun Finder

🐑 Shepherds Nativity Adventure
📍Union Baptist Church | Sat 6 Dec, 2-4.30pm
Crafts, games and a storytelling trail. Free but booking essential.

🎄 Christmas Storytelling
📍Hughenden Second-Hand Bookshop | Sat 6 & 7 Dec, various times
Magical sessions for ages 3–6, led by BNU drama students.

🧸 The Labubu Kids Party
📍Trilogy | Sat 6 Dec, 10am-2pm
A daytime dance party!

🎶 Nova! Nova! Festive Concert
📍HW Library | Sat 6 Dec, 2pm
Chorales, jazz, festive pop and music spanning 800 years.

☕️ Dads and Tots
📍St Andrews Church | Sat 6 Dec, 9am
Coffee, bacon butties, soft play and a 5-minute thought for the day. Free.

📖 Tiny Talk Time
📍Wycombe Museum | Fri 5 Dec, 10am
Stories, crafts and museum fun for 2-5 year olds, themed around The Smiley Snowman.

🍪 Mrs Claus’ Cookie Cabin
📍Eden, opposite Boots | until 24th Dec
A brilliant, great-value experience — just £3.50. Our visit is here.

🧸 The Ark Nursery on Rutland Avenue is throwing open its doors on Fri 5 Dec, 1–5pm — pop in to meet the team, discover their new setting for ages 2–4, and take a first look before they launch in January 2026.

🧘🏻‍♀️ Wellness Moments

• Soundbath – Hanae Harmony | Guildhall | Tue 9 Dec, 8.20pm

• Neurodivergent Adults Social Group | Wycombe Air Park | Mon 8 Dec, 7pm

• Waterstones Book Club | The Front Room | Tonight, 6.30pm

• Sound Bath & Meditation | Hazlemere Rec Hall | Fri 5 Dec, 7.30pm

• Caesarean Scar Massage Workshop | Cornerstone | Today, 1.15pm

• Drink & Draw | Mad Squirrel | Tonight, 8pm

🧩 The Wycombe Wordle

You know how it works by now.
Six guesses. A Wycombe link.

Game rules:
🟩 Right letter, right place
🟨 Right letter, wrong place
⬜ Not in the word

👉 [Play here]

December Drinks 🥂

🍹Cocktail Masterclass
📍Merletto Lounge | Tonight, 6.30pm
Learn how to make a lychee margarita, espresso martini, piña colada and baby Guinness shots.

🍷 Chiltern Wine Safari
Sat 6 Dec 
A full day guided tour around 3 vineyards in the Chilterns.

🍾 Raise a Glass to Autumn (or Winter? Who knows!)
📍 The Crown Penn | Tonight, 6-8pm 
A special tasting event of Chapel Down, English sparkling wine.

Pub Quizzes

• At The Crown Penn on tonight at 7.30pm

• At Belle Vue on tonight at 8pm.

Sports & Activities

⚽ FOOTBALL

• Wycombe Wanderers vs Exeter City away on Saturday 6th December. KO 3pm.

• Wycombe Wanderers vs Plymouth Argyle at home on Tuesday 9th December. KO 7.45pm.

• Wycombe Wanderers FC Women vs Reading FC Community Trust at home on Sunday 7th December. KO 1.30pm.

🏉 RUGBY

HWRUFC vs Wallingford at home on Saturday 6th December.

🏃🏻‍♂️ RUNNING

Marlow’s 21st Santa Fun Run at Higginson Park on Sunday 7th December at 9.30am 🎅🏻

• Regular runs: Parkrun (Saturday, Rye Lido, 9am) | Junior Parkrun (Sunday, Pann Mill, 9am) | Risborough Run In The Park (Sunday, Wades Park, 9am).

🏸 BADMINTON

Red Kites Badminton Club is welcoming new members — a friendly, non-competitive club for players of an intermediate standard. Play on Thursdays from 8-10pm @ Handy Cross Hub Sports Centre, Court A4.
For more info: contact Richard 07941 341154
Come and try for £5, then £35/month.

Community News

🎨 Help Paint a Community Mural!

📍Micklefield ↔ Wycombe Marsh Underpass
🗓️ Fri 5th & Sun 7th December
⏰ Drop in anytime between 11am–4pm

Join the team bringing a brand-new public artwork to the underpass linking Micklefield and Wycombe Marsh. With designs created by local schools and artists, this is a big, colourful community project — and they need as many hands as possible! No artistic skills required.

Business News

I popped into the brand-new B’Hive Café & Bar this week for a quick coffee and let me tell you — I’ll absolutely be back.

Super friendly service from lovely locals, a genuinely cosy atmosphere, great coffee, and the sheer joy of sitting inside Wycombe’s oldest secular building. (1399! Imagine the stories those beams could tell.)

The menu looks fantastic, the bar is fully stocked, and they’ll be hosting live music very soon.

If you’re in town, pop in and support a brilliant new independent right in the heart of the High Street. It’s a gem.

That’s a wrap for this week’s Pulse!

Have a fantabulous weekend — but before you dash…

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See you next Thursday,
Steph