For anyone who’ve ever been gridlocked in their car in the nation’s capital, the prospect of paying for the pleasure of negotiating London traffic might seem absurd.
However, with the lucrative Christmas season now firmly upon us, black cab tour companies are seizing the opportunity to prosper from the high tourist footfall – by offering taxi tours of the city’s festive lights.
Tourists keen to sidestep the crowds on other transport methods such as the Tube and the city’s buses are paying up to £400 to spend an afternoon or evening being driven around streets dressed up in their yuletide finery.
One company, Black Taxi Tour, offers a London Christmas Lights Tour that promises to showcase the city at the ‘most wonderful time of the year’, with three-or-four hour tours taking in Westminster, Fitzrovia, Soho, Knightsbridge and Covent Garden.
A four-hour tour next weekend costs £396 with the company, based on occupancy of between one and six people.
Another, Black Cab Heritage Tours, has a similar tour on the same date for two-and-a-hours, costing £280.
While both companies have positive TripAdvisor reviews, with many saying the guides help bring London’s festive displays to life for tourists, others have baulked at both the price and the potential stress of sitting in Christmas congestion.
By comparison, a 90-minute bus tour using Golden Tours on a GrayLine bus comes in at around £90 for a family of four.
Christmas jam or an easy way to see it all? An afternoon Christmas lights tour of London with a black cab company can cost almost £400 – which many say is too expensive
After an Australian family visiting the city asked fellow travellers on Facebook about whether a black cab Christmas tour was worth doing, many suggested there were cheaper, alternative ways to enjoy London’s decorations.
The poster revealed they’d been quoted just under £400 for a potential tour.
One person responding wrote: ‘That is madness. Get the map and walk it. Stop for hot chocolate and take pictures.’
Another added that approaching an actual cabbie might work out cheaper.
‘That is an insane price! I’m sure I’ve seen it cheaper. I’ve also seen the bus Christmas light tours that looks really fun,’ one person wrote.
While it’s not yet even December, there’s already been accusations of sub-standard Christmas experiences, with one market in the Cotswolds described as ‘terrible’ by people who visited it this weekend.
Many of those who attended the pay-to-visit market at Castle Combe Race Circuit in Chippenham called for organisers to give them their money back after the event took place on Sunday.
Tour companies offer to take tourists around the best of London’s Christmas displays, including Regent Street, pictured
Billed as an ‘unforgettable’ seasonal day out, the market promised a funfair, Nativity-themed petting zoo, drive-in cinema showing classic festive film Elf, live music and 40 Christmas market stalls.
However, when paying guests arrived at the Wiltshire race track, which has hosted automobile events since 1950, many said it felt more like a car boot sale in ‘a windy paddock’ than a magical day out.
There was, it seems, no sign of the twinkling carousel or the Alpine-style chalets used in images to promote the event, which left many who attended suggesting the company behind it had used ‘false advertising’ to attract crowds.
One visitor even compared the Christmas market, the first the Circuit has ever held, to the infamous Willy Wonka experience that took place in Glasgow in 2024, which was branded ‘shambolic’ at the time and made headlines around the world thanks to its lacklustre Oompaloompas and £35 entry fee.
In the Cotswolds, actually getting into the site proved the first hurdle, with many recounting on social media that they endured bumper-to-bumper queues for nearly an hour to reach the market, with both cars and walkers negotiating sodden, muddy fields.
The ‘terrible’ market, held from 9am until the early evening, cost £5 per person to enter, with tickets to the drive-in cinema showing 2003 film Elf costing £25 per car.
Once inside, those who had made the journey painted a dismal picture, saying stalls were sparse, there was just one ride and a set of trampolines and the Nativity petting zoo featured a ‘not very Christmassy’ alligator in it.
Castle Combe Circuit advertised its festive market, drive-in cinema and funfair with this image ahead of the event on Sunday 23rd November at the Wiltshire attraction – many who attended have said there was no such carousel
Festive fiasco: One visitor suggested ‘even the donkey looked depressed’ in the attraction’s Nativity petting zoo
Scottish Oompa Loompa Kirsty Paterson went viral after the disastrous Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow last year
When one person asked on Facebook ‘Was it as bad as the Charlie and the Chocolate factory?’ referencing the doomed Glasgow Willy Wonka experience, someone who’d visited the attraction answered in the affirmative.
They replied: ‘I think it was lol. Even the few animals looked p****d off, especially the donkey that kept being kicked by the Shetland pony’.
One visitor posted: ‘It was truly awful. I have never been to such a dire Christmas market. The guy singing gave it his all, bless him. But even the snow machine was shocking!’
Another added: ‘This really was rubbish. No Christmas theme or vibe at all! No decorations, no music, no mulled wine – 20 stalls and five cars doing a car boot. The fun fair was one ride.
‘It took and hour to get in due to no planning or organisation and we’d seen it all in 15 minutes.’
A local wrote immediately after a brief visit: ‘Four car boot sellers, three rows of market vendors, one fairground ride and trampolines.
‘It’ll honestly take you longer to walk from your car than it will to look round the market.’
The Daily Mail contacted Castle Combe Circuit for comment. The race track issued a statement on its Facebook page.
It read: ‘We understand that some people were disappointed with our first Christmas Market event, and we truly appreciate all the feedback and comments we’ve received.
‘We’re taking time to review everything carefully, and we’ll share a further update with a full statement soon.’
Some, who had contacted Castle Combe Circuit directly, said they had now been issued a refund.
