Fifteen Christmas tree switch-ons run across Lewisham, from Catford Broadway to Telegraph Hill. Last year's dates and exact spots, and when 2026's land.
Lewisham does not have one Christmas lights switch-on. It has about fifteen, one for each town centre and ward, spread across a fortnight from the last weekend of November into mid-December, and most of them last an hour.
The 2026 dates have not been published yet. Lewisham Council put out its list on 25 November 2025 last year, four days before the first switch-on, so expect this year’s around the same point in November. This page carries last year’s full list, which is the reliable guide to which evening your own high street gets, and we update it when the council publishes.
When 2026’s dates are due
The council’s pattern is late. Its 2025 round-up went live on 25 November 2025, with the Brockley and Sydenham events on 29 November. If it repeats, the 2026 list lands in the third or fourth week of November, and individual town centre teams and traders’ associations often post their own date a week or two earlier.
Two things you can plan around now, because they held in 2025:
- The last Saturday in November carries the first switch-ons.
- Catford is the big one, and it is the only one that runs for three hours rather than being a single moment.
Last year’s switch-ons, in order
These are the 2025 dates and locations, quoted from the council’s own list. Use them for the spot, not for the date.
| Where | Exact location | 2025 date and time |
|---|---|---|
| Brockley | Coulgate Street, near Brockley station | 3pm, Sat 29 Nov |
| Sydenham | Sydenham Centre | 5pm, Sat 29 Nov |
| Catford | Catford Broadway | 3pm to 6pm, Sun 30 Nov |
| Ladywell | Ladywell Road at Algernon Road | 3.55pm, Wed 3 Dec |
| Perry Vale | Outside the fire station at Woolstone Road | 4pm, Wed 3 Dec |
| New Cross Gate | Lovelinch Close | 4pm, Thu 4 Dec |
| Evelyn | The triangle of shops | 4pm, Fri 5 Dec |
| Deptford High Street | Outside Asda | 3pm to 5pm, Fri 5 Dec |
| Downham | Downham Way at Bromley Road | 2pm, Fri 5 Dec |
| Lewisham Central | Lewisham Market | 4pm, Sat 6 Dec |
| Hither Green | Station forecourt, Fernbrook Road | 4.15pm, Sat 6 Dec |
| Forest Hill | Outside Forest Hill station | 4.30pm, Sat 6 Dec |
| Kirkdale | Junction with Halifax Street | 5.30pm, Sat 6 Dec |
| Deptford, Woodpecker | Outside Woodpecker Community Centre | Time to be confirmed, Sun 7 Dec |
| Telegraph Hill | Not published | Time to be confirmed, Mon 15 Dec |
Note the Saturday 6 December cluster: Lewisham Central, Hither Green, Forest Hill and Kirkdale ran at 4pm, 4.15pm, 4.30pm and 5.30pm. If that stacking repeats, you can do two or three of them in an evening.
What actually happens at them
Most are short: a countdown, a switch, carols or a choir, and the tree. Catford is the exception. The council described its 2025 event on Catford Broadway as three hours of local choirs, steel pans, stalls, children’s rides and Christmas crafting, plus a sing-along with the cast of that year’s Broadway Theatre pantomime.
That pantomime tie-in is worth knowing about in advance. This year’s show at the Broadway is Cinderella, running from 9 December, and the cast appearance has been part of the Catford switch-on in past years.
All of them are free.
The winter markets
Separately from the tree switch-ons, the council has in past years run winter markets in Deptford and Lewisham, with a free Santa’s grotto, carol singing, craft activities and extra street food stalls, and has attached the Deptford tree switch-on to the market rather than running it on its own night.
Those markets have not been announced for 2026 either. When they were last programmed as a pair, Deptford ran across a Friday and Saturday on the high street, and Lewisham a fortnight later. We will add this year’s dates here as soon as the council publishes them.
Getting there
These are neighbourhood events on high streets, and almost all of them are within a few minutes of a station: Brockley, Sydenham, Catford Bridge, Ladywell, Forest Hill, Hither Green and New Cross Gate all sit on or beside the switch-on spot. Our trains and travel page has the line detail.
If you are driving to one, remember most of these streets are in controlled parking zones that run into the evening: check the restriction hours on the plates before you leave the car. Our parking in Lewisham page covers the zones and charges, and any closures or works on the night will show on our roadworks and travel page.
Catford Broadway is pedestrianised, and Deptford High Street’s pedestrian zone has been extended for the winter market in past years, so neither is a place to plan on parking close by.
Sources
- Lewisham Council, Join a Christmas tree light switch-on near you, published 25 November 2025, for every date and location above
- Lewisham Council, winter markets announced for Deptford and Lewisham, for the market format
Checked on 3 September 2026. No 2026 dates had been published at that point.
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