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PreparedBritain
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At the North Pole
Santa tracker

42 sleeps until Christmas

PreparedBritain

Santa Tracker

42 sleeps to go
Your town or village

When does he reach you?

Put in your postcode to see the time Santa is due in your own town or village. It stays in your browser.

  1. Baltasound21:30
  2. Brae21:31
  3. Lerwick21:32
  4. Boddam21:33
  5. Da Hametoon21:34
Christmas Eve

42 sleeps until Christmas

The elves are loading the sleigh. Santa leaves the North Pole at 10:00 on Christmas Eve and reaches Shetland at about 21:30.

42sleeps to go
76British cities on his route
10:00he leaves the North Pole
21:30he reaches Shetland
On his route · realMet Office, 06:20
No weather warnings in the UK right nowThe Met Office has no warnings out for the UK right now.
10:0018:0021:3000:0002:1511:00North PoleAsiaEuropeScotlandEnglandWalesNorthern IrelandIrelandthe AmericasHome

Santa's flight plan

Every stop on his route over Britain, in the order he flies it on Christmas Eve. Towns and villages have their own times too: put your postcode in the box above.

North Pole Sleigh Line · Christmas Eve timetable

225 stops · cities in bold · first 21:30 · last 02:15 · UK time

Scotland

21:30 to 23:08 · 74 stops

  1. 21:30Baltasound
  2. 21:31Brae
  3. 21:32Lerwick
  4. 21:33Boddam
  5. 21:34Da Hametoon
  6. 21:37Nesstoun
  7. 21:38Pierowall
  8. 21:40Kirkwall
  9. 21:41Easter Head
  10. 21:42Wick
  11. 21:43Thurso
  12. 21:44Bettyhill
  13. 21:45Durness
  14. 21:47Drumbeg
  15. 21:50East Helmsdale
  16. 21:51Tain
  17. 21:52Lairg
  18. 21:54Ullapool
  19. 21:56Aird Tong
  20. 21:56Stornoway
  21. 21:57Bragar
  22. 21:59Scalpay
  23. 22:00An t-Ob
  24. 22:01Balivanich
  25. 22:03Fiskavaig
  26. 22:03Portree
  27. 22:05Badachro
  28. 22:06Achintraid
  29. 22:08Inverness
  30. 22:10Elgin
  31. 22:11Buckie
  32. 22:13Peterhead
  33. 22:15Aberdeen
  34. 22:16Inverbervie
  35. 22:17Banchory
  36. 22:19Aviemore
  37. 22:20Kingussie
  38. 22:21Invergarry
  39. 22:23Fort William
  40. 22:24Mallaig
  41. 22:27Bayherivagh
  42. 22:29Arinagour
  43. 22:30Fionnphort
  44. 22:32Tobermory
  45. 22:33Oban
  46. 22:35Crianlarich
  47. 22:36Acharn
  48. 22:37Perth
  49. 22:38Blairgowrie and Rattray
  50. 22:39Dundee
  51. 22:40Arbroath
  52. 22:42Musselburgh
  53. 22:43Edinburgh
  54. 22:43Dunfermline
  55. 22:44Stirling
  56. 22:45Glasgow
  57. 22:47Greenock
  58. 22:48Ardrishaig
  59. 22:49Ardfern
  60. 22:51Bowmore
  61. 22:51Port Ellen
  62. 22:53Campbeltown
  63. 22:54Brodick
  64. 22:55Kilmarnock
  65. 22:56Ayr
  66. 22:58Stranraer
  67. 22:59Drummore
  68. 23:00Whithorn
  69. 23:02Carsphairn
  70. 23:03Dalbeattie
  71. 23:04Dumfries
  72. 23:05Moffat
  73. 23:06Lanark
  74. 23:08Hawick

England

23:10 to 01:26 · 112 stops

  1. 23:10Berwick-upon-Tweed
  2. 23:12Ashington
  3. 23:13Newbiggin-by-the-Sea
  4. 23:14Sunderland
  5. 23:14Durham
  6. 23:15Newcastle upon Tyne
  7. 23:17Otterburn
  8. 23:18Allendale Town
  9. 23:19Carlisle
  10. 23:21Whitehaven
  11. 23:23Kendal
  12. 23:24Kirkby Stephen
  13. 23:26Darlington
  14. 23:26Middlesbrough
  15. 23:28Whitby
  16. 23:29Scarborough
  17. 23:30York
  18. 23:31Ripon
  19. 23:33Leeds
  20. 23:33Bradford
  21. 23:35Settle
  22. 23:36Lancaster
  23. 23:37Barrow-in-Furness
  24. 23:38Blackpool
  25. 23:39Preston
  26. 23:40Liverpool
  27. 23:41Salford
  28. 23:42Manchester
  29. 23:43Wakefield
  30. 23:45Sheffield
  31. 23:45Doncaster
  32. 23:47Hull
  33. 23:48Withernsea
  34. 23:49Louth
  35. 23:50Skegness
  36. 23:52Sheringham
  37. 23:54King's Lynn
  38. 23:56Heckington
  39. 23:57Lincoln
  40. 23:59Mansfield
  41. 23:59Nottingham
  42. 00:00Derby
  43. 00:01Stoke-on-Trent
  44. 00:03Chester
  45. 00:04Oswestry
  46. 00:06Ludlow
  47. 00:08Telford
  48. 00:08Wolverhampton
  49. 00:09Lichfield
  50. 00:10Birmingham
  51. 00:11Coventry
  52. 00:12Leicester
  53. 00:14Peterborough
  54. 00:15Ely
  55. 00:17Norwich
  56. 00:18Great Yarmouth
  57. 00:19Lowestoft
  58. 00:20Orford
  59. 00:22Colchester
  60. 00:23Bury St Edmunds
  61. 00:25Cambridge
  62. 00:26St Albans
  63. 00:28Bedford
  64. 00:29Milton Keynes
  65. 00:29Northampton
  66. 00:31Banbury
  67. 00:32Oxford
  68. 00:34Cheltenham
  69. 00:34Gloucester
  70. 00:35Worcester
  71. 00:36Hereford
  72. 00:39Bristol
  73. 00:39Bath
  74. 00:41Swindon
  75. 00:42Reading
  76. 00:44Westminster
  77. 00:45London
  78. 00:46Maidstone
  79. 00:47Basildon
  80. 00:48Chelmsford
  81. 00:49Southend-on-Sea
  82. 00:50Canterbury
  83. 00:51Ramsgate
  84. 00:51Deal
  85. 00:52Folkestone
  86. 00:54Hastings
  87. 00:54Eastbourne
  88. 00:55Brighton and Hove
  89. 00:56Crawley
  90. 00:58Chichester
  91. 00:59Portsmouth
  92. 00:59Southampton
  93. 01:00Winchester
  94. 01:01Salisbury
  95. 01:02Bournemouth
  96. 01:04Weymouth
  97. 01:06Wells
  98. 01:07Taunton
  99. 01:09Exeter
  100. 01:09Exmouth
  101. 01:10Brixham
  102. 01:12Plymouth
  103. 01:14Truro
  104. 01:15Penzance
  105. 01:17Hugh Town
  106. 01:17Lower Town
  107. 01:21Newquay
  108. 01:21Bodmin
  109. 01:23Bude
  110. 01:24Okehampton
  111. 01:25Bideford
  112. 01:26Barnstaple

Wales

01:28 to 01:52 · 20 stops

  1. 01:28Cardiff
  2. 01:28Newport
  3. 01:30Merthyr Tydfil
  4. 01:31Swansea
  5. 01:31Ammanford
  6. 01:32Burry Port
  7. 01:33Carmarthen
  8. 01:34Pembroke Dock
  9. 01:35St Davids
  10. 01:38Aberaeron
  11. 01:39Aberystwyth
  12. 01:41Builth Wells
  13. 01:42Newtown
  14. 01:43Dolgellau
  15. 01:45Pwllheli
  16. 01:46Blaenau Ffestiniog
  17. 01:48Wrexham
  18. 01:49St Asaph
  19. 01:50Bangor, Gwynedd
  20. 01:52Holyhead

Northern Ireland

01:58 to 02:15 · 16 stops

  1. 01:58Larne
  2. 01:59Ballymena
  3. 02:01Portstewart
  4. 02:02Derry
  5. 02:03Clady
  6. 02:05Enniskillen
  7. 02:05Lisnaskea
  8. 02:07Omagh
  9. 02:08Cookstown
  10. 02:09Armagh
  11. 02:09Keady
  12. 02:11Lisburn
  13. 02:11Belfast
  14. 02:12Bangor, County Down
  15. 02:14Newcastle
  16. 02:15Newry

The islands

01:11 to 01:55 · 3 stops

  1. 01:11St Peter Port, Guernsey
  2. 01:13St Helier, Jersey
  3. 01:55Douglas, Isle of Man

How the Santa tracker works

Santa leaves the North Pole at 10:00 on Christmas Eve, UK time, and flies west with the night: the Pacific islands first, then Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe. He reaches Shetland at about 21:30, works south through Scotland and England, flies up through Wales, and finishes his British round in Northern Ireland at about 02:15. Then it is Ireland, Iceland and the Americas, and home by 11:00 on Christmas Day.

The map follows his sleigh live on the night. Before then it shows how many sleeps are left and every town's time. His time for a place never changes, so you can plan bedtime now.

The flight plan is ours, made for fun, and everyone sees the same sleigh at the same moment. The weather warnings on the board are real, from the Met Office.

Questions

When does the Santa tracker start?

The map and every town's flight plan are here all through November and December. On Christmas Eve Santa leaves the North Pole at 10:00, UK time, and the map follows him live until he is home at 11:00 on Christmas Day. He reaches Shetland, his first British stop, at about 21:30.

What time does Santa come?

Between about 21:30 and 02:30, depending on where you live. He starts in Shetland and Orkney, works south through Scotland and England, then flies up through Wales and finishes in Northern Ireland. Put your postcode in the box to see your own town or village's time. He only lands when everyone is asleep, so bedtime matters more than the clock.

Is the Santa tracker real?

The flight plan is ours and it is for fun: we work out Santa's route and times from a timetable, so everyone sees the same sleigh at the same moment. The weather warnings are real, read from the Met Office, and so are the sunset times and the distances. For the worldwide trackers, NORAD has followed Santa every Christmas Eve since 1955, and Google runs its own Santa Tracker.

Does it cost anything, and what happens to my postcode?

The tracker is free and there is nothing to sign up for. Your postcode stays in your browser: it goes only to postcodes.io, a free postcode service, to find where it is, and never to us.

Santa's flight plan is make-believe, worked out from where you live. The weather warnings are real, from the Met Office.

Sunset times are worked out with the standard solar calculation. Distances are along the earth's surface.

Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Northern Ireland places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).