Wintershall offers major Covid make-over for 2020 Nativity

This year’s event will take the form of a Nativity Winter Walk across the beautiful landscape of the Wintershall Estate in the Surrey Hills, near Guildford.

Walkers will enjoy mini-tableaux from the Nativity story, performed by a cast of volunteers with a full complement of sheep, cows and horses.

The Wintershall Nativity Winter Walk will take place from Friday, December 18-Monday, December 21.

Spokeswoman Katherine Camps Kilgour said: “Experience the real Christmas story and walk with Mary and Joseph on their journey to Bethlehem, live at Wintershall this Christmas. Walk through the stunning grounds of the Wintershall Estate and meet the shepherds watching their sheep, see the Angel Gabriel across the hillside and help the wise men to find the Christmas star.

“Each beautifully staged interactive tableau will be performed by the cast in full costume, assisted by a full complement of sheep, donkeys and horses.

“With pre-booked time slots, and following Covid-19 guidelines, walkers will be immersed in the Nativity while staying safe.

“At Wintershall, there is plenty of room at the inn for Jesus to be born this December,” Katherine added.

“This is a truly magical experience to share with family and a rare opportunity to experience the true meaning of Christmas.

“Visitors are encouraged to wrap up warmly and to wear suitable footwear for a country walk.

You should allow an hour and a half for your visit.

Time slots are available from 1pm to 3.30pm on Friday, December 18 and between 10am and 3.30pm on Saturday, December 19, Sunday, December 20 and Monday, December 21.

Each ticket costs £35 and is for a family group of up to six people.

Katherine added: “This Winter 2020, Wintershall are telling the Christmas story in new and innovative ways.

“And with schools struggling to book trips and visits, they are taking an Advent workshop to primary school aged children.

“Now fully booked, The Travelling Crib Advent will reach out to nearly 3,700 local pupils in school playgrounds and fields with a small cast of volunteers joining them on the journey of Advent with a day of workshops.

“ This is a valuable opportunity to reflect and dig deeper into the story of Christmas, as the children meet the people and animals who were travelling to Bethlehem at the time.

“The Wintershall Winter Walk and the Travelling Crib Advent Workshops replace the annual Wintershall Nativity, a much-anticipated fixture of the Christmas season performed by the Wintershall Players, producers of the famous Trafalgar Square Passion of Jesus.

“The Wintershall Players first performed The Nativity in 1989, with a cast headed by Peter and Ann Hutley and their family on their beautiful farm, the Wintershall Estate, an area of extraordinary natural beauty in the Surrey Hills.

“The cows were evicted from the barn for a night and a handful of people came to see the makeshift production.

“One of the wise men found himself wearing Ann’s fur hat and their pregnant daughter-in-law sat on a bale of hay with a torch to light the action.

“Today, Holly Barn is a licensed theatre and 6,000 visitors have come to see the 90-minute Nativity every year.”

It featured on the BBC’s Songs of Praise in 1996 and again in 2004.

In 2013, the Nativity was performed in the BBC’s Piazza in London to critical acclaim.

Full details on http://www.wintershall.org.uk/our-events