Christmas Light trails

[redskytonight]

Interesting in hearing about your favourite Christmas light trails. How long were they and did they have the "wow" factor?

Chatsworth is the one to beat for me. I am considering Kew or Blenheim as ones of a similar size. Are they worth the cost?

Or alternatively perhaps going to a more local and cheaper display.

We did Kew last year, we were sorely disappointed. Lots of gaps between lights, not well laid out, very expensive food and drink and diabolical parking.

We did Blenheim Palace one year and it's been our favourite one so far. Very cohesive, brilliant music accompaniments, lots of opportunities to stop and sit or have food and drink (rather than all in one place), a market, proper toilets, parking onsite.

We are doing Glow by RHS Wisley this year...

We did Blenheim and I did wince at the cost. The only way I could justify it was to remind myself that it then includes an annual pass to Blenheim… We have been precisely ONCE since so it has not been amazing value however that’s because we live far away. The light show and house decor was fabulous and the Xmas market wasn’t too bad either (though food was very average and cheaper gloves can be bought from the gift shop on site)! It’s still pretty impressive though. Went to Kew years ago and found it meh.

Warwick Castle was better than Chatsworth in terms of outdoor lights - more special effects and theming. (Chatsworth indoor trail was better than Warwick’s indoor displays though).

We were thinking of trying the National Memorial Arboretum this year.

Longleat. Great day out. Lights are fab. Well worth the money I thought.

Eltham Palace felt a bit lame.

We have an annual pass for Blenheim, maybe we should give it a go!

Stourhead was lovely but a long walk for little people, Westonbirt was aimed at younger ones but not as good imo

kew dud not blow me away. Neither did rhs wisley nor Leeds castle.

Hever castle (grounds and castle) I was blown away by.

trying Blenheim this year and leonardslee. I’m based down south and visiting a European market this year but will pencil in chatsworth next year to see about that

I’ve done Kew and Chatsworth and whilst Chatsworth is one of my favourite places to visit, the stand out for me is Blenheim…have never found anywhere that can match it. Booked again for this year and can’t wait. Enjoy wherever you choose x

We did lightopia, Manchester for 4 / 3 years ago (which then went bank rupt)

We did Chatsworth 2 years ago which was amazing and the best thing I have EVER seen.
We also did the Yorkshire Wildflife park one which was very very good
Last year we did Blenhein which was as good as Chatsworth.
We also did Northern Lights in Leeds which was amazing

This year we are doing Northern Lights and Yorkshire wildlife park.

Next year I plan to do Longleet.

TBH all of the above have been brilliant and magical and a wonderful family night out, and we have really enjoyed and would recommend them all.

Chatsworth and Blenheim were equally the best, but thats because we made a day of it exploring the house and the gardens in both daylight and in the dark.

Sandringham is good, but a long way to go for most!

Did Kew 3 times the first was lovely I think that was the 2nd year they ran it. The next two times were pretty disappointing really really busy to the point that we came to a standstill at one point due to the sheer volume of people. The light display over the lake at the end of the trail was a highlight for me but I wouldn't choose to go again.

Waddeston was good last year with beautifully decorated house and a xmas market

We did Kew and Windsor Great Park. I didn't like Kew. I actually found it too long and way too busy to be enjoyable.

I preferred Windsor, but dh thought it was too short and not much value for money.

I'd love to go to Blenheim, but probably not this year.

Windsor is good. Music and lights. Been twice. Slightly different each year. Small fun fair af the end

Not quite in the same league as the stately homes, but Canary Wharf usually have something quite lovely (and free).

We did Longleat last year which was lovely. We always go to Bournemouth on Christmas Eve, the lights are great, it’s free and has a Christmas market.

Ive done Belton, it was good but not very long. Aldo done the Luxmiralis in Liverpool for the last two years and it’s brilliant!

We normally do Warwick Castle, but went for Twycross this year as it's new and it's absolutely brilliant.

The National Arboretum is always lovely as well.

Bedgebury is really good, been 2 years now. I think the atmosphere of the forest really helps.

I found this so busy and very disappointing. There were hoards of people and the lights were mediocre. It’s only a few miles from us, but I would have been even more disappointed if I had specifically travelled there.

Did glow at Wisley last year, fabulous. The restaurant afterwards for food was spectacular. Really worth it.

Stourhead is great

Bedgebury is great. The music along with the lights is quite magical. Also do amazing hot chocolate, waffles and mulled wine. Perfect on a crisp winter's night - pity we can't order the weather in advance.

Blenheim is usually very good but gets a bit samey year on year.

Windsor was disappointing compared to Blenheim although I had heard good things about it. It felt aimed at very young children.

We are trying Wisley this year because I'm now a member and it's super cheap.

We always do Longleat and it never disappoints. Last year we also did Wakefield , which is a Kew /NT offshoot and it was dire . We did Waddesden a couple of years ago and were also very unimpressed by the lights , the house was quite nicely decorated but it was so busy it was literally just filing round and that was off peak so it must be horrendous on weekends .