The Festival of Light 2023 at Longleat: We explore this absolutely huge and stunning lantern experience

We’ve tried and loved several of them already this year.

But sometimes, it’s nice to venture further afield and this year we chose to go to Longleat. My husband’s family live in Wales, so this was the perfect halfway point for a get-together.

Plus, The Festival of Light at Longleat is legendary as being one of the best lantern experiences in the country.

We spent the day at the park before the lights were turned on, and that in itself is a really full day out.

You can choose to drive around the huge safari at Longleat, but given it takes two to three hours, and we wanted to take in the festive spirit around the house and grounds itself and be ready for the lights to turn on, we decided against it this time.

Instead, we took in the Jungle Kingdom, which features lots of animals including anteaters, aardvarks, meerkats, crocodiles and lots, lots more.

We also tried to find the centre of the UK’s largest maze (didn’t quite make it this time), enjoyed a good hour in the huge play area, sampled some of the delights from the festive stalls and added to new members to our family from the shop (welcome Spot the cuddly toy leopard and a large purple snake, yet to be named).

There is also a festive show called Flight before Christmas, which features a magical Christmas story about Longleat on a winter’s night, and features owls flying around the room. It was incredibly lovely, anyway, but was made even more magical because my son has been learning about owls and he was overjoyed to see them in the flesh.

Guests can also pay to book tours of Longleat House dressed up for Christmas, and if you book early enough, you can take the Santa train to visit the big man in his magical woodland grotto. Unfortunately, we left it too late to book this experience, but having done it a few years ago, I can tell you it’s brilliant.

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We explore the magical Christmas experience just outside Sussex that promises fun for all the family

It also didn’t matter, because we even ran out of time without doing these things, as before we knew it the lights were being turned on.

It happens around 3.30pm as it’s starting to get dark, and even though it’s pretty festive before they’re switched on, it’s unbelievable when they’re lit up.

There are giant lantern installations throughout the park, and the only way I can possibly describe them is epic or possibly jaw-dropping. The scale of the lanterns is insane – some must be dozens of feet high – and there’s so many of them.

I spent the last three hours of the day wandering around in almost disbelief that it was possible to create such magical and beautiful displays.

This year’s Festival of Light is divided into three main areas, with the main one devoted to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, but C. S. Lewis. It features a stunning ice castle and interactive features like audio storytelling.

There is also a fairy tales trail featuring Cinderella; The Wizard of Oz; Winnie the Pooh and many more. I adored the Peter pan display, complete with huge sailing ship. It was so colourful and intricate, I could have looked at just that one installation for ages.

You can also venture to the North Pole, to see Santa’s sleigh getting fixed up in time for Christmas and meet the elves, snowmen and reindeer. It leads to the incredible 15-metre Enchanted Christmas Tree – which plays a 10-minute show on repeat throughout the night. Don’t miss it, because it’s so clever and hearing all the Christmas songs will make you feel so festive.

We started looking at the lights properly at about 4.30pm, and apart from stopping to grab a couple of mulled wines, we were still going at 7.30pm as there is so much to take in.

My children, who had found the car journey a bit boring, declared it very much worth the two-and-a-bit hour journey to get to Longleat.

Tickets for the light trail are still available through the website: https://www.longleat.co.uk/the-festival-of-light