Wondering which of London’s winter light trails to go to?
Allow us to illuminate you.
These after-dark events typically involve taking some of London’s most iconic parks and buildings and filling them with a spectrum’s-worth of LEDs, lasers, strobes, floodlights, holograms, interactive displays, and other such modern wizardry. They’re a mainstay of Christmas in London for a reason – and the fact they often lead you directly to pop-up mulled wine huts and twinkly Christmas markets doesn’t hurt either.
Tickets go insanely fast for these events, so here we’ll be updating a running list of ticket drops for all the best winter light trails for 2024, from enchanted woodlands to festive lantern shows:
Christmas at Kew | Kew Gardens
of other days/Flickr
Not happy with merely being the record holder for having the largest collection of living plants in a single botanic garden (it’s official, just ask Guinness), Kew Gardens apparently also wants the prize for non-living showstoppers, too. Which is why every winter they transform an entire 2.7km stretch of the grounds into an almost unfeasibly magical, after-hours, mulled-wine toting festive woodland light trail. Expect twinkling light tunnels, forests glowing in enchanting hues, and glittering LED-studded installations that sit on a reflective water pool…
Details: 13th November 2024 – 5th January 2025 | £25.50-32 | Royal Botanic Gardens, TW9 3AE | Book tickets for Christmas at Kew
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Glow at Wisley | Wisley, Surrey
It’s the battle of the South-West London botanic gardens – and Wisley’s facing up to Kew’s offering this year with fountain displays, colourful lights bathing their trees and shrubs, and a display that makes their conservatory look like a horticultural nightclub. And when your retinas have been sufficiently dazzled, you can stop off for warming treats and mulled wine served from festive chalets.
Details: 22nd November 2024 – 5th January 2025 | Wisley Lane, Woking GU23 6QB | £17.95-20.65 | Book Glow at Wisley tickets
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The Ever After Garden | Mayfair
Sam Mellish
Striking a somewhat more solemn tone than other winter light trails, The Ever After Garden is an annual charity initiative by designer Anya Hindmarch and writer Camilla Morton. It’s a sprawling display of over 20,000 illuminated white silk roses, representing loved ones who have passed away, making for a beautifully moving installation. It’s even possible to dedicate one of the roses in someone’s honour for a suggested £10 donation, which will go towards supporting The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
Details: 14th November – 18th December 2024 | Grosvenor Square, London W1K 6LD | Free entry, just turn up
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Windsor Great Park Illuminated | Windsor
Windsor has a Great Park. But it becomes straight-up amazing when they set up their annual winter light trail, with illuminated fairies prancing through the woodland, cathedral tunnels of light, and spectacular fountain projections. Sure, it’s a little way out of London, but if you want to take your pooch along to a light trail this is probably your best bet. Plus, there’s a pitstop with mulled wine, hot chocolate, festive food and fire pits for toasting marshmallows, which should refuel you for the train ride home.
Details: 15th November 2024 – 4th January 2025 | £19.80-29.15 | Windsor Great Park, TW20 OUJ | Book tickets
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Epping Ongar Lights Express | Epping
This is miles apart from your typical London light show. Partly because it will literally take you through a fair few miles of countryside on a festive, light-bedecked steam train, but also because it steps things up on that journey with a cheesy Christmas DJ set onboard (narrated by the X Factor voiceover guy), and your own glowing wristbands which pulse in time with the music.
Details: 16th November 2024 – 12th January 2025 | £22.50pp | Ongar station, CM5 9AB | Book tickets
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Christmas at Kenwood | Hampstead
Planted in the middle of Hampstead Heath, Kenwood House has some seriously impressive grounds with views all the way down to Central London. But it wasn’t until a few years ago that some bright spark realised they’d make the perfect setting for a magical 1.5km light trail starring millions of twinkling lights.
The website’s now expired, which doesn’t fill us with confidence that it’ll be back for 2024 – but watch this space. Previous events have included twinkling animal sculptures, dazzling projections onto the house itself, light tunnels through the forest, and something called a ‘laser garden’ which is probably the closest thing you’ll ever experience to being in a Jamiroquai video.
Details: Most likely not running in 2024 | Kenwood House, Hampstead Lane, Highgate, NW3 7JR
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Christmas at Eltham Palace | Eltham
Being run by the same production team as Christmas at Kenwood, it seems unlikely that the 2km light trail winding around the atmospheric grounds of Eltham Palace will be going ahead this year either. To make up for it, though, there’ll be a family-friendly immersive festive show running through the house, instead.
Details: Most likely not running in 2024 | Eltham Palace, Greenwich, SE9 5QE
Feeling cosy? Here’s a load of winter date ideas…