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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Winter Lights | Canary Wharf
The festivities are over. It’s freezing. Night falls at about 2pm. Arguably, January is the month when we’re most in need of a little brightening up. So that’s when Canary Wharf springs into action with its annual Winter Lights show – a trail of sculptures from international artists linked only by their creative use of light. This year, the artworks are rumoured to include a stack of illuminated bathtubs, a tornado of lights, and an ‘iridescent mirage’… and it’s all totally free to enjoy.
Details: 21st January – 1st February, 5-10pm | Around Canary Wharf, E14 | Free
NOTE: Christmas at Kenwood and Christmas at Eltham Palace are sadly not running this year, but there will be a family-friendly immersive festive show running through Eltham Palace, instead.
Feeling cosy? Here’s a load of winter date ideas…