I wasn’t necessarily going to write a whole blog post about my little trip to Blenheim Palace’s Illuminated Christmas Lights Trail. It’s the kinda thing I would normally add to my monthly faves posts where I catch you up on what I’ve been up to during the month. But actually, this is something I’ve wanted to go to for a few years now, so I felt like it deserved a bit of a longer write-up.
Y’see, every year Blenheim Palace put on this festive walk around their grounds, which I’ve always liked the sound of. But I’ll be honest, the price has always sort of put me off. It’s £18 per adult, and you have to pay extra for car parking. And without knowing exactly what this trail entailed, I was hesitant to book it. After all, that’s cash that could be spent on a few glasses of mulled wine, am I right?
But this year, me and a couple of friends decided to give it a go. See what the fuss was all about.
Well when you arrive at Blenheim Palace, before you get to the trail, you can wander around their Christmas market which is quite nice. They serve mulled wine and mince pies and hot chocolate and churros. And they have a few options for dinner. So it’s good to get there early and have some time to chill and enjoy this part.
(I obviously had chips and curry sauce for dinner…)
But then you have an allotted time when you need to head to the Illuminated Christmas Lights Trail. I presume this is to space everyone out, but as we had the last slot of the evening when we visited – 8pm – there was a bit of a queue for it.
But hey, it went fast, and in we went to the wooded area that promised festive feels and general merriment.
The way it works is that there are different sections with different Christmas lights to look at, and each one has its own accompanying soundtrack. Which works really well to be honest.
You see a lit up gingerbread house as they play Michael Buble. Then you see some colourful lit-up Christmas present boxes as they play the Harry Potter theme tune. And a beautiful lotus-flower display in a lake as they play Frozen. It’s all very atmospheric and definitely makes you feel Christmassy!
After a while there’s a stop for more mulled wine and mince pies should you feel the need. Or you can buy yourself a gourmet marshmallow and roast it yourself over the open firepits! I thought that was a nice touch.
Oh and then there’s a big slope of lights that “dance” along to the Christmas songs blaring out. Pretty cool to check out. Although it is followed by quite a steep hill up to the next bit – a tunnel of fairy lights!
The last few attractions presented us with a pathway of candles, some multi-coloured orbs and even a mini pantomime being performed with the main man himself – Father Christmas! (Kids would definitely enjoy this walk, y’all)
Overall it took us just over an hour to complete and we were walking at a pretty standard pace I think. I also did this at 8 months pregnant so despite a few hills involved, I’d definitely say it’s suitable for everyone.
But the big question, was it worth the money?
Honestly, I think it was. It’s kind of a weird attraction to sell someone on, I mean it is essentially “just” Christmas lights. But the music and the food and the Christmas market made it all feel very festive and I left feeling really Christmassy, y’know?
Ok, I guess that’s all I wanted to say. But the moral of the story – Blenheim Palace’s Illuminated Christmas Trail is very cute and a nice way to spend an evening in December with your besties.
Over and out.
Would you go to this kind of event?
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