Day Trips: Italy, Leaning Tower of Pisa
Christmas Day trips with teenagers: Visiting Longleat Festival of Light
Each year Longleat presents the Festival of Light. Its a mesmerising display lit by thousands of lights to cosy up to at Christmas. But is it worth the sometimes long drive for teenagers ?
The most wonderful time of the year. Food, presents, giving and receiving, decorations, music, movie nights and of course the lights. Christmas lights are one of my favourite things about the winter months, but would Longleat’s live up to expectations or would it not be such a silent night after all?
Keeping warm and drink hot chocolate
To begin with, Longleat is quite a drive away for us so when going to see the lights, we decided to get there mid-afternoon to make the most of our visit. Let me tell you, on a cold December evening you’ll be glad to see lots of choices for warm street food and hot chocolate. However, it was freezing. Looking at some of the animals, Longleat also doubles up as a zoo. It was so cold that we made excuses to get another drink inside the cafes and food stops. Word of warning, if you do live more locally, I would suggest getting there later and wrapping up warm.
Longleat Lanterns
Longleat’s lights are different from many in the sense that they use massive lanterns with a different theme each year. Past lanterns are in a separate area but I would say you should probably wait till it does get dark, otherwise, they’re not as impressive. The display included lanterns from ‘Alice In Wonderland’, ‘Peter Pan’ and many fairytales and works from children’s books with a previous theme being Roald Dahl stories. Last year, 2023, we saw lanterns from ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’, in a massive display. Walking among mountains and ice sheets glowing with the lanterns made for some cool photos and surreal moments.
The extended display areas ?
Bringing the story to life, There were also displays with a massive LED Christmas tree and various animatronic reindeer displaying Santa’s grotto. With various light displays and projections around the walk, I would also say that timing your walk round is crucial to avoid crowds bunched up at these mini shows and make sure you don’t freeze. All in all, a great (if not cold) evening.
Overall Rating Card
Top Tips if your planning a visit
1.Wrap up warm,
2.Wait for it to get properly dark if visiting during the day.
3. You can get an annual pass if you intend to come back next year to make it more cost effective
4. If you arrive early the Zoo is great
Typical Day Plan
Useful links
To Book Tickets:
https://www.longleat.co.uk/groups/events/festival-of-light
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UK Longleat – Christmas Festival of Light 2023
Each year Longleat presents the Festival of Light. Its a mesmerising display lit by thousands of lights to cosy up to at Christmas. But is it worth the sometimes long drive for teenagers ?