An Illuminated Trail at Kingston Lacy in Dorset

UK Dorset Wimbourne Hotels and Reviews
An Illuminated Trail at Kingston Lacy in Dorset

A Neon Tree, a Heart Arch Walk and a Christmas Cathedral linked by Snowflake Walks are just a few of the exciting new elements of the Illuminated Trail at Kingston Lacy.

Kingston Lacy a beautiful National Trust property near Wimborne. Surrounded by parkland and formal gardens this property is glorious at any time of the year. But in December, as darkness falls, the mansion begins to change colour and becomes the centrepiece of a wonderland of light, colour and music.

Rainbow Spheres and Kingston Lacey House on the Illuminated Trails

A steady stream of traffic turns down the lane that leads to this grand estate to be checked and shepherded into a space in the large car park. Brightly lit children’s roundabouts fringe this area beside vans dispensing hot drinks and tasty burgers. But, plenty of time to indulge after following the Illuminated Walk that starts at the main entrance and passes by the house before arriving at Father Christmas’ shed.

Father Christmas on the Kingston Lacey Illuminated Trail

A Neon Tree in the distance surrounded by brightly lit twinkly trees draws gasps of wonder from the crowd. Beyond this tree is a the Heart Arch Walk preceded by the Rainbow Trees.

Heart Arch Walk on the Kingston Lacey Illuminated Trail

The trail continues around the edge of the gardens and then down the Illuminated Avenue where magnificent trees rise above us changing colour all the time and beautiful music wafts around us. Turning back onto the perimeter path we find Neon Strings making rectangular shapes in a shadowy shrubbery.

Neon Strings on the Kingston Lacey Illuminated Trail

A garden of delicate Christmas Roses, all white, sits daintily before some very robust purple and silver dandelions. Beyond them and the Garden of Fire is the magnificent Christmas Cathedral. This is the final highlight of a brilliant (in every sense) Illuminated walk. A wonderful experience whatever your age.

Christmas Cathedral and Kingston Lacey House on the Illuminated Trail

Book your tickets now – dates, prices and availability can be found here.

Valery Collins is the Experienced Traveller
Valery Collins the Experienced Traveller An excellent raconteur, Valery has been writing about her experiences on the road since she started travelling 25 years ago. After publishing 4 books she turned to online travel writing and photography. Today she is editor, features’ writer and reviewer for ExperiencedTraveller.com and regularly contributes guided city walks to GPSmyCity.com