6 fabulously festive Christmas light trails in the Cotswolds [2022]

Add a touch of sparkle to the festive season this year with a Cotswolds Christmas light trail. With castles, museums, forests and farms all draped in colourful lights, these light trails have become an annual Christmas tradition. So wrap up warm (and bring an umbrella just in case), grab a hot drink and explore one of these six fabulously festive 2022 Christmas light trails in The Cotswolds.

Christmas light trails in The Cotswolds

Sudeley Castle Spectacle of Light

On the outskirts of Winchcombe, the ruins of 15th-century Sudeley Castle make an beautiful backdrop for the annual Spectacle of Light event, with a Christmas light trail running though the castle grounds. Sudeley has an impressive royal pedigree – it hosted kings and queens and was home to Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife, Katherine Parr, who is buried in its church.

Sudeley has been running the Spectacle of Light since 2016, and each year the trail has a different theme. New exhibits for 2022 include the Wave and Carpet of Colour, along with a series of sparkling water features, lanterns and light beams, a flickering field of fire, colourfully lit trees and illuminated castle ruins, with the trail set to music to add to the atmosphere.

The light trail takes around 60-90 minutes to walk, and there are stalls selling festive food and drink on the castle terrace just after halfway (though it gets busy so prepare to queue).

Open on selected evenings from 25 November–30 December 2022. Entry £24 adults/£12 children under 16, with discounts if you book before 24 November (advance booking required).

Westonbirt Arboretum Enchanted Christmas

Westonbirt Arboretum near Tetbury swaps the colours of its autumn leaves for the sparkle of Christmas lights this winter at their Enchanted Christmas light trails in the Cotswolds. The Arboretum has over 18,000 trees and shrubs spread across 800 acres – and somewhere out there among them are Father Christmas’ elves who are have been tasked with decorating the trees.

The light trail takes you on a mission to help the elves get the arboretum decorated on time for Father Christmas’ arrival, with colourful trees, clever visual effects and interactive displays for kids. Along the way there are talking trees, glittering disco balls and mischievous elves.

The trail is around a mile long (plus there’s a reasonable walk to get to the start from the car park) and takes around 45–90 minutes to complete. There’s no fairground this year but there are food and drink stalls along the way and in the Christmas village at the start and end.

Open on selected evenings from 25 November–21 December 2022. Entry £19 adults/£17 students/£11 children under 18 (advance booking required).

Blenheim Palace Illuminated Light Trail

Residence of the Dukes of Marlborough, birthplace of Winston Churchill and UNESCO World Heritage Site, Blenheim is a palace on a grand scale. And each Christmas it opens up for special festive events, including an Illuminated Light Trail through the palace gardens. The trail winds through woodland, with giant light sculptures, projections and lasers set to music.

Each year there’s a mix of old favourite and new installations, from flickering flames in the fire garden and dancing lakeside reflections to the ever-popular (and highly Instagrammable) tunnel of light made with over 100,000 tiny light bulbs. Along the way street food stalls sell tasty treats.

You can also add on a visit to the palace itself, which is decorated with a Kingdom of The Snow Queen theme this year. The palace’s annual Christmas market also returns for 2022.

Open on selected evenings from 18 November 2022–2 January 2023. Entry £25 adults/£18 children under 18, and parking is £10 (pre-booking advised). Palace tickets sold separately.

Cotswold Farm Park Enchanted Light Trail

The Enchanted Light Trail at Adam Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park is returning for 2022 with an Enchanted Christmas theme as you go through the wardrobe into a world of snow and ice. The park is open after hours for this family-friendly event, which gives you the chance to experience the Cotswold Farm Park in a whole new way, filled with colour, light and sound.

The Enchanted Light Trail takes around 60–90 minutes to walk, and runs from the visitor centre area to the park’s boundaries and back. Along the route there are light displays inspired by different animals, as well as some real animals to feed and a magical illuminated woodland. This year there’s also a frozen palace ball and you can add on a visit to Father Christmas.

There are crackling fire pits and hot drinks to keep you warm, as well as a café and a gift shop at the end of the trail selling Christmas cards, decorations and gifts made by local crafters.

Open on selected evenings from 25 November–31 December 2022. Entry £25 adults/£20 seniors/£16 children under 16 (advance booking required).

Bath American Museum Enchanted Garden of Light

Also back for for 2022 is Bath’s first Christmas light trail – the Enchanted Garden of Light at the city’s American Museum and Gardens. The museum is based in historic Claverton Manor and surrounded by 30 acres of grounds with spectacular views over the Limpley Stoke Valley.

The Enchanted Garden of Light sees the museum, gardens and woodland emblazoned with seasonal colour. The mile-long trail takes around 45 minutes to walk and is lit by sparkling reindeer, running through tunnels of light and past illuminations set to music. Along the way food and drink stalls sell American festive favourites like spiced apple, hot dogs, roasted chestnuts and hot chocolate.

The museum is also decorated for Christmas with homemade decorations and a Christmas tree filling the atrium, and there’s Christmas shopping at the Christmas Coach House.

Open on selected evenings from 1–31 December 2022. Entry £19.50 adults/£12 children aged 5–17 (pre-booking advised). Dogs on leads are welcome.

Christmas at Longleat

Longleat’s Festival of Light winter lantern spectacular returns for 2022. This year’s theme is the Wondrous Worlds of Roald Dahl, with hundreds of lanterns decorating the grounds. They feature characters and scenes from Dahl’s much-loved classic children’s books, including Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, The BFG, Matilda and George’s Marvellous Medicine.

As well as the lanterns there will also be projections lighting up the historic frontage of Longleat House, a 20-metre Enchanted Christmas Tree that serenades visitors in the Stable Yard, and a winter safari drive-through where you can meet some of the park’s animal residents.

You can also upgrade your ticket to add the Santa Train, which departs from Longleat Central Station and transports kids to a magical grotto where they can meet Father Christmas.

Open on selected evenings from 5 November 2022–8 January 2023. Entry £44.95 (peak)/£39.95 (off-peak) adults and £33.70 (peak)/£29.95 (off-peak) children (advance booking required).

Save for later

* This site contains affiliate links, where I get a small commission from purchases at no extra cost to you.