Magical Wakehurst winter lantern festival in Brighton
Glow Wild winter lantern festival is a magical night-time experience and it’s a true delight whatever age you are. Journey through Wakehurst’s beautiful botanic gardens and woodlands. Trees, ponds, forest floors and 16th century mansion will be brought to life with thousands of lights and fire displays.
Sussex’s spellbinding illuminated trail to celebrate hidden heroes of the natural world. As darkness falls, the gardens are brought to life with glowing lanterns, mesmerising projections, immersive soundscapes, and glistening torches of fire.
This year’s trail is inspired by aspects of nature that often remain unseen – a grain of pollen, a seed on the wind, and giant floating dandelion seed heads. Also a fairy-tale fungi that enriches the soil allowing plants to flourish. With this theme in mind, Wakehurst has commissioned artists and creative studios to produce an array of illuminated artworks that will celebrate the hidden heroes of the natural world with a 500-flame fire display.
Along the trail children will delight in spotting illuminated woodland creatures including owls and badgers going about their nocturnal rituals. A bespoke atmospheric soundscape will guide visitors along their journey through the wintry landscape. The trail will culminate in the sight of the UK’s tallest Christmas tree adorned with 1,800 lights.
“Getting outdoors and connecting with nature is enormously beneficial to our well-being. Glow Wild is a completely outdoor event that can be enjoyed while adhering to social distancing measures, making it the perfect evening out this winter.”
-Wakehurst’s Head of Public Programmes, Lorraine Lecourtois
Safe visit
Adhering to government advice on coronavirus to ensure visitors and staff remain safe while enjoying their time at Wakehurst. Ensuring all visitors pre-book timed entry slots to Glow Wild will enable to stagger the entry flow, avoid queues and reduce contact.
Toilet facilities will undergo stringent cleaning throughout the day and operate cashless systems at the shop and catering pop-ups across the site.
The Glow Wild trail will operate as a one-way system with extra staff on-hand to monitor attendance and flow.
Ticket information:
Selected evenings, Thursday 26 November – Wednesday 30 December 2020. Entry time slots are every 20 minutes between 4:30pm and 8:10pm.
Tickets are on sale now. Booking is essential.
Adult: £15
Child (Ages 4-16): £9
Kew and Wakehurst Member Adult: £13
Kew and Wakehurst Member Family: £42
Free for under 4s and carers
Car-parking is included in the price
Quiet sessions:
There are a limited number of ‘quiet session’ tickets. These are suitable for visitors with disabilities, such as autism, to make for a more comfortable visit whilst still experiencing the sensory benefits of Glow Wild.
Quiet sessions offer access before the general public and will be available on 3, 10, 12, 13 and 17 December at 4.15pm.
For more information: https://www.kew.org/wakehurst/whats-on/glow-wild-2020?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl820k5nU7AIVyrHtCh0x0wBrEAAYASAAEgILRfD_BwE
