Glow Wild Wakehurst is among best Christmas lights trails

The Times has shared its picks of 19 of the best UK Christmas light trails for 2025.

The publisher said: “There’s something magical about the UK in winter — the scent of mulled wine, the crunch of frost underfoot and, above all, the glow of twinkling lights cutting through the long nights.

“Across the country, gardens, castles and parklands are transformed into glittering wonderlands where tunnels of colour, laser-lit trees and lantern trails bring festive cheer to even the chilliest evenings.

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“Whether you’re wandering through illuminated woodlands at Kew, following firework trees in the Cotswolds or exploring the glowing glasshouses of Edinburgh, these light trails offer a perfect reason to wrap up warm and head outdoors.”

The full list can be found online.

Glow Wild Wakehurst is among the best Christmas lights trails

Making the list was Glow Wild, the award-winning light trail at Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex.

With a brand new trail for 2025, it will run for a number of weeks into the new year and this will be the 12th year it will light up for Christmas.

On its website, the Glow Wild trail says its Christmas lights transform the wild botanic landscape into a “dazzling winter wonderland”, which features “stunning, never-before-seen artwork and installations”.

The theme for this year’s event is “Seed Safari – A Walk on the Wild Side,” in celebration of the world-class seed science at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst over the last 25 years.

There will be 11 bespoke art installations and thousands of handmade lanterns that will turn the gardens.

Glow Wild’s biggest-ever installation, a river made out of 13,000 lights, is new this year.

Glow Wild @wakehurst_kew was wonderful! pic.twitter.com/zH0DSx6JTf

— Toria Bono FCCT (@Toriaclaire) December 11, 2021

Throughout the Glow Wild trail, visitors will also hear audio vignettes recorded by Cate Blanchett, Kew’s Ambassador for Wakehurst, as well as Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Thompson.

On the trail, the Times said: “A new one-mile route, vivid installations and a revamped street-food experience are the main draws at this year’s winter trail at Wakehurst, Kew’s wilder sister garden.

“The globe-spanning collection of plants include one of the UK’s tallest living Christmas trees, a decorated giant redwood adorned with some 1,800 energy-saving light bulbs.

“Most of the lanterns have an imagination-pricking theme inspired by nature, while access to the estate’s historic Elizabethan mansion feels like a ready-made present without the gift wrapping.”