Last Updated on 15 November 2023 by Colette
This post features a gifted experience & affiliate links
Last week I took the girls to check of the new Land of Lights Festival at Gulliver’s World in Warrington – Ben had training so couldn’t come with us this time!
What is Land of Lights Festival?
Land of Lights Festival is a brand new lantern festival in Warrington for winter 2023. The Land of Lights Festival runs from mid November to the end of February and whilst there are seasonal nods to pumpkins (which I found a bit odd really since October has long since passed), Day of the Dead, and Father Christmas towards the end of the trail, this is very much about brightening up those cold winter nights rather than getting you into the Christmas spirit. If you want a a more festive light trail, you’ll find those here.
(There is also a Land of Lights Festival at Gulliver’s Land, Milton Keynes.)
Where is Land of Lights Festival?
You’ll find the Land of Lights Festival at Gulliver’s World, Shackleton Cl, Old Hall, Warrington WA5 9YZ
When is Land of Lights Festival?
Land of Lights Festival at Gulliver’s World, Warrington runs from Saturday 11th November 2023 to Sunday 25th February 2024.
Running right from mid-November through to the end of February, the Land of Lights Festival is a celebration to brighten up those dark winter evenings! Because it isn’t Christmas focused, there is no rush to fit in visiting during December if you’re already super busy, it might just make a nice treat in January when you need a bit of cheering up instead!
How much are tickets for Land of Lights Festival?
Book tickets for Land of Lights Festival at Gulliver’s World priced from £15 per person for off peak tickets.
Do I need to pay for parking at the Land of Lights Festival?
There is plenty of parking on site at Gulliver’s World Warrington and this is free of charge for Land of Lights ticket holders.
Is the Land of Lights Festival pushchair friendly?
Land of Lights is definitely pushchair and wheelchair friendly – the whole route is paved and there is step free access available where necessary.
Can I take my dog to Land of Lights Festival?
Dogs are welcome at Land of Lights Festival on specific nights so do check carefully when booking if you want to take your four-legged friend with you!
I love that they’ve done this as it means if you’re nervous of dogs then you can avoid the “Dog-Friendly Nights” but it also means dog lovers get the chance to enjoy the lanterns with their furry friends – it feels like a really fair and sensible way of doing things!
You can find more details of dog-friendly nights at Land of Lights here.
What is there to eat and drink?
There are food stalls selling hot drinks and food part way round the trail – from what I could see you were looking at about £10 for a hot sandwich but we chose to save our money so I can’t tell you what the quality of the food is like!
The queues for hot drinks were quite long on the night we visited to we served those too.
There is also the option to toast marshmallows – from what I could see the pricing on this was “£4 a bag” – but I couldn’t see what a bag looked like to be able to tell if this was good value or not (I would suggest probably not but then you’re paying for the experience in this instance aren’t you). There are several marshmallow toasting stations around the trail.
There was mulled wine for sale at the end of the trail – I couldn’t smell it anywhere else but it did strike me as odd that it wasn’t for sale part way round as I know I’d be more likely to buy it then than when I was going to the car (not that I drink mulled wine but I think you know what I mean!).
Anything else we need to know?
The trail itself is about a mile long – there are toilets at the start, part way round and at the end.
The lanterns are set out in themes (or dreamworlds) so you’ll see seasonal sections like Day of the Dad or Christmas, and then things like a dinosaur section, farm animals, a fairy themed corridor (this was one of my favourite sections)
Although the lanterns themselves are beautiful to take photos of, you might struggle to get pictures of the kids and the lanterns together as they are so bright! I used a mixture of my phone and my big camera and quickly gave up trying to take pictures of the kids with the lanterns and used the more twinkly lights to take pictures of them instead!
There is music but this is more just background music for atmosphere – the light displays aren’t set to music.
Make sure you dress for the weather as this is an outdoor experience – it was a bit drizzly on the night we went which probably dampened our spirits a little (pun intended) but we still enjoyed our visit.
I would say we were on site for about an hour in total – we could have stretched this out by buying food and drinks or toasting marshmallows but as it was a bit wet, we didn’t fancy queuing for food so we picked up a cheeky takeaway when we got home instead!
I have to be honest and say that whilst we did like Land of Lights, it definitely wasn’t my favourite light trail we’ve done. I think that’s mostly because I tend to prefer twinkly festive light installations to massive lanterns (impressive though they were) so if I was choosing where to spend my time and money, I think other light trails in the Manchester area would sit higher up my wish list than this one.
Check out our list of Christmas light trails in the Manchester area next.
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