Last Updated on 4 December 2025 by Colette
This post features gifted experiences
On Friday night, when Storm Claudia was doing her level best to keep us all safely tucked up indoors, we wrapped up and headed down to Freight Island to check out Twilight Tales.
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The outside area of Freight Island has been transformed into a festive playground with a mixture of interactive installations and lights – this isn’t so much of a Christmas light trail as a space full of interactive light installations and activities from writing letters to Father Christmas (Chloe asked if it would be possible for him to arrange for her to stop growing) to elves to find, the most bonkers train carriage full of phones (our favourite was the complaints line) and containers of neon light strings, disco balls and, dry ice filled bubbles!
Of course turning up in the midst of a storm meant that it was super quiet and whilst we were fairly protected from the wind, the rain was definitely not giving us festive feels! For a good while we were the only people there which meant there was a distinct lack of atmosphere and some very cold, miserable looking staff. That said, it did have the benefit of meaning we could dip in and out of the various interactive elements and take our time without having to queue or worry about other people needing a turn.
So whilst it definitely wasn’t the weather to experience Twilight Tales at its best, we still had a good laugh and made the best of it spending about 45 minutes hunting for elves, messing about on the telephones and exploring the light installations.
Although there is a bar area outside as well as hot chocolates and marshmallow toasting available – we were just so ready to get inside to get some food and warm up. Whilst we had been looking forward to our tea at Freight Island, the experience just didn’t really hit the mark and in all honesty the best thing about the food was that it was hot – we ate from three different vendors and wouldn’t order from any of them again.
All in, we liked Twilight Tales for a more affordable festive trail experience and the fact kids eat free at Freight Island is definitely a bonus – just try to go when the weather is less ridiculous!
Tickets for Twilight Tales starts from £5. Kids Eat Free after the trail (T&Cs apply) One kids meal per adult and main course purchased.
What you need to know about Twiglight Tales at Freight Island this Christmas
- Parking near Freight Island is limited – we parked in the Buxton Street car park and even though Freight Island was super quiet, there was only one space left in the car park and I don’t think there is any near by street parking. If you’re planning to use the Buxton Street car park, have a back up plan. (Oh and the machine was coins only which feels a bit old school so you might need to use your phone to pay!)
- Twilgiht Tales is outside and whilst it is more sheltered than some light trails, you’re still going to wrap up warm and be aware of the weather – nothing is going to spoil this experience faster than being cold and wet.
- Although the ground is paved, because it’s on a slight slope, we found that parts of it were starting to flood in the storm so I’d still consider chucking on a pair of waterproof boots rather than your Uggs!
- Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a short lead.
- Although you are asked to arrive for your allotted time, you are welcome to stay at Twiglight Tales for as long as you wish.
- Don’t rush – Twilight Tales is quite compact but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to see and do. Despite the shocking weather, we still managed to fill 45 minutes outside.
- You’ll be given a sheet to tick off the elves as you find them – though there didn’t seem to be any reward for completing this.
- There’s a bar outside as well as somewhere to get hot chocolate and toast marshmallows – we didn’t try these as it was just too cold and miserable to stay outside for any longer than necessary!
- Kids Eat Free at Freight Island with every child ticket (and the purchase of an adult meal) – which does make this really good value for a night out.
- Freight Island itself is quite a cavernous space and as such I think it can be quite cold – we made sure to sit up in the main bar area away from any doors and drafts. We took our coats off but only because they were soaked!
- You can order your food via the QR code on your table but because we were using vouchers we had to go to each vendor to order and wait for our food which honestly was a bit of a pain as it meant everyone’s food was ready at different times and was a lot of standing around for Dave and I. Luckily our girls are old enough to leave but table service after ordering would have made a huge difference.
If there’s anything else you need to know about Twilight Tales at Freight Island this winter, just drop me a comment below or find me on instagram and I’ll do my best to answer!
Find details on more festive adventures here:
Where to see Father Christmas in Manchester this year
SEN friendly festive experiences in Manchester
Free or low cost things to do in Manchester this Christmas
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AWFUL, AWFUL, AWFUL, a complete rip off, DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY on Twilight Tales. A much scaled down version from last year. How they have the audacity to charge to go into this is beyond me.