This winter, Lightwater Valley is home to over 100 giant, illuminated, light sculptures of Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Humpty Dumpty and many more of those Lewis Carroll’s childhood characters we all know and love from the Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass stories.
Last week, along with my three children (age 5, 6 and 9) I popped along to Lightwater Valley to find out what it is all about.
Open from 4-8 pm (last entry at 7pm) your ticket gives you access to the Alice in Winterland light trail around the the lake and beyond, a couple of fairground rides – the carousel and the Skyrider – the Young Fun Rides and the Indoor Play Area. The full theme park isn’t open however the Jurassic Adventure Golf by the entrance is also available at the reduced price of just £1.00 per person.
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The immersive Christmas lights trail is perfect festive fun for all the family, whatever your age. From a life-size chessboard with an Alice pawn to the iconic Mad Hatter’s tea party, there’s ways to get involved throughout the experience. Watch the Mad Hatter prepare for his crazy tea party, marvel at a four-metre tall Alice lantern and come face to face with the infamous Queen herself.
It’s fair to say we had a really enjoyable evening. We all loved the light trail. It is an easy walk and pretty flat, with only gentle slopes here and there. At each scene there is a notice to read (or you can press a big red button and have it read aloud) which is an extract from the story. These follow on to each other so by the end of the trail the children have experienced the stories of Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass.
Our favourite scenes were the court with the King and Queen of Hearts, Humpty Dumpty on his wall and the walkway down to the looking glass frame with giant playing card characters either side of the path.
At the end of the walk the kids had a go on each of the fairground rides (except the Skyrider as there is a 1.3m height restriction), they played in the indoor play area which they loved, and we all had a delicious hot chocolate.
It was a really pleasant, relaxing way to spend the evening. If you are in the area it’s well worth popping by.
PLEASE NOTE that there is no Santa’s Grotto at this event but it does feel very festive!
DATES & TIMES
- Alice in Winterland will be open from 4pm – 8pm with last entry at 7pm
- Fri 22 Nov, Sat 23 Nov, Sun 24 Nov
- Fri 29 Nov, Sat 30 Nov, Sun 1Dec
- Fri 6 Dec, Sat 7 Dec, Sun 8 Dec
- Fri 13 Dec, Sat 14 Dec, Sun 15 Dec
- Fri 20 Dec, Sat 21 Dec, Sun 22 Dec, Mon 23 Dec
- Fri 27 Dec, Sat 28 Dec, Sun 29 Dec, Mon 30 Dec
PRICES
PRE-BOOKED ONLINE TICKETS – ADULT £14, CHILD (2 – 15 YEARS) £10 , UNDER 2’S FREE. (Pay on day prices – subject to availability – Adult £16, Child (2-15 years) £12, Under 2’s Free.) PRE-BOOK TO GUARANTEE ENTRY
Ian & Emma Phillips live in Bolton with their three children, two boys aged 8 and 6 and their little girl who is now 4. Emma also writes over at Fuelled by Latte.