The Christmas Lights at Kingston Lacy are truly spectacular and we had the most wonderful night walking the trail and experiencing the magic.

The trail is much bigger than I imagined and the lights begin on the path around to the front of the house where Father Christmas was waiting to cheerily greet everyone.

Carrying on the path we saw huge lit up Christmas trees, colour changing ice spikes and projections on the ground before coming out to the other side of the house.  This was a magical sight to see with hundreds of glowing orbs on the lawn and a huge sparkling tunnel of light which you can walk through.

When we came out the other side we walked past flickering flames and then walked through the most beautiful avenue of small lights on the ground and big colourful illuminations in the trees.

When we reached a couple of fire pits we stood by to warm up and then realised that it was here you could buy enormous square marshmallows to toast over the fire. You had the choice of salted caramel, chocolate or vanilla and each cost £1.60.  Between us we tried all the flavours but personally I think my vanilla one was the best.  Because of the size of it and having to get close to the flame I’d recommend the adults do this and because they are quite big you may need to toast them more than once after nibbling.

Now that we had warmed up a bit we carried on the trail and walked through a cool laser area, past huge red sparkly hearts and gold mushrooms.  From there we walked past the 12 Days of Christmas which was made of wicker and then out onto the path which leads you back to the house.

By this point, watching the glowing orbs and listening to the festive choreographed soundtrack I’ll admit I felt quite emotional.  It was a sight I’d never seen or experienced in my life and one I’ll never forget.

The trail took us about 90 minutes to walk round but we were walking slow and spent some time toasting the marshmallows and warming up.  I’d definitely recommend wearing warm clothing and even thermals if you have them.

Because I knew the kids would get hungry I baked sausage rolls at home and took those and some snacks in my rucksack.  By the time we got back to the beginning though everyone was peckish again so we had a delicious garlic sour dough pizza bread and chips from one truck and the kids had freshly cooked chocolate crepes from another truck.  Hot drinks are also on offer and there is also a coffee truck on the trail selling hot drinks and pastries.

Because the children had been so good they were allowed to go on one ride (£2.50 each) and then we were all ready to go home and get warm again.

The Christmas Lights will be on from 4.30pm – 10pm up until Christmas Eve.  If you are a member of the National Trust then ticket prices are slightly lower for you if you book in advance.

For more information, availability and to book, please visit Kingston Lacy.

The Poole Christmas Maritime Light Festival is new for 2022 and we went on the opening night to get us all in the Christmas spirit.

The nautical themed light trail starts at the gateways to Poole; the Twin Sails Bridge, Hunger Hill and The Lighthouse.  We don’t live too far from the town so we decided to leave the car at home and walk to the Dolphin Centre where there’s a tree outside the Lighthouse and further lights and a tree at the bus station.  Going inside we found a big polar bear and penguins by Beales.

We walked all the way down the High Street and saw tons of pretty lights including huge maritime themed trees, 'Olde Harry’s Ship', a walk through lantern, a big bauble which you can sit inside, and you can even walk under a canopy of lights with fishies on.

Down by Sainsbury’s Express is pretty with lights in the trees and there’s a few festive food cabins open if you’re peckish.

We carried on walking down to towards the Quay, going past the lit up museum and then stopped at Truly Scrumptious sweet shop which stayed opened late (the kids were very happy).

Being on the Quay was my favourite as we strolled past a huge anchor, more trees, ‘Tinsel the Recycling Turtle', light projections and twinkly lights everywhere.  We always like the food at the fish and chip kiosk on the corner so we stopped there for some chips and bits and sat on the wall before go back to the lights for a few photo opportunities.

By now the kids were getting cold and tired so we walked over to the taxi rank by the Sainsbury’s Express and in no time at all the kids were home in the PJ’s.

We all loved the new lights and saw a couple of elves making balloon animals (not sure if there was a cost), small funfair rides on the Quay and there’s choirs appearing at different locations over the next few weeks too.  I’d thoroughly recommend a visit, especially as it’s free and I have no doubt we’ll be back a few times before they go in early January.

For more information, please visit the Poole Christmas Maritime Light Festival and see below for the Trail Map and Choir dates.