Windsor Great Park Illuminated Review

Disclosure: We were invited on this day out for the purpose of this post however all opinions are my own.

Last week we were invited to experience Windsor Great Park Illuminated, a festive event not too far from us, set in beautiful woodland near Virginia Water, Windsor Great Park’s Savill Garden and around the Obelisk Pond. Windsor Great Park Illuminated returns this year for its fifth year and we were excited to see what it was like and whether it differed much to last year’s event! 

What is Windsor Great Park Illuminated?

Windsor Great Park Illuminated literally lights up Windsor Great Park. It’s a 2.2km light and sound trail that brings the woodland and water to life with a festive installation of lights, music, neon signs and a sprinkle of magic too! Windsor Great Park Illuminated promises to be a stunning trail full of dazzling new installations each year along with reimagined favourites.

Getting to Windsor Great Park Illuminated

The easiest way to get to Windsor Great Park Illuminated is to drive – and pre booking car parking is essential. However, diversions are in place to reduce the impact on the local community which definitely takes you a long way round to the entrance. Allow 15-30 minutes on top of your expected travel time.

Windsor Great Park Illuminated tickets

You can book tickets online in advance with adult tickets from £19.80, children’s tickets from £12.10 and family tickets from £56.10 which are valid for two adults and two children.

Our Windsor Great Park Illuminated Experience

When we arrived at Windsor Great Park Illuminated we were all so excited, seeing the lights from a distance and raring to get on the trail and start the experience. But first we were met with fairground rides and food stalls, like a little welcoming village. It was lovely.

We grabbed some hot drinks, had our tickets scanned and started the forest trail. Even as we were getting checked in, we could see and hear the first light display – and it was fantastic! 

Windsor Great Park Illuminated starts with a Polar Express-esque train this year, where you walk over the bridge along the lit up train tracks, all the way to the train, which appears to move, with puffs of smoke coming from the chimney on top and clips of music and speech from the Polar Express movie accompanying it too. It was a great start and really set the tone for the night. It blew us away!

The whole trail is full of lights, with some walking between the main light installations. At some installations, like the train, along the waterside and at a giant Windsor sign further on, crowds do gather to take photos but generally the trail was flowing nicely throughout the evening, with everyone moving at a good speed and letting everyone see the lights. It wasn’t too busy at all.

Although we’re familiar with Savill Garden, Virginia Water and the surrounding forest, Windsor Great Park Illuminated was like a different world. We had no idea where we were at any point and it felt so magical, with lights leading the way and helping us to really get immersed in the experience.

Some of our favourite light displays were over the lake, with a kaleidoscope of lights in one area and dancing fountains in another along with being able to see all the lights around the lake too. The reflections on the lake were simply beautiful and we could have watched them for hours.

There were plenty of photo opportunities – a sleigh to sit in,  light tunnels and so many festive backdrops. These were the busiest areas but queues only took a few minutes and everyone ended up with beautiful photos of their experience.

One part of Windsor Great Park Illuminated that had us all feeling the festive cheer was getting to see Father Christmas, flying through the sky, landing and talking to his reindeer. It was such a magical moment and all the children absolutely loved it – and so many adults too.

Alongside this, we saw lights of wolves, deer and rabbits walking through the forest which were so realistic and beautiful to watch. The wolves would howl and it was so lifelike and so completely different to typical light displays too. 

During the trail there were two different rest stops with food and drink stands, marshmallow toasting, toilets and a really special surprise at one of them – an animal disco! This was fantastic and had everyone singing and dancing along. It was such a lovely part of our evening and lovely to watch with a warm drink or a pot of custard topped crumble!

The whole trail was full of lights – so many colours, so much that was timed to music and so many different sequences. It was delightful. The whole evening couldn’t have been a nicer experience.

We spent about an hour and a half at Windsor Great Park Illuminated and could have easily spent much longer if we’d toasted marshmallows or had dinner there. It’s a really good trail length and we really enjoyed it. It’s the kind of festive event that is great for all ages – and it’s dog friendly too! Just make sure your furry friend stays on their lead.

The trail is pretty even and fine for wheelchairs and pushchairs although it does get muddy and slippery at the edges of the path. This would get worse after rain or snow so it’s worth being mindful of that and dressing appropriately.

Food and drink at Windsor Great Park Illuminated

There are so many food and drink options at Windsor Great Park Illuminated – from hot drinks and chips to burgers, waffles and crepes. But, as you’d expect with this kind of attractions, the prices are high. Coffees and hot chocolates are around £5-£6 each and our crumble pots were £8.50 each and loaded fries from £7 for a small cone. Burgers, on their own, were £12-£15 and chips were around £5-£8 depending on toppings. We paid £60 for four hot drinks, two crumbles and two cones of loaded chips – one small and one big – so it’s worth factoring this into your budget for the night.

The Windsor Great Park Illuminated rides

As well as the illuminated light trail, there are fairground rides that you can go on at an additional charge. A carousel, ferris wheel and helter skelter. These looked really popular and are a great way to start or end your experience. Ride tokens can be bought on the night or along with your tickets and are about £16.50 for 6 tokens including the booking fee.

The Windsor Great Park Illuminated map

Windsor Great Park Illuminated has a fantastic map that you can take a look at to see the sheer volume of light displays and the length of the trail. It’s one of the best trails that we have been to across the south east and we had a great evening.

You can find out more about Windsor Great Park Illuminated over on their website and you can see a Reel of our visit over on Instagram here.