Visiting a Christmas lights trail has been a firm family favourite of ours for the past few years. It’s a definite winter win/win as it gets the family out on a nice walk while also allowing us to enjoy a fabulous festive experience together.
So when we were lucky enough to be invited along to last night’s preview of BeWILDerwood Cheshire’s first ever Christmas ‘sparkly light and panto trail’ we jumped at the chance to check it out - and boy have they pulled it off!
If you have primary school age (or younger) children, this is definitely for you.
If you weren’t aware, BeWILDerwood, an ‘enchanted’ forest based treehouse adventure park full of zip-wires and slides, is based on books by Tom Blofeld featuring a range of characters who live in the marshes and woods, the Twiggles and the Boggles.
The fantasy theme already present provides lovely backdrop to a festive event, and while many of these short term Christmas trails are created in woodlands along muddy paths, BeWILDerwood has a huge advantage in that it already has a nicely constructed network of timber walkways and bridges among the trees, making the experience all the more evocative.
Our children were awestruck as they wandered through the dark forest in deepest rural Cheshire, enjoying the winter wonderland created by BeWILDerwood’s fantastic team. Mum and Dad were pretty damn impressed too.
First of all it was gingerbread men, candy canes and lollypops and then silly snowmen up to mischief. But it was the return leg after a bit of hearty festive food that had the real wow factor, with snow cannons spraying us from above, giant illuminated snow flakes, Christmas baubles, a giant Christmas pudding and beautifully decorated trees. There was even a glimpse of Father Christmas across the woods, sitting in his sleigh waving to us all.
The middle part of our experience was illuminated by a brilliant mini-panto performance by the Twiggles and Boggles featuring dad’s favourite joke - ‘What type of music does a bunny like? - hip-hop!’
My daughters (four and seven) rated this as the highlight of their visit, so don’t miss out if you do go.
Two more ‘micro-panto’ performances by the Boggles kept the kids engaged on 
the final walk back to the car and they were buzzing with excitement and joy by the time it was all over.
All together, it’s a terrific event for bonding as a family at this special time of year.
Families are advised to dress appropriately as there are some muddy sections and the whole experience is outside after dusk.
Tickets are £15.50 per person and must be booked in advance online. Tickets will be limited so it’s advised to book soon to guarantee your spot. As with all BeWILDerwood special events, it’s set to be very popular!
When booking you will be asked to select an arrival time slot, which are every half hour from 4pm – 6.30pm. The event will last around 1 hour and 30 minutes and all children will receive a craft and BeWILDerwood Christmas book.
So, wrap up warm and get ready for an evening full of family fun, festive cheer and BeWILDermas magic!
Create your new Christmas tradition and book tickets today: https://cheshire.bewilderwood.co.uk/events/bewilderwood-presents-christmas/
Review by Nick Lavigueur - Editor, Euromedia Associates Ltd.