A Day Out at Glow Wild Wakehurst

It’s been a few years since Dann and I went along to Glow Wild Wakehurst, a yearly illumination event! We are both big fans of illumination trails and aim to take our children to one each year, and this year we selected Glow Wild Wakehurst, as they had not been to this specific one previously. Glow Wild Wakehurst has a different theme each year, with completely different illuminations and even a different path through the gardens so that it does all feel fresh and new.

This year, the theme seemed to be nature, with tons of different types of bugs, birds and creatures all around the gardens, lighting up the paths as you went. Unlike other illuminations, Glow Wild Wakehurst actually gives each child a lantern to carry around with them, as some aspects of the walk are a bit darker than other illuminations, lit only by small lanterns on the way. You can pick any lantern you want and there were plenty to choose from as well.

The walk does have a bunch of different bug noises, as you look at centipedes, stink bugs, and a bunch of different creepy crawlies. As we continued through, there was also a section for birds with robins, wood pigeons and more. As you continue through the trail, there is a whole area with foxes and other animals, all along a hill. Stars hang from trees and a giant moon is featured there. It’s so beautifully thought through, using the land and gardens in a wonderful way to highlight the illuminations as well.

So many of these areas really were amazing – the lake which had giant flowers and butterflies on them felt wonderful and was a favorite of our entire families, as we waited around that area for quite some time watching the lights change color and grow brighter. A giant Christmas tree could be seen from all over the walk, and there was a stopping zone where you could look down at a bunch of trees, which had butterflies and birds projected onto them, creating a cool view for people to stand by and watch.

Another really beautiful area, which wasn’t quite animal themed, was an area of floating mushrooms hanging out in a tree. These mushrooms looked magical and was one of the highlights for me. Another huge tree had been covered in lanterns, which looked really beautiful as well. There was a light tunnel that looked full of moss to walk though too! This walk was wonderful and well worth the ticket price, as it makes for such a magical experience. Glow Wild is also not themed towards Christmas, beyond the one tree, which makes it great for an after Christmas event.

One area of Glow Wild Wakehurst, that actually felt a little strange, was the field of fire. This was a bunch of different black pillars, that all had fire on them, with no real illuminations around them. Though there was a ton of fire, it didn’t feel like this area fit the theme of the rest of the illuminations. It did smell really strongly of fire and looked impressive, but overall didn’t match the grand feeling of the rest of the walk.

At the start and middle of the walk, there are a few little huts where you can grab brownies and hot drinks, and at the very end of the walk there are more hot chocolate stands, as well as some roast topped potatoes and pulled pork, so you can have a bit of a dinner there if you’d like. This end area has a good amount of seating, as well as an area for pictures that carolers went into to sing requested songs. At the middle stop, there was also performers with giant ostrich puppets, moving them around. These little details were really fun and I did not remember them from the previous time we had attended.

You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!