Christmas is a big deal at Waddesdon Manor, and it’s somewhere we visit every year. In 2019 Waddesdon Manor was voted the best Christmas experience in the UK by the Group Leisure and Travel Awards. The Christmas market and Winter Light Trails are back for 2023. You find all the details of how to book Christmas at Waddesdon Manor and Winter Light at the end of this review.
For the full review of non-Christmas related Waddesdon Manor click here.
Booking for the Waddesdon Manor Christmas Event 2023
Winter Light and the Christmas market at Waddesdon Manor is always very popular and pre-booking for the house is essential for popular dates. All tickets should be pre-booked, but you might still be able to get some on the day, subject to availability. This year there is once again a charge for members to access the grounds, as well as a charge for the bus. The house itself will once again be decorated.
The Christmas market
This year the Christmas market at Waddesdon Manor is smaller than it normally is, I think. It’s full of small, independent traders selling alllll kinds of stuff. There’s decorations, clothes, food and gift ideas. They do tend to be quite expensive things but there’s one stall that sells my favourite skittles fudge so I’m happy. They have also moved all of the hot food and drinks stalls to the food village at the side of the house. To give you an idea of some of the prices 9 churro bites were £7. A plain hot-dog was £8 and a burger was £10.
The Waddesdon Manor Christmas Lights route
Normally, in the grounds there are two main light trails and some other lights dotted around. Year on year the Christmas event at Waddesdon Manor has been shrinking and this year they’ve basically halved what’s on offer! Yet they’re charging more than ever before.
This year there are no decorations in Miss Alice’s Drive at all, it’s completely closed. Instead all of the children’s art work is in The Stables. I’ll be honest, I had no intention of going to see the lights this year because I had been so disappointed with previous years. However Smallest Child had taken part in producing a piece of the artwork so we got heavily discounted tickets (£20.50 for five of us), and she was desperate to go. So I booked. But more about that later.
One thing I will say is that the illuminations on the front of the house this year are stunning. Probably the best I’ve seen them so make sure you take the time to watch them.
The Christmas Light Trail at Waddesdon Manor
The Christmas light trail at Waddesdon Manor starts near the house, goes around the aviary, past the rose garden and then back through the ferns. Daffodil Hill is always a big part of the light trail, but this year they’ve only lit up about a third of it.
In comparison to previous years there were different light sculptures, and a lot of trees lit up, but definitely less of the feature elements they have had in previous years. I counted nine features in total. They’ve relied very heavily on flood-lit trees and even most of their feature elements are just based around lit-up trees. It’s such a contrast from what they did 5 or 6 years ago. Remember the massive moons or the glowing washing lines? I miss those.
They did have a sky walk which I absolutely love, and was the main highlight of the trail for me. What’s funny is that this is actually what they had at Blenheim last year. So the best thing about Waddesdon’s Christmas light trail is actually recycled from their competitor!
Other big features include a triangular light tunnel and dancing light tubes.
Overall the light trail took us 29 minutes to do, and that’s at child pace. This is actually less time than it took us to walk from the overflow car park to the front of the manor. Or the amount of time it took us to get pizza!
The stables
As I mentioned before, all of the children’s artwork is in the stables. It’s really cute, but it’s quite hard to find your contribution. The paper lantern that older kids have made are stunning. Younger kids are asked to write down what gives them joy and it’s really cute.
However when we got there we couldn’t find Smallest Child’s contribution anywhere. She’d make a flag and there weren’t any flags to be seen. We asked two members of staff. One told us that they only knew two people who had found their own things, that it was very hit and miss. The other said that maybe they had so much they couldn’t display it all. We asked someone up near the house if there was anywhere else (other than the light boxes) that the stuff might be and they said no. I’ve since seen a post that mentions a “forest of flags” but I cannot find out where it is so if you find it please let me know!
Down here there is also a couple of massive stags for a photo op. If you follow the path from the stables up to the power house then there’s light boxes displaying artwork from local primary schools.
The House Christmas decorations at Waddesdon Manor
For the first time in many years I have decided not to pay the money to see the house decorations at Waddesdon Manor. It was just too much money and I’d been disappointed previously so decided against it. Sadly that means I can’t share any photos but apparently they have decorated the bachelor’s wing again.
To give you an idea of what it’s like though, this is a photo from last year.
Our Waddesdon Manor at Christmas review
For the past few years it’s just been a steady decline in terms of value for money. They’ve relied so heavily on floodlit trees. It’s pretty, but it gets a bit samey. And the cost has come up significantly, even since last year. For members the price has nearly doubled! Looking back through my posts, it was free admission in 2019 with just £5 for adults to go into the house. Now we’d have to pay £74. There are sooo many light trails out there now I think Waddesdon is going to have to seriously re-think their offering or their prices. Otherwise people will just go elsewhere. In short, do what they used to do, and used to do very well.
Despite all of this, it is a Christmas tradition to go and the kids did enjoy it. We felt all Christmassy on the way home. I just felt like we were no longer getting good value for money. As someone who has always been a big fan of the Manor, it really pains me to say that.
When is the Waddesdon Manor Christmas event on in 2023?
22nd November to 17th December (when the grounds are open). Winter light runs from 22nd November – 1st Jan. Closed 24-26 and most Mondays & Tuesdays
Admission Cost
Adults are from £35.50, children are £16.50. Member adults are £16.50, member children are £7. Plus you have to pay for the bus
Bus prices (This is optional, covers travel in both directions) – £2.50 per adult, £1.50 per child.
Parking / how to get there
Address – Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire HP18 0JH
Parking – Ample free parking near the visitor centre. You can walk up from there which takes 20/25 minutes. It has a steep uphill section. It’s a pain in the bum getting a pushchair up to the manor, and exhausting, but we’ve done it plenty of times. They have got a new path which makes it a bit easier.
You can pay for the shuttle bus if you wish. £2.50 per adult, £1.50 per child. Under 5’s go free but must sit on your lap. Pushchairs are free but must be pre-booked.
Premium parking is very close to the manor and costs £30.
Food
Various different outlets (coffee shed, summer house, stables cafe kiosk and the Treaterie). There is no food tent this year. They are also doing a Christmas afternoon tea. Picnics – Welcome everywhere
Toilets
They have excellent facilities near the house and smaller toilets in the stable. There are dedicated baby change facilities (unisex and separate from the toilets). There are also toilets by the temporary entrance kiosks and then at the main visitor centre.
Visit their website for the latest availability and prices. If you’re looking for other Christmas events around Buckinghamshire have a look at my what’s on guide.
Hi, I’m Vicky. My husband and I live in Aylesbury with our three children; a 14 year old son, an 12 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. I (mostly) love spending time together as a family. We visit all kinds of places and we’re quite happy to drive a fair distance for a decent day out. A few years ago I decided to set up Free Time with the Kids as a way to share our experiences of these family days out.
You’ll find the essential information you need to know before your visit that can be surprisingly hard to find out. Where do I park? How much will it cost me to get in? Are there any discounts available? Are there loos? Can I take a picnic or get food? My aim is to be your go-to guide for all your free and cheap family days out across Bucks, Beds, Oxon, Herts & slightly beyond. I really hope you find the reviews helpful. If there’s anywhere that you’d recommend please get in touch contact@freetimewiththekids.com or get in touch via Facebook