Even during the day, Halloween at Blenheim Palace has always been pretty cool, but since they started their dusk to dark trail it is a whole new level. Don’t worry, they still have all of their day-time activities and decorations, this is an extra thing. There is an additional charge for tickets to the Halloween trail at Blenheim Palace, which can be booked via their website.
This visit to the Halloween trail at Blenheim Palace was gifted but they did not see the review prior to publication and had no input into its contents. We’re big fans of the Christmas light trail at Blenheim Palace, actually we’re big fans of Blenheim in general and have been members for years. You can read my review here.
It starts at the car park…
If you have done the Halloween at Blenheim Palace trail before you might be expecting things in the car park. This year is a bit different. They’re having some work done on the palace so there’s less stuff in the car park and no headless horseman – well not here anyway…
There’s also loos out here and food trucks, plus a couple of rides (£3 per token). If you are early, then there’s enough to keep you entertained for a while, but not for ages. You can’t really wander around the site – because it’s dark!! Timing is key on this one.
The light trail route
The first thing you need to know is that the Halloween trail at Blenheim Palace is a lot shorter than the Christmas one. We went through the side gate near the Italian garden, along the path right up to where you can access the back of the pleasure gardens and back around, including through the secret garden. To keep it nice and spooky you’re in the wooded part of the gardens most of the time. It’s also in the opposite direction from previous years.
Also, don’t worry if it’s still a bit light when you arrive. We had the 6pm slot and it was still light for a while but as you can see, the displays are still very effective.
We were on the trail itself for nearly an hour and a half. Some of that time was spent watching the shows along the way (more on that in a second), rather than continuously walking. There’s also refreshments about half way round (which we didn’t stop for so you’ll be in there longer if you do). There’s plenty to see, but even little legs shouldn’t get too tired as you’re not covering a long distance.
How scary is the Halloween trail at Blenheim Palace?
It’s a family friendly trail so it isn’t too scary, however they have designed it to be slightly scarier than it was the first year. This isn’t just a children’s trail by any means and I saw lots of groups of adults walking round. It’s also particularly good for tweens and teenagers.
This year there were a few places where Smallest Child asked quite quickly if we could move on because she didn’t like it. She wasn’t terrified, and as soon as we moved away she was happy again, she just wasn’t keen on hanging around. She’s 6 but I also saw younger kids than her on the trail. We just kept reminding her it wasn’t real.
There were two sections of the Halloween trail at Blenheim Palace that she didn’t really like; the ghost bride and the alien monster in the secret garden. BUT, the actors are very good. If it’s obvious that a child isn’t keen then they just ignore the kid and walk away. And it’s easy enough for you to just walk to the next stage of the trail as there’s plenty to see and you won’t miss much.
The shows and actors
The lights look brilliant, and this is actually the only Halloween light trail that we go to. I imagine it will become as popular as Christmas ones before long, but for now it’s fairly unique. Every year a big highlight for us is the shows. They have actors, fire-dancers, sword-dancers, generally-doing-dangerous-stuff-dancers. These people are incredible and I could have stayed for hours watching them. Little tip; if when you arrive you can’t see just hang around for a minute. There’s a steady turn-over of people so you’ll quickly move to the front.
I suspected Middle Child now harbours secret plans to become a fire dancer. And when he does, I will track it back to this day!
There’s a good level of audience interaction during the shows. Actually this year there are so many more actors than in previous years. They’re alllll over the place! There’s a warlock, Dracula, living statues, ghost bride, horses and loads more. The ghost bride was creepy as hell!
What’s new for 2023?
If you went to the Halloween light trail at Blenheim Palace last year you might be wondering if it’s worth going again this year? Yes! It’s surprisingly different. There’s some stuff from last year, but they mainly use that as a side feature. There’s plenty of new stuff as well. Each year they step it up again and again, and this year is no exception.
The props they use are incredible and there’s so many of there! There’s a great variety of zones and things to see pretty much every few steps.
Our Halloween at Blenheim Palace Trail Review
2021 was the first time Blenheim Palace had put on a Halloween trail. I’d always like what they’d done previously during October half term, but this ramps it up about 50 gears. For us, it was something very different to do during the half term.
You can’t really call this a light trail because the dusk to dark trail for Halloween at Blenheim is so much more than just lights. Yes, they add to the atmosphere, but actually a lot of it is about the props and the actors.
It’s quite different from the Christmas offering in terms of size, what else is available and distance. I’m not sure many people will do both of them. If you’re put-off by the the Christmas trail for any reason then definitely consider this as an alternative.
Admission cost
Open from the 20th – 29th October 2023
A family ticket (excluding parking) is £61 for peak or £47 off peak (after 7.45/8.15 depending on dates) . Tickets must be pre-booked via their website.
Parking / How to get there
Parking – On-site. Parking costs £10 per car.
Address – Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1PP
Toilets
On-site
Food
Various kiosks available just before the entrance. There’s also refreshments about half way round
What else is there to do nearby?
For lots more October half term activities across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, plus pumpkin patches and lots of autumn and Halloween crafts have a look at the Autumn pages of the website.
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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.
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