I have wanted to visit, and review the Christmas light trail at Kew Gardens in London for a long time but never quite managed it. Finally this year we booked! I’ve seen so many good things about it though, and some awesome videos! I was very excited to go.
There are a couple of important things that you need to know about the Christmas light trail at Kew Gardens before you go. First of all it is LOOOONG – 3km long. They recommend 2 hours to get around it – and we took almost exactly that ourselves, including a very short stop at one of the food stalls. It’s fully paved, and on fairly decent paving so it’s easy for pushchairs. If you have a child who is borderline still using a pushchair etc, then definitely bring one to prevent meltdowns. Especially if it is cold. There’s multiple stops for food/drinks and toilets along the route. It’s also very dark between some of the installations so you need to watch your step, or maybe take a torch.
This route is outdoors (obviously) and there is almost no cover. Check the weather before you go; it it’s cold or wet dress appropriately. They only cancel for weather warnings so even if it’s chucking it down, you’ll only get a refund if it’s bad enough for the Met Office to issue a weather warning. On the flip side, there are a lot of trees so if it is too windy they will have to close for safety reasons. And it tends to sell out so if that happens (so far it has happened two weekends in 2024) then you won’t get to re-book in all likelihood.
The route
The route of the Christmas lights trail at Kew Gardens takes in all of the main gates and the major attractions. It actually covers most of the gardens TBF. There are 25 main attractions along the route and no less than ten different food villages, bars or restaurants!
Brentford Gate has the only pre-bookable on-site car park. This is the one that we used. One thing we noticed is that the Hive was lit up, but wasn’t actually on the route if you entered from either Victoria Gate or Brentford Gate. So we just took a little detour!
The glass houses
Kew Gardens is famous for their glass houses, and several of them take centre stage during the Christmas light trail. In front of the palm house they make use of both the building and the lake which is just spectacular. The projections onto a screen made of mist is VERY cool! However, I couldn’t help but think that the water/light show at Blenheim Palace this year was actually a bit better.
One thing I will say is that there are places where the paths you are sent down are quite narrow, and there are an awful lot of people at Kew. It’s not all the time, but it can feel very busy in places and you feel like you’re being swept along with the crowd. That’s not much fun.
The music
Most (but not all!) light trails are quite good at using music to enhance the atmosphere. Kew are REALLY good at this in places, especially during the snowdrop walk. I genuinely felt emotional going down here. And they play carol of the bells too – which is always a winner with me!
One thing that is a bit different about Kew Gardens vs other Christmas light trails I’ve done is the length of each light installation. They got tons of space and so each of the 25 stops are BIG. There are very few installations that are just one thing, so the big gaps between installations isn’t a huge issue. One thing that was really silly was on Snowy Lane where they have just ONE snow machine, which isn’t particularly effective. Last year they had over 7,000 each night. This year there will be more. And a very high % of them are trying to cram under one small lamp post to get a snowy selfie! We didn’t bother.
Fairground, food and markets
Unlike a lot of Christmas light trails, Kew Gardens doesn’t have a market. As I mentioned, there are 10 different spots for food and drink around the route. The biggest ones are the food villages near Victoria Gate and the fairground. There’s tons of choice. The prices are obviously high, but I’ve seen worse and the pizza we had from the KERB food village was actually very nice.
This review of the Christmas light trail at Kew Gardens is based on our experiences at the time of our visit. Things can change over time, including the facilities available. If you have any specific requirements such as access it’s always best to check with the site directly before visiting. If anything I’ve said in this review is no longer accurate then please do let me know. Thank you.
Our Christmas light trail at Kew Gardens review
There is no denying that this is a phenomenal light trail, and we have done a lot of different light trails over the years. It did have a very different atmosphere from those though. Comparatively there were a LOT less families here, and most of those I saw were in pushchairs. In fact it seemed to be mainly pushchairs or adults and almost nothing in between. I put this down to the length of the trail, but it could have just been the night we visited. I do think I would have struggled to get Smallest Child (7) around here without a ton of snack bribes and a lot of moaning. It would have taken all the fun out of it.
The trail is £10 cheaper per family than Blenheim Palace if you go for their trail only ticket (although there is no market here). In terms of prestige I think they’re quite comparable, even though they’re not particularly close to each other. If you are going with a family though, I think I’d go to Blenheim.
Admission cost
£94 for a family of 4. They often sell out well in advance so book early. Tickets don’t include admission to the grounds during the day, but you can get cheaper day tickets at the same time.
Parking / How to get there
Parking – limited pre-booked parking. £10.
Address – Kew Gardens, London. Each gate has its own postcode and you book your tickets for a specific gate;
- Victoria Gate (TW9 3JR)
- Elizabeth Gate (TW9 3AE)
- Brentford Gate (TW9 3AF)
Toilets
Lots along the route. Mix of port-a-loos and permanent blocks. They also have a changing places facility.
Food
Plenty of food stalls. Can you pre-book the restaurant as well.
What is Kew like during the day?
We’ve visited Kew Gardens many times and it’s a great family day out. You can read my full review of the main gardens here.
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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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