This is definitely one of those, wrap up warm, grab the family, pack your camera and get out and have an amazing time events. LUMINATE WALES returns to Margam Country Park and Castle this Winter. A spectacular, illuminated trail, full of wonder and intrigue, to delight and enthral your senses.
Luminate is brightening up the darkest of winter nights, as it takes visitors on a mile-long illuminated journey filled with wonder and intrigue, ahead of the festive season. The setting really couldn’t be any better in Margam Country Park, the historic country estate in Port Talbot. The light trail is an after-dark experience and one which is sure to captivate all ages – an event not to be missed in the lead-up to the festive season.
As darkness descends, visitors can weave their way through an immersive light experience through the Orangery gardens. This mesmerising trail features stunning, light elements and interactive light play all set to a beautiful soundtrack.
The team behind Luminate create bespoke installations that deliver those wow moments and take your breath away. New to Margam Country Park this year is a new dramatic animation projected onto the Castle façade. This high energy animation depicts wild adventures at sea and at the castle itself all set to a powerful, exciting sound track to really engage the visitor.
The iconic orangery will be transformed this year with a flame installation. As the dark nights draw in, this is a sure-fire way to light up the faces of friends and family as you explore. On the route there will be mulled wine and marshmallows to toast on fire pits, to keep the chill away.
Margam Country Park is set in 1000 acres of glorious parkland. The location offers beauty, history, and wildlife alongside a wide variety of family attractions. This winter Luminate will light up Margam Country Park with a display featuring fairies and the ever-popular wishing wall where visitors can make a wish on a tag and pin it to the wall ahead of the festivities. Who knows what 2025 will bring you – wishes can come true! Warming seasonal food and drink will be on offer mid-way through the trail and visitors can spend time relaxing there and enjoying the illuminated swings.
Janine Maycock, part of the Luminate team told us…..
“We work hard to ensure Luminate is a fun and enchanting evening out. We have lots of family visitors, but it is also a romantic date night and has sparked several proposals of marriage. The trail is different each year, so there is always a surprise, and we look forward to welcoming people for the first time as well as our returning visitors to Luminate at Margam Country Park. We are working towards becoming the world’s best festive light event and we work with exceptional talent in iconic locations.
Councillor Cen Phillips Cabinet Member for Nature, Tourism and Wellbeing added……
“We are delighted to welcome the return of Luminate Wales to Margam Country Park. This event has become a highlight of our cultural calendar, drawing both our local community and visitors to enjoy an annual festive tradition with a beautifully reimagined light trail each year.”
Luminate proudly supports a number of charities by donating tickets. For Margam the charities include Carers Trust Wales, Noah’s Ark and the National Autistic Society.
There will be two evenings on Monday December 2nd and Monday December 9th where visitors are able to come along with their four-legged friends and the trail is flat and on a wide, hard-surface path suitable for wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and pushchairs. The team at Luminate works with Ecologi to offset their carbon footprint and have planted over 80,000 trees to date.
As darkness descends, head off on your enchanting journey, as you weave a captivating light trail through the stunning, historic gardens of Margam Country Park and Castle. Immerse yourself in the mesmerising mile long walk, with stunning lighting installations and fabulous interactive elements for the kids (and big kids!) to play with, all set to music.
They have plenty of tasty treats and hot mulled wine available near the start of the trail, and then marshmallows for toasting on the fire pits and hot food caterers in the cafe courtyard halfway around.
The trail is approximately one mile long and (depending on how quickly you walk through) will take circa 60-90 minutes to complete. Warm up by our fire pit, where you can toast marshmallows (purchase your marshmallows on site or bring your own marshmallows and skewers) and indulge in some of the hot food and snacks available to purchase from the Courtyard cafe and a carefully chosen selection of street food traders (approx 3/4’s of the way around the walk, closes at approx 9pm), along with our drinks and mulled wine huts along the route.
The trail starts just off the car park, near the Orangery where you will follow the route through the Gardens, ascending up to the Castle and the Castle Courtyard and Cafe, pass in front of the Castle and descend back down, finishing back at the Orangery.
A Timeless experience to be enjoyed by all, young and old alike. Tickets must be pre-booked, online in advance. We can tell you that some days are sold out already.
Ticket Prices Monday to Thursday
(up to Thursday 12th December)
Adult (16+): £15.00
Child (3-15): £10.00
Family (2+2): £45.00
Ticket Prices Friday & Sunday
(plus everyday from 16th December)
Adult (16+): £21.25
Child (3-15): £14.50
Family (2+2): £69.50
Ticket Prices Saturday
Adult (16+): £24.25
Child (3-15): £17.25
Family (2+2): £75.25
If you have a family, the special family tickets is definitely the way to go. Luminate Wales is at Margam Country Park in Margam, Port Talbot for more details, and to get tickets, go here – LUMINATE
LUMINATE WALES at Margam Country Park will be open nightly through to 31st December between 4.30pm and 8pm – these are the entry times. Tickets are sold with fixed entry time slots, to ensure that the trail is enjoyed by everybody in the best possible light.
