Christmas at Westonbirt

Our brand-new illuminated trail, Christmas at Westonbirt, launches this festive season

Get ready for a brand-new festive experience at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum this Christmas. We’ve teamed up with the award-winning, internationally acclaimed light trail producers behind Christmas at Kew, Christmas at Bedgebury and Christmas at Blenheim to bring you a light trail never-before-seen at Westonbirt.  

Explore trees from all over the globe in a completely new light. The National Arboretum is a place where new memories are made when over a million twinkling lights and seasonal sounds fill the air with festive fun. 

Our new trail has everything you need for an unforgettable time with your friends and family, including a magical glimpse of Father Christmas. Discover luminous birds delicately balanced on branches, colourful neon trees, sparkling tunnels of light and the arboretum filled with all the colours of the rainbow. 

Grab a seasonal snack from the Christmas village or one of the hand-picked street food vendors with tempting treats on offer. Complete your walk under the stars with a festive *spiced winter warmer, *hot chocolate or *toasted marshmallow and share it with someone special.

*separate charges apply

Your very merriest Christmas starts here. Limited capacity with timed entry. Plan now to secure the date and time of your choice. 

Dates

• Friday 29 November - Sunday 1 December
• Friday 6 - Sunday 8 December 
• Thursday 12 - Sunday 15 December
• Wednesday 18 - Tuesday 24 December
• Thursday 26 - Tuesday 31 December

Trail entry time slots

To avoid overcrowding and ensure the enjoyment of all visitors on the illuminated trail you will need to select a time slot when booking.

Time slots vary depending on the date, but generally take place every 15 minutes between 4.30pm to 8pm. Please ensure you arrive at the trail entrance promptly for your allocated start time. Advanced booking is essential. 

Prices

Tickets are priced as off peak, standard and peak with ticket prices varying depending on the date and time. Off peak tickets are generally midweek or later in the evening and peak pricing applys at weekends, dates close to Christmas and on earlier time slots. Please select the date and time slot that you wish to book, and the price for that slot will show. 

*there is no charge for infant or personal assistant entry, but all infants and personal assistants require a ticket for entry. These must be booked in conjunction with a full price ticket. Students must have a valid student ID at the time of booking and on the date of visit.

** to book a family ticket simply select 2 Adult and 2 Child and the relevant discount will be applied in the basket. 

All orders subject to £2.50 transaction fee.

Parking

There is a charge for parking at this special event. If you plan on arriving by car, a parking space must be purchased in advance along with your trail entry tickets online.  

Parking for Christmas at Westonbirt costs £8 per car. Accessible spaces for Blue Badge holders are available in the Welcome Building car park, parking costs apply. We are offering Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum and Forestry England Members one free parking space, this must be booked in advance, see below for details. 

Offer for Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum & Forestry England Members

We are offering all Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum and Forestry England Members one free parking space, when booked in advance. To redeem this offer please follow the instructions below.

Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum members

Select the FOWA Member tickets from the price list and add any parking spaces required. Enter your membership number and your member offer of one free parking space will be automatically applied to the basket. 

Forestry England Members

Make sure you are logged in to your membership account when booking. Select your tickets and parking spaces and the system will automatically allocate your free parking space. 

Memberships must be valid when you purchase tickets and on the date of visit. The membership offer is only available when booking via Forestry England and not available in conjunction with any other offer. You must present a valid membership card on arrival. 

Relaxed Session

These sessions are for adults and young people, with additional needs, who would love to experience Christmas at Westonbirt without the usual high volumes of people. For Christmas at Westonbirt 2024, this will be held at 4pm on Saturday 30 November, Saturday 7 December, Thursday 12 December and Saturday 14 December. 

More information and book 'Relaxed Session'

Ride Tokens

The Following fairground rides will be available at Christmas at Westonbirt

These vouchers can be redeemed for tokens on site and each ride requires a different number of tokens as outlined below. Please note some height restrictions apply and children under the specified height must be accompanied by a paying adult.

 5 Tokens - Dodgems (minimum height of 1.0m, children under 1.3m must be accompanied by an adult)

4 Tokens - Ferris wheel (minimum height of 0.9m, children under 1.2m must be accompanied by an adult)

3 Tokens - Helter Skelter

3 Tokens - Reindeer ride

Buy Ride Tokens