Christmas at Dunham Massey 2024 review
Last night we had the pleasure of attending the press opening night of the annual Christmas light trail at Dunham Massey National Trust in Greater Manchester. Below you will find my Christmas at Dunham Massey 2024 review. Find more Christmas Events North West here.
AD – We were gifted press tickets in exchange for coverage. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own. This post also contains affiliate links (these are marked with a *). If you purchase through them, I may earn as small commission at no extra cost to you. This supports the running of the website.
Where is Christmas at Dunham Massey?
Dunham Massey is a National Trust property in Greater Manchester, almost into Cheshire. The address is:
Dunham Massey, Woodhouse Lane, Altrincham, WA14 4SJ
Car parking at Christmas at Dunham Massey?
Parking is an additional charge and should be booked in advance with your tickets. National Trust members can park for free but still need to book a free parking place when booking the trail tickets.
Car parking for non-national trust members is £10.
When is Christmas at Dunham Massey on?
Christmas at Dunham Massey is on now until 1st January 2025. Selected dates only. They are open on Christmas eve and New Year’s eve.
How much are tickets for Christmas at Dunham Massey?
Advanced booking is required. Ticket prices vary depending on the date and time. A family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) ranges from £60-£83
Book your tickets here – Christmas at Dunham Massey
Our visit to Christmas at Dunham Massey
I love Christmas light trails at this time of year and this is our second visit to Dunham Massey Christmas trail. Christmas at Dunham Massey is a popular Christmas trail and it’s not hard to see why.
We’re regular visitors to this popular National Trust venue and have seen the lights in the day time including with a few lit up and we always thought they were beautiful. Last year on our first visit we were blown away by Dunham Massey Christmas lights and this year was just as good!
This historic national trust venue is the perfect backdrop to the amazing Christmas light trails that Raymond Gubbay put on combined with a soundtrack of festive favourites from their collaboration with Sony music.
The majority of the lights are LED which is part of their mission to improve sustainability. The LED lights are so bright and colourful, it’s a great change to be making to the trails. We loved all the different light installations but there are a few stand out installations which I will talk about in more detail below. However there are no areas where you feel like the lights aren’t as good or that there should be more lights.
My children’s favourite part of light trails is always the tunnels of light. They love running through them. There are of course several here and it’s a beautiful place to take some family photos. This year the fist tunnel is made of colour changing stars which is something I’ve not seen before.
The formal gardens and historic house are the perfect setting for a Christmas light trail. One of my favourite parts this year was a 3 minute series of light projections on to the house choreographed to music. It is stunning!
There was a small fire garden near the start which is really beautiful.
These hundreds of tubes of led lights are opposite the area where you can purchase sweet treats and drinks. There are fire pits too. The lights are constantly changing both in terms of colour and patterns again these are beautifully choreographed to music and they are great to watch whilst toasting a marshmallow.
These “hot air balloons” were another highlight for me. They are in the trees and go up and down on wires in time to beautiful music.
The music on the trail does need a special mention. As the trail is in collaboration with Sony music there are some big name festive tunes playing. There are also other areas of the trail where the music is more instrumental and atmospheric. Perfect in combination with constantly changing light sequences in time to the music.
Whilst you can’t meet Santa individually on this trail, you will see him. Near the end of the trail is the real Father Christmas chatting away and getting the gathered crowds to interact with him. This is a really fun part of the trail for families with younger children. He was very entertaining on our visit!
We really had an unforgettable time on our visit and although we visited at the beginning of the run (mid-November), it really got us into the Christmas spirit for the evening.
Is Christmas at Dunham Massey pram-friendly?
yes, the flat paths around the trail are perfect for pushchairs and wheelchairs too. Do be prepared for some mud though.
Are dogs allowed at Christmas at Dunham Massey?
Only guide dogs and registered disability assistance dogs are allowed on the trail.
How long does it take to complete Christmas at Dunham Massey?
The trail is around 1 mile long. On our visit we spent almost 90 minutes walking around the trail with plenty of stops to watch the light displays and to toast marshmallows too. We spent around 30 minutes in the food court too.
Food and drink at Dunham Massey light trail
There is a food and drink area at the beginning/end of the trail (it’s a circular trail) as well as a smaller one part way around.
In the main area you will find a range of independent street food vendors serving tasty treats like woodfired pizza, burgers and chips, Cypriot food and curry loaded chips. There is something for everyone and the prices are pretty reasonable.
There are some benches and tables in this area, including some under a canopy. It’s fairly limited seating but we did manage to get somewhere to sit down with our food.
There are a few fairground rides in this area too. These are an additional fee and you need to buy ride tokens which are £3 each. The following rides are available
- Swing Boats (minimum height 1.6m)
- Children’s Toy Ride
- Helter Skelter (Minimum height of 1.2m)
- Large Carousel (ride with an adult only if the child is less than 1.06m)
Part way around the trail is an area with bars and sweet treats like waffles and marshmallows for toasting. The bar sells a mix of hot and cold drinks like juice cartons for kids, hot chocolate and alcoholic drinks too.
Marshmallows aren’t your standard one, they really delicious and they are £2 each. We tried the chocolate orange and the salted caramel ones. They also sell vanilla and vegan ones. There are some fire pits that you can use to toast your marshmallows over an open fire. My eldest loves toasting marshmallows.
Our top tips for visiting Christmas at Dunham Massey
Below you will find our top tips for visiting this magical after-dark illuminated festive trail particularly with kids. We did also see lots of people with out children enjoying the trail too.
- You are going to be outdoors for a few hours so do dress for the weather including suitable footwear. The paths are flat but there was some mud in areas as you would expect.
- Try toasting Marshmallows. They’re so good and my kids love this part.
- The paths are wide and suitable for prams. Expect to walk about a mile. Perfect for little legs.
- There are toilets at the start/end of the trail and about three quarters of the way around.
- Allow 90 minutes to 2 hours for your visit depending if you’ll go on the rides and stop for food &/or drinks.
- Don’t forget to book your parking in advance with your tickets.
We loved our visit and I can’t recommend this trail enough for this festive season. It’s fantastic for all ages. I think it is especially good for older children when you are looking for ideas after the grotto age.
Book your tickets here – Christmas at Dunham Massey tickets
Find out more about Dunham Massey here.
Find more Christmas light trails North West here.
