*I was kindly provided tickets to Christmas at Bute Park in exchange for an honest review
As with many major cities across the UK, Cardiff now hosts an impressive immersive light show in the city centre's main green space, Bute Park. 2021 was its first year & was a sell-out success so needless to say expectations were pretty high. While this was our first time to Christmas at Bute Park, we had previously gone to Westonbirt Enchanted Christmas, one of the first and longest-standing immersive festival light experiences so I was intrigued to see what the Welsh Capitals' take on this would entail.
Firstly we love Bute Park, it's a stunning green lung in the heart of Cardiff city centre and a place we spend a lot of time, walking along the River Taff, cycling and enjoying the large open spaces, however, we have rarely seen it after dark so the boys and I were very excited to see Bute Park in a different light, excuse the pun.
Before deciding on a time to visit I spoke to a few friends who had already visited and some had mentioned there being areas where crowds would bottleneck & that it would be better to steer clear of the more popular times (6-8pm) to avoid this. I think this may have been early teething issues with the event and crowd flow has been improved somewhat but with that in mind, we booked the first session at 4:15pm and within 10 minutes the park was dark and guess what, no queues at all, in fact, it was very relaxed & everyone had time to interact and explore the installations! If you can I would therefore recommend an earlier time if you are going with young children.
Right from the start the park felt magical, it was lovely walking along the tree-lined avenues all lit up in different colours and then coming across the water lilies on the river with the castle as a backdrop. The trail itself is around 1.4km and really isn't taxing in any way and is doable even for very young children.
There are a variety of themed areas that make up the light show, some interactive which is great but all are a delight to all ages, with our favourites being the fire garden, light canyon and the spectacular Prismatic right at the end.
I would recommend packing a bottle of water or a hot flask for the walk, especially if you have young children with you. There are plenty of hot drink huts along with the way, although while the kid's hot chocolate was reasonably priced at £3 with all the trimmings (looked delicious) I was taken aback at the mulled wine being £5.50 for a small cup, although as I said taking a hot flask with you is an easy way to keep warm along the walk.
The trail is suitable for all ages, strollers and wheelchair users and there are also wheelchair-accessible toilets along the route. Well-behaved dogs on leads are also allowed on the trail. Once you get to the end of the trail you come into the Street food area with some fantastic local traders, although again this is on the pricey side but not more so than other Christmas events happening in the city and I have to say they have a fantastic choice this year from Greek, Indian and Italian food with kids options aplenty.
Please be aware that entry to Christmas at Bute Park is via the Castle Mews entrance, next to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and is the only entry point for the event. There is no direct on-site parking but North Road and Museum Avenue are only a few minute's walk away.
Overall it was a really lovely evening out and felt festive and magical seeing the park lit up that way. Christmas in Bute Park has extended its opening days due to demand and you can now view the lights until the 8th of January 2023. Children under 2 are free as are personal carers. It's £19.50 for an Adult, £13.95 per child or £59.50 for a family of 4.
.jpg "Bute Park lights")
