Disclaimer: We went along to the Hever Castle Gardens and the Peter Pan Christmas light for free in exchange for this review. Words and pictures are my own.
Having last visited Hever Castle Gardens during the summer when it re-opened after the Coronavirus restrictions were relaxed, it was lovely to go back again with hats coats and scarves to spend the day there and visit the Christmas trail.
Hever Castle Gardens at Christmas
With the second lockdown still currently being enforced in England, there are special measures in place to allow Hever Castle Gardens to remain open. All tickets are timed and must be pre-booked and printed to scan in on entry. We had chosen our tickets for the morning and arrived at 11.30am when the grounds first opened.
There are Hever Castle Twilight tickets if you want to see the Castle and Gardens lit up by night; having seen the Christmas lights in the dark last year (you can see the post here) I can definitely recommend Hever by night. However having not had a family day out for a while we opted to go in the day, and stay until it started to get a bit darker and the lights were turned on to get the best of both worlds.
Note that due to Coronavirus restrictions, the planned Christmas Grotto is not taking place and has been replaced with a COVID-friendly meet and greet. Tickets for this have sold out in any case but you can find out more about what’s going on here.
What is there to do at Hever Castle Gardens during the day?
The gardens are huge and sprawling so there is plenty to explore. The main through-routes have a one-way system to allow you to do so safely, and the staggered entry times mean that it doesn’t get too busy.
There are numerous gardens, the lake to walk around, trees to climb and plenty of places to play hide and seek!
We managed to spend a long time just wandering, and although the flowers may not be out at the moment with the exception of a few stubborn roses, the area is still entirely beautiful, peaceful and a lovely place to spend time.
Picnic benches are spaced well apart, and hot and cold takeaway food and drinks are also on sale.
Since our last visit between lockdowns, the children’s play areas have reopened, however these are running timed slots to ensure that the areas don’t get too busy.
The Peter Pan Christmas Lights Trail at Hever Castle
Last year was Alice in Wonderland, and this year it is the turn of Peter Pan to take over the Hever Gardens with the themed light trail.
Although it is missing the interactive elements from last year’s trail – so no dressed up characters on the trail to meet, for obvious reasons – the lights and the display are still wonderful.
We went round the trail twice; once during the day and then again when dusk had set in and the lights had come on.
You leave the Darling’s home and London, and enter Neverland coming across Tiger Lily’s tribe, the lagoon, the Lost Boy’s camp, the crocodile and Captain Hook’s ship.
The whole experience is magical, and if you can get tickets to visit Hever this year then I would definitely recommend it; go and enjoy it safely as a family, and get a little bit of festive fun in while you can!
*For more information about what’s going on this Christmas at Hever Castle and to pre-book, visit their website here.