Luminate, Wales’s number one immersive light trail, is set to brighten 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. This November, Luminate comes to Margam Country Park, South Wales’s 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, says: “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 says:
“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 2 and Monday December 9 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.
