Stunning West Sussex festive lights display returns this month – here’s how to get tickets
A West Sussex festive lights display is gearing up for its return later this month – and it promises to be bigger and better than ever.
A Midwinter Light's Dream: A Garden Awakening opens at Leonardslee Gardens on November 27, with a longer route, bigger installations and Leonardslee Village open both before and after the trail.
Tickets are now on sale for Leonardslee Lights 2026, returning to the Grade I listed Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens near Horsham until December 30.
This year's show, A Midwinter Light's Dream: A Garden Awakening, takes visitors through the seasons in a single evening. The route opens in deep winter and moves season by season down through the valley and past the lakes, arriving finally in spring, the season the gardens are famous for, lit after dark.
The 2026 trail is the longest the event has run, with more of the estate open after dark and new large scale installations along the way. Live performers guide visitors through the story, and the soundscape shifts as they move from one season into the next.
For the first time, the lighting and effects have been designed with ER Productions, the special effects team behind arena tours for Stormzy, Take That and Charli XCX. The fountains return at twice the size, with fire across the water and snow falling on cue.
Back by popular demand after a year away, Harris’s traditional merry go round returns to the estate, its painted horses ready for another festive season.
Leonardslee Village, the festive hub at the heart of the event, is now open both before and after the trail. It has an expanded programme of live entertainment, a covered indoor bar, firepits for marshmallow roasting, freshly made doughnuts, local food and mulled wine.
Adam Streeter, CEO of Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens, said: "This is the biggest change we have made to Leonardslee Lights. We wanted it to feel like a show rather than a walk, and to give people a reason to make a whole evening of it."
Leonardslee Lights runs on selected evenings from 27 November until 30 December 2026. Adults from £18.50, children aged 2 to 16 from £13.50, under 2s free.