Glow Wild returns for its eleventh year with Enchanting World of Trees trail
Selected evenings 28 November 2024 to 1 January 2025
Release date: 29 August 2024
Sussex’s award-winning festive lantern trail at Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden, returns with an immersive journey exploring the hidden world of trees.
- Over 1000 hand-made lanterns and bespoke art installations will adorn Wakehurst’s stunning wild landscape on new 2024 trail
- For the first time ever, experience the magic of Glow Wild on Christmas Eve
- Under 4s and essential companions go free; selected adult only sessions; expanded quiet and relaxed sessions for visitors with special educational needs; group rates available
- Flexible ticketing – swap your tickets up to a week before
Tickets are on sale now at Kew.org/GlowWild
Be transported into the enchanting world of trees as Glow Wild returns for its eleventh year in 2024 at Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex. One of the South East's most celebrated festive events, this year the award-winning trail will be welcoming visitors on Christmas Eve for the first time in its history.
Inspired by the diverse collection of global trees nestled in Wakehurst’s botanic landscape, over 1000 hand-made lanterns, light animations, soundscapes, and bespoke artworks will create an immersive trail. These pieces, created by nine international artists and local community artisans, will bring trees and the vital role they play on our planet to dazzling life as darkness falls over Wakehurst.
The interactive trail will give visitors the chance to experience life high in the canopy of a grove of woven trees, explore a glistening filament network of tree roots underground, and stroll through an avenue of giant leaf chandeliers, marveling at the magic of trees.
Visitors can glimpse a giant owl soaring over the glittering lawns, meet Wakehurst’s fire-drenched mythical wood dragon, and peek inside the mystical world of miniature tree folk. For those seeking moments of peace, sit alongside illuminated figures in the Winter Garden, pause at serene lakeside reflections or gaze at whirling snowflakes dancing on the newly revealed Elizabethan Mansion facade. At the heart of the festive offering is Wakehurst’s iconic Redwood Christmas tree, a twinkling sentinel standing tall over the gardens and bedazzled with over 1800 energy-saving bulbs.
To ensure the magic of Glow Wild is enjoyed by all, Wakehurst is increasing its accessible options. Children under four can attend for free, and all visitors will have the flexibility to swap or upgrade their tickets for free up to a week before their visit.
Throughout Glow Wild, the first slot of the night is reserved as a Quiet Session, designed for visitors with disabilities and their essential companions who wish to enjoy the sensory elements of the trail in a more comfortable setting. Relaxed Sessions, adapted for those with special educational needs and disabilities, such as those with sensory processing needs, will be available on selected nights.
Visitors will also be able to book exclusive late sessions for adults only, for those looking for a memorable evening with friends or a show-stopping date night.
Glow Wild visitors will be able to enjoy a variety of delicious catering options, including hearty hot food, festive drinks and hand-made marshmallows to toast around the fire under a sea of starry lanterns. Wakehurst’s gift shop, opening until late on Glow Wild evenings, provides the perfect opportunity to stock up on some last-minute Christmas shopping.
ENDS
For more information or images, please contact Rhiannon Williams at R.Williams3@kew.org or wakehurstpr@kew.org
NOTES TO EDITORS
Image credits from left to right:
James Ratchford © RBG Kew, Helen McArdle © RBG Kew, Jeff Eden © RBG Kew,
Ticket information
Timings
4.15pm - 10pm*
*Closing times vary
Price
Members from £16; Non-members from £19.50; Children (4-16) from £13; Under 4s and essential companions: free. Discount available for families and groups
About Wakehurst
Wakehurst is Kew’s wild botanic garden in the Sussex High Weald National Landscape. Its ancient and beautiful landscapes span 535 acres and are a place for escape, exploration, tranquility, and wonder. Its diverse collection of plants from Britain and around the globe thrive within a tapestry of innovative gardens, temperate woodlands, meadows, and wetlands. Wakehurst is a centre for UK biodiversity and global conservation, seed research and ecosystem science. At its heart is Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, the world’s largest store of seeds from wild plant species.
Whilst Wakehurst is not a National Trust property, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has a longstanding relationship with the National Trust dating back to 1965 when Kew took over the running of Wakehurst’s botanical landscapes and Elizabethan Mansion. Since then, we’ve been working together to find the best ways to protect nature, prevent biodiversity loss, and build a better tomorrow. The National Trust was bequeathed the Mansion and grounds of Wakehurst in 1963. It was then entrusted to us here at Kew in 1965, and we now work in partnership with the National Trust to care for our collections and heritage areas.
RBG Kew receives approximately one third of its funding from Government through the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and research councils. Further funding needed to support RBG Kew’s vital work comes from donors, membership and commercial activity including ticket sales. In the first six months since implementing a new accessibility scheme for those in receipt of Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Legacy Benefits, Kew has welcomed over 100,000 visitors with £1 tickets.
At the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, we’re dedicated to harnessing the power of plants and fungi to end the extinction crisis and secure a future for all life on Earth. With our world-leading research, global partnerships and beloved gardens – home to the world’s most diverse collections of plants and fungi – we’re using our trusted voice to shape policy and practice worldwide. As a charity we rely on the critical support of our visitors, not only to sustain the gardens, but to protect global plant and fungal biodiversity for the benefit of our planet and humanity.