Review: Yuletide
What is Yuletide:
Yuletide is Wild Rumpus’ winter offering at Tatton Park Gardens in Cheshire, a seasonal trail that mixes light installations, folklore, performance and a touch of mischievous midwinter magic.
For 2025, the event runs from 15 November to 23 December, inviting visitors to wander through illuminated woodland, encounter characters from old Yuletide traditions, and enjoy live storytelling, music and fire performance along the way.
Tickets are timed, prices vary by date, and families can explore the trail at their own pace. The review below reflects a visit to this year’s installation and the experience on the night.
Reader Review: By Alison Bond-McNally:
We love a family outing to welcome in the winter and we have discovered an absolute treat in Yuletide at Tatton Park which we visited this year as two adults accompanied by children aged 12, 10 and 5.
It is probably better to explain Yuletide by what it is not, it’s not a Christmas lightshow, it’s not a puppet show and it’s not even a music concert although it features all of those elements. Yuletide is about exploring the space we move into as the days get shorter and the nights darker. Answering an ancient longing in our bodies for long-gone times when we would draw together round a fire and listen to someone tell us stories. The narrative could be delivered through movement or fire or song, but however the story is told, that longing is met in Tatton Park this winter.
We were greeted by acrobats in sequins and thermals which set the tone of practical magic for the evening however we didn’t linger there long as we spotted on the timetable that storyteller Ian Douglas and musician Gary ‘Gacko’ Bridgens were about to perform alongside a magic lantern where cutouts and shadowplay illustrate the stories. Even a wriggly 5 year old was mesmerised by the tales, some recent and others 300 years old, whilst the 10 year old was greatly amused by a bawdy song about frozen underpants (apt, it was very very cold).
By the time they took a break we were hungry, and whilst you can easily get rinsed for snacks at events like this, we found the ‘Smores Kit’ featuring (vegan) mallows on a stick and chocolate digestives, to be good value at £2. We enjoyed clustering round the braziers to toast the mallows to make a sticky, delicious mess and I enjoyed the mulled cider which warmed me all the way through for £6.
Setting off to walk the light trail we stumbled across some fire jugglers, and this is an event that feels like you are about to stumble across magic at any moment. The dark paths are a rare treat in this over-illuminated world, serving to make the night both eerie and magical. Puppets, spectacles, light installation, swarms of fireflies made out of hundreds of tiny, laser-bright motes of light, you don’t know which is going to pop up next.
A genuine moment of delight came to me as we were crossing a bridge sparkling with projected swirling thorns, hearing what I initially thought was recorded music, only to discover a folk band (Good Habits) playing beautiful melodies on cello and accordion. Even my nearly-teen snuggled in closer to me as we swayed to the music together.
As an adult, I loved how the darkness forced me to be present. It was hard to take photos so I had to experience the magic in real time. For the children it was the excitement of exploring a dark forest after bedtime, and hearing stories told in a myriad of ways. Yuletide is uncanny, unexpected and no man in red in sight.
Find out more:
Yuletide takes place at Tatton Park Gardens, Knutsford, Cheshire, from 15 November – 23 December 2025.
Tickets range from £19–£22 for adults and £11–£12 for children depending on peak/off-peak dates, with under-2s going free.
For full details, booking and FAQs, visit:
Event info: wildrumpus.org.uk/yuletide-2025
Tickets: yuletide.org.uk