Enchanted at Knowsley Safari 2026: the new light trail, dates and prices, and we're at the launch

We've been invited to the launch night on Friday 20 November, the four of us, and the review and video will follow that weekend.

Enchanted is Knowsley Safari's after-dark Christmas light trail, and this year it's a brand new one: nature-themed, with a soundtrack composed for it and, if you look carefully in the Tiger Trail, the eyes of Yuki, Akira and Makari watching you from the dark. It runs from Friday 20 November to Wednesday 23 December 2026, 4pm to 9pm, with tickets from £9.95.

What's on the trail

You start under a huge silhouette moon, then follow glowing tiger paw prints into the Tiger Trail, lit up as an illuminated forest. After that it's a gigantic insect hotel with enormous bees and dragonflies, a stretch of shimmering disco balls and colour-changing arches, six-metre chandeliers, festoon-lit rhododendrons and a giant Christmas tree centrepiece built for the family photo.

Also worth reading: ICEBOX at BOXPARK Liverpool: skating from 16 November, and Skate With Santa

The Winter Village is the warm bit: The Bus Yard does loaded Yorkshire pudding wraps, churros, candyfloss, festive hot chocolate and marshmallow toasting over the fire pits. The Safari's rides and amusements are open and lit up all evening too.

Santa

Santa's Grotto has been done up this year. Pre-book, and the elves take you through to meet him; every child gets a large plush toy to take home. Grotto tickets are from £21.50 and separate from trail entry.

The SEN night

New for 2026, there's a designated SEN-friendly Enchanted on Wednesday 9 December: a quieter, calmer version of the same trail, with fewer people and the sound turned down, for neurodivergent children and families with disabilities. If the normal crowds are the thing that stops you going, this is the one.

What it costs

Trail tickets from £9.95 per person; rides, food and the grotto are extra. Dates around Christmas week sold out last year, so book the weekend you want early.

Book

knowsleysafariexperience.co.uk/events/enchanted

Getting there

Knowsley Safari is at Prescot, L34 4AN, just off the M57 (junction 2). From Wigan it's about 35 minutes down the M58 and M57; free parking on site.

Thanks to Knowsley Safari and Chapman Poole for the invitation. We'll say what we thought, including whether a two year old copes with a tiger in the dark.