The Wimpole light trail runs 20 November to 3 January. National Trust membership does not get you in free, parking is a separate ticket, and no dogs.

The biggest ticketed Christmas event in South Cambridgeshire is on sale, and the detail that catches most people out is this: your National Trust membership does not get you onto the trail.

Christmas at Wimpole runs from Friday 20 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027 at Wimpole Estate, Arrington, SG8 0BW. It is an after-dark illuminated walk through the estate, and it is produced by RG Live, part of Sony Music, rather than by the National Trust itself. (RG Live, National Trust)

Members pay to walk it, but park for free

The official ticketing FAQ is blunt about it: “Everyone, including National Trust members, must pay for entry to the trail. Christmas at Wimpole is an illuminated trail held outside of Wimpole’s normal opening hours and is run by separate event organisers.”

Members do get one thing. Parking is free for National Trust members, but only if it is booked at least 24 hours in advance and selected at the time of booking. Turn up without that and you pay the full parking charge, even with a valid card. You will also be asked to show the membership on arrival, and it must have been valid both when you booked and on the night. (Ticketek UK, Christmas at Wimpole FAQ)

For everyone else, parking is a separate ticket bought with admission. It is not included in any ticket type, including the Anytime ticket.

How the tickets work

Entry is by timed slot. Prices vary by date, because nights are banded off-peak, standard and peak, and there is a separate Anytime ticket that lets you arrive at any point between the first session and ten minutes after the last one on your chosen date. Family tickets are not available on the Anytime option, and an Anytime ticket does not allow re-entry.

Other terms worth knowing before you book:

  • Tickets are strictly non-refundable unless you buy refund protection. Exchanges are possible through the Ticketek app but not within 24 hours of your visit.
  • On-the-day pricing is higher than advance pricing, and the organisers warn early evening and weekend slots sell out.
  • Groups of 15 or more adults get 10% off, but only by contacting customer services, not online.
  • Everyone must be out of the car park within two hours of the last trail start time, and in all cases by 10pm.

Because prices move with the date band and the ticket batch, we are not quoting a figure here: the price for the night you want is the one shown on the booking page.

Practical points from the organisers

  • No dogs. Guide and assistance dogs only, and the FAQ specifically asks people not to leave a dog in the car during their visit.
  • No drones.
  • Arrive about five minutes before your slot, at the start of the trail.
  • Last entry is 15 minutes after the last timeslot of the day, and opening times vary by date.
  • Father Christmas is on the trail but is not meeting children individually.
  • It is outdoors and you may queue, so dress for a cold field. The organisers reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone dressed for a warm evening.
  • If the weather makes it unsafe, the call is made by 2pm on the day and ticket holders are contacted by email and text. Inclement weather on its own is not grounds for a refund.
  • Phone signal on site is limited, so download tickets before you leave home.

What is on the trail this year

The producers list the Christmas Cathedral, the Fire Garden, the Sea of Light, a new House Show and a Pealit Tree, plus food and drink stalls. The National Trust describes “brand-new installations for 2026” without naming them.

The free daytime version at the same house

If the trail is beyond your budget, Wimpole is also running Halloween in the House from 1 October, open every day from noon to 3.30pm. The hall is dressed for the season with a cobwebbed spider stairwell, a laid-out frightful feast and a pumpkin patch in the Yellow Drawing Room. It is free once you are in, though normal admission to the estate applies, which is where a National Trust card does work. Spooky story readings for ages 4 to 8 run in the hall on 27 and 29 October, 11.30am to noon. (Visit South Cambs)

Festive events in the villages

The district’s own listings are thin this far out. Filtered to December 2026 on 5 September, Visit South Cambs returned three events. (Visit South Cambs)

Two village dates are worth having now:

  • Cambourne Christmas Fair, Friday 27 November 2026, 3pm to 7pm, at the Manor House, Cambourne, CB23 6DH. Free entry, art and craft stalls covering jewellery, ceramics, woodwork and soap. (Cambourne Town Council)
  • Bar Hill’s Christmas market and tree lighting at The Octagon, Hanover Close, CB23 8EH. Free, 2pm to 6pm, with a countdown to the tree lights, a gingerbread hunt and refreshments from Bar Hill Church. Last year’s ran on 6 December; no 2026 date has been published. (Visit South Cambs)

There is no single South Cambridgeshire Christmas lights switch-on, because there is no town centre for the district: the lights go on village by village, and most parishes fix their date in October or early November.

Getting to Wimpole

Wimpole is off the A603 at Arrington, west of the A1198. It is a dark rural approach and the trail empties several hundred cars onto those lanes at the same time each night. Check our roadworks and travel page before you set out, and our parking in South Cambs page if you are combining the trip with a train, since the nearest stations at Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton have between 43 spaces and none at all.

We update this page when the trail’s nightly times and the village switch-on dates are published.