Review of new illuminated Halloween trail at Wimpole Estate

Considering the success of its Christmas lights trail, it's a surprise that only in 2025 has Wimpole launched a Halloween iteration - but it's certainly been worth the wait!

Immediately after walking through the entrance, the lights of the funfair (which has had a ghoulish makeover, with skeletons on some of the rides) illuminate the route ahead.

The headless horseman (Image: Newsquest)

With the sky pitch black at just gone 6.30pm and giant shadows of spiderwebs and bats guiding the way on foot, the atmosphere is suitably eerie – especially as the classic ‘Time Warp’ plays through the speakers.

Walking up the neon-lit path, you can smell the 'cookie monster with googly eyes' hot chocolate in the air; available from the Poison Potions van, adults can also opt for alcoholic beverages.

The electrified tree (Image: Newsquest)

Then, out of nowhere, appears a horse being ridden by a… headless person. Though perhaps a little spooky for toddlers, it’s certainly innovative. 

Without giving too much away, such creativity and attention to detail - especially the electrifying tree and a skeleton-filled graveyard display - is a recurring theme of the experience.

And, just when you think it can't get any more impressive, something even cooler awaits round the next corner. 

The biggest pumpkin we've ever seen (Image: Newsquest)

Among the many highlights are the spider tunnel tangled with webs, the futuristic laser garden, and the possessed pumpkin farm; the latter - glowing with sinister grins - had my wife (rather than our children) screaming.

Safe to say, it's all incredibly immersive: alongside stocks and cages that prove extremely popular selfie opportunities, there are plenty of characters lurking in the woods.

The witch making a potion in her cauldron was a real hit with our young children and, pleasingly, she happily adapted the script when they offered her a cup of tea!

The witch with her cauldron (Image: Newsquest)

The timeless music choices fit the trail's theme too: from Meatloaf’s ‘Bat Out Of Hell’ to Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' and stormy noises that crackle in the forest.

After completing the trail, we enjoyed a sweet treat from Honest Crumble - one of many food vans, including pizza, burgers and gyros - which was a great way to warm up ahead of the drive home. 

Although on the pricier side (£18 per adult, £14 for children and free for under twos), Halloween at Wimpole is a spooky sensory overload.

As a main half-term treat, it’s more than worth it. 

Reporter Ben Jolley in the stocks (Image: Newsquest)

Halloween at Wimpole Estate runs until November 2. Book tickets online.

And, for those looking for more scares, there's Halloween in the House, of which the Wimpole team say:

"Stand beneath the spider stairwell, draped with cobwebs and clinging creatures, look on at the frightful feast laid out in the dining room, and follow the woodcutter trail along the Long Gallery.

"Anyone brave enough to venture into the basement will find flickering candlelight casting dancing shadows on the walls."