Christmas at Dunham Massey 2024

I returned to Christmas at Dunham Massey to see what it was like now, compared to three years ago.

Transcript

00:00Hello, it's Catherine Musgrove. I'm coming on to tell you about the Dunham Massey Christmas

00:11Extravaganza. Now, I went this weekend with my family. We went three years ago and we

00:18were so bowled over that we wanted to go back again. We gave it a couple of years. But yeah,

00:23so we went this weekend and I'm going to take you through some pictures and some videos

00:28of what the event is like, what to look out for, what to avoid and how much it's costing.

00:37The first thing to mention is the ticket prices. This says £26 for an adult. Because we went

00:41during the peak time, it was actually £27.50 and it was £19.20 for a child. We also paid

00:49for parking, which is £8.50 if it's on site. Now, to me, I don't know where else you would

00:55park because it's down some really badly lit, narrow and busy country lanes. So you've

01:01got no choice there. And we also paid for some ride tickets. So we got four ride tickets

01:08for £12. When you get there, you can see these two deer, which are emblematic of Dunham

01:14Massey, by this courtyard area offering food, drinks and rides. That's a change from three

01:21years ago, where you entered and had the same kind of experience, but in like a courtyard.

01:28What I would say is that the rides, there's like very old fashioned carousel and there's

01:32like a helter-skelter. They're aimed at, I would say, up to probably five years old.

01:37My seven year old wasn't particularly interested. As you're walking around, which takes about

01:4230 to 40 minutes, there's all kinds of magical displays and fantastic music to go along with

01:47there. It really is an immersive experience. But in this section, it really wasn't as good

01:53as it was three years ago. It's the Rose Garden area, and I'll show you what it looked like

01:58in 2021. For me, this was the most magical part of the experience. And for there just

02:07to be barren areas and dark areas and all there was really was two tunnels, two lit

02:12up tunnels to walk through. It was really disappointing for me. But this area is new

02:19and it's stopping people in the tracks. Have a look at it. This hot air balloon section

02:28was towards the end. They've actually reversed the paths from the last time we went and it

02:33led up to this fantastic Cathedral of Lights. And as you leave in the path altogether, they've

02:43lit up the stately home itself. Massive projections on the walls there. That's great. The lit

02:50up sphere and you've got the lake in front of the house, which is just magical. What

02:55I would say is get there early. We went at half past five. We got there an hour early

03:00so we could enjoy something to eat and not be rushing. The roads in the lead up to Dunham

03:06Massey are terrible, especially at night time. There's potholes everywhere. They're not well

03:10lit. They're busy. And there's a bridge that you've got to go over that's got roadworks

03:17on it. Oh, and it's not dog friendly. So you're going to have to leave your pooches at home.