I went to the Northern Lights Christmas spectacular - here's what you need to know & what they need to change

And so way back in August, I booked tickets for me, my husband and our son to visit the Northern Lights show in Manchester’s Heaton Park. Having been to Dunham Massey’s Christmas lights extravaganza in previous years, we thought this would be a nice change - and it’s dog friendly.

Standard tickets cost £21.50 for adults and £16.50, but ours were a couple of pounds more expensive per person because we went at a ‘peak’ time - i.e. a weekend when you actually have chance to do family things. Oh, and parking was £4.95. In total, tickets cost us £69.35. In comparison, this year at Dunham Massey, standard tickets are £27.50 for adult and £18.50 for a child, and you have to pay for parking too.

I have to say, in comparison to Dunham Massey, it’s much easier to get to Heaton Park, as it’s just off the motorway. We got there just as everything opened and it was going dark, and the place was quite quiet - which was nice, because you’re not getting agitated by crowds and queuing for a hot chocolate, but there wasn’t a buzz early on.

At the entrance is a couryard area of fairground rides, a ferris wheel and various food and drink vendors. All very appealing, and the rides much more suitable for older children than at Dunham Massey last year (which was very 0-5 age range), but wow, was it muddy. This can’t be helped in December, in a park in Manchester, but just beware and wear appropriate clothing.

When we’d finished our (rather lovely) festive hot chocolate (£6 each), we wandered down to the trail entrance. It was 4pm, and people in high-vis jackets and with walkie talkies said they didn’t know when it was going to open. It wasn’t the most magical start of the experience, as we queued in the rain, with a smell of marajuana wafting from nearby trees and with a wheelie bin straight in front of us.

But as we got inside, this did change. There are 14 individual light zones in all, over the course of a mile. There’s a spectacular colour-changing arch as you get in, trees that are wrapped in LEDs , fields of fibre optics, a beautiful woodland arch, a laser garden (my favourite), rotating stars, a rainbow road, and much more.

It’s all accompanied by atmospheric music, and in some places, smoke machines. It really did feel like an adventure as we walked through the slushy park trails, weaving in and out of stars and lanterns, and wondered how the organisers had managed to create a sea of lights, shimmering off into the distance.

The organisers have also thoughtfully included light shows inspired and designed by local school children, and there’s plenty of little photo opportunities to be had.

In terms of refreshments, there is a small area about two thirds of the way round, with a bar and some snacks, but it didn’t look as good as the offerings at the very beginning, so we didn’t stop.

All in all, it took us about 40 minutes to wander around, and I did enjoy it. It was much more peaceful than at Dunham Massey, and I didn’t feel rushed along. And while the light shows were much simpler (cheaper?) than at Dunham Massey, and didn’t come with as much polished razzamatazz, they were creative and lovely in their own way.

I would suggest though, that some of the wheelie bins are moved away from the main areas (right as you enter for instance), because it does take away from the magic.

The main gripe I have with this place though, is the way out. Leaving the car park, you’re funnelled away from the road, through an overspill area, and the road is atrocious. Pot hole after deep pot hole, with one so bad, if we hadn’t have been in a higher-up SUV, then we would have likely ground-out. Not good, and needs addressing.

Northern Lights, Manchester, runs until December 31.