The National Trust confirms a winter event at Blickling but has published no 2026 dates or prices. Last year ran 6 to 21 December, £16 to £24 an adult.

Blickling’s Garden of Lights is the biggest ticketed Christmas event in Broadland, and the National Trust calls it “our biggest fundraising event of the year”. On 5 September 2026 there is nothing to book.

The National Trust’s own Christmas page for the estate says only this: “Our teams are busy getting ready for a baa-rilliant winter adventure at Blickling Estate this festive season. Follow us on our social channels and look out for member emails to find out first.” No dates, no times, no prices. The estate’s what’s on listing carries nothing festive either: the latest event to start is on 9 October, and the only December entries on it are the regular Blickling Bounders dog walks, the seasonal social walks and the monthly Trust10 runs.

So the event is happening. Nothing about it is bookable. Below is exactly what it was last year, which is the best guide you have until the Trust publishes.

What “baa-rilliant” probably tells you

That is a sheep pun, and it is the only clue in the sentence. Blickling names its indoor Christmas trail each year, and last year’s was A Mouse’s Christmas, built around mouse characters hiding through the decorated rooms with a puzzle to solve. Expect a new animal and a new trail rather than a repeat.

Treat the pun as a hint about the house trail, not about the evening lights.

Last year’s Garden of Lights, in full

From the Trust’s own event page as it stood in December 2025:

  • Saturday 6 to Sunday 21 December, 5pm to 8pm
  • Everyone had to book in advance, including National Trust members, and there were no tickets on the door
  • Tiered pricing in three bands, off-peak Monday to Thursday, peak Fridays and Sundays, super-peak Saturdays
Band Adult Child 5-17 1 adult + up to 3 children 2 adults + up to 3 children
Off-peak, Mon to Thu £16 £9 £27 £43
Peak, Fri and Sun £20 £11 £34 £55
Super-peak, Sat £24 £13 £41 £66

Under-fives went free but still needed a ticket. Carer tickets were free on request and had to be added at the point of booking. Tickets were non-refundable and non-transferable.

Parking was included in the ticket, in the main car park, with accessible bays and toilets nearby. The entrance to the illuminated gardens is 224m from the car park, and the time slot on your ticket is your entry time into the car park rather than a queue slot, with the visit free flow after that. Motorhomes and larger vehicles could not be accommodated.

The route is about two miles and step free, over gravel of varying thicknesses, accessible matting and a small stretch of grass. Powered mobility vehicles could be hired on the night, a limited number each evening, by phoning 01263 733956.

Only assistance dogs were allowed, with one exception: a PAWS evening on Tuesday 9 December when dogs could come. Food along the route was mulled wine, spiced apple juice, mince pies and gingerbread, with pizzas, chips and toasties in the Farmyard at either end.

One thing that catches people out: the house is closed during the evening event. The indoor Christmas trail is a daytime visit, not part of the lights ticket.

The daytime Christmas visit is separate, and cheaper

Last year’s house trail ran Saturday 29 November to Sunday 4 January, closed on 24 and 25 December, with the house open 11am to 3pm and last entry at 2.30pm. The garden, shops and cafés opened 10am to 4pm, with last orders in the cafés at 3.30pm.

That daytime visit needed no booking. It was free to National Trust members and standard admission for everyone else, payable on arrival, with under-fives free. Quiet hours ran every Tuesday and Saturday from 2pm to 3pm. The RAF Oulton Museum on the estate opened weekends 11am to 3pm between 29 November and 21 December.

What to watch, and when

The Trust says members hear first by email and on its social channels. In practice the event page at nationaltrust.org.uk is where dates and the booking link appear, and the estate’s what’s on listing is where the individual evenings turn up.

Last year’s trail opened on the first Saturday in December. The first Saturday of December 2026 is the 5th. That is our inference from one year, not an announcement, so do not book time off around it.

If the pattern holds and the run is again about a fortnight, tickets will need buying well before then. This page will be updated the day the Trust publishes.

Getting there

Blickling sits north west of Aylsham, inside Broadland district: the estate postcode NR11 6NF resolves to the Broadland 001D area on the ONS postcode lookup. There is no useful public transport after dark for an evening event, so almost everyone drives, and the ticket covers the car park.

If you are making a day of it in Aylsham first, all the district council’s car parks are free, including Burgh Road and The Buttsland in the town. See parking in Broadland for the full list and the overnight restrictions. Check Broadland roadworks and travel before an evening slot, because the lanes around Blickling are narrow and a closure adds real time.

For the rest of the year, the estate is one of the ten days out on our things to do in Broadland page.

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