The weather may have been dull and dreary but what better way to get into the spirit of Christmas than to attend a festive event. When an invitation dropped into my inbox to preview the Lotherton Hall Christmas Experience, I was excited to find out more.
The Lotherton Estate is situated in the north of England, midway between York and Leeds, one and a half miles from the village of Aberford. The historic country residence, which was built in 1893, is one of eight museums and galleries maintained by Leeds City Council. It was the former home of the Gascogne family who gifted it to the City of Leeds in 1968.
It was to be our first visit to Lotherton, which is surrounded by rural parkland and is approached via a grand driveway off Collier Lane. As it was approaching 3.00 p.m. by the time we parked the car, we decided to view the outdoor attractions spread out over the estate first.
Located along well maintained but quite muddy woodland paths under twinkling fairy lights, is the estate’s magical 12 Days Walk. To set the scene, the trail commenced with a giant sized partridge and some pears hanging from a large tree. To the sounds of the festive song we explored eleven more interactive exhibits and games featured in the popular 12 Days of Christmas melody.
We said ‘bonjour” to the three French Hens inside a small wooden Parisian inspired cabin, strolled through the illuminated 5 Gold Rings and tried our luck on a 6 Geese a-Laying type of coconut shy. This game was so much fun that I had to drag my family away as their competitive spirit was becoming addictive. Tennis balls were attached to lengths of rope and the objective was to knock down the eggs, not as easy as it sounds.
Continuing, we couldn’t resist spinning some of the wooden ladies around to make them dance as part of the Nine Ladies Dancing exhibit and then watched the Ten Lords-a-Leaping illuminate in the woods, one at a time.
The trail concluded with a parade of 12 Drummers Drumming which visitors could operate from behind each figure by pulling some strings to play the drums. Darkness was falling as we headed over to the Fairy Dell making the Christmas Experience even more enchanting. Nestled in the rockery garden is a fairy village with its own little houses, shops, cinema and miniature helter-skelter.
Our walk then took us through the Elf Village where a cluster of wooden cabins surround a cosy seating area under twinkling fairy lights. Inside some of the cabins children could have a go at several arts and crafts, such as making holly wreaths or painting festive plates. Please note that an additional cost is payable for these activities. Dotted around the village are also several food cabins and a shepherd’s hut selling warming mugs of hot chocolate and mince pies.
Feeling the winter chill, we headed over to The House where we sat in the porch and donned some blue plastic overshoes before stepping inside the elegant Edwardian property. Exploring the house was an absolute delight as each of the rooms had been dressed for Christmas with trees, flowers and festive decorations.
To keep children amused, a magic show was about to take place in the drawing room and there were some period dressing up costumes in one of the other rooms which were also proving popular.
Back outside, the adjacent stable block was home to the Christmas Courtyard where more food options were available. Last but not least, we arrived at the North Pole and despite not actually seeing the big man himself, we did manage to meet the elves who were very busy in Santa’s workshop. We returned home that evening with a dose of pre-Christmas festive magic that inspired us to open a bottle of mulled wine and start decorating our own house, too!
The Lotherton Christmas Experience continues until 23rd December. I would like to thank Lotherton Hall for inviting me, but as always, all views and opinions are entirely my own.
If you have enjoyed reading this post, you may also be interested in the following:
A Victorian Christmas at Harewood House
An Evening at the RHS Glow Winter Illuminations
Love Travelling Blog 
Sounds like a sure fire hit with the kids! I would make it a must see stop if I was ever in the neighbourhood.
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Thank you Candice, a visit to Lotherton was great to get into the festive spirit !
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How fun!!
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Thank you
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Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
HARD WORK—BUT CONSIDER THE JOY IN THE EYES OF ADULT AND CHILD!!!!
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How absolutely gorgeous Marion.
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Thank you Sue, we had a lovely afternoon there and it was so nice to be invited!
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ah looks lovely 🙂
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Thank you, it really put us in the mood for Christmas
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What a nice way to get into the holiday spirit! The interactive exhibits are really creative; most of the Christmas drive or walk through areas we have here are simply displays.
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Thank you Tracy, it is such a good idea to have an interactive walk through as it adds extra interest, especially for younger members of the family.
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Such a lovely place and a wonderful way where you could interact. Loved the photos and I always admire your ability to capture the beauty of place in words .
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Thank you so much for your kind words, it’s so nice to read that you enjoyed this post. The interactive festive walkway was really fun for all age groups.
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Nice sharing of the experience that takes us along as well. Enjoyable images and information. 🙂
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Thank you for your kind words. It was a fun afternoon at the Christmas Experience.
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Gladly. I can just imagine the enjoyment. 🙂
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Reblogged this on R and B International Travel Blog.
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Amazing trip! Definitely heightens the Christmas spirit. Great idea for a theme . . . the twelve days of Christmas!
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Thank you for taking an interest in this post on Lotherton’s Christmas Experience. I thought the interactive theme was really nice too and fun for all age groups.
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My brother in law says I’m an elf because I’m tiny and my ears are pointy. I would fit right in at the elf village ha ha ha. Great festive post.
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Thanks Nikki for your kind words, it’s so nice to read you enjoyed this post.
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It’s a pleasure have a great day!
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It looks like such a fun place, easily somewhere to get you in to the Christmas spirit. I particularly like the interactive points related to the 12 days of Christmas 🙂
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Thanks Jason, it was a fun trip out and we all enjoyed the interactive features.
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Very nice photos and the estate looks beautiful.
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Thank you Freja, we did indeed have a lovely afternoon at Lotherton Hall.
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It looks a really lovely place. How fun they made it with the Christmas theme like that, where you could interact. I’ve not seen anything like that before. Places like this always seem to make it nice and Christmastime with their decorations.
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I hadn’t come across an interactive festive walkway before either and it was great fun both for adults and children with so many things to look out for along the trail. Thanks Liz for your very welcome thoughts on this post.
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Sounds like an interesting place to visit in the run-up to Christmas. Great photographs.
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Thank you, it was a fun afternoon trip and just what we needed on a gloomy Saturday!
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Looks like fun 🙂
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It was a lovely pre-Christmas tour and there was something for all ages! Thank you for taking the time to comment, it’s much appreciated.
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How nice. Another tour with your professional touch helping us to imagine as well as read and see. Thank you for sharing your talent as well as your tour. 🙂
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I’m so pleased you enjoyed reading about the Christmas Experience Ian. I’m glad I had my boots on, as the paths were quite muddy!
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