No Return This Year for Syon Park's Enchanted Woodland

Popular illuminated nighttime trail may be gone for good

The event has become increasingly sophisticated over the years. Picture: Chris Longhurst

October 3, 2024

A much-loved illuminated nighttime trail event which failed to go ahead last year for only the second time in its 20-year history will not be returning as had been expected.

Syon Park confirmed last week (26 September) that its Enchanted Woodland attraction which has been delighting visitors of all ages every November for nearly two decades is not going to happen after all this year – and even went as far as to suggest its lights may have been dimmed for good.

The family-friendly event, in which guests follow a pre-laid out route around the grounds and gardens of the Duke of Northumberland’s London estate enjoying such sights as colour-changing trees, musical stepping stones, and even a slumbering dragon, was cancelled in 2023 due to problems finding a contractor to help with the installation.

The news disappointed the majority of the 25,000 fans who regularly attended one of the nine weekend-only nights, however they were cheered by the promise the team would be using the resulting pause to plan an even more spectacular trail the following year.

While rising costs of installing and maintaining the trail are primarily to blame; another significant factor is increased competition from other local well-known trails – which, ironically, owe their existence to the Enchanted Woodland in the first place.

The Enchanted Woodland was the first of its kind in London. Picture: Chris Longhurst

This is because, when it opened its doors to the public in the autumn of 2005, Syon was consciously fulfilling a goal of being the first location in London and the wider South-East of England, to play host to such a phenomenon.

Syon’s head gardener Topher Marytn confirmed, “Oh yes, we were the first round here for sure. Before we started, I think there were only two existing events in the country, and those were at Westonbirt (Gloustershire South-West) and Walsall (West Midlands).

“One of our team had read an article in a newspaper about one of them and thought it would be a good idea to have something like it here.

“Little did we know what we were letting ourselves in for, but I think we can safely say it quickly became a massive hit. Many visitors told us it was almost like a curtain-raiser for the festive season for them.”

The lighting installation was carried out by estate staff. Picture: Chris Longhurst

While various teams of contractors were required every year to handle tricky technical tasks such as hooking up cables and providing generators for the power supply, Mr Martyn is rightly proud of the fact the design, layout, theme, and actual installation of the lights, was all handled by estate staff.

He said, “People probably don’t realise how much hard work it was, but I can tell them it was very hard! Exhausting even. But it was also tremendous fun and a wonderful team-building exercise every year.

“In those early days, we really didn’t know what to do with the space we had. People will have noticed the exact route altered slightly each year, but overall kept very much to a familiar layout – that was simply because the logistics of changing it too much would have been a nightmare.”

While it was nothing like the notably shoddy Christmas or Willy Wonka-themed events made infamous by social media in recent years, Mr Martyn admits the first year’s event wasn’t exactly the dazzling showpiece it subsequently became.

Some of the displays were less hi-tech than others. Picture: Chris Longhurst

He said, “I think that first year we were lighting trees up using just a powerful bicycle light!”

As experience and technology improved, much-more impressive illuminations became possible, not least the annual spectacular finale inside the iconic Great Conservatory featuring lasers and strobes, plus smoke and water machines, all set to an upbeat electronic version of a famous piece of classical music.

Despite the largesse, innovative ways to keep the costs down as low as possible were still found, as Mr Martyn recalls, “People might remember we used to have a display of giant model dragonflies. These were simply made using fencing wire and fishnet stockings. I always wonder what the person paying the bills thought when they saw us randomly ordering 30 pairs of those each year – well now they know why!”

One of the biggest challenges – other than the Covid pandemic which forced the cancellation of 2020’s event and placed heavy restrictions on 2021’s - was how to manage the sheer number of visitors who insisted on attending the event by car.

Mr Martyn added: “It was getting really hard finding room to park everybody. We really only have a very small car park here and weather conditions at that time of year meant it really wasn’t ideal trying to put all those cars on our fields and grass verges.

“In some ways I think it would have been better if we didn’t have a car park and had just forced everyone to come on foot or by public transport. But like all things, we managed in the end.”

Asked why he felt it was now the right time to – literally – pull the plug on the Enchanted Woodland, Mr Martyn revealed, “It had just gotten to the point where we found the costs of staging it were increasing year-on-year which had to be measured against a finite number of visitors, partly caused by the competition of other local trails.

“Kew Gardens – which began running its hugely popular Christmas at Kew light trail in 2013 – definitely got the idea for its event after its team paid a visit to us one year.

“I understand they are even expanding their offering now to include a Halloween light trail this month (October).

“So unfortunately, in the current cost of living crisis family budgets are really getting stretched and since we were not prepared to put our ticket prices up (the usual cost for an adult was £10) we reluctantly ended up where we are now.

“I know people are going to be disappointed and are going to miss it because we’ve had many enquiries already asking if it’s happening this year, so we know the demand is there.

“We’ll never say “never” though and are always happy to explore other options for providing a seasonal treat for our visitors. Suggestions are always welcome!

“I can’t tell you how proud we are to have been the trend-setter for all the locations in this region who replicated our success. It’s lovely to know we played a part in that for them.”

Although Syon are keen not to rule out the possibility of a return in future, it appears the magic spell they cast over Brentford every year has, for now, sadly been broken.

One such festive offering is Syon’s first ever Festive Market being held in The Great Conservatory on 22 November from 3-8pm and 23 November from 10am-4pm featuring artwork, fashion items, beauty products, candles, jewelry, food and Christmas gifts.

For more information visit this link.

Chris Longhurst