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The Visit Colchester team were invited to attend the Enchanted - Trail of Light 2025 event by Colchester Zoological Society for free in exchange for social media and blog coverage. Reviews or blog posts reflect honest opinions, actual experiences and factual information on products and services.
Last week, the VisitColchester team were invited to Colchester Zoological Society to experience the magic of Christmas at their fantastically festive light event: Enchanted - Trail of Light 2025.
This fan-favourite #ColchesterZoo Christmas experience has returned for another year, and celebrations are in full swing through to Monday 29th December 2025. Tickets are selling out quickly, so we'd recommend securing them early to avoid disappointment. Tickets can be booked on the Colchester Zoological Society website.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by a friendly team of Colchester Zoo elves and we launched straight into the fun - enjoying light displays, magical meet and greets and wonderful water shows.
This magical event utilises 1 mile of Colchester Zoo's existing paths and takes place at night when the animals are sleeping. While this means you're not able to see them awake and active, you still get that authentic 'Colchester Zoo' experience as a result of the beautiful animal sculptures which illuminate the route. Along the way, we saw sparkling sculptures of giraffes, lions and elephant - who were almost life size! - which made for a fantastic game of i-spy. All of the elements were bespoke to Colchester Zoo, and were uniquely crafted by their in-house creative team.
A fantastic trail of light...
During your route, you'll pass through the twinkling 40m long light tunnel which, by our calculations, is approximately 8 African Elephants long! This is a BRAND NEW addition for 2025, and is truly a marvel. The tunnel features over 20,000 lights and is the perfect backdrop for family portraits. We made sure to spend plenty of time taking the perfect Christmassy photos here.
About halfway around the trail, we decided it was time for some tasty festive treats. As with many of their events, like the Trail of Terror which runs at Halloween, Colchester Zoological Society have set up a number of 'Refreshment Zones' along the route. Visitors are able to choose from popular daytime options like the Gourmet Sausage, Wrap and Roll and Chip ‘n’ Mix Stop, with sweet treats, hot food and hot drinks available to purchase. This was very helpful for us on such a chilly night as we were able to warm up before continuing on our way!
We also met some very special friends from the North Pole, who are making special appearances at the Enchanted - Trail of Light 2025 on dates before Christmas - they'll certainly have earned their rest by the time the season is over! If you're hoping to see these festive faces, we'd recommend booking earlier in the month to avoid disappointment as there's no guarantee they'll be around after Christmas.
Warm up with a sweet treat!
We rounded off the evening with a cosy hot chocolate - what can we say, it was a cold night! - and enjoyed a fantastic live music performance. The Enchanted - Trail of Light event was attended by plenty of families with little ones, couples and groups, and the atmosphere was relaxed yet fun.
We especially loved our ride on the Festive Road Train, which took us on a special route past illuminated sculptures of some of our favourite animals, and the BRAND NEW 40m Tunnel of Light, which served as the perfect backdrop for our festive family photos.
Secure your spot today!
If we've convinced you to book a trip before the season is up, be sure to visit the Colchester Zoological Society website to book tickets or visit the Enchanted - Trail of Light 2025 listing here.
This #ColchesterZoo Christmas experience was another smash-hit, and is available to enjoy until Monday 29th December 2025. As we said before, tickets are selling out quickly, so we'd recommend securing them early to avoid disappointment.
Thanks again to the Colchester Zoological Society for inviting us down, and we can't wait to see what roarsome magic next year brings!
