Following the resounding success of Bay of Lights 2024, the English Riviera BID Company working in partnership with Torbay Council has launched dates for the 2025 occasion. Running from 28 November – 02 January, Bay of Lights 2025 guarantees to be even greater and brighter this yr, that includes dazzling new sights and breathtaking illuminations that can remodel the area right into a festive wonderland.
Bay of Lights 2024 noticed a powerful 37% improve in footfall, marking a big enhance of 1.2 million guests and solidifying the occasion’s standing as a must-visit Christmas spectacle within the Southwest – with overwhelming optimistic suggestions from attendees and native companies alike.
Spanning the picturesque seafronts of Torquay, Paignton, and Brixham, the Bay of Lights options an array of enchanting occasions designed to delight guests of all ages. Highlights from final yr’s competition, many of which can return in 2025, embrace the magical Train of Lights, an illuminated journey aboard Dartmouth Steam Railway’s classic steam prepare. This distinctive expertise transports passengers by means of a twinkling tunnel and an enchanted forest earlier than arriving on the glowing riverside city of Kingswear.
Another returning favorite, funded by Torbay Council is the Illumination Trail; a charming 1.5-mile gentle path by means of Torquay that includes gorgeous shows resembling a seven-foot light-up octopus, a large glowing snowflake, and the favored Torre Abbey Gardens gentle tunnel. While there, benefit from the festive Christmas Markets set in Torre Abbey’s historic grounds. This charming market is the right place to browse for distinctive items, take pleasure in scrumptious native meals, and absorb the vacation spirit.
Also at Torre Abbey, don’t miss the possibility to expertise the spellbinding present, Alive with Light. This winter, Torre Abbey is ready to come alive in a wide ranging fusion of gentle, historical past, and festive magic. Audiences might be taken on a mesmerizing visible journey by means of the abbey’s wealthy previous, from its founding by the (*28*) within the twelfth century to the current day. The immersive expertise will showcase the evolution of Christmas celebrations throughout the centuries, introduced to life with gorgeous imagery and an evocative soundtrack that includes music from the Medieval, Tudor, Georgian, and Victorian eras.
Visitors also can look ahead to Santa within the Caves, a one-of-a-kind Christmas journey by means of the prehistoric Kents Cavern, the place households can get pleasure from an interactive pantomime efficiency earlier than assembly Santa in his festively embellished grotto. A Very Miniature Christmas at Babbacombe Model Village will remodel the attraction right into a magical miniature Christmas wonderland, stuffed with twinkling lights and vacation scenes.
For these searching for a historic vacation expertise, Christmas at Greenway gives a journey again in time on the National Trust’s Greenway House, the place guests can immerse themselves in an Agatha Christie-era Christmas, that includes a festive wreath path and historic vacation traditions.
Carolyn Custerson, CEO of English Riviera BID Company, stated: “We are delighted to announce the official dates for Bay of Lights 2025. Last yr’s occasion was an exceptional success, with record-breaking customer numbers and unimaginable neighborhood engagement.
“Bay of Lights is quickly becoming a national ‘must-see’ event, and we are excited to welcome visitors back for what promises to be our most spectacular celebration yet. Escape your everyday and experience Christmas like never before on the English Riviera.”
Cllr Jacqueline Thomas, Cabinet Member for Tourism, Culture & Events and Corporate Services at Torbay Council stated: “We are thrilled to announce that the Bay of Lights is again for a fourth consecutive yr. The suggestions we’ve acquired has proven us that final yr’s occasion was the most important and finest but, and we’re keen to prime that when once more in 2025.
“It was fantastic to see Torbay come alive over Christmas with excitement and illuminations. Bay of Lights showcases everything the English Riviera has to offer and the hard work we are putting in to continually enhance Torbay.”
The Bay of Lights Illumination path is free to discover, with some Bay of Lights particular sights and occasions requiring tickets.
