Halloweenville – Partridge Lakes, Warrington

With Summer a distant memory, we are now well and truly into spooky season – a time when trick or treaters come out in force, where eeriness is in the air and this year, where the K Pop Demon Hunter costumes will surely adorn the streets. 

With so many competing Halloween events, it can become tricky (and not so much of a treat) for families or adults to find the right event to suit them. And let’s face it, it’s not always obvious from social media what you are getting for your money.

But it’s safe to say that the offering at Partridge Lakes in Warrington is well worth it – and while on the pricier side (at £30 for an adult ticket, £24 for a child ticket and £99 for a family ticket) there’s been a lot of investment put into this event to make it entertaining for both adults and children alike. 

The event transports you to ‘Halloweenville’ – an immersive light trail that is far more than just walking from one illuminated feature to the next. 

Visitors are given allotted times for the trail itself, but before and after you are welcome to explore the array of food and drink stalls on offer – including Blackbeard’s marshmallow trove (with fire pits available to toast your sweet treats), a skull bar for the grown ups and plenty of food vendors, including a delicious halloumi stall with lots of different toppings (can highly recommend the hot honey option!). These come at an additional price, but with live singing at the start and lots of civilised, cosy seating options, it’s worth it. And if you forget your glow sticks or bubble wands, don’t worry, as these are being sold at the event also. 

Once you enter the trail area, you are offered some free face painting and then put into a queue. It’s not too clear why at first and you do worry that the rest of the trail will be just as slow, but bear with it, as there is a good enough reason for the hold. It might be an idea for future events for organisers to bring some characters to this area, to entertain those waiting with magic tricks, singing or something else – as the skeleton figures weren’t quite enough for the length of the wait. That said, once the trail got going, it proved to be a cut above the rest, starting with a show that really sets the scene and especially for the little ones ignites a sense of excitement and challenge. 

In the show you learn about Victor the Skeleton and Luna the Witch, who are trying to use a map to find Captain Blackbone’s treasure chest. But with lots of clues missing, they need to restore the map – but as a spell goes wrong, Victor gets cursed and it’s down to all the visitors to locate the five golden coins to bring him back.  

Following a visit to the Lake House Keeper, you collect a mini treasure chest containing a map and a home to keep any coins you find safe. And from there, like any equivalent light trail, you can go at your own pace – but breaking up the photo opportunities (of which there are plenty of Instagramabble moments) and lit up Halloween themed sculptures, there are actors and actresses playing pirates, witches and more – immersing you into the story, bringing the energy and helping you to find those sought after golden coins in different themed areas. 

And just in case there wasn’t enough fun to be had on the walk, it ends with the chance to play a few twisted fairground games – cannonball toss, tentacle toss and Captain Hook’s hoopla for the taller visitors. 

Often these light trails are associated with Christmas, so it’s great to see this business bringing to life a new idea and concept for Halloween – and doing it so well. It’s spooky, but not scary, and a great ghoulish addition to any creepy calendar. 

Runs until 2 November.