An enchanted light and lantern festival is coming to Yorkshire this winter
Less than an hour's drive from Leeds, this magical trail will take you through four different fantasy worlds - discovering illuminated animals, flowers and imaginary creatures along the way
The Yorkshire Wildlife Park's enchanted light and lantern Winter Illuminations festival is coming back for Christmas 2021 and we can't wait to see what amazing creations they've dreamt up this year.
With four different enchanted worlds to explore on the magical light and lantern trail, you'll travel through a fairytale realm, fantasy land, animal kingdom and underwater empire as part of the one-way, circular 2.4km route.
Beginning at the Yorkshire Hive, you'll encounter an array of different illuminated animals, flowers and imaginary creatures as you journey through the four different fantasy worlds, ending back at the starting point.
With hot food and drink stalls available along the way, the trail can be completed in roughly 90 minutes - not counting any time you want to spend stopping for a drop or something to eat as you go.
And if you want to make the most of the experience whilst attending the light and lantern festival by booking to go and see the animals on the same day, you can get a discount on your day ticket - with prices for these costing just £10 when you book the same day.
Do this online by choosing the number of Winter Illumination tickets for the day and time you require, then selecting the relevant number of 'Winter Illuminations Park Day Time Tickets' from the same 'WHO’S COMING?' section.
Time slots for the enchanted winter trail run from 4 to 7 pm, after the park has been cleared for the day, so if you get tickets for both experiences be aware that you'll have to leave and then re-enter again for the Winter Illuminations event.
If you're looking to kill time though, the Yorkshire Hive has plenty of restaurants, play areas and shops to keep you entertained - including two immersive themed dining areas where the "lost Jurassic island meets the fantasy world of caves and mythical Dragons."
The Yorkshire Wildlife Park is fully accessible for wheelchair users and has a small number of manual wheelchairs that are available to pre-book, free of charge.
The enchanted festival kicks off on Thursday 18 November and runs right through the Christmas season into the new year.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased in advance here.
News
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Leeds Tattoo Expo to return to the First Direct Arena for 10th anniversary
Clementine Hall
The tenth annual Leeds Tattoo Expo will showcase some of the best in tattooing both local and internationally.
If you fancy getting yourself a fancy new bit of ink, then look no further than the iconic Leeds Tattoo Expo that will be returning to the First Direct Arena this June.
Taking place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025, over 200 tattooists and 70 traders will be flocking to the city to show off their skills.
And not only that, but there’ll also be a whole host of market traders for you to browse as well as live music to have a boogie to.
The artists will be tattooing with options for both pre-booked appointments and walk ups available throughout the weekend.
Image: Leeds Tattoo Expo
There will also be a piercer, tooth gems and a henna artist ready to adorn your body.
Alongside getting tattooed, there’s plenty to do and to see over the whole weekend; there'll be an alternative drawing class, an illustrators market with kids’ workshops provided by Art Gecko, an art fusion event on the main stage, burlesque performances and competitions, a small vintage clothing pop-up, fire breathing and break dancing demonstrations in the square outside the arena.
The annual tattoo competitions will also be taking place each evening, where tattooists showcase their work to a panel of judges, sponsored by Killer Ink!
To celebrate Leeds Tattoo Expo's tenth anniversary, they'll be hosting a Pre-Party at Belgrave Music Hall on Thursday 5 June which is a completely free entry event complete with live music and free pizza.
You can find out more about the event and book your tickets here via the First Direct Arena's website.
Georgina Pellant -
1st October 2021 
