Cambridge Botanic Lights runs 17 nights from 27 November to 23 December 2026. Adults £24.75 standard, £18.15 off-peak; children from £13.50. Pre-book only.

Cambridge Botanic Lights returns for its fourth year on Friday 27 November 2026 and runs on 17 evenings to Wednesday 23 December. The Botanic Garden has published the dates, times and prices, and tickets are on sale now through Cambridge Live. There are no tickets on the gate.

The quick answer

  • Dates: 17 nights, 27 November to 23 December 2026. Entry slots from 4.30pm, last entry 7pm, gates shut 8.30pm.
  • Prices: adults £24.75 standard, £18.15 off-peak; ages 4 to 15 £17 or £13.50; 3 and under free.
  • Booking: pre-book only, via Cambridge Live Tickets. Nothing is sold at the Garden.

Dates and which slots are off-peak

The trail runs Thursday to Sunday for the first three weeks, then every night in the week before Christmas. The Garden’s FAQ page splits each evening into standard and off-peak entry times. The cheapest nights are 3 and 10 December, which are off-peak all evening.

Date Standard entry Off-peak entry
Friday 27 November 4.30 to 5.30pm 5.45 to 7pm
Saturday 28 November 4.30 to 5.45pm 6 to 7pm
Sunday 29 November 4.30 to 5.30pm 5.45 to 7pm
Thursday 3 December none 4.30 to 7pm
Friday 4 December 4.30 to 5.30pm 5.45 to 7pm
Saturday 5 December 4.30 to 7pm none
Sunday 6 December 4.30 to 5.30pm 5.45 to 7pm
Thursday 10 December none 4.30 to 7pm
Friday 11 December 4.30 to 5.30pm 5.45 to 7pm
Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December 4.30 to 7pm none
Friday 18 to Wednesday 23 December 4.30 to 7pm none

So the off-peak price is only available up to 11 December. Every slot in the last week before Christmas is at the standard price.

Prices

From the Garden’s event page, including the ticket office booking fee:

Ticket Standard Off-peak
Adult £24.75 £18.15
Friend of the Garden, Corporate Friend or Cambridge University student £22.55 £16.50
Age 4 to 15 £17.00 £13.50
Age 3 and under Free Free
Carer of a disabled visitor Free Free

A group of six or more gets 10% off. There are no other concessions, and a Friend’s guest discount does not apply. So a family of two adults and two children aged 4 to 15 pays £83.50 at standard price, or £63.30 off-peak.

The Garden says all ticket income, less the booking fee, goes to its living collection, conservation and education work.

Booking and getting in

  • Tickets are sold only online through Cambridge Live Tickets, which also takes ticket enquiries on 01223 357851. The Garden’s own ticket offices do not sell them.
  • If a night has not sold out, you can book until 4pm on the day.
  • Entry is in 15-minute timed slots from 4.30pm to 7pm. Once inside you can go round as many times as you like; the Garden starts closing at 8.15pm.
  • The Garden warns that the early slots, which suit families after school, sell out fast.
  • Both the Station Road and Brookside gates are open for the event.
  • Pushchairs and wheelchairs are fine: the trail follows gravel and tarmac paths.
  • No dogs except trained assistance dogs, and no tripods.

The Garden’s advice is to come by public transport, and it notes that evening bus times and on-street parking charges differ from daytime. For car parks and Park and Ride, see our parking in Cambridge page, and check Cambridge roadworks and travel before you set off.

What is on the trail

The Garden describes the trail as light, colour and sound installations inspired by plants, lighting up the Glasshouse Range, the Fountain and the Lake, with new pieces alongside returning favourites from last year. Its preview page shows 2025’s installations, including the Seed Collector on the Lake, a golden field of wheat, a fairy garden, a pollination projection on Cory Lodge and a wheelbarrow waterfall, and warns that 2026’s may differ. Food and drink stalls are set up along the route.

This year the Garden is also asking for donated garden gnomes to put in the display.

The Garden by day this winter

The Botanic Garden’s visit page gives winter opening as 10am to 4pm from November to January. It is closed from Thursday 24 December 2026 to Friday 1 January 2027 and reopens at 10am on Saturday 2 January. The Garden’s ticket page lists daytime adult entry at £8.60 on the day (£9.50 with a voluntary donation), and children up to 16 go free.

More Christmas in Cambridge

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