- Eleven bespoke major installations on brand new trail for 2025, including Glow Wild’s biggest ever – a magical river made of 13,000 lights
- Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Thompson lend recorded voices to evocative audio vignettes played throughout the winter light trail
- 25 years of Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank and cutting-edge seed conservation has served as muse for eight renowned artists
- New for 2025 – a festive dining experience in Wakehurst’s historic mansion
Glow Wild returns to Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex, with a brand-new trail for 2025, running from 27 November 2025 to 3 January 2026. Now in its twelfth year, the theme of this year’s award-winning light trail is Seed Safari – A Walk on the Wild Side, in honour of the world-class seed science happening at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst today and over the last 25 years.
In spectacular Glow Wild tradition, Wakehurst’s wild botanic landscape will come to life after dark, with eleven bespoke art installations and thousands of handmade lanterns transforming the gardens into an immersive and enchanting experience for the whole family.
Dotted along the brand-new Glow Wild trail for 2025 – including Glow Wild’s biggest ever light installation, a winding mystical river made up of 13,000 lights – will be evocative audio vignettes that will be woven into the illuminated landscape.
Cate Blanchett, Kew’s Ambassador for Wakehurst and passionate advocate for the Millennium Seed Bank, lends her captivating voice to short, recorded audio vignettes featured throughout the trail. Along the way you’ll also hear distinctive contributions from two other multi award-winning actors, Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Thompson.
The voices of these treasured performers will be nestled in the trail amongst the major installations, and will enrich the immersive experience, bringing to life words inspired by staff at the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) and its global partners. Listeners will be able to reflect on the power of seeds, nature, collaboration, and storytelling as they journey through the magical winter trail listening to these vignettes.
Eight renowned artists including Ithaca, Michelle Dufar and Kerith Ogden, have drawn on the inspiration of the MSB to create eleven brand new and bespoke light installations for Wakehurst, that will spark the imagination of visitors of all ages and be a powerful reminder of the seed’s role in shaping our future.
Key highlights of the 2025 trail include:
- Moon River by Ithaca and Michelle Dufaur: Over 13,000 lights trace the river’s journey through the landscape, accompanied by rewilded lantern creatures including beavers, moths and storks. This is the largest installation ever featured at Glow Wild.
- Polypodipus by OGE Group: A dreamlike, tentacled plant-creature that pulses with bioluminescent spores in a glowing pondscape, towering above visitors in a jawdropping installation.
- The Night Council by Kerith Ogden: Step into a glowing glade inspired by funghi to meet nine mythical nocturnal animals, connected by spores and ancient wisdom.
- The Secret Sea Garden by Same Sky: A fantastical underwater world of jellyfish, sea horses and coral, celebrating the ocean’s role in long-distance seed dispersal.
- The Caravan by Brockman Page: A majestic procession of glowing wolves, deer, foxes and an elephant, each crafted from hazel and willow coppiced from Wakehurst’s own woodlands.
With a further six spectacular installations to be explored at Wakehurst on this year’s trail, Glow Wild continues to capture the imagination of visitors as it weaves together beauty, nature and storytelling. After visiting Glow Wild in 2024, Cate Blanchett said of the trail: “mythical, magical garden of light and wonder only a stone’s throw from London, Glow Wild is a joyous, uplifting pan-generational gift for the senses. Sublime.”
New experiences for 2025
New for this year, following the reopening of Wakehurst’s historic Elizabethan mansion, is an exclusive evening dining experience in the festively decorated house. Guests can book for a seasonal mezze dinner on select nights for a Christmas experience in the historic heart of Wakehurst.
Visitors can enjoy an upgraded catering experience across the trail, featuring a wide range of warming street food, sweet treats and winter drinks.
Getting there
With free onsite parking and easy access via Haywards Heath station (just 10 minutes away), Glow Wild is easily reached from Brighton and London Gatwick. In 2025, Wakehurst is partnering with Event Travel Hub to offer escorted return coach services, expanding car-free travel options for visitors across the South Coast. Wakehurst is always trying to improve accessibility to its site for all.
Image: Kew’s Ambassador for Wakehurst, Cate Blanchett at Glow Wild in 2024 – Ollie Dixon © RBG Kew
