With a multi-coloured aerial light show filling the sky with dancing bands of colour, an illuminated waterfall, and trees drenched in colour and dripping with silvery shards of light, snowflakes, stars and baubles, it’s fair to say Blenheim Palace has never looked so good.

After last year’s game-changing display of lights, the Woodstock stately home has upped the ante with its most spectacular Christmas event ever.

With a new indoor Alice in the Palace experience taking over the ornate State Rooms during the day, an immersive Christmas market in the Great Court and a bigger and better Christmas light trail illuminating through the woods and lakeside parkland in the evening, the palace has pulled out all the stops to treat visitors to a magical experience.

Among the installations is a 30-metre long promenade of LED vines along which visitors can touch and interact with strands housing up to 8,000 individual colour-changing pixels, making for an otherworldly immersive experience.

More than a million pea-lights, along with lasers and projections have transformed the woods and undulating landscape. There’s also a gorgeous snowdrop walk of softly glowing flowers.

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A key attraction is the Sledge Tree, an 11-metre structure made from 365 illuminated wooden toboggans to represent each day of the year. This exceptional piece of art, light and architecture reinterprets the theme of the classic Christmas tree and is an artistic collaboration between Hello Wood from Budapest, which designed and built the structure, and Creatmosphere, based in London and France, which has animated it with light and sound.

Oxford Mail:

It truly is a selfie-taker’s heaven, and you may well find yourself bumping into people over eager to record for posterity their posed visages among the festive trappings.

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Visitors can complete their stroll under the stars, or, more likely, mist, with spiced cider, mulled wine or hot chocolate, or feast on roast chestnuts. Children can toast marshmallows at one of the fire pits, ride a vintage carousel and enjoy other traditional fayre.

The trail will be in place until January 1. Running slightly longer is the Alice in the Palace indoor experience which continues until January 5.

Oxford Mail:

Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic tale, the State Rooms have been transformed into the magical world of Alice in Wonderland. Visitors can step between the pages of a larger-than-life story book and into their very own festive family adventure.

As you might expect, there’ll be appearances by the White Rabbit (who mustn’t be late), a caterpillar surrounded by flowers and a rather large mushroom, and a Cheshire Cat to leave you with a grin.

The curious can wander down a rabbit-hole corridor, through a hall of mirrors, along a hall of doors and into historic rooms filled with hidden surprises.

Oxford Mail:

Until December 15, the Great Court is given over to a seasonal market showcasing a range of festive treats in over 60 individual wooden chalets. Filled with crafted gifts, unique works by a range of designers and tempting treats for foodies, it is the perfect place to shop for gifts.

None of it comes particularly cheaply, though, with tickets for the trail costing £18 for adults (£40.50 for a combined Alice ticket) and £12.50 (£25.50) for kids aged five to 16 (though family tickets for two adults and two children even out the price to £14.50 a head). And demand is high, with tickets sold for individual time slots – so don’t be late!

Christmas at Blenheim Palace, featuring the Magical Outdoor Trail, runs until January 1. The Alice in the Palace indoor adventure runs until January 5