REVIEW: Is Newbury Christmas Carnival 2022 definitely worth the hype?
Newbury Christmas Carnival opened its gates to the general public final week, boasting a Winter Wonderland-style expertise.
The occasion is the primary of its type to open within the space with organisers proclaiming it as the most important within the South of England outdoors of London.
We have been invited alongside to check out this 12 months’s carnival as one thing many have been contemplating for his or her festive to-do checklist.
On arrival on the carnival, you might be greeted by a gorgeous arch with workers managing entry and helpfully pointing you within the route of key points of interest.
Having arrived at 5pm we have been eager to scope out the realm and get a really feel for what was on supply.
An array of market stalls and meals venues line the centre space of the carnival, with foremost points of interest reminiscent of the massive wheel, Christmas tree maze, ice skating, and circus tent positioned across the outdoors, making it straightforward to navigate.
We shortly came upon that the night’s solely efficiency of The Nice Christmas Circus was quick approaching so headed to the massive high tent the place we paid £12.50 a head to look at the 45-minute present.
A number of performers, together with a tight-rope walker, hula-hooper, ‘hair-hanging’ acrobat, trapeze artist, and three cage riders amazed the viewers with cheers and moments of utter silence as we collectively held our breath.
The youngsters within the viewers beloved the present and the ringmaster was participating all through the set adjustments.
Upon leaving the present we have been fast to trace down some tasty avenue meals, choosing a Yorkshire pudding wrap – which was scrumptious however extremely messy.
We paid round £9 every for the wraps, however cheaper choices have been out there with a fish and chip stand, loads of burger and hot-dog stands, greek meals, and Italian choices – and that is not even mentioning the dessert choices.
Weaving our method via the carnival, we situated the Christmas tree maze and determined to attempt our hand at accumulating the seven letters dotted across the maze – an exercise that was £5 per individual.
I totally loved weaving out and in of the Christmas bushes on the hunt for the stamps that might produce an anagram that unlocks a prize when exiting the maze.
Having attended the carnival on a faculty evening in late November the maze was quiet and I can think about that on a busier day the expertise could also be slightly bit extra chaotic.
The Biggest Hits Radio Wheel was subsequent on our rounds of the carnival (£8 a head) though considerably disappointingly the promised music couldn’t be heard as we made our method up and round the important thing attraction.
However, it was nice to see the carnival from above.
The scent of churros quickly wafted in our route and we dug right into a £6 Nutella-covered churro bag with a drink from one of many many bars and drink stalls within the venue.
We completed up the night by visiting a number of the different main points of interest and sadly missed out on the ice skating as a consequence of time restraints.
So would we advocate Newbury Christmas Carnival?
General the attraction boasted a number of household enjoyable, however the costs felt troublesome to justify amid the continued value of dwelling disaster.
A £5 to £7 admission cost is required per individual over age two, with every experience and attraction costing extra sums of cash.
The parking scenario additionally left households to stroll 5 minutes from the principle automotive park largely at midnight. Whereas related native Christmas points of interest reminiscent of Windsor Great Park Illuminated have tailored the automotive park route to include fairy lights, offering gentle within the go-between which ensures the security of holiday makers.
All in all, we had a enjoyable night crammed with meals and leisure and if you’re keen to spend the additional kilos it’s certain to depart you feeling festive.
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