LONGLEAT Festival of Lights has officially been declared open for the season, with over 1,000 silk lanterns lighting a "journey through time" — featuring dinosaurs and ancient civilisations.

Attending the light switch-on on Friday, November 8, I can certainly vouch for the impressive scale of the operation and intricacies of each hand-crafted lantern.

Tickets cost £20.95 for children over two and £27.95 per adult, making it a fairly costly evening for a family. However, it is a mesmerising and mystical experience that children (and adults) won't forget in a hurry — especially if they're dinosaur fans.

With so many lanterns to see, educational installations, and several Christmas-themed light shows to admire, it felt that every visitor was getting their money's worth along the route.

To help keep warm, we enjoyed plenty of hot drinks, doughnuts, and other meal options from shacks and cafes around the grounds — although you'll need to budget for these too.

Thousands gathered and cheered as Ceawlin and Emma Thynn, Marquess and Marchioness of Bath, led a countdown to the light switch-on at the Wiltshire estate at 5pm on November 8. The show will run until January 5.

Lord Bath said: "This year is a celebration of our 10th anniversary of this incredible event which takes our guests on a Journey through time as they wander through 16 different eras of the earth’s evolution for this festive showcase.

"When we first held The Festival of Light in 2014, nothing like it had been attempted on this scale before in the UK or indeed Europe.

"We are also celebrating other firsts at Longleat with this event as we mark the 75th anniversary of the House opening too.  Longleat House was one of the first to open its doors thanks to the vision of my grandfather, the 6th Marquess.

"A new light show brings to life the façade of the House with a stunning projection mapping display which will take visitors through the history including 4D animals which appear to run towards you as we mark the opening of the first Safari Park outside Africa in 1966."

The lantern trail is a historical wonderland with kings and queens, a giant 12-metre clock, the opportunity to walk through a pyramid and much more as vibrant colours and sound create memories to treasure.

The event also features the famous singing Christmas tree which stands at more than 15 metres tall, illuminated with more than 88,000 twinkling lights and fitted with four snow-making machines, a Santa Train, and the opportunity during day-time hours to see the animals which call Longleat home.