Lanterns Of The Wild Twycross Zoo Disabled Access Review

Featured image for blog post “Lanterns of the Wild” at Twycross Zoo: Iona standing inside a large illuminated picture-frame display surrounded by glowing blue butterflies, with the text “Disabled Access Review” on a yellow background.
It may still be winter but the Lanterns Of The Wild at Twycross Zoo is a wonderful evening out with some great lights for sensory seekers. So come on lets go and see all the light displays and discover the disabled access of course.

Table of Contents

Facilities and Services Available for Disabled Guests

Here is a quick overview of the facilities and services available for disabled guests at Twycross Zoo, so that you can decide if this attraction is able to meet your access requirements. Please note: some of the services are listed below and a full explanation is available later on in the blog post. In order to quickly navigate through the post you can use the table of contents.

  • Mobility Scooter Hire: Twycross Zoo has a number of mobility scooters available to hire for £20. Mobility scooters can be pre booked online and collected from guest services. You can pre book a mobility scooter by clicking here mobility scooter hire Twycross zoo.
  • Wheelchair Hire: Twycross zoo has a number of adult wheelchairs available to hire for £10. Wheelchairs can be pre booked online and collected from guest services. You can pre book a wheelchair by clicking here Twycross Zoo Wheelchair hire.
  • Wagon, Single and Double Pushchair Hire: Twycross Zoo has single and double pushchairs available to hire as well as wagons that can seat 2 children. All of the above options can be pre booked in advance and collected from guest services. Single pushchairs cost £10 to hire and can be pre booked by clicking here single pushchair hire Twycross Zoo. Double pushchairs cost £15 to hire and can be pre booked by clicking here double pushchair hire Twycross zoo. Wagons cost £12 to hire and can be pre booked by clicking here wagon hire Twycross zoo.
  • Essential Companion Tickets: Essential companion tickets formerly known as carer tickets are available to paying guests with the access card or a free Twycross Zoo digital access pass that have the +1 or +2 symbol. Full information can be found in the ‘before your visit’ section of this blog post.
  • Changing Places: Twycross Zoo has a full changing places toilet with ceiling track hoist and adult changing bed. It does state on the zoo’s website that the hoist is out of order until 12 April. For full details about the changing places click here Twycross Zoo changing places.
  • Assistance Dogs: Twycross Zoo welcomes assistance dogs however, due to the nature of the attraction having lots of animals there are some restrictions. If visiting with an assistance dog you must contact guest services before your visit and check in at guest services on the day of your visit. You can contact guest services by emailing information@twycrosszoo.org.
  • Step Free Light Trail: The full lanterns of the wild light trail is fully step free and suitable for wheelchairs.
  • SEN Friendly Evenings: Twycross Zoo have been running a number of SEN friendly evenings for their light trail. The remaining SEN friendly evening is on Sunday 8 February 2026. SEN evenings include reduced capacity, sensory map, lowered music and static lights throughout the route and a more understanding environment. Please note: This blog post review is not from a SEN evening.

Before your visit

Before visiting Twycross Zoo there are a few steps you must take in order to ensure you have the correct access available to you so you can enjoy your day.

Booking Tickets

Lanterns of the wild light trail can be purchased by itself as an evening event with no access to the animals in the zoo. Or in a bundle with a Twycross Zoo day admission ticket giving you the chance to see the animals in the day and lights at night. Lanterns evening only tickets start from £13.75 for children and £19 for adults. Essential companions and 2 years and under are free of charge. You can book Lanterns of the Wild evening only Ticket by clicking here Lanterns of the Wild Tickets Twycross zoo evening only.

Bundle tickets with Twycross Zoo admission tickets and Lanterns of the Wild ticket start at £32 for adults and £26 for children. Essential companions and 2 years and under are free of charge. All Twycross Zoo admission tickets work as an annual pass meaning you pay once and can visit for the next 12 months free of charge you just need to pre book. You can book a return visit by clicking here Twycross Zoo book return visit. Lantern and zoo bundle tickets can be booked by clicking here Twycross Zoo Lantern and zoo bundle ticket.

Essential companion ticket

Essential companion tickets can be selected when purchasing the rest of your tickets by selecting the essential companion ticket type. You will need to unlock your essential companion ticket to add it to your basket. It’s super simple to unlock your essential companion ticket just click the unlock button enter your name and Access card ID number on the front of your access card or your digital access pass ID number that can be found on your acceptance email.

Arrivals

In this section of the blog we detail what will happen when you arrive at Twycross Zoo so you know what to expect and can get on the rides as quickly as possible.

blue badge parking

Twycross Zoo has a large number of hard standing blue badge parking located at the front of the car park. Car parking costs £3.50 and there is no discount available for blue badge holders.

Photo of a Twycross Zoo parking sign showing car park rules and “Pay on arrival” information.
Outdoor view of the Twycross Zoo entrance area with trees and a Twycross Zoo sign in the foreground.
Road leading into Twycross Zoo, with trees along the sides and a small building visible ahead.

entering the park

The entrance for the light trail event was located through the Himalaya Centre. When approaching the entrance area there were male, female and a changing places toilet as well as screens to pay for car parking.

The light trail entrance was located at the Gruffalo Discovery Land entrance with staff scanning tickets and queue lines set up as seen in the images below. There was a separate queue line available for disabled people that was well signposted.

Entrance doors with a “Welcome to Twycross Zoo” sign as visitors walk inside for the light trail event.
Indoor lobby at the Himalaya Centre with conservation and education displays as visitors head toward the event entrance.
Outdoor approach at dusk with illuminated event signage and visitors walking toward the light trail entrance area.
Wide walkway at dusk with crowds moving toward the Lanterns event area and lights ahead in the distance.
Queueing area with barriers and a “Lanterns Wild Entrance” sign pointing left as staff manage entry and ticket checks.

Our Trip To The Light Trail

Now we’re in the park and have sorted all of our access out it’s time to enjoy the lights. In this section you will find a write up of our evening at Twycross Zoo light trail including all the accessibility information of course. So come and enjoy the day with us! The trail was split into 10 themed areas all with different light displays to the theme.

The Gruffalo Wood

The trail starts off in the Gruffalo discovery land with a Gruffalo themed light walkthrough. The trail featured lots of scenes from both books the Gruffalo and Gruffalo Child. The toilets were open and there was a toasting marshmallow station but the rest of the attractions and facilities in the Gruffalo discovery land like shop and café were closed.

In terms of access, The trail area in the Gruffalo Woods had great even level access so really wheelchair friendly. However, it was very crowded at this section of the trail it was hard to see anything. I found it very overwhelming with the amount of people in this area.

Crowded entrance area at dusk for the Gruffalo trail, with tall wooden posts and bare trees.
Visitors walking along a paved woodland path lined with white and blue fairy lights.
Illuminated woodland display featuring Gruffalo character figures among glowing blue ground lights.
Marshmallow roasting area sign on a stand beside the path, with visitors and colorful lights in the background.
illuminated figure of the Gruffalo resting beside a den-like structure on the trail.
Light display with a Gruffalo figure, a snowman, and the mouse under hanging white lights in the trees.

North American Wilds

The North American Wilds section of the trail started outside the Gibbon Forest. This area included lots of American themed light displays including mountains, wolves and waterfall scenes.

In terms of access, it was less crowded in this area of the trail. A small part of this section of the light trail was off the main path and on very muddy ground challenging for mobility aid users although there was full step free access.

Night-time light display showing a bright blue illuminated waterfall with stylized waves, surrounded by glowing orange-yellow branches, rocks, and plants along the trail.
Night-time trail scene with green ground lights and multiple illuminated displays, including large pale mountain-like shapes and animal figures, with a leafless tree silhouetted overhead.

Polar Realms

The trail led onto the Polar Realms section that was filled with icy scene. The scenes in this section were a little bit Christmas themed for example, there was reindeer however, it also worked as a winter section. Some of the main features included winter animals like polar bears and penguins as well as an igloo you get to walk through. The Polar Realms has the main stop off point on the light trail with a food area and toilets. The food area was located inside a marquee with hot and cold food options available as well as a wide range of drinks.

In terms of access, the Polar Realms section of the trail was fully wheelchair accessible but I did not manage to find an accessible toilet. During this part of the trail you have to walk through a short igloo that is bright and undercover as seen in the images below.

Night-time light trail display with large illuminated penguin lantern sculptures beside glowing ice-shaped lights and an igloo-style tunnel in the background.
Night-time light trail display featuring a tall illuminated polar bear lantern sculpture, with glowing ice-shaped lights and an igloo-style tunnel nearby.
marquee tent at the light trail, lit from inside, with people walking past on the wet ground.

Desert Lands

Desert Lands was the next section of the light trail a big difference from the Polar Realms we had just experienced. The Desert Lands had some great scene with lots of cactuses and flowers.

In terms of access, it was fully wheelchair accessible through the Desert Lands area with no additional sensory effects other than the lights.

Nighttime light trail with a large glowing arch over the path, surrounded by illuminated green cactus sculptures and colorful flower lights, with several visitors walking through.
Wide nighttime view of a desert-themed light display featuring multiple bright green cactus sculptures and other glowing ground patterns along a curving path.

Asian Jungle

We entered through the snake into the Asian Jungle where we saw lots of Jungle light scenes including monkeys and tigers.

In terms of access, it was fully wheelchair accessible. In this part of the trail there was additional sensory effects other than the lights.

Nighttime photo of an illuminated light-trail walkway with a glowing snake arch ahead and bright green bamboo-like light sculptures lining the path, as visitors walk through the display.
Nighttime photo of a light-trail walkway with colorful jungle-themed illuminated sculptures on the side, including tiger-like figures and glowing plants, with visitors walking past.

Amazonian Jungle

The Amazonian Jungle was full of wonderful scenes of different animals that live in the Amazonian Jungle including Jaguars and Sloths.

In terms of access, it was fully wheelchair accessible. In this part of the trail there was additional sensory effects other than the lights.

Neon-lit jungle trail with a tree-and-vine archway over a paved, wheelchair-accessible path at night.
Glowing Amazon jungle display at night with dense neon plants and a spotted big-cat figure beside the trail.

Arctic Sea

In the Arctic Sea we went into a world under the sea through a big Octopus entrance arch. We saw lots of scenes of sea creatures including Whales.

In terms of access, it was fully wheelchair accessible. In this part of the trail there was additional sensory effects other than the lights.

Nighttime photo of an illuminated octopus archway forming an entrance to an underwater-themed light trail, with glowing green seaweed sculptures lining the path and visitors walking through.
Nighttime photo of an underwater-themed light trail scene with large glowing seaweed and sea-creature light sculptures along a walkway, with visitors nearby.

Tropical Reef

The Tropical Reef was so colourful and filled with sea creatures scenes like clown fish, starfish and jelly fish hanging from the trees. During this section of the light trail there was Male, Female and accessible toilets.

In terms of access, it was fully wheelchair accessible in the Tropical Reef area with a standard accessible toilet available. In this part of the trail there was additional sensory effects other than the lights.

Nighttime light trail scene with visitors walking along a dark path through a glowing tropical reef display of colorful coral and sea creatures, with blue hanging lights overhead.
Close-up night time view of a large multi-coloured illuminated fish-shaped sculpture with surrounding glowing coral and reef lights along the trail.

African Forests

The African Forests had an amazing stepping stone walkway where the stepping stones lit up when you jumped on them. There was also some wonderful butterfly light scenes in the African Forests area.

In terms of access, the walkway area and all the light displays in the African Forests were fully wheelchair accessible however, the stepping stones were not level access. As well as the light displays there was also some music playing.

Nighttime African Forests display with a curved trail of glowing circular stepping stones leading through purple-lit structures and colorful lights.
Nighttime African Forests butterfly light scene with illuminated butterflies hovering above bright green glowing plants beside a purple-lit tree trunk.

African Savannah

The final section of the light trail was the African Savannah this area had lots of safari style animal scenes like elephants and Zebras. This part of the trail was a lot quieter then the rest as people got near the end of the trail at different times.

In terms of access, it was fully wheelchair accessible in the African Savannah area. In this part of the trail there was additional sensory effects other than the lights.

Nighttime photo of an African Savannah light-trail display with glowing green ground lights and illuminated animal sculptures, including a large ostrich-like figure and smaller animals.
Nighttime photo of illuminated zebra sculptures on an outdoor light trail, with colorful lit displays in the background.

Food Village

The light trail ended into the food village this is the entrance area near guest services for the zoo. This area had been transformed for the evening with a number of food stalls making it a great place to get a treat after the light walk. There was also a couple of rides for children.

Nighttime view of the Food Village area at the end of the zoo’s light trail, showing several illuminated food stalls and visitors walking across the paved entrance area.
Closer nighttime view of the Food Village with a brightly lit “Churros & Coffee” stall and a “Twycross Zoo” sign, with visitors gathered at the counter.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, Lanterns Of The Wild is most definitely worth a visit for all the family. It was nice how Lanterns Of The Wild is running through into February creating a nice winter’s evening activity that can be very hard to find. We also visited the zoo in the day time and had a wonderful time you can see a full blog post from my visit to Twycross Zoo by clicking here Twycross Zoo disabled access review. If you’re doing the zoo and Lanterns Of The Wild both in the same day then there is an hour and a half gap between when the zoo shuts and light trail opens during this time the Himalaya Centre stayed open but we headed to the McDonald’s down the road for some tea. I was really impressed with the accessibility of this light trail especially the wheelchair access. It is great to see Twycross add SEN friendly evenings as the trail was very busy. For a quieter experience I recommend picking the first time slot of the evening. Well that’s all for today, thanks for coming and taking a walk around the lights with me what a great trail it was. See you on my next adventure, Bye for now.

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Disclaimer​

The information provided on this blog about theme park accessibility is based on my experiences and the details available from the attractions’ official websites at the time of my visit. Please note that facilities and services for disabled guests may change, and the information may not always be up-to-date. I strongly recommend checking the accessibility section on the respective attractions’ websites for the most current information. The comments and opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or representative of any other organisation.