Fright Nights at Margam Castle - Review 2024
Margam Castle is an impressive estate and park just off the M4 in Port Talbot and makes a fantastic backdrop for a new Halloween event - Fright Nights.
The main trail is used for family friendly frights during the afternoon and early evening, before turning into the adult only event later in the night. And this dual approach is very clear as many of the scenes along the trail are clearly designed for a younger audience. They are fun to look at - but are clearly not scary.
Therefore it is a good job that there are a number of scare actors scattered round the trail. But this is probably the event's failing - there are just NOT enough scare actors along the pathways, to make the whole attraction super scary. Yes they managed to get a number of quick startle scares, but we spent a LOT of our time just walking through the scenery enjoying the lights and props.
But the highlight was the approach and entrance to the main house itself, which was beautifully lit up and sat ominously waiting at the top of the hill. Once inside - this section had a great number of impressive scares, and as we waited outside, the area was filled with the screams of guests ahead of us. The short walk through the castle and its outbuildings was clearly the highlight of the event and we would love to have seen this intensity across the whole trail.
Once outside the house, there is a break area with catering and rides, and if it hadn't been raining on our visit, we would have certainly dwelled in this area longer. But as we started the route back to the car park, we were hoping that the scares would continue and this was the biggest disappointment of the night. The long route down the hill had virtually nothing to keep us interested. Granted there were a few props and some fun lighting effects, but we only counted one actor on the 15 minute walk down. Granted they gave us a great scare (you can hear us scream in the video below).but the second half of the show should have been more impactful, and just left us walking to the car feeling "Was that it?"
So all in - Fright Nights at Margam Castle was a mixed bag. We genuinely loved the route through the main buildings in the middle of the show, and loved the effects and lighting on the main trail, but think a few more actors along the outdoor paths would make this an outstanding event.
The main trail is used for family friendly frights during the afternoon and early evening, before turning into the adult only event later in the night. And this dual approach is very clear as many of the scenes along the trail are clearly designed for a younger audience. They are fun to look at - but are clearly not scary.
Therefore it is a good job that there are a number of scare actors scattered round the trail. But this is probably the event's failing - there are just NOT enough scare actors along the pathways, to make the whole attraction super scary. Yes they managed to get a number of quick startle scares, but we spent a LOT of our time just walking through the scenery enjoying the lights and props.
But the highlight was the approach and entrance to the main house itself, which was beautifully lit up and sat ominously waiting at the top of the hill. Once inside - this section had a great number of impressive scares, and as we waited outside, the area was filled with the screams of guests ahead of us. The short walk through the castle and its outbuildings was clearly the highlight of the event and we would love to have seen this intensity across the whole trail.
Once outside the house, there is a break area with catering and rides, and if it hadn't been raining on our visit, we would have certainly dwelled in this area longer. But as we started the route back to the car park, we were hoping that the scares would continue and this was the biggest disappointment of the night. The long route down the hill had virtually nothing to keep us interested. Granted there were a few props and some fun lighting effects, but we only counted one actor on the 15 minute walk down. Granted they gave us a great scare (you can hear us scream in the video below).but the second half of the show should have been more impactful, and just left us walking to the car feeling "Was that it?"
So all in - Fright Nights at Margam Castle was a mixed bag. We genuinely loved the route through the main buildings in the middle of the show, and loved the effects and lighting on the main trail, but think a few more actors along the outdoor paths would make this an outstanding event.
Links:
Fright Nights website
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