Quay Lights, Larkhaven’s free winter light festival, returns to Quayside from Friday 6 to Sunday 15 November 2026. Forty light installations will line a 2 km trail along the waterfront, lit every evening from 17:00 to 22:00. There are no tickets: just turn up and follow the trail.
Now in its sixth year, the festival brings together work by 26 artists, 11 of them from Larkhaven. More than 85,000 visits were made to last year’s trail.
Highlights this year
- Lantern Flock: 300 paper larks made by pupils at 14 Larkhaven primary schools, suspended above Quay Square.
- Tidal Choir: a band of light along the harbour wall that rises and falls with the real tide, with sound recorded on the estuary.
- Undertow: projections on the front of the Old Customs House telling the story of the building and the people who worked there.
- Signal: a giant lighthouse lamp on the quay that you control with a set of brass levers.
Quay Lights has become one of the moments when the whole city comes out together. This year’s artists have taken their inspiration from the harbour itself, from the tides to the larks on our city crest. Wrap up warm and come and see it.
Clare Dunmore, Head of Culture and Events
Plan your visit
- The trail starts at Quay Square and takes around 90 minutes at a gentle pace.
- It’s busiest on Friday and Saturday evenings. For a quieter visit, come from Sunday to Thursday, before 18:30.
- Relaxed sessions run on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November from 17:00 to 18:30, with sound turned down and no flashing effects.
- The whole trail is step-free, with seating along the route.
- Some installations use flashing or flickering light. These are marked on the trail map.
Getting there
Please walk, cycle or use public transport, as there’s no event parking. Trams run as normal, and Lark Bikes has docking stations close to the trail (£1 to unlock, then 10p a minute).
Quay Road is being resurfaced overnight between 2 and 20 November, from 20:00 to 06:00, so expect lane closures and some noise near the trail later in the evening. Details are on our roadworks and closures page.
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