Now the nights are drawing in, a brisk walk through the countryside can be just the thing to brighten the mood. If that walk comes with hot food, bright lights and melodic music, even better!

Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience has just opened at Arley Hall in Cheshire and is the perfect place to enjoy an evening stroll surrounded by the sights and sounds of the wizarding world.

The spellbinding experience starts with a short lit walk from the car park to a small selection of tantalising food stalls with treats based on the Harry Potter books and films - so you can buy hearty winter warming hot chocolates, mulled wine, coffees, edible wands, sausage rolls, and pasties etc, plus a vast array of doughnuts and brownies - all snapped up by hungry children and their parents!

You are then given a short talk about the attraction you are about to experience before you can stroll through the forest at your leisure.

Once in you follow the thousands of mesmerising lights which transform the landscape into a magical outdoor trail. 

You encounter creatures from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts series, including Hippogriffs, centaurs, unicorns and Nifflers. 

My daughter also took part in some spells by saying some magic words and giggling as she conjured up flying animals in the cold night air.

One of the highlights for me was spotting a white glowing unicorn slinking majestically through the trees.

If you are scared of spiders you are advised beforehand as there is a spooky encounter halfway through, which was met with plenty of squeals from my fellow walkers!

There is a refreshment point in the middle where you can taste Harry Potter’s famous butter beer before having a go at another interactive spell.

Throughout the whole walk you encounter lights and music every step of the way.

I particularly enjoyed the clearing with hundreds of changing mushroom lights with captivating classical music.

Be sure to have your cameras ready for the finale - which I won’t spoil for you - before you finish in a small cosy village full of places to eat where you can toast marshmallows and settle down in the heated marquees.

The whole Harry Potter experience is a joy from start to finish and is a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend a few hours in the great outdoors on a cold winter’s evening in the depths of a Cheshire forest. Just make sure you take stout walking shoes!

For more details visit www.hpforbiddenforestexperience.com.