Festive light trail maps will show people where the best displays in Cowplain are to raise funds for a school

A COMMUNITY will be brought together through a Christmas trail helping people enjoy the season safely to support a local school.

Cowplain’s streets have been transformed into a winter wonderland, with plenty of people joining in and putting together festive light displays to wow their neighbours.

A Christmas trail has popepd up in Cowplain to raise funds for Padnell Infant School. Pictured: One of the houses on the trailplaceholder image
A Christmas trail has popepd up in Cowplain to raise funds for Padnell Infant School. Pictured: One of the houses on the trail

This Christmas trail was thought up to raise funds for Padnell Infant School’s parent and school association, after a year of cancelled fundraising events meant a creative solution to help the school was needed.

Last year, people were asking for details of where to find the biggest and best Christmas lights in the area, so this trail aims to point people in the right direction using a specially made map.

A Christmas trail has popepd up in Cowplain to raise funds for Padnell Infant School. Pictured: One of the houses on the trailplaceholder image
A Christmas trail has popepd up in Cowplain to raise funds for Padnell Infant School. Pictured: One of the houses on the trail
placeholder image
Read More
Tesco stores across the area support Christmas campaign by housing festive postb...

Nat Pettit, whose children attend the school, said: ‘We thought what can we do that might help? If we do this everyone can follow government guidelines, everyone can socially distance.

‘The plan is to add a bit of sparkle into people’s lives to bring the community together. I’m hoping we can boost a bit of morale with it and hopefully we can help out the local infant school while we do it.’

The map for the trail is available to purchase for £1.50, which will guide participants to the best light displays in the area, and also give them clues to search for which will help them solve a puzzle.

A Christmas trail has popepd up in Cowplain to raise funds for Padnell Infant School. Pictured: St Wilfrid's Church Spot The Difference display which will have a new item every day of adventplaceholder image
A Christmas trail has popepd up in Cowplain to raise funds for Padnell Infant School. Pictured: St Wilfrid's Church Spot The Difference display which will have a new item every day of advent

St Wilfrid's Church in Padnell Road is joining in the fun by putting up a Spot The Difference display for villagers to enjoy throughout December.

Although the display is looking slightly bare at the moment, it will begin to come to life throughout the month as a new item will appear during each day of advent leading up to Christmas so it is one to watch.

The trail kicks off on December 3, and will run all the way until December 31, so there is plenty of time to get involved.

Maps can be bought digitally by sending £1.50 via PayPal to [email protected] and local businesses Cowplain Cafe in London Road and Premier in Hazleton Way will also be selling paper copies of maps very soon.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as fewer adverts, access to our digital edition and mobile app.

For Black Friday we’ve slashed the cost of a new subscription by 30 per cent - so you can get unlimited access to our coverage for as little as £1.40 a month.

Related topics:
News you can trust since 1877
Follow us
© 2026 Iconic Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice