"We believe in making your real world magical and our magical world real"

For three years that is what Mike and Alison Battle, founders of Lapland UK, have been doing over at Swinley Forest. 

Despite opposition when they first sought planning permission - resulting in them having to put it back a year - the couple finally got approval to set up the magical winter wonderland nestled between Ascot and Bracknell on Crown Estate land. 

Three years later and it is fair to say the magical journey through Christmas has wowed generations, excited families and bought some sparkle to many lives.

It is easy to fear such ventures when the planning notice lands in your neighbourhood. 

This is a beautiful and protected part of the country, with such glorious trees, open spaces and wildlife. And rightly so, people need to defend the right for that to stay protected and unspoilt. If we spoil it now, what hope is there for the land and where development can end. 

But with Lapland UK, this is something a little different. 

And what the past three years have provided is evidence that this temporary adventure can work. 

Granted, I do not live along London Road and do not travel every day, but it has not felt like a massive impact on normal life in the few weeks it has been open. 

And what struck me when my little bundle of a four-year-old and a six-year-old went with my husband and I on Saturday, was that it has managed to remain discreet and out of the way. 

To the point where we had to use a compass to navigate our way there. Okay, that may have been for effect, but still - we hadn't noticed signs the week before when driving to Bracknell. 

Read any review of Lapland UK and it will talk of the magic, the mystery and the incredible chance it allows small and big folk to completely envelope themselves into the Christmas spirit. 

But I was not prepared for how much this touches the heart of what believing is. 

When you review experiences and themed events you don't want to sound gushing. And yes there are a couple of things I could pick holes in. Perhaps my one bit of feedback would be to have one photo included in the price rather than that be extra. But that is not what this is about. What Mike and Alison have done is create a magical world for us to escape to. And that is the point. 

For the three-and-a-half hours we were there, our journey took our children to places they never thought they would ever witness, us on a whirlwind of fantasy land where we could be children with our children and my family on an adventure we will never experience again. 

Because as every year passes, so the magic fades or slightly shifts and what we can offer our children gets lost in the reality of their next experiences of growing up. 

Is it worth the money? Depends on what you value. For me this was worth every penny - including the odd pence on top - and more. 

Something is only as valuable as you allow it to be. We will never, ever be able to afford Lapland itself. So if this is a once in a life-time opportunity then go for it. Substitute the cash you would have spent on other presents or an annual pass or the panto that year. Because what our children bought home with them on Saturday night will remain in their hearts forever. 
And that...is priceless. 

For more information visit www.laplanduk.co.uk