You love a real fire, but hate the mess: this Woodwick at £24.49 crackles for 50 hours, 382 reviews

Chilly evenings demand small rituals that calm the room and settle the mind. Sound, flame and fragrance can shift your space.

One jar has become the season’s conversation piece by bringing a hearth-like soundtrack to coffee tables and bedside shelves. A Woodwick candle, now cut to £24.49 at a major high-street retailer, pairs a wooden wick’s gentle crackle with a woody, autumn-forward scent and a long, steady burn.

What’s behind the crackle

Woodwick’s patented wick is a slender strip of treated wood. When lit, it emits a gentle crackle and a taller, animated flame. That movement draws the eye and adds warmth to the soundscape of a room. It’s not loud; think the soft pop of kindling rather than a roaring grate.

Patented wooden wick technology produces a fireplace-like crackle and an animated flame that changes the mood of a room.

The jar in question is the Fireside Ellipse Candle. The brand pairs the wooden wick with a wide pool of wax, which helps deliver a more even melt and consistent fragrance throw. The stated burn time reaches up to 50 hours when cared for correctly.

Price, reviews and availability

The current ticket is £24.49, down from £34.99 during a 30% homeware promotion. That places it squarely in the giftable tier for scented candles with design-led vessels and branded fragrance profiles. Shoppers have left 382 five-star reviews for this model, giving a sense of how widely it’s landing in living rooms right now.

Now £24.49 in a 30% promotion, with 382 five-star ratings and a claimed 50-hour burn time.

Value by the hour

Cost per hour matters when you intend to light it most evenings. Keep sessions to a few hours and you stretch value while maintaining performance.

Scent profile that feels like autumn

Fireside sits in the woody, resinous family. The blend layers warm amber and earthy vetiver over richer musks. It opens with a lift of Italian bergamot and crisp apple peel, settles through golden amber and black oak, then rounds off with smoked mahogany, vetiver and musk in the base.

The result leans warm and grown-up rather than sweet or floral. It suits early dusk, a film on, a blanket close by. It’s confident enough for a lounge yet soft enough not to overwhelm a bedroom.

Design that encourages an even burn

The ellipse jar pushes the melt pool wider than a standard tumbler. That shape helps the wax reach the sides of the glass, which reduces the risk of tunnelling. The vessel sits low and broad, so the flame is visible without towering. The neutral light grey wax and thick glass read tidy on mantelpieces and sideboards.

Let the first burn reach the edges. That one habit prevents tunnelling and preserves hours you’ve paid for.

How to burn it right

• Plan a first burn of 45–60 minutes, or until the top layer melts edge to edge.
• Run later sessions for 3–4 hours to keep the wick performing and the pool even.
• Place on a heat-safe, level surface with at least 10 cm clearance on all sides.
• Keep pets and small hands away; the flame is taller than a cotton wick’s flame.
• If the crackle seems too lively, gently pinch off loose char from the wick when cool.

Who will love it

If you miss a real fireplace, this candle gives a hint of that ritual without ash, chimney sweeps or smoke alarms. Renters who can’t light logs still get a flicker and a soft soundtrack. Hosts gain a table-centre ambience that doesn’t lean sugary. Those who collect jars will find the ellipse vessel easy to repurpose for tealights or trinkets once finished.

What buyers are saying

Hundreds of five-star ratings sit behind this model. Readers praise the realistic crackle, the throw that reaches across an average sitting room, and the steady melt. Feedback also notes the wick’s need for longer sessions, which suits evenings rather than quick bursts before bed.

Placement and room size

In a compact lounge, one ellipse fills the space with ease. In an open-plan kitchen-diner, position it near seating to enjoy both sound and scent. On a bedside table, crackle can feel meditative for winding down, though light sleepers might prefer to extinguish before turning in.

Gifting and timing

At under £25 on offer, the Fireside Ellipse fits the “treat without guilt” window for autumn birthdays and early festive lists. The neutral tone suits most interiors, and the box is smart enough for handing over without extra wrapping. Stock tends to move fast when seasonal promotions land, so checking availability locally can save a wasted trip.

Care, safety and troubleshooting

Never leave any candle unattended or near curtains. Keep the wax free of matches and debris to protect the wick. If the flame mushrooms or smokes, snip away any carbon build-up once fully cool. Should tunnelling start, a longer session often corrects the melt pool. If the crackle is quieter than expected, ensure the jar sits level and away from drafts that disrupt the flame.

If you prefer a quieter burn

The wooden wick’s sound is part of the appeal, yet sensitivity varies. For moments when silence suits the room, trim the cooled wick slightly to soften the crackle. Alternatively, rotate with a cotton-wick candle in a similar woody profile and alternate evenings. Layering a cotton-wick jar near the Woodwick can also dial down perceived sound while keeping fragrance strength.

Extra context that helps you decide

Fragrance layering changes how Fireside lands. Pair with a small citrus candle for a cleaner, daytime feel, then go back to the standalone jar for late evenings. If you’re scent-sensitive, start with shorter sessions and place the jar two to three metres away. For households with pets, keep the flame out of reach and ventilate lightly once you extinguish; a brief window crack prevents lingering heaviness without losing warmth.

Finally, think in hours rather than days. A simple calculation shows what you’re buying: at the current £24.49, you get roughly 50 hours of sound, glow and warmth for about 49p per hour. At full price, it’s about 70p per hour. That lens makes it simpler to decide whether the ambience—crackle included—earns a spot in your evening routine.