Daily Echo: Hillier Gardens Light Up Christmas show is set to return

An award-winning Christmas light show is set to begin in Romsey.

The Light Up Sir Harold Hillier Gardens at Christmas show will open from 4.30pm on Thursday, November 28, and will run until New Year's Day.

The show, which celebrates Christmas through light and storytelling, will have a new route and installations this year.

It includes a Magic Pathway video installation, the Symphony of Light on the pond, and the Written in the Stars with a larger screen.

This year, the show will also feature Wild Yule, a soundscape by international sound artist Karen Monid.

The soundscape encourages visitors to experience the winter landscape as a living place, inspired by early northern European and Viking cultures.

The soundscape recreates the landscape as a place where nature is inhabited by mythic creatures, and midwinter marks the beginning of a new year.

The show will take place in the 180-acre arboretum, home to some of the UK's most important botanical collections.

The University of Southampton's staff and student scientists will also be present, engaging visitors with the science of light and the technology behind the light trail.

The show partnered with the university and Cornerstone, the photonics innovation centre, to host a lantern-making workshop with Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill year eight students last month.

Dr Pearl John, Public Engagement Leader in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southampton, said: "The creative use of light is breath taking, but without the science that lies behind it – the physics and optical engineering – it might never be able to leave the artists’ imagination.

"So, to have scientists at arts events such as Light Up Trails is really important to us. We want to engage with young people who are yet to even recognise the science in what they’re seeing."

There will be a price freeze this year, with off-peak and peak tickets remaining the same price as last year.

Tickets start from £12.50 for children and £20 for adults.

To book tickets, visit lightuptrails.com.

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