Daily Echo: Light up trail returns to Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in 2024

The popular trail is back with a new route and new designs to make your family feel festive.

In just 12 weeks’ time, the attraction will open for 2024, with the  the Christmas Wonderland theme beginning the moment visitors arrive.

(Image: Rob Luckins)

“We’re pulling out all the stops to make this the most brilliantly illuminated Christmas possible,” says co-director Libby Battaglia.

“Our designers have travelled to the ends of the earth to find new technology and manufacturers to make their ideas a reality. These installations are made especially for Light Up Sir Harold Hillier Gardens At Christmas – you won’t see them anywhere else."

As well as fantastic new light art to experience – including an incredible opportunity to walk on water – Light Up Trails have worked with Sir Harold Hillier Gardens to design a new route through some of the UK’s most important botanical gardens.

(Image: Elliott Franks)

The Hillier collections make an amazing backdrop to the light art and this year, for the first time, the trail takes in the historic Centenary Border with Éclat Floral, a breathtakingly vivid crimson bloomscape, and the magical interactive metallic touch stones of Chromatic Touch, as well as a new site for an old favourite, Written in the Stars, that is brought back with a screen that’s twice the size of the old one.

Peak and off peak tickets are the same price as last year, but there's a new super peak ticket for special nights which include live entertainment from Steamship Circus with fire jugglers, larger-than-life characters and awesome aerial artistes.

Last year, more than 72,000 people visited the trail,  which will boast more food and drink options this time around.

(Image: Elliott Franks)

There's still time for schools to enter the competition to create a design that could be projected onto large illuminated baubles. The winning design will be one of ten chosen to feature in the light trail, plus its designer will win a £1,000 prize for their school’s art department.

It runs from November 29 to January 1. Find out more at lightuptrails.com

(Image: Rob Luckins)

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