The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh opened its gates to ‘Christmas at the Botanics’ this evening, Thursday 17 November, with an awe-inspiring trail of new installations.
The Garden, full of Christmas cheer, is inviting the people of Edinburgh, Scotland and beyond to embrace the festive season and to support the trail. A visit to the magical, botanical illuminated trail is a way of helping to fund the Garden’s important plant conservation work.
Director of Enterprise and Communication at the Garden, Kari Coghill said: “Christmas at the Botanics has increased in popularity each year and has become one of the city’s most popular festive traditions. Its opening is a milestone moment in the capital’s festive calendar that kicks off the holiday season feeling for so many people.
“Bringing new installations to the trail is exciting and we are also bringing back much-loved favourites this year too, such as the light projection on the front of Inverleith House and the ‘Christmas Cathedral’, a tunnel of sparkling lights which has provided so many fantastic Christmas images for visitors in recent years.
“Visitors to the light trail contribute directly to our wider work because our profits from ticket sales support the Garden’s plant research and conservation efforts in Scotland and around the world.”
New Installations:
· Lilies by Jigantics, 12 one-metre high LED illuminated lilies floating on the Botanics Pond.
· Aurora by Ithaca, recreating the famed visual tones of the stunning Aurora Borealis.
· Christmas Gifts by Woody Fox, 14 giant wicker sculptures of Christmas presents.
· Feathers by Pyrite Creative, a display of UV feathers up to two metres in length which appear to float in the trees.
· Floraison by French artistic collective Pitaya features 240-red-lit flowers.
· Edison Trees includes 60 reproductions of the filament bulbs made popular by London’s historic Edison Electric Light Company at the turn of the century.
This year’s trail is more twinkly than ever but has been created with sustainability in mind. The installations are low in energy usage, over 90% of the trail is LED, and are lit by the Garden’s main power supply to remove the need for generators.
Continuous lighting of trails and paths has been avoided and audience area lighting is only used where it is necessary for public safety.
Kari Coghill added: “Part of the joy of the trail is that it is a chance to be in the Botanics after dark and to experience the Garden from a whole new perspective.
Our trail designers have been appointed on the strength of their experience of working in environmentally sensitive ways in heritage and landscape settings. This year’s trail is the best yet.”
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a world-leading scientific organisation, a globally important resource, and a charity funded by the Scottish Government and by visitor income. Visitors to the trail contribute to the Garden’s wider work which addresses biodiversity loss and the impact of the climate crisis.
Christmas at the Botanics is one of 14 illuminated trails staged across the UK by leading events promoter Raymond Gubbay Limited, a division of Sony Music. Christmas at the Botanics is presented in partnership with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and creative producer Culture Creative.
Jonathan Marks, Director at Raymond Gubbay, the division of Sony Music which is promoting the event, said: “It is always exciting to open Christmas at the Botanics.
“The trail attracted over 90,000 visitors during its five-week run last year and we hope that this year’s trail will inspire even more people to come and enjoy the trail, a festive tradition for so many. Everyone involved in the production has worked hard to provide a special experience for all who attend as they explore installations old and new.”
Tickets for this year’s show are available to buy. For further ticket information, pricing and timings, please visit www.rbge.org.uk/christmas.
Visitors are encouraged to book in advance to avoid disappointment. The trail runs for 37 nights on selected evenings from 17 November to 30 December 2022.
For more details visit https://mychristmastrails.co.uk/ and follow @mychristmastrails on Facebook and Instagram.