After months of planning the very first Christmas at Beaulieu has opened to visitors with a switch-on of over a million lights in the grounds of the New Forest attraction.
Beaulieu has been transformed with over 11 individual installations on a mile-long shimmering trail. Over 437 theatrical lighting units have been put in place and 11 miles of power cable laid to create the magical Christmas at Beaulieu experience.
Lord Montagu said: “The gardens of Palace House are usually difficult to appreciate in the dark winter evenings, so this first illuminated trail is presenting the landscape in a new, magical light. The varied forms of illumination, changing scenes and music really accentuate the Christmas atmosphere in different ways throughout the grounds and gardens. I am looking forward to seeing people's faces light up as they make their way around the trail.”
Joni Marks, Chief Development Director at Raymond Gubbay Ltd which is collaborating on the light trail event with Beaulieu, said: “It has been a privilege to work closely with all the team at Beaulieu to create this wonderful new illuminated trail and we are looking forward to sharing Christmas at Beaulieu with the public now it is open.”
Visitors will marvel at the 200ft long Cathedral of Light with a tunnel of 30,000 bud lights and the Canopy of Lights with over 20,000 twinkling pea-lights. A musical installation set to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas will play over 2,200 times during the course of the event and Father Christmas and his elves will give 1,110 performances to greet visitors from the roof of Beaulieu's veteran bus.
Beaulieu Abbey, in the grounds of the attraction, is the perfect setting for the Fire Garden – an atmospheric installation with over 180 flickering torches which will use as many as 5,132 individually hand-made candles by Christmas.
Along the Icicle Walk, larger-than-life gleaming shards guide visitors towards the Meadow of Light where thousands of fibre optics light up the tree-lined Mill Pond Walk on the banks of the Beaulieu River. There are hidden surprises too – watch out for frosty snowflakes, shimmering stars and trees awash with seasonal colour.
A fabulous finale is waiting at the end of the trail with larger-than-life illuminated trees. Rising high into the night sky, visitors will finish the breathtaking trail with a cheerful Christmas blast of colour, sound and light.
