All light on the night as Botanics spectacular returns for Xmas
More than a million twinkling lights guide a one-mile trail through the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, as the festive event returns this Christmas.
The Christmas at the Botanics event has returned for the sixth year, now open for a run of six weeks on selected evenings, until December 30.
Aurora, this year's dazzling new showstopper, is an overhead installation which celebrates the stunning visual tones of the Aurora Borealis with dancing waves of colour.
"No matter how cloudy it gets this year you'll be able to see the Northern Lights here.
"It's tens of thousands of lights above your head with shooting stars," says Zoe Bottrell, managing director of trail creators Culture Creative, who bring the Christmas magic with promoters Sony Music and Raymond Gubbay.
Aurora, by UK artists Ithaca, is making its first ever appearance in Scotland.
It is the centrepiece of the afterdark lights trail which is said to be the most twinkly yet and created with sustainability in mind.
The installations are all said to be low in energy usage.
More than 90 per cent of the trail is LED lit using the Garden’s main power supply to remove the need for generators, while lighting is only used where necessary for public safety.
An extra week has been added to meet demand after a record number of 92,000 visitors were welcomed last year to this immersive experience of lights, sounds, with a background soundtrack of Christmas songs, carols and orchestrated festive classics, plus smells, with festive food and drinks, at extra cost, from vendors along the trail.
Tree tops glisten and shimmer, drenched in seasonal colours, with other installations on the one mile trail including a snowflake show, giant sized luminous Lilies on the Botanics pond, created by artist Jig Cochrane, of Jiganticsn and Floraison, from French artistic collective
Pitaya, featuring 240 red, glowing flowers that appear to blossom on trees along the path of the Chinese Hillside.
Returning favourites include a projection show on Inverleith House, while Christmas Cathedral, a towering, 60-metres long walkthrough archway, festooned with more than 100,000 lights is also back for 2022.
Also back is the Fire Garden, lit with real-flame torches, and Laser Garden. Santa also makes a brief appearance for younger visitors.
Kari Coghill, Director of Enterprise and Communication at the Garden, said: “Visitors 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."
If you purchase in advance, a ticket costs £21.50 for an adult, £18.50 for members, £15 for a child (aged 4 to 16).
Family tickets cost £70 if booked ahead of time, while carers and infants aged 0 to 3 get in for free.
If you’re buying your ticket on the day, it costs £23.50 for an adult, £20.50 for members, £17 for a child and £78 for a family ticket.
Free tickets for infants and carers must be booked in advance.