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"We left feeling full of festive spirit"
My 11 year old daughter and I were lucky enough to experience the opening night of Christmas at the Botanics, and what a wonderful time we had! To be honest, as we went in on a chilly, slightly damp November evening I hadn’t thought too much about Christmas yet, but by the time we came out we were full of festive spirit.
Christmas at the Botanics is a one mile-long illuminated trail that weaves its way through the gardens, making the most of the natural surroundings. There are many installations to enjoy as you walk around the trail, and we were really impressed with how different they all were. Several artists are represented and there is a qr code by each installation you can scan to find out more about the artist. The trail is cleverly planned to allow each installation to be the only one you are aware of, the lights and music stand out and the gardens are dark enough to make each installation really breath-taking.
The trail is walked at your own pace, this made it all the more special as we could fully experience the ones that really appealed to my daughter without feeling rushed. The music throughout was as varied and enjoyable as the light shows, all different types of Christmas music were represented, with a little Harry Potter thrown in for good measure. For younger children there was a Santa Panto, where actors told the story of how Santa’s sleigh came to be parked in the Botanics, as well as leading the children in some festive singing, complete with actions.
Christmas at the Botanics is suitable for all; the night we were there we saw families with all ages from babies and toddlers to teenagers, as well as couples and groups of adults. The trail takes place along the tarmac paths of the Botanics, accessible to pushchairs and wheelchairs. It is very clearly laid out and there are friendly and helpful events staff all along the trail. As with any outdoor event in winter the weather could be an issue; we wore plenty of layers and were glad of this as standing watching the shows in the damp air did get chilly.
There are several food trucks scattered along the trail, as well as the Botanics’ cafes selling hot drinks and snacks. If you are looking for something more substantial, you can buy a pizza for around £8-9 at the East Gate, while wraps and macaroni cheese are on sale at the Inverleith Cafe. For £4 my daughter got a hot chocolate which was a nice treat and helped to keep her warm too. There was also a whole selection of more grown-up hot drinks available, from mulled wine to a warm winter Pimms - I didn’t sample any of them but they smelled wonderful! Next to the Fire Garden was a marshmallow stand and fire pits for toasting them. This was a really nice touch, and added a social element to the occasion as everyone stopped for a breather and gathered round the fire pits or stood watching the Fire Garden. Each marshmallow is served on a skewer for £1.50 each, they are pretty substantial but if the flavours don’t appeal an alternative would be churros from the truck a little further on.
I will leave the final word to my daughter: “The lights were very stunning and beautiful and I really enjoyed going to it. I liked the projections because they were really clear and fun to look at and I thought the lights that were in sync with the music were really cool. I also liked how loud and clear the music was because it made it have more of a nice atmosphere. There were lots of different kinds of marshmallows. I tried the chocolate orange one and it was fun toasting it on the fire pit but I couldn’t eat it all.”
*Christmas At The Botanics, until Dec 29 at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, rbge.org.uk