Lighting up the Edinburgh Botanics

We spent this Christmas with family in Edinburgh. You can never rely on the weather up there, but it was really kind to us this time. I do not mind a white Christmas, but not having it cold and wet meant we could be out more. One event we all did together was a visit to the Royal Botanic Garden for their Christmas lights. I was not sure what to expect, but I came away very impressed. Modern LED lights give lots of possibilities as they can provide plenty of colour and can be switched quickly.

There were lots of people there and a walk was laid out around the whole place. Some displays were fairly static. This one had lots of actual flaming torches plus lots of lanterns with flickering electronic lights. The one in the video had thousands of slights laid out under the trees with constantly changing patterns that were synchronised to the music. Each area had its own soundtrack, including some familiar tunes.

There were origami cranes hanging from the trees.

These look like lasers, but were actually glowing strings lit by UV lights.

The robins had hundreds of reflective discs and appropriate lighting.

There were some refreshment vans selling treats such as mulled wine. Some of our group had marshmallows that they could toast over fire pits. These glasshouses over various sizes had a Mondrian theme.

This one may have been inspired by the wood wide web idea about fungi connection trees. It kept changing colour.

The last one had lights threaded over several trees that created effects such as fire and the flow of nutrients as well as simulating fireworks. Just setting that up must have taken ages.

There were a few more, but you cannot get the full effect from photos. I think there are higher expectations these days. The various displays in Edinburgh were created by different companies. I am sure they do not come cheap. It would be interesting to work on programming the sequences.

Did you see any cool lights this Christmas? It can be a magical time and not just for kids.

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