The story behind the Old Town Gardens Enchanted Light Trail

Town Gardens in Old Town will once again be taken over by a number of 'state-of-the-art lighting effects' installed throughout the Victorian gardens.

It will run from December 2 to 31 and comes off the back of success last year.

Visitors can wander through a backdrop of illuminated trees, discovering a trail of light art sculptures, low-level soundscapes, interactive illuminations, and a specially commissioned light show set in the historic Bowl. 

But where did the idea for the interactive light trail installation come from? South Swindon Parish Councillor Neil Hopkins tells all. 

He said: "A couple of years ago, I went to an event that was done by the same lights company, Yes Events, in a park in Reading called Abbey Gardens, just a few days before the lockdown around Christmas.

"I was impressed with the quality of the installations but thought that our Town Gardens was a better site for it, so I brought some photographs that I’d taken, and showed them initially to Chris Watts, chair of the council, and a few other councilors, we then brought in Yes Events to come and talk to us about what we might do."

Enchanted Light Trail at Swindon's Town Gardens (Image: Charlie Bluck)

The council had a funding surplus thanks to the Covid lockdowns so everyone agreed it was a good idea to have the light trail. 

Last year's event, which was raising money on behalf of the Great Western Hospital's charity Brighter Futures, was very well received and ended up raising almost £30,000 from 27,000 visitors. 

"I was on tenterhooks," Neil said, talking about his nerves when the event launched, before adding: "Last December I was at the trail every evening it was operating, just to see how it was going, take feedback from people who had come.

"It took a little while to build up but the light installations were well received and it was successful enough for us to do it again this year."

The installations are tailor-made to show off the Town Gardens and their features and this year there's more. 

"Last year we had eight specific installations, this year we’ve got 12, specifically asked them to have more light installations that kids could engage with, and they’ve looked at that and tried to do that."

The Enchanted Light Trail is one of many events South Swindon Parish Council has held to show off Swindon's parks, with Music and Theatre at the Bowl, and My Dad's Bigger Than Your Dad festival as well. 

For tickets visit the parish council's website: https://southswindon-pc.gov.uk/enchanted-gardens-light-trail-2022/