Jony Easterby recently described his sound and light installation For the Birds as a “magical mystery tour” and festivalgoers were certainly enchanted by the woodland walk over the weekend.

The guided trail, tucked away in a secret location on the outskirts of Brighton, aims to raise awareness of the avian world and, more generally, the wonders of nature. Easterby succeeds on both counts, and that’s without mentioning a variety of unexpected delights.

The most obvious pleasure of For the Birds is nothing to do with the installations held within it; it’s simply the novelty of being out in the crisp rural air on a Sunday night, banishing the end-of-weekend blues with the city illuminated below. The rat race of Monday morning couldn’t feel further away.

The sense of anticipation among the guests who boarded the coach to the (relative) wilderness was palpable, with fleece-clad families and lone hikers speculating as to what they would find the other side. The answer was a striking visual spectacle with a few meaningful thematic subplots running underneath. Sounds of various birds are played along the trail, and at various points different installations merge together, making for a beguiling soundscape.

Every now and then it is made apparent that technology is at hand; a split-second of static disturbance is audible in between chirps in one installation. Another piece is unsubtly called 65 Tweets, in which digital bleeps and bloops comingle with duck noises.

At a few points, Easterby hangs empty birdcages from branches of trees – an eerie sight which could either pass as a poignant comment on the captivity of birds in domestic realms, or, due to the absence of birds in the cages, a celebration of their freedom. A twinkling music box just around the corner adds to the otherworldly feel of the walk, as does a circular pond, faintly illuminated by surrounding lights.

The most dazzling sights are reserved for the second half of the trail. An ambient hum is the backdrop to streaks of light flickering overhead like a shooting star. Later, lazer-like beams form a tunnel around the walker in one installation and feathers rotate like tornados in another.

There is more intrigue to be found as the trail reaches an awe-inspiring climax, but it would be a shame to reveal anymore. Everyone should experience this woodland walk, which stimulates the mind and senses equally, before the festival is over.