Wakehurst unveils new route for upcoming Christmas trail

The Glow Wild trail at Wakehurst, a botanical garden near Haywards Heath, promises to be its “most colourful to date” and will feature over 1,000 paper lanterns handmade by local volunteers, each celebrating the colour of the natural world.

Segments of the route will be lit up in an assortment of colours, with a series of playful lantern sculptures inspired by the world of insects, created by illustrator Kerith Ogden, as well as a shimmering array of lantern birds, designed by Sussex metal sculptor Michelle Dufaur.

Two new giant parading puppets will also meet guests along the route, with Percy and Percie the Peacocks entertaining visitors at a pop-up refreshment shop.

The event will also feature a “glimmering tunnel of greenery”, inspired by botanicals, mosses and lichens and a 12-metre platform overlooking an awe-inspiring projection on the garden’s Westwood Valley.

A series of water-based installations will light up the Black Pond along the winter trail

A series of water-based installations will transform the Black Pond, with bioluminescent plants made from luminous UV material both above and under the water.

Designed by UK Young Artist of the Year nominee Malgorzata Lisiecka, the installation aims to conjure the hues and movement of algae, sea grasses and plankton.

As the trail draws to an end, visitors will be dazzled by 1,800 lights adorning a 37-metre Christmas tree.

The trail will also feature the UK's tallest living Christmas tree

Tickets for the event are already on sale, with the trial opening its doors to the public on select evenings from November 24 to January 1. Adult tickets cost from £14, with children’s tickets costing £11 and those under four-years-old able to visit the trial for free.

Wakehurst’s 535-acre garden features a diverse collection of plants from Britain and around the world, as well as Kew’s Millenium Seed Bank - the world’s largest store of seeds from wild plant species.