On Friday evening, I went to Chelsea Winter Illuminations. This is the first illuminated light trail that Royal Hospital Chelsea have put on. The event takes place in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea's event space, which is the same place that the famous flower show is held every May. I decided to visit after work as I love to do a light trail at this time of the year, and this was easy to access.
I was impressed with the amount of lights and the interactive aspects of the trail. Each visitor was welcomed to the Chelsea Winter Illuminations by an illuminated archway.
An avenue of trees was lit with glowing orbs and pulsating colours. A button could be pressed to change the display colours.
The trail led through to a bar at the end to offer visitors a selection of hot drinks, and it continued through illuminated trees with lit-up reindeer.
Visitors could "choose" which illumination to walk over - naughty or nice. The trail went the same way.
The trail came to a light show set to music, and the colours and patterns changed along with the music.
The trail led through an illuminated tunnel.
Afterwards, there was some artwork illuminated by students. Various doors were painted or decorated with a Christmas theme.
A large Christmas tree constantly changed colour and pattern.
And the trail continued through an illuminated walkway with glowing "flowers" on both sides.
This led to the mid-way point where visitors could enjoy food or drink. There was a giant bauble to get photographs inside.
A group of mushrooms and butterflies and another set of interactive light trees were available to see and interact with. The colours changed when the buttons were pressed.
A warm fire was provided for heating up marshmallows.
The trail continued through another archway, and this one was shaped triangular.
Mistletoe hung over a bench, and the bench had a statue on it.
Next up was a spectacular sea of lights set to music with the colours fading, changing, and evolving repeatedly set to audio. This was a beautiful part of the trail.
On the other side was a column of lights which could be tapped to switch the colour.
The trail then led back toward the entrance with a projection of snowflakes.
There were games, rides, food, drink, and a small Christmas village at the end. There were many options, and visitors could stay for a little bit longer.
The Chelsea Winter Illuminations is open to visit for a fee until the 28th of December.
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