Leonardslee Illuminated: Behind-the-scenes as the team puts the final touches to the night-time spectacular that launches this week

And Katherine from our team was lucky enough to be invited along to see the creative team behind the winter spectacular putting the final touches to the installations.

Expected to attracted around 60,000 visitors over the month-long run to December 21, the theme for the event this year is ‘A Star is Born’.

Director of Leonardslee Illuminated, Simon Teesdale, said it takes the team about two weeks to install everything, but that the creative process and concept design pretty much takes all year.

"We’ve got some new pieces going in this year, which we’re very excited about,” he said. “One of them is called ‘halo’ which is LED rings that go up to three metres high, set up to make a harmony that people can make their own sound on. There is nine of them in total, when everyone is in there playing on them it makes a phenomenal sound.”

Other treats for guests to enjoy include a huge moon, earth and star across the lake, as well as lit-up fountains, flowers and animal installations.

Many of the pieces are made out of the fabric used to make hot air balloons, so they’re durable and weather-proof.

There is a core team of 20 staff, who put together the display and create the soundscape to accompany the trail. Some things are also commissioned from outside firms and extra staff are brought in to work as things like trail guides and car park attendants on the evenings it runs.

Simon said he is a little anxious as the launch night approaches: “I do get a little nervous, but we’re pretty much all ready now, so it should all be fine. Aside from very high winds, we can pretty much run in all weathers. We go ahead in the rain and even the snow, usually.

"The gardens look so different at night, when this all comes to life, so we’re just excited for people to be able to see it now.”

The mile-long trail will take visitors around an hour to walk through. There will also be places where they can buy refreshments, treats like marshmallows to roast on the fire and more substantial offerings such as pizza and fish and chips. There will be vintage funfair rides (additional charge) for children to enjoy, a Christmas market and outdoor performers to entertain guests of all ages.

Tickets are still on sale at

Leonardslee members can book free tickets.