Kew Gardens Light Show 2023

A freezing cold night following the trail around Kew Botanic Garden in London, with aeroplanes on the flight path overhead – as you can see as the man in the video raises his phone to photograph the plane passing overhead.

When I say it was cold, it was bitter – and from about half way around the trail we noticed people hurrying rather than stoping to look at the attractions. The show didn’t appeal to me. I would rather have seen the trees bathed in natural light rather than garish colours, and I could have done without the other light show effects – except this that made me think of China and The Last Emperor.

The music is part of the show, and it’s combined with the noise of the plane overhead – and adds a nice touch, don’t you think.


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7 responses to “Kew Gardens Light Show 2023”

  1. It sure was bitterly cold!, just good we came equipped for it.

    Still, Kew should have detailed when we bought the tickets just how long the trail was, particularly as there was no alternative way back to get out of the gardens. Walking for about two hours in that cold was no mean feat for anyone, I thought.

    I did enjoy the lights festooned all about at certain points; at other points it looked too kitschy, however.

    What I liked most of all was walking in the dark with the gorgeous trees looming over us that did not have lights.

    That last element is the most memorable one, and it also dovetails with how you felt about the event.

    Perhaps we were not alone with those feelings. Interesting that the tickets get sold out months before.

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    1. Does Kew know its audience (and we are not the intended audience) or could they be out of touch with what people want? Only one way to find out – give feedback, yes?

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      1. Good analysis, or to be less charitable — it could be so much in its own bubble that it does not see the forest for the trees — uhhhhh, or the frozen visitors for its programme trail?

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        1. Just wondering – Did you get a survey request email from Kew?

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          1. Nothing. I just paid for the tickets, which was months ago, as I recall.

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