Longleat planning application sets scene for winter festival
The famous Estate is preparing for the Festival of Light
Behind-the-scenes secrets have been revealed as one of Wiltshire’s most popular tourist attractions prepares for a major seasonal event.
Longleat Estate has run its popular Festival of Light since 2014, attracting around 150,000 visitors.
But behind the glitz and glamour, there are workers to accommodate, installations – including the famous singing Christmas tree – to be constructed and maintained, and cars to be parked.
An application to Wiltshire Council seeks approval for all three.
According to the report, Longleat hopes to capture the zeitgeist with an illuminated Wooden Horse of Troy – re-popularised by the Hollywood movie hit Odyssey – as part of this year’s theme, Legendary Worlds.
Visitors will be invited to explore the lost city of Atlantis and meet the gods, heroes and monsters of ancient Greece, along with the Vikings and the court of King Arthur.
The festival will run between November 7 and January 10, between 4pm and 8.30pm.
Organisers want to lay temporary surfacing to provide parking for hundreds of cars, and temporary lighting to help families find their way from and back to their cars.
The planning application notes that guest arrival is spread throughout the day, and numbers are capped.
The Estate also wants to provide temporary accommodation for around 70 workers.
This will take the form of seven 10-berth static caravans.
Meanwhile, the large coach park will be covered in marquees and used for constructing and maintaining the giant lanterns.
The application notes that the Festival of Light has become an “established and popular feature of the Longleat calendar” and accounts for 15 per cent of its annual visits.