What to expect at the Enchanted Forest 2017

Picture: taken from Shimmer, last year's anniversary show, http://www.enchantedforest.org.uk

The 2017 show is titled Oir an Uisge, which is Scots Gaelic for ‘Edge of the Water’, and is reflective of the changing scenery of Faskally Wood in Pitlochry where the event is held annually.

It will open to the public on Thursday, September 28th and run until 29th October.

Tickets are on sale now, and demand has been brisk with over 20,000 tickets snapped up. Friday and Saturday nights are all but sold out and customers are advised to book early this year to avoid disappointment with organisers predicting that the event will sell out before opening night for the first time in its history.

This is of no surprise at The Enchanted Forest won the UK’s Best Cultural Event for last year’s show, which attracted just over 70,000 visitors, an 13% increase on the previous record-breaking year.

Start times

These vary throughout the run of the show as and when darkness falls but you can see what times are available when buying tickets.

As there’s no parking at the forest, a shuttle bus runs from Pitlochry’s Fishers Hotel and takes 10 minutes. You should aim to be at the hotel departure point at the check in time shown on your tickets.

Who is behind this year’s show?

The Enchanted Forest employs Scotland’s premier creative talents to produce a state-of-the art show set against the stunning natural backdrop of Faskally Wood near Pitlochry every October. Organised by The Enchanted Forest Community Trust, the event is renowned for its use of dazzling visuals, innovative design and an original music score.

The 2017 show is led by the multi-award-winning creative team of Zoe Squair as producer, Kate Bonney and Simon Hayes as lighting designers, and RJ McConnell and Jon Beales providing sound design and composition.

What charities will benefit from this year’s show?

Proceeds from the first night will benefit three charities - Tayside Mountain Rescue, Alzheimer Scotland and Giraffe, which was established 11 years ago and operates on behalf of people across Perth & Kinross and more widely in Tayside. Its work supports people with severe and complex barriers, such as learning disabilities, autism and mental ill health, to make the transition into meaningful work.

Tayside Mountain Rescue Team has been providing an emergency service in the region for over 40 years. The Team’s volunteers have a wide range of skills and training, including pre-hospital care, technical rescue, winter mountaineering and swift water rescue.

Alzheimer Scotland is Scotland’s leading dementia charity. We exist to ensure that nobody has to face dementia alone. There are over 90,000 people in Scotland living with a diagnosis of dementia and, by 2025, there is set to be a million people with the disease across the UK.

Is it just a light show?

As well as a walk through the illuminated woods, there’s other events going on at The Enchanted Forest.

From around 6-6.30pm onwards (depending on the date), there will be storytelling at the Enchanted Forest Storytelling Yurt.

This year, due to popular demand, the yurt will be a little bigger and be subject to a £1 entry fee.

The set design is also awe-inspiring and in previous years has included giant statues and a trapeze artist.

Food and drink

Hot food and hot and cold drinks (including mulled wine and hot chocolate) can be bought within The Enchanted Forest, but there’s no card facilities so remember and get some cash out beforehand.

Important information

To fully appreciate the whole show, most visitors spend on average between 60 and 90 minutes walking through the forest, with most doing more than one lap of the walking route.

Once you arrive though you can stay as long as you like until the show closes at 10.30pm. The last shuttle bus back leaves between 10.30 and 10.45pm

Dogs aren’t allowed at the show, except for blind or hearing dogs.

The forest is accessible to some wheelchairs, but the organisers recommend that you check this site.

to check suitability. Disabled parking at the forest site can also be arranged if booked in advance and the circuit is 1.5km. 

It is not recommended that photo sensitive epileptics attend The Enchanted Forest in 2017. While no single source of lighting regularly strobes at high frequency, the volume of light fixtures on site could raise the frequency of light flashes and strobing across multiple sources to a level where it may be considered unsafe for people who are affected by photo-sensitive epilepsy.

For tickets and further information, please visit the Enchanted Forest’s website