Record crowds flock to see Enchanted Forest

The Enchanted Forest enjoyed another record-breaking year. Picture: Angus Forbes

AN award-winning light and sound show that featured in a BBC documentary has attracted a record number of visitors.

Perthshire’s annual Enchanted Forest spectacular attracted more than 62,000 people, a 33 per cent rise on last year.

The event, which recently featured on BBC One’s Countryfile, finished on Sunday evening after a 32-night run.

The festival sold out by 18 October, and more than 4,000 have already signed up for advance notice of next year’s event.

Graham Brown, chairman of the Enchanted Forest Community Trust, which runs the event, said yesterday: “This is a tremendous success for Highland Perthshire tourism businesses and we are deeply encouraged by the continued support of our visitors, many of them loyal visitors who return to the forest year after year.”

The show has garnered numerous plaudits, including being named Scotland’s Best Cultural Event for three of the past four years and receiving VisitScotland’s National Thistle Award for Best Event. It has been shortlisted for Cultural Event of the Year at the UK Event Awards.

Having broken previous box office records, this year’s event has been estimated to have injected up to £2.75 million into the local tourist economy, with the majority of visitors citing the event as their main reason for visiting the area.

Commenting on the success of this year’s event, Graham Brown, chairman of the Enchanted Forest Community Trust that operates the Enchanted Forest, stated: “This is a tremendous success for Highland Perthshire tourism businesses and we are deeply encouraged by the continued support of our visitors, many of them loyal visitors who return to the Forest year after year”.

The Enchanted Forest, Perthshire’s multi-award winning sound and light show, has released its visitor numbers for its 2015 show which closed on Sunday night, confirming it attracted just over 62,000 visitors to the Highland Perthshire area over a 32 night run, a 33 per cent increase on the previous year.