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The Enchanted Forest: A Journey Through Space (Scotland)
by wigglylittleworm
The Enchanted Forest is a yearly event in Faskally woods near to Pitlochry which combines a light and sound show with the natural elements. The show is on for several autumn evenings each year. I have wanted to visit for a couple of years and finally managed to get hold of some tickets for 2010 when the theme for the show was a force of ... nature.
Tickets need to be booked in advance and the event is always sold out so you need to book in plenty of time, we booked several weeks in advance yet the only weekend tickets we could get were for the last show of the evening which started at 9:15pm. We spent some time in Pitlochry wandering around the Halloween festival before heading to the Fisher Hotel to book in for the event where we had to join a huge queue before being handed a glowing necklace which had to be worn for safety reasons and being allocated to a coach for the journey to the woods. The journey only takes around 5 minutes, no cars except those with disabled passengers are allowed to go to the woods.
Once we got to the wood, all three coaches dropped down their passengers at once meaning there were around 200 people arriving at the same time. These 200 or so people snaked in a line down to the loch in an almost orderly fashion to see the show.
The light and sound exhibits are set up in the trees around the loch, the walk is circular taking you back to your starting point. The first sight is pretty amazing as you see all the big trees lit up in greens, reds, blues and yellows with the boat house looking like something from a fairytale.
As you walk around the path, which is all lit up with rope lights to make navigation safer, you come across several installations set up to bring fire, earth, wind and water to life. The fire installation was particularly rousing with African themed drums providing a strong musical beat while the lights produced spectacular effects in the trees and fire came shooting out from the ground.
The water installations were beautiful, there are differently coloured fountains which erupt in time to the gentler music of a glockenspiel while classical music play to bring the other elements to life. The shadows created in the water from the reflections of the trees are also beautiful and magical to see. As well as the installations just seeing the big trees lit up and seeing the different textures of the bark and leaves in beautiful colours is lovely and it is nice to take some time just to take in the sights and sounds. It took us around an hour to walk round the loch and see all of the shows, visitors are free to spend as much time as they want at the Enchanted Forest but because the last bus of the night departs back to Pitlochry at 10.45 we only had time to walk round once but it would have been nice to spend more time there.
While the installations are undoubtedly magical to see the fact that the woods are so crowded with people spoils the experience somewhat. The path around Loch Dunmore is narrow and people were crowding around the installations meaning it could be hard to get a space to see things clearly and it felt like there were simply too many people in a small space to feel truly comfortable. I also didn't like the feeling of being herded along from bus to the woods and back to the bus again and it felt like they had just crammed as many people onto the walks as possible to maximise profits.
We were lucky that we had good weather the night we visited but the fact you have to book the tickets far in advance with no idea what the weather will be like when you arrive is a real disadvantage. The Enchanted Forest will cancel tours in the event of extreme weather conditions but I can imagine that wandering round in the cold and rain would not be much fun. Even if you have a clear night you need to remember that this is Highland Perthshire in autumn and wrap up well and take a hat and gloves and wear some sturdy walking shoes.
There is some limited catering on site with a tent at the entrance to the walk selling burgers, hot drinks and snacks at inflated prices. The only toilets on the site are portaloos so best to make sure you use the toilets at the hotel before you leave.
Highland Perthshire is known as Big Tree Country and it has some of the most beautiful ancient woodlands in the UK and seeing the trees all lit up with music playing to complement the lights was really nice and the show is well executed and imaginative. The whole Enchanted Forest experience was however spoiled a bit for me by the production line feeling of the event and the fact that it was so busy and crowded, I love visiting the great outdoors to get away from town life and did not appreciate having to navigate through crowds of people to try and see the sights.
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Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
by karlsm93
Back in August, we took a little mini break to Scotland a few weeks ago with the main reason being to see the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, for which we had purchased tickets for back in December. This military tattoo is held annually during the busy festival month of August in Edinburgh Castle grounds.
Tickets are not ... cheap, but neither are they colossal, but it is necessary to book tickets well in advance. We booked our seats at Christmas time, although tickets are not dispatched until the spring. Tickets range from £16 - £50, but when you see the seating plan on the website and the pricing, you can see why there is a vast range of ticket prices. We opted for the south stand in one of the middle blocks, costing us £31 each, plus a £3 booking fee. For those wishing to see the fireworks which happen after the late Saturday performance need to add a further £3 onto each ticket. We went to the earlier Saturday performance.
Military tattoos are not something I was previously familiar with, howver my husband had a desire to go, and I was happy to go as well, probably more so to see Edinburgh itself. However, after having watched the Tattoo, I can honestly say it really is worthwhile buying a ticket for it, even as a family outing.
The performance itself lasts approximately 1hr and a half, with doors opening 45 minutes before a performance. It is essential that you are there early, as there is only ONE way into the castle grounds, and ONE way out, so you can imagine the scene, when 10 000 try to get to their seats. Staff however, are very good at moving the crowd, and ensuring that those who are elderly or disabled are helped to their seating area, rather than fear being knocked down. THere is also a security check as you approach the castle, which can slow things down slightly. Seats in he stands are also jammed pack together, so it is best to go early so you get your seat, without having the entire row trying to get up and let you past.
Whilst the crowd gathered, the commentator entertained us all with stories and introductions to the various guests, as well as asking the crowd where they were from. It was rather amazing the amount of countries that were represented at the event.
THe Tattoo then began with the fanfare celebrating the Diamond Jubilee Year of the Edinburgh Tattoo, followed by the Massed Pipes and Drums, which was quite an amount of musicians, including those from the Royal Scots Dragaon Guards, THe South Australia Police, Swiss Highlanders and each South African Irish.
Following this was music and performance from the Polish Borer Guards, The Gurkhas Band, the Royal Jordanian Armed Forces and the New Zealand Army Bands, the latter of which was a real favourite amongst the crowd, due to their music and their relaxed manner as they broke free from their lines to dance to the music. The other favourites of the evening were the Imps Motorcycle Display Team, with children as young as five riding bikes and carrying out tricks all in front of a live audience. My husband particularly liked the Amry Physical Training Corps whose sheer power and agility was quite amazing.
The finale, as expected, was marvellous as well, with the national anthem, auld lang syne and the last post being played, ending with the Lone Piper.
It is hard to believe just how much practice must go into the performances to make them as professional as they are. There was so much variety to keep even the youngest child amused and entertained and with so much to watch ou couldn't possibly be bored. IT really is an excellent event, and you don;t have to be a fan of military bands to enjoy it. If you plan to be in Scotland next August, you should definitely take the time to watch the Edinburgh Tattoo, worth every penny!!
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