Kew lights up the festive season

Karen Neville

festive season

The UK’s original festive light trail returns to Kew Gardens in London, November 13th to January 5th

Christmas at Kew returns with a showcase of new installations and world premieres which will allow visitors to see Kew Gardens’ UNESCO World Heritage Site in an entirely new light.

A firm festive favourite since 2013, Christmas at Kew has led the way for other festive light trails across the country, celebrating the best of nature by night and providing a plethora of opportunity to create magical memories.

Bringing Kew’s incredible natural architecture to life, this year’s trail will feature perennial favourites including pea lit trees, a festive funfair and the charming Christmas Cathedral.

This year’s trail will feature two world premieres, with bespoke new installations on display to visitors for the first time anywhere in the world as part of Christmas at Kew. Ombre by TILT takes the form of a series of giant plants in bloom, springing up from the landscape in a spectrum of vibrant shades. Threshold by Studio Vertigo is an illuminated helix-like shape, bathed in golden yellow light to evoke the warmth and joy of the festive season.

Camellia Walk will be transformed into a snowy lane, showcasing the spectacular tree canopy and evoking a wintery wonderland at the start of the trail. Other highlights include Fish are Jumping by Dutch artists TOER and Mist Arches by Culture Creative creating an atmospheric ambience across Kew’s Lake Crossing.

Other highlights on the trail include returning favourites such as the spectacular light show on the Temperate House, evocative Fire Garden and seasonal selfie-spot Christmas Cathedral. Many of the Kew’s striking plants and trees will be highlighted along the route, allowing visitors to soak up the spectacle of nature from a new perspective and bask in vibrant colour as twilight falls. The much-loved Palm House finale will return for 2024, showcasing Kew’s iconic glasshouse in showstopping style.

To add an extra touch of magic to the Christmas at Kew experience, visitors cam book a delicious traditional Christmas dinner at The Botanical Brasserie. Along the route, visitors can also find delicious food and drink from independent street food vendors.

As part of our 2021-2030 Sustainability Strategy, every year Kew works closely with Christmas at Kew event partners and suppliers to design and deliver a beautiful Christmas light trail in a way that is as sustainable as possible – and every year they are making improvements to achieve a lower impact Christmas at Kew event for thousands to enjoy. In 2005, Kew Gardens became the first World Heritage Site to achieve ISO 14001 accreditation. ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard for environmental management, helping organisations to improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste.

Where possible, all lighting on the trail is LED and they are working hard to transition towards 100% LED lighting for the artworks which form the Christmas at KEW trail over the next couple of years. This year all Christmas at Kew generators are being run of renewably sourced biofuel.

Sandra Botterell, Director of Marketing and Commercial Enterprise at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said: “Christmas at Kew is always a much-anticipated highlight of the year, and this year’s trail is already shaping up to be a truly magical season spectacle. With a selection of brand-new installations alongside firm favourites which have become iconic parts of the Christmas at Kew experience, we’re looking forward to welcoming visitors to enjoy the beauty of Kew Gardens by night later on this year.”

At Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex, Glow Wild celebrates its 11th year with charming bespoke installations and the world’s largest living Christmas tree.

Tickets for Christmas at Kew and Glow Wild are available to purchase now at: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Kew


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Westgate Oxford: New Epic Bar

Ellie Cox

festive season

Flight Club – the lively fairground inspired bar and Social Darts experience is coming to Oxford and is set to open doors on 22nd November, just in time for the festive season!

Promising to deliver a one-of-a-kind social experience to Oxford, Flight Club is designed to bring groups of friends together for an unforgettable time. Situated on the roof terrace level of the Westgate Shopping Centre, Oxford locals can look forward to a stunning bar with a lively atmosphere, craft cocktails, and delicious sharing dishes. Expect unexpected, ridiculous joy every time.

Flight Club Oxford will offer semi-private oches (Social Darts playing areas) around a spectacular bar, along with plenty of seating options and two beautiful terraces. Its blend of delicious food and drink, stylish interiors, vibrant DJ sets, and energetic vibe makes this new addition to Oxford’s bar scene the perfect destination for creating memorable moments with friends.

Darts revolutionised

Flight Club’s highly popular Social Darts experience has completely transformed the traditional game, bringing darts into the 21st century with fun, fast-paced multiplayer games that anyone can enjoy.

First-time visitors to Flight Club should leave any preconceived notions about darts behind. This modernised version of the game has undergone a high-tech upgrade. Cameras track and automatically score each dart, eliminating the need for manual arithmetic. Live action replays are displayed on-screen during the session, and afterward, shareable stories of the best memories are sent directly to players’ phones.

Perfect for groups of friends, Flight Club redefines the traditional two-player game. Social darts, Flight Club’s enhanced version, allows up to 12 people to gather around an oche. For larger groups, corporate events, or Christmas parties, multiple oches can be linked to host up to 250 players in epic tournaments led by an expert Gamesmaster.

There are six immersive and fast-paced games to choose from. One game, ‘Demolition’, start players with 180 points, with the goal of reaching zero by taking turns throwing darts. Unlike traditional darts, no double is required to win, making it easier for newcomers. In the game ‘Killer’, players must hit their assigned number three times to become a “killer”. Once they achieve killer status, they aim to hit other players’ numbers to knock them out, with the last person standing declared the winner.

Small plates, sharing pizzas and spectacular cocktails

The food menu at Flight Club Oxford will include crowd-pleasing dishes ideal for sharing and eating mid-throw. Sourdough pizza paddles, juicy burgers and loaded fries are just some of the treats on offer.

If you’re a cocktail aficionado, you’ll be in good hands, with plenty of options to choose from, including signature cocktails, classics with a twist, cocktail slushies – perfect for balmy summer evenings – and sharing trophy cocktails served in a show-stopping trophy cup – the best way to toast the Social Darts champions.

Bottomless brunch with a twist

Not forgetting everyone’s favourite weekend pastime, Flight Club Oxford will also offer a bottomless brunch you won’t want to miss. Plenty of booze, great food, and an all-round epic time. Tickets for the two-hour brunch session cost from £30pp and include 60 minutes of gameplay at the oche, a bottle of prosecco per person and all the pizza you can eat. Party vibes are guaranteed as the resident DJ blasts the tunes throughout the day.

The setting: all the fun of the fairground

Flight Club Oxford will be decked out in Flight Club’s signature style, combining the fun of the fairground with Victorian nods and all the best bits of a traditional British pub. Think fairground-style signage and lighting that blinks in time to the music, panelling, bold prints, and subtle nods to Oxford’s history throughout.

There are treasures and trinkets in every corner to surprise and delight, including clocks and barometers of varying sizes on the walls, fun adaptations to Victorian portraits, reclaimed antique furniture pieces and a fairground carousel horse.


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