Take a wander around The Enchanted Floodlit Garden in Dorset

When: 15th October – 2nd November 2014, dusk until 8:30pm

Where: Abbotsbury Tourism Ltd, West Yard Barn, West Street, Abbotsbury, Dorset DT3 4JT

£: Tickets cost £10.95 for adults, £7.95 for children (5-15 years) and £40 for a family ticket (2 adults and up to 3 children).

What is it?

Light up the dark evenings with a walk through Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens from 15th October to 2nd November 2014.  The Enchanted Floodlit Garden is an annual event, illuminating the gardens after dark with coloured lights and candlelit pathways.

Visitors will be able to wander along the pathways, taking in the Pavilion and the lily ponds, as they are lit by colourful floodlights, casting a magical atmosphere on the gardens.  The old wall by the Pavilion will become a focal point of the event, with candles lighting up its nooks and crannies.  The wonderful autumn colours of the plants and trees will be enhanced by the glow from candles.

In addition to the Enchanted Floodlit Gardens event there will be Halloween Fun Evenings, running from Thursday 30th October to Saturday 1st November.  Children will be encouraged to visit the gardens in fancy dress for the evenings.  There will be a spectacular laser rave, a scary scars workshop, a creepy-crawly tent, scary characters and free fearsome face-painting to enjoy.

The walk around the gardens will take around 45 minutes to complete, with a shorter wheelchair accessible route also available.  Visitors are advised to bring warm clothing, sensible footwear and a torch.

Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens were first established in 1765 by the first Countess of Ilchester as a kitchen garden for her nearby castle.  Today the gardens contain a mixture of formal and informal flowers, with Camellia groves and magnolias, and many exotic and unusual flowers.

More info: abbotsbury-tourism.co.uk/gardens/events