The Enchanted Forest: 25 years of light in Perthshire

The Enchanted Forest has just wrapped up another run, and it was a big one. This year's edition, Stop The Clock: The 25th Hour, marked the event's 25th anniversary, and it ran from Thursday 8 October to Sunday 8 November, with performances daily from 17:30 to 20:45. If you caught it, you'll know the drill: Faskally Wood, about a mile north-west of Pitlochry on the north shore of Loch Faskally, gets taken over by light installations, immersive soundscapes and storytelling, all set against the autumn trees. The forest covers 25 acres, sits within Tay Forest Park on the banks of Loch Dunmore, and is managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. It's widely regarded as the most important sound and light show in Scotland, and it's put together by The Enchanted Forest Community Trust, a registered charity that funnels the surplus back into Highland Perthshire.

The numbers behind it are worth a look. Over the last 25 years, nearly a million people have walked through the woods, with more than 80,000 turning up each autumn. That scale has brought a fair bit of recognition: Best Cultural Event, Best Outdoor Festival, the Scottish Thistle Award for Best Event, the Scottish Rural Award for Tourism & Hospitality, and the Event Management Grand Prix. This November, the event was even recognised by a local MP at Westminster. The money side is where it really hits home, though. The Trust is registered in Scotland under charity number SC045237 and has put more than £650,000 into local organisations through its Community Fund since 2015. The trustees behind it are Andrew Penker, Steven Jolly, Karen More, Gemma Connor, George Fisher, Alan Lane and Jacob Brydon.

For anyone who missed it, the wood itself is worth knowing about. Faskally Wood was laid out as a model woodland in the 19th century by the owners of Faskally House, and the Forestry Commission of Scotland took it over in 1953 to set up a school for training young foresters. It's still managed on a continuous cover forestry basis, with a mix of species and some trees well over 200 years old. When the lights are off, there's the Foresters' Trail up Dunmore Hill and the Dunmore Trail around the loch, and the place is home to kingfishers, herons and goldeneye ducks nesting in the trees. The region averages about 900 millimetres of rain a year, so a waterproof jacket is never a bad shout around here.

If you're already planning for next time, a few things are worth keeping in mind. Tickets range from free to £39.59, and they tend to sell out, so booking ahead is the sensible move. And if you're taking the shuttle bus from central Pitlochry up to the forest, everyone on board needs a ticket, including children under three. It's built its reputation as a family outing for anyone after a bit of magic in the Perthshire countryside, and after 25 years and nearly a million visitors, it's clearly found its audience. With the 2026 run now closed, the next thing to watch for will be when the Trust announces the 2027 dates.