WATCH: Glasgow Park Lit Up For 'Electric Gardens'

The West End Festival brings you The Electric Gardens, a new sound and light experience taking place in Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens, and opens to the public today.

The Electric Gardens is designed as a self-guided evening walk; full of specially placed lights, sound effects, music and live acts as well as a visit inside the Kibble Palace. The live performers are set to include fire eaters, a saxophonist and an interactive spider among other surprises!

The unusual experience is suitable for everyone and accessible to all. The walks start every half hour from 5:30pm with the final walk setting out at 8:30pm. They take around 45 minutes.

While the West End Festival runs in June every year, Festival organisers decided to expand operations into the winter months and this event is unlike anything it has produced before, an opportunity to see the iconic and well-loved Botanic Gardens in a different light! More than 40% of ticket sales are from outside Glasgow and The Electric Gardens is set to bring lots of visitors to Glasgow and the west end.

Michael Dale, festival director, said; ”This new event is something a little different for the west end and it suits the natural landscape the west end’s leafy outdoors has to offer – or perhaps snowy given recent weather!

“We are looking to ensure the sustainability of the festival all year-round. We want The Electric Gardens to be a success as it will enable us to develop plans for year- round activity. It would be fantastic to be able to run this event again but this will very much depend on ticket sales this time around.

“The event falls across the schools’ mid-term break and Valentine’s Day, giving people something a little different to do in Glasgow.”

Two competitions are running throughout The Electric Gardens. The first is an amateur photography competition1. The second is a children’s drawing competition2.

Event organisers are encouraging attendees to make a night of the visit, taking full advantage of the lively dining and shopping experience that the west end offers.

Attendees are advised to travel by public transport to limit parking issues and lower the amount of traffic in the area.

The Queen Margaret Drive entrance is the only one being used for The Electric Gardens. Festival organisers are advising attendees that the bridge on Queen Margaret Drive is currently closed and not accessible from Maryhill Road, only Byres Road, so extra time should be given for travel/parking.