The Enchanted Forest 2005 at Faskally Wood

The Enchanted Forest gets bigger and better! The 21st October 2005 saw the 4th year of the Enchanted Forest organised by Perthshire’s Big Tree Country and supported by Event Scotland. Last year the event was staged at the Hermitage at Dunkeld and attracted over 10,000 people.

This year saw a new venue at Loch Dunmore in Faskally Wood. The event ran for 16 nights, was fully booked and saw visitor numbers increase to 11,000.

Visitors from far & wide descended upon Pitlochry, where they were transported by bus, on a short journey to the Enchanted Forest.

The visitors walked an illuminated path to a loch side viewing area, where they were introduced, by way of a floating large screen presentation on the theme of this year’s event ‘The Water of Life’

The woods were illuminated by soft shades of ever changing colours and light sequences, supported by specially commissioned narratives and music, which included local and   natural history of Faskally.

The loch created fabulous mirror images and reflections, a bonus for the many photographers!

After the presentation visitors were encouraged to wander around the loch side trail, where they encountered amplified sounds of the forest, and shows of light and water.
The path ran into Spooky Wood, an area created to enhance the effects of the lasers, burning torches and smoke effects, which caused the reflected colours in the lights to distort, creating an eerie atmosphere, (a great hit with the young and not so young) much in evidence on Halloween.

Commenting on this year’s event, James McDougall, Promotion and Development Officer for Forestry Commission Scotland Said:

“Scotland’s magnificent trees and lochs are such a massive part of our landscape, being essential for some of our most significant industries-whisky, forestry and tourism. It is therefore fitting that this year’s Enchanted Forest event pays homage to these critically important natural resources.”

Thanks go to Eileen and Ronnie Owens of Killiecrankie for writing this report on the 2005 Enchanted Forrest event.