White’s Eco Light Festival at Gilbert White’s House Review
*We were provided with this experience for the purpose of this post however all opinions are my own.
We love a festive event and light trails are some of our absolute favourites. So when Gilbert White’s House invited us to experience their new magical experience, White’s Eco Light Festival, we couldn’t wait. It promised to be an evening like no other – and a great way to kick off the festive season!
What is White’s Eco Light Festival?
Like a visit to Gilbert White’s House and Gardens, the White’s Eco Light Festival lets you delve into the story of Gilbert White. However, through the festival, you get to discover the collections in a whole new light, whilst unlocking your passion and excitement for wildlife and the natural world around us.
White’s Eco Light Festival takes you on a journey through the house and gardens as the pages of The Natural History of Selborne, along with your imagination, are brought to life. It’s a chance to learn more about the creatures which White identified as an 18th century naturalist, and how we can protect them today.
The light festival explores the plight of the harvest mouse, introduces the noctule bat, lets you follow the mesmerising journey of swifts and swallows before going outside into the starry night where you’ll be enchanted by a mystical world of captivating light installations in a unique light trail.
One great thing about White’s Eco Light festival is that it’s a Light Festival with a difference as it has been created using renewable energy sources, solar power and low-level lighting with environmental consciousness at its core, a nod to Gilbert White and his internationally important legacy to ecology.
Getting to White’s Eco Light Festival
White’s Eco Light Festival is held in the house and grounds of Gilbert White’s House, somewhere we had always seen signs for on our adventures but had never been to. Based in the heart of Selborne, a gorgeous village in Hampshire, it’s easy to find by car and has ample parking – tucked away behind The Selborne Arms pub. When entering the car park it is very dark – so just go slowly and you’ll soon see the entrance to Gilbert White’s House.
We parked easily and headed for Gilbert White’s House. The house is just a short walk along a footpath from the car park which has been beautifully decorated with fairy lights and really sets the scene for the evening.
At the end of the footpath you find yourself right outside Gilbert White’s House, with the museum entrance and shop on one side and the cafe and toilets on the other. Everything is well signposted and we made our way into the museum reception to kick off our visit.
The White’s Eco Light Festival experience
At the reception we were signed in – and gave our car park registration which enabled free parking for the duration of our visit. The lovely lady on reception gave us a trail map and talked us through the experience – explore the house downstairs, then upstairs and then the garden.
She also gave us UV torches to use during the visit – something that got the kids instantly excited! The torches need to be returned at the end of the experience. We were then pointed in the direction to start the trail and off we went!
The trail starts in the house and the first room plays an audio recording on a loop, explaining more about the trail and Gilbert White. This first room has information about Gilbert White, who he was, what he is famous for and examples of his work before you venture into the rest of the house.
The trail takes you around the house, through various rooms and corridors where you can explore some of the collections and see light displays at the same time. If you have already been to Gilbert White’s House, this is a great chance to see the house in the evening and with great light effects throughout.
If, like us, you haven’t been to Gilbert White’s House before, it’s a great introduction. Due to the low light level we couldn’t fully appreciate all the displays but enough were well lit to give you an overview of White’s work and the creatures he discovered.
We loved seeing bookcases lit up, hearing White snoring in the bedchamber and seeing the floor moving with worms – a feast waiting for nearby owl to enjoy! There was so much to see in the house and it’s the sort of experience where you can spend as long or as little time as you like.
Our children have never been ones to read about everything in a museum – unless it’s something they are really interested in – and so for us the trail was more about looking and seeing the exhibits than spending a lot of time reading about them. Because of this we did pass through the house fairly swiftly.
There are quite a few taxidermy examples around the house, as you’d expect with a museum of this type, which can be a little unsettling for younger guests and the house and gardens are also very dark in places. This is just something to be mindful of.
After the house we explored the gardens and this is where the torches really came into their own. There were various light installations that we either didn’t see until we shone the torches on them or they changed colour and glowed when we uses the torches. This was great fun and made the experience really interactive.
The garden trail has light up arches, hedges creating walls of twinkly lights and a fantastic tunnel at the end. There are so many different light installations from beautiful little ones to the gorgeous tunnel near the end. There really is something for everyone.
The garden trail brings you back to the house where the experience ends and you can then return your torches to reception, browse the shop and grab refreshments in the cafe.
Food and drink at White’s Eco Light Festival
The cafe is open during the Eco Light Festival and serves a selection of seasonal food and drink. There’s plenty of seating inside and out and hot drinks were around £4 for a hot chocolate or coffee.
The Jubilee Taproom is also open during the festival and is across the road from the museum. They offer a great selection of drinks, such as locally brewed beers from the Gilbert White’s House own micro brewery on site.
Visiting Gilbert White’s House before White’s Eco Light Festival
You are able to visit the museum during the day and then stay for the Eco Light Festival in the evening, although visiting the museum is a separate ticket and entry fee. The museum closes at 4pm to get the event ready so whilst the museum is closed you can wait in the cafe or reception until your event time slot.
With any light trail experience, you can spend as long or as short a time as you like there. For us this was quite a short trail, taking only half an hour to go round at a pretty typical pace. The family who checked in just before us also finished around the same time. However, I do think if you read about all the different exhibits on show you could end up spending longer at Gilbert White’s House for the Eco Light Festival.
White’s Eco Light Festival runs every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from Thursday 21st November 2024 until Saturday 21st December 2024, 4:30pm to 8pm. Tickets are £12.50 for adults, £9 for children and under 2s go free. Pre-booking is essential.
You can find out more about White’s Eco Light Festival over on the Gilbert Whites House website. For reference, the Gilbert White’s House address is: The Wakes, High Street, Selborne Hampshire GU34 3JH
