Picture special – step into the light at Warwickshire venue’s spectacular show

THERE’S something quite wonderful about walking through Compton Verney’s grounds at night.

It’s not often you get the chance to walk among huge trees and manicured lawns while the moon, rather than the sun, is in the sky.

And it’s even less often that you get the opportunity to see those trees – the beauty of nature – turned into art through some truly skilful lighting.

These splendid, old trees in hues of blue, red and green are mesmerising and are the wrapping paper, of sorts, for the Compton Verney Spectacle of Light. The illuminated trees guide you along the paths to the light and sound installations which are the stars of the show.

There are a number of new installations this year, with Wave the most interesting.

From afar it’s, perhaps unsurprisingly, a wave of moving colour, passing along in front of the manor house. Up close, it’s a series of hanging lights, each with a speaker inside and a show to perform. The initial sounds pop out of individual speakers at random with a noise that could easily be mistaken for an aggravated goose. A glow also emits from the speaker as another goose honks. It grabs your attention and is quickly replaced with some rather lovely harmonies and a crescendo of lights – from pale blue though to warming oranges and purples.

It is a beautiful piece of work.

There are, of course, other installations – some with and some without music – but the one which attracted a lot of attention was the large white spot. Stand your subject in front of it, get them to make a silly pose (Bruce Forsyth’s trademark stance with a closed fist by your forehead works well) and take some shadowy photos. They look fab and it’s great fun.

The Spectacle of Light is at Compton Verney near Wellesbourne until 18th February. The event also includes a changing selection of food trucks serving up tempting treats, so you could choose your visit to coincide with your favourite food. Prices vary for midweek and weekend visits. For full details, visit www.comptonverney.org.uk/event/spectacle.

To buy photographs visit https://stratfordherald.zenfolio.com/p131879028