24 December 2021

In Pictures: Festive lights spread welcome cheer as UK steps into Christmas

24 December 2021

Festive light displays have been spreading welcome cheer across the UK and Ireland in the run-up to Christmas this year.

As uncertainty around the Omicron coronavirus variant looms large over the festive season, creative types have been working their magic designing winter wonderlands to lift the nation’s spirits.

Here are some of the highlights.

Christmas lights along High Street in Dunbar, East Lothian (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Wire)
Illuminated Christmas arches on South Molton Street in Mayfair, London (Doug Peters/PA) (PA Archive)
Members of the public view displays on houses in Byron Road, New Milton, Hampshire (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire)
Byron Road has hosted festive light displays since 2004 (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire)

Residents on Byron Road in New Milton have raised more than £85,000 for charities since they started displaying festive illuminations more than 15 years ago.

Lots of light displays are created to raise funds for worthy causes, with the NHS the recipient of the proceeds of this year’s Byron Road extravaganza.

This house on Cappagh Green in Finglas, Dublin, was decorated to raise money for ARC Cancer Support services (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Wire)
This display in Soham, Cambridgeshire, was raising funds for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)
RHS Garden Wisley in Woking, Surrey, was hosting Glow 2021, an illuminated trail including fire candles and fountain displays (Steve Parsons/PA) (PA Wire)
Visitors at Winter Glow, at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern, Worcestershire, were invited to ‘immerse’ themselves in ‘all things seasonal’ (Jacob King/PA) (PA Wire)
Festive displays at Winter Glow included an illuminated light trail and observation wheel (Jacob King/PA) (PA Wire)
At the Palm House Grand Finale, at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London, festive images were projected on to a giant screen of water in the lake (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)
Nico Martin, from Bracknell in Berkshire, wrapped a Mini Electric in thousands of Christmas fairy lights in his latest bid to raise money for charity (Jacob King/PA) (PA Wire)

Nico Martin, from Bracknell, has covered his own Mini in lights for the last two years to raise money for the MS Trust and Duchenne UK.

This year Mini bosses are supporting Mr Martin, providing him with a Mini Electric wrapped in thousands of Christmas lights ready for him to take out on the road.

The Tree of Love, Joy and Hope in Connaught Village, London, received a festive makeover (John Nguyen/PA) (PA Wire)
Four-year-old Eliza Homer enjoyed a festive sprint through a Winter Glow display in Malvern (Jacob King/PA) (PA Wire)
A Christmas tree was positioned next to the statue of naturalist John Muir in High Street, Dunbar (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Wire)
The 2021 Christmas lights in London’s Oxford Street (James Manning/PA) (PA Wire)

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