“Christmas lights bring out the child-like wonder hiding in the hearts of adults.”
Anonymous
Do
you love looking at Christmas lights? Then this is your place to
be. It was a cold day near the end of December when we visited the
Outer Banks. Christmas was over, yet I was not ready to let it go
just yet. We heard the Elizabethan Gardens have an amazing Christmas
light display every year. So I ordered our tickets online and we
headed to Manteo from our hotel in Nags Head as it was getting dark.
It was only a 20 minute easy drive to get there. We arrived on the
early side as always since my husband has that military mentality for
arriving early to anywhere we are going.
When
we pulled up, we noticed the trees were beautifully lit up lining the
path to the entrance. We got out of our car, strolled up the pathway
and lined up outside the gates to the gift shop. The gates were to
open at 6 pm. At precisely 6 pm, they opened the gates and we were
warmly welcomed into Elizabethan Gardens and handed a map.
We
headed first through the gift shop which was decorated beautifully
with lovely trinkets you can buy as well as postcards and then out to
the gardens. It was amazing. There were lights everywhere. What a
beautiful site to see. We just picked a path and found the winding
and tree covered pathways had amazing light displays on the ground as
well as lights that were draped over the trees. There were hundreds
of thousands of lights and many unique displays to see throughout the
gardens. One area, they had a whimsical “Twelve Days of Christmas”
path where many of the children enjoyed singing the famous song.
The
pathways were all incredibly illuminated with all the colors of the
rainbow and the bare trees looked amazing in the lights. Many trees were wrapped with brightly colored lights. The
Queen Elizabeth I statue was a centerpiece and looked lovely that
night glowing from all the lights in the December air. There are
benches throughout the park where you can sit and rest and take in
the gardens in all their beauty. There are many sculptures adorning
the 10 acres set up in stunning locations. There was even a fire pit
where you can roast a marshmallows over the open flame or just get
warm. There was an inside display as well where you can buy a hot
chocolate to carry around with you on a cold winters night and check out the beautifully decorated Christmas trees.
The
Christmas lights helped to show the best of the gardens. The large
oaks throughout the gardens stood stately with glowing lights wrapped
around them. The best of the gardens was the Sunken Garden which was
fully decorated and illuminated with gorgeous Christmas lights.
Everywhere you looked was just more and more beauty and color. The
time it must have taken to decorate the gardens. They were
absolutely gorgeous.
The
Winter Lights are open from the end of November till December 30th.
This was the 13th year of this event and we heard, it was
the best year yet. During that time, they do have designated nights
when they have live entertainment. Elizabethan Gardens are located
in the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site next to the Lost Colony’s
theater in Manteo, North Carolina. There are 10 acres of beautiful
Elizabethan Gardens that you can visit all year. The gardens change
through different seasons and were founded in 1951 as a living
memorial to the Lost Colonist. Elizabethan gardens were originally
designed to delight Queen Elizabeth I. These gardens were designed
for everyone's delight and is really is a pleasure to visit.
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We
have only been here for the Winter Lights but I’m sure it is very
beautiful in all the other seasons when all the flowers are in bloom.
The gardens are a project for the Garden Club of North Carolina.
During the summer months it must be a tranquil spot where you can sit
and take all the beauty and appreciate all the hard work that this
club had done.
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This
is worth a visit if you are in the area. Go and check it out. Till
next time. Bye for now.
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