Derby - The Light Trail
w/e 07 December 2025
All of this week's pictures were
taken with a Nikon D3300 camera
I saw an advert encouraging people to visit Derby's
Cathedral Quarter and St Peter’s Quarter to see the Light
Trail from The Spot to Cathedral Green presumably also aiming
at bringing Christmas shoppers to the city centre. It also seemed
like a good photo opportunity too so off we went.
The advert promised "an array of stunning light installations"
with "the beautifully wrapped rings at The Spot, with festive
foliage and twinkling lights". However the rings at The
Spot looked just the same as they always do but next to them,
a few fairground rides surrounded by a security fence were all
closed. The first sign of the Trail though was at St Peter's
Church where the Rudolph arch was waiting for people to pose
for photos.
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The Trail continued in the newly refurbished but sparsely
populated Market Hall where a giant gold star was another place
designed for those Christmas photos.
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The Market Hall also included a Christmas Tree and a Grotto.
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We left the Market Hall via the rear exit to walk through
the passage under the Guildhall where the twinkling lights looked
a more promising feature of the Light Trail.
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In the gap between the rear of the Market Hall and the Guildhall
there is a wintry piece of artwork.
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In front of the Guildhall a giant teddy bear sits, overlooking
the Market Place, behind a wooden fence.
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When Derby's new decorations were first introduced to the city
a few years ago, they were met with some significant critical
disapproval by many but the idea was to add to them each year.
The original display included a number of different coloured
"presents" that people could walk through surrounded
by the coloured lights. Well the cubes are back again but we'd
obviously come at the wrong time of day as the lights were not
switched on.
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Also in the Market Place for the Christmas season is the temporary
Ice Rink but this too was closed and surrounded by a security
fence while we were there.
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Caged behind the security fence is a more recent addition to
the decorations in the form of a polar bear next to the
Nordic Bar.
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We left the Market Place passing a large Christmas Tree in an
equally large container before heading along Iron Gate towards
the cathedral under "a shimmering ceiling of light".
To be fair these lights were on but overall we were left disappointed
by the Light Trail. We'd obviously gone at the wrong time of
day - it must be a lot better in the evening. On our return to
Ilkeston however we found all the multicoloured lights from the
bottom of Bath Street through the Market Place and into South
Street were twinkling away and there were a lot more shop window
displays too. The grass isn't always greener!
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