Lumiere has nearly come to a close after taking over Durham for four days. Aside from the fact that the streets have been packed and any late night Tesco runs have had to be pre-planned, Lumiere has added some much appreciated festivity and excitement into the air.
The light installation at the cathedral was the main event of the festival. Live bell ringers synchronised their tolling with white spotlights illuminating different parts of the cathedral. The queue outside was long and cold, but thankfully fast moving, and the lights from inside the cathedral shone through the windows so it was still enjoyable to watch whilst you waited.
My favourite light installations were the ones along the river. The simplest ones appealed to me the most as their reflections looked beautiful in the water. Personally, the bright, bold and garish didn’t compare at all to the more delicate installations.
Unfortunately, the crowds really put a dampener on the whole experience. They prevented me from seeing as many light installations as I would’ve hoped and my experience of Lumiere mainly consisted of a lot of waiting. I would recommend visiting just before the installations are turned off as I have heard this is when the queues were at their shortest.