Lightquest

In 2002 a team in Swimbridge (mainly the SNAP Committee) under the leadership of the late international lighting designer Dave Bryant organised a community event, which at that time put Swimbridge on the map.  The event was a night time walk in the dark with lighting installations and performers.  The event raised £17k profit for local charities and SNAP received £4,200 towards the development of the park – we had no idea that it would take another 9 years before the field for the park would be secured.   

 

Lightquest gave SNAP and the team the confidence and skills to know that anything was possible and to believe in your dream.

 

Lightquest began as a village event to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in June 2002.  The Parish Council invited a village pro-active team (mainly SNAP) to put together an event with a mere budget of £500.   This was a free event for the community to enjoy.   

 

In just 3 months we organised a community event starting with a village procession of beating drums, saucepans and wooden spoons, the release of 1,000 balloons, 7 live bands, the building of two large beacons by two very competitive village teams, a hill-lit figure of the Queen’s head in 1,000 lights (of field height and width) and a pyrotechnic light spectacular.     Two runners carried Olympic style torches over Dennington Hill footpath and Hooda Hill to a soundscape of “Chariots of Fire”.   Dennington Beacon lit, Hooda lit, the Church bells tolled, the theme of Star Wars erupted, pyrotechnics and light strobes flashed across the hills and the Queen’s Head was lit in 1,000 lights.   The event was managed entirely by volunteers with immense “in kind” support.  The event attracted a village audience of around 600 people and became a “trial run” for the first Lightquest event in Swimbridge held the same year in August 2002 (just 12 weeks later).  It showed what our community could achieve together.

 

Lightquest was a 4.5 mile cross country spectacular illuminated night time walk held on the bank holiday in August 2002 in aid of local charities.

 

In just 16 weeks Lightquest was organised - a 4.5 mile cross country spectacular illuminated night
time walk to celebrate the end of the Foot and Mouth outbreak.  It was held in Swimbridge on the
bank holiday in August 2002 in aid of local charities.

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The event was inspired by the West Country tradition of “Beating the Bounds” – a traditional ceremony where villagers celebrate by walking the boundaries of their parish or village.  It took 300+ volunteers of all ages and the gaining of resources through sponsorship and “in kind” support.  

 

The route was way lit with thousands of lights and offered an exciting variety of entertainment from 150 performers, local food produce and 7 gigantic hill figures outlined in light celebrating wildlife and nature.  The finale, “the Angel of the South” was the largest hill figure with over 700 flaming torches interwoven with state of the art lighting technology synchronised to live performers and recorded sound.  This was the most elaborate illuminated hill figure ever created at that time. The event attracted a lot of people – 3000 tickets had sold up to the morning of the event and almost 2000 more turned up!  It raised a profit of £17,000, which was distributed to 15 local charities.  

 

The following year in August 2003, Lightquest became even bigger – an event attended by 20,000 over two nights people on the Earl & Countess of Arran’s Estate at Castle Hill, Filleigh.  With the support of almost 1,000 volunteers, this event was almost five times larger than the Swimbridge event, again a night time walk way lit with lights with almost 300 performers.  It included a spectacular son et lumiere finale with 150ft water-screen, image and sound projection, over 100 performers (in the finale alone) including two samba bands, Pipe & drum band, male voice choir, fire twirlers, 30 actors and  50 Harley Davidson’s performing to a spectacular finale. The event was in aid of North Devon Hospice’ “Light in the Dark Appeal”. Dreamwalk was a phenomenal success and seen as the most ambitious and successful charitable event in the South West that year. 

 

Remnants of Lightquest can still be found in the Swimbridge. 

Every year at Christmas, local farmer John Ackland with a team of volunteers erects our famous Swimbridge star on top of Hooda Hill overlooking the village and the A361. And, if you visit the village bus shelter take a look at the mosaic of a “man in lights”.  This was made by Swimbridge Youth Club in 2006 with arts organisation, “Seize the Moment” to capture the memory of the event. 

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