Record numbers fill Newark Parish Church for Newark Christmas Tree Festival

A record number of Christmas trees have transformed a historic building into a magical festive forest.

The annual Newark Christmas Tree Festival returned to Newark Parish Church for 15th time this week with more trees than ever before.

154 trees fill the grade-one listed building, surpassing last year’s record of 137.

Co-organised by Rita McCall and Nick Carter, the festival started out with just 30 trees and has grown year on year with the support of the community.

A whole host of schools, charities, sports teams, community groups and businesses got creative with imaginative and alternative designs for the event, which runs until this Sunday, December 10.

The church will remain open to visitors from 9.30am to 5pm on weekdays; Saturday, 10am to 4.30pm and Sunday, noon to 4.30pm.

There is plenty to discover when walking through the sparkling pop up forest, from trees with imaginative themes or poignant messages, to fun ornaments and tree toppers including, life rings, hard hats, cricket helmets and footballs.

All of the natural trees were grown and felled locally, ranging from 3ft to 7ft in height, and will be reused or recycled when the festival comes to an end.

Have you visited yet? Which tree was your favourite?