T HOUSANDS of twinkling baubles and miles of fairylights adorn Britain’s biggest and most dazzling Christmas tree display here in Northumberland.

One thousand trees have popped up at Wallington Hall, ranging from the statuesque 45ft Cypress at the historic hall’s entrance to a tiny doll’s house tree.

National Trust volunteers and staff have been as busy as Santa’s elves, spending a total of 744 hours to transform the 17th century mansion into a winter wonderland.

The 1,000 trees, which include real firs, decorative and crafted trees, went on display last week.

The 33-strong team behind the shining sight began planning the display in January.

The spectacular centrepiece is the 115-year-old 45ft Nootka tree; it took a team of specialists two days to hang its 6,000 lights.

Trees across the rest of the estate are adorned with another 6,000 lights.

This year is a celebration of the old and new traditions of the 13,000-acre estate, which was donated to the National Trust by the Trevelyan family in 1942.

The 1,000 trees of Christmas were inspired by the Trevelyan family’s unique ‘Book of Trees’ which was kept by three generations – capturing the life cycle of trees around the property.

To mark one of the oldest traditions, the family’s original 130-year-old wooden Christmas sleigh will sit proudly outside the property for visitors to create their own magical festive memories.

The House Steward for Wallington, Robert Thompson, said: “We are so proud of our property team as hundreds of hours of hard work and commitment from our staff and volunteers go into to making sure we are ready for Christmas and all the festive fun that comes with it.

“The celebration of an old tradition – decorating the many trees we have here – really makes for a memorable experience and highlights the incredible work the team does behind the scenes to make Christmas a special time for everyone.”

To find out more about what’s happening in the festive season, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/northeast