Crackle Glass Solar String Lights

Crackled glass does something plain plastic never manages: it splits the light into dozens of tiny facets, so each globe reads as a cluster of sparks rather than one flat dot. Strung along a fence, wound through a pergola or looped around a parasol, the effect is closer to candlelight than to a festoon of bulbs. Three lengths cover everything from a small balcony rail to a full garden perimeter.

The panel and battery sit in a single stake at the head of the run. Push it into a bed or a pot where it catches the afternoon sun, and the string charges itself, comes on at dusk and runs for up to ten hours after a full day of light. Warm white suits brick and timber, cool white looks crisper against render and slate, and the RGB option slowly cycles for parties.

The whole run is rated IP65, so rain, spray and morning dew are no problem, and the cable is flexible enough to work in the cold without cracking. Bring the stake in during a hard frost if you want to protect the battery, but otherwise the set is happy left out from spring right through to the dark end of the year.

• Crackled glass globes on a flexible outdoor cable
• IP65 rated for rain, spray and year-round use
• Up to 10 hours runtime from 6 hours of sun
• Warm white, cool white or colour-changing RGB
• Lengths: 4.9 m / 20 lights, 11.9 m / 100, 22.9 m / 200
• Solar stake included, no mains supply needed