The John Bauer Museum

Located in Jönköping, Sweden, is the John Bauer museum – home to over 1000 works by this world famous fairytale artist. Bauer was born in Jönköping in 1882, and began his career as an artist at 16. His illustrations for ‘Bland tomtar och troll’ (Among elves and trolls), an annual illustrated fairytale book, saw him come to be considered Sweden’s most popular fairytale artist. Beautiful princesses and trolls populate Bauer’s paintings of mysterious, dark forests, which were inspired by frequent journeys in the wilds of Sweden and local folktales. Tragically, John, his wife and small son were killed in a boating accident in 1918, but the museum preserves his work for future generations.
The museum is open year-round and has many of Bauer’s most famous works on display, giving the visitor a chance to explore this enchanted world.

FairyLove Fairy Retreats

Now is the time to start thinking about this year’s holidays, but where to go? One suggestion is to take a magical fairy-filled break at FairyLove HQ. Not content with just providing fairies with their finery, the FairyLove team are now offering a B&B service at their beautiful 15th Century country house in Herefordshire (UK). You can indulge your ultimate fairy side in the stunning surroundings with dressing up and exploring and relaxing. Choose the optional ‘Dress Up and Photoshoot’ to get the stylistic services of Shelley Fairy, full run of the Fairy dress up boudoir and a CD of images to take home with you. They also run ‘Free Your Inner Fairy’ weekend workshops and hen parties, plus visitors are welcome to make an appointment to see the fairy wings and other delights for sale.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan

The 1000 acres that make up the Heligan Estate are a must see for visitors to Cornwall. After the First World War the gardens rapidly went into decline and were all but lost under crumbled masonry and tangled brambles – but instead of being left to romantic decay, since 1990 a dedicated team has been restoring the gardens to their former glory. What has this to do with Faeries, I hear you say? Well the estate includes diverse habitats including woodland, meadows, formal gardens, the spectacular ‘Lost Valley’ and even a jungle. Restoration is being carried out sympathetically to the local flora and fauna and many rare species are being conserved and reintroduced. The picture above is one of the huge mud sculptures that lurks in the Woodland Walk, and there are many other delights for visitors to discover along the way. I think the Faeries would be proud this beautiful landscape is once again being loved and cared for.

Icelandic Elf School

This is not a Hogwartian fantasy, there really is an Elf school in the Iceland city of Reykjavík. The school, known as Álfaskólinn in Icelandic, teaches students and visitors about the different kinds of elves that are believed to inhabit the country. The school’s founder Magnús Skarphéðinsson has created a full curriculum, text books and various certificate programmes ranging from half-day tasters to longer diplomas.
The school is also engaged in a long-term research programme into Iceland’s Hidden People and publishes papers on their findings. 10% of Icelanders believe in elves and supernatural beings, while a further 80% refuse to rule out their existence. The belief is so widespread the authorities employ folklorists as consultants in the construction industries. A new road was recently re-routed at the port of Hafnarfjordur so as to avoid a large rock thought to be home to elves.

The Orkney Faerie Museum

I wrote yesterday about Neil and Alicen Geddes-Ward’s book Faeriecraft. The couple have also established a Faerie Museum on the island of Westray, Orkney. Housed in a converted Orkadian croft house, it features Neil’s art and sculptures by Shirley Ann McKillop, and tells the stories of Orkney’s Faerie inhabitants, those from Scottish legends and further a field. It is free to visit, and open 7 days a week from mid-April to September 30th. On Saturdays there is a children’s story telling session, and new attractions are being developed. There are also gifts available to buy.
The Orkneys, as well as being home to a great variety of Fair Folk, are covered in prehistoric sites and dramatic landscapes – sure to make a memorable holiday.

Urban Fairies Take Up Residence In Ann Arbor

Illustrator Jonathan B Wright created the Urban Fairies website to chronicle the appearances of mysterious Faerie Doors around the town of Ann Arbor (Michigan USA).
It started with finding a tiny door under the stairs in his home, which when opened led to a miniature staircase. Before long a residence was spotted in the fireplace, and then the kitchen! Now it seems the faeries are spreading, with doors being spotted in a coffee shop, gift shops, a market, a theatre, a gallery, a frame shop and in the local kindergarten. The doors match those of the ‘bigfut’ buildings, and some lead to elaborate interiors which also mimic the human’s environment and can be spied on through equally tiny windows.
As well as details of locations and photos, the site records entries left in the faeries guest books, faerie ‘droppings’ (gifts left for the faeries) and even (gasp!) faerie traps, created by children at the kindergarten.
New door details are added as they are discovered, and a book telling the story of the Urban Faeries is in the works.

The Elfin Oak of Kensington Gardens

Kensington Gardens in the heart of London is probably best known for it’s Peter Pan associations, but for faerie seekers there is an added attraction. The Elfin Oak stands by the children’s playground, and has the honour of being perhaps the only faerie residence to be Grade II Listed. It was created by Ivor Innes, a children’s book illustrator, around 1911. In every nook and cranny of the ancient oak elfin faces peer out at you – some carved straight from the wood itself. They are quirky and extremely charming, and look ready to start playing just as soon as your back is turned.

Kensington Gardens is open all year round, and the nearest tube station for the oak is Black Lion Gate.

Glastonbury Tor

Famously thought to be the mystical Isle of Avalon from Arthurian legend, Glastonbury Tor (Somerset, UK) is also said to be home to Gwyn ap Nudd, Celtic God of the Underworld Annwfn and later King of the Faeries. The Tor rises enigmatically from an otherwise fairly flat landscape and is surmounted by a tower from the chapel of St Michael dating from the 14th Century.
The legend tells of a Christian monk, St Collen who lived in a cell at the foot of the Tor. Gwyn ap Nudd and his Faerie Court inhabit a magnificent castle at the top of the Tor, and one day invites St Collen to visit him. Collen refuses, stating they are not fairies at all, but demons. Again Gwyn sends an invitation, and again he is refused. At the third invitation however, St Collen accepts and, once he’d secreted a bottle of holy water about his person, climbs to the top of the Tor. He finds himself in the castle, surrounded by the beautiful court of Faerie and the King himself seated on a golden throne. He is offered food, but refuses to eat or drink a thing. When Gwyn asks Collen if he likes his courtiers livery, he replies it was fine enough, but ‘the red is that of flame, the blue that of cold’ (as people then believed Hell consisted of fire and ice). At this, Collen threw his bottle of holy water over he assembled company. All at once, the castle and it’s inhabitants disappeared, leaving St Collen standing alone of the hillside, and confirming to him that they were indeed demons.
Although the Tor is the widely accepted venue this story took place there are some people who believe it has been wrongly ascribed. St Collen was a very obscure Welsh saint, and no mention of him is made in Glastonbury Abbey’s chronicles. The more likely setting for the story is in Llangollen, Wales. Even so, even if the Tor isn’t the true home of the King of the Faeries, there is something undeniably mysterious and faery-touched about the place.

Photo courtesy of Jackie

Imura Kimie Fairy Art Museum

Nestled in the forest by Lake Numazawa, (Kaneyama, Japan) is a museum dedicated to Faerie art and literature. Gathered together are paintings, illustrations, books, dolls and other Faerie artifacts from the British Isles and beyond, including paintings by Victorian artists William Holmes Sullivan and William Bell Scott. Various types of faeries are represented – nature spirits, elves, water nymphs – even Puck and Titania, though they are a long way from home!

The Cauld Lad O’Hylton

There are varying legends concerning the spirit that inhabited Hylton Castle in Sunderland (UK) during the 15th century. One states he was a playful brownie that worked in the castle kitchens at night – disturbing things that were left tidy or tidying up items left in disarray. Another legend claims he was in fact the spirit of a stable boy cruelly murdered by a Hilton family member. Whatever his origins, the castle’s servants tired of his antics and decided to get rid of him by leaving out a hooded cloak of green cloth. Delighted with his new attire, the Cauld Lad dressed and danced away merrily – he danced so long that it wasn’t until the cock crowed he realised he’d been caught out by the rising sun. Sadly he declared “Here’s a cloak and here’s a hood, the Cauld Lad O’Hylton will do no more good!” before disappearing entirely. He was never seen again, although there are reports of that same song being heard on occasions. Hylton Castle (sometimes also spelled Hilton) is now in ruins and in the care of English Heritage, but can still be viewed from the outside.