Thursday 24 March 2011

Furzey Gardens, New Forest

It appears that not all fairies have departed from the New Forest, in modern times the faery abode of choice is Furzey Gardens near Minstead. A beautiful garden open to the public, with a scattering of delightful hidden fairy doors and enchanting fairy tale towers and tree houses. Not only is the garden beautiful but part of a charity that provides horticultural training and care for young people with learning difficulties, and i'm sure the fairies help out too whenever they can!

According to the Paranormal Database, there were also sightings of fairies in Minstead in the 1920s, when sightings were reported that "several little people climbed the trees of the forest, possessing catlike attributes for better balance". They sound like a very curious breed of fairy, but unfortunately i've not managed to find any other sources for this story to gather further details.

I did however pay a visit to Minstead and Furzey Gardens, and i'm very glad I did! The gardens are truly enchanting, as I hope you can see from the below photos...

This feline fellow did possess the catlike attributes of the local fairies, but was far too busy relaxing in the sun to climb any trees...

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22 comments:

  1. lyon de clarasvals24 March 2011 at 23:55

    Beautiful, thank you for sharing these amazing places. I can imagine this later in the year when everything is leafed out and blooming. Probably autumn is gorgeous too.

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  2. The Faery Folklorist25 March 2011 at 10:18

    Hiya Lyon! I agree, it's probably even more stunning in summer when all the flowers are blooming, hope i'm lucky enough to be able to return one summer and see the gardens in their full glory! :)

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  3. Anonymous25 March 2011 at 14:23

    I really have to catch up on your wonderful posts! These gardens are beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Also, thanks for such a great blog! Your travels are inspiring.

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  4. The Faery Folklorist25 March 2011 at 16:44

    Thank you so much Cymru! I very much enjoy going on travels to write in my blog.. it gives me a great excuse to go out exploring, and places are so much more fun to explore when they have such history and legends attached to them! :) From your name i'm guessing you might live in Wales? So many wonderful legends there!

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  5. Anonymous25 March 2011 at 20:18

    No, I don't live in Wales, unfortunately. Someday I hope. My paternal grandfather was from Wales, and I've always loved the sound of Cymru, so I often go by that name as a way to honor my Welsh bloodline. (I live in the States, by the way--quite far from where I really want to be at the moment).

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  6. The Faery Folklorist25 March 2011 at 22:24

    He wasn't from the Barmouth area was he? That's where my grandmother came from! Hope to visit there one day. I haven't seen much of Wales yet, but from the few places ive visited i'd say it's a very beautiful place! :)

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  7. Anonymous26 March 2011 at 14:35

    He was from the Cardiff area. I just looked up Barmouth on the internet. You're grandmother was fortunate to be a part of such a beautiful place! When I go to Wales some day, I'll be sure to visit Barmouth :).

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  8. The Faery Folklorist26 March 2011 at 15:00

    I've never been to Barmouth myself, but hoping to stop off there on the way to Ireland one day! I've been to Cardiff and it's lovely, especially the castle and there was a great little bookshop nearby from what I remember :) Sure it was even more lovely back when your grandfather lived there!

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  9. Hamadryad29 March 2011 at 17:26

    I'll have to visit that place some day. I go more often to the Forest of Dean but do go to the New forest sometimes.That looks like a good reason for going there.

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  10. The Faery Folklorist29 March 2011 at 22:10

    Hi Hamadryad, what a lovely name! It's definitely worth a visit, though I haven't been lucky enough to visit the Forest of Dean yet so I don't know how it compares. Would love to visit it one day though! :)

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  11. Windsongs and Wordhoards1 April 2011 at 22:29

    What a wonderful place, thankyou so much for sharing it! I'd love to visit there one day and my children would just love it! I can't believe I've only just found your blog, what a wonderful place you have here!
    Carrie... :)
    (Windsongs and Wordhoards)

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  12. Ent1 April 2011 at 22:33

    What a brilliant looking place! Great to see some people are still putting the effort in to make things friendly for the wee folk.

    I cant find a way to contact you other than here - I left a comment after your comment on my blog with some questions, would you mind taking a look?

    Thanks!

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  13. The Faery Folklorist2 April 2011 at 13:13

    Hi Ent, have replied on your lovely blog! :)

    Hiya Carrie, thanks for visiting my blog, I love reading yours too! :D Just noticed on your blog that you're from Midsomer Norton.. wow small world, i'm from Yeovil! If you don't read it already you'd love Ent's blog on Westcountry folklore!

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  14. Ruthie Redden1 May 2011 at 11:08

    How wonderful, i shall be adding this to my ever growing list of must visit places. Thank you for sharing all the loveliness on your blog. x ruthie

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  15. elfmother1 May 2011 at 15:18

    Wow! I have just discovered your blog and its fantastic. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and taking us to these enchanted places :)

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  16. The Faery Folklorist2 May 2011 at 19:15

    Thank you for reading my blog ruthie, nice to know im introducing people to lovely new places to visit :)

    Hi elfmother... thank you so much! :D hopefully the more people who hear about these enchanted places, the less theyll be forgotten!

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  17. Deco Dolly4 May 2011 at 05:34

    those photos are soooo increbible! faerie house love!

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  18. The Faery Folklorist4 May 2011 at 15:39

    Thanks snowskinmooncakes, cutest name ever! :D Just checked out for blog and love your creations, the cloud beast is adorable!

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  19. Anonymous14 October 2011 at 15:11

    check
    www.tinydoors.com

    simon

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  20. The Faery Folklorist14 October 2011 at 20:04

    Thanks Simon! So many lovely fairy doors!! :)

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  21. simon sinkinson16 November 2011 at 13:09

    HI Folklorist
    I love your site and always keep up with it
    I have a very odd blog
    http://tinydoorsdotcom.blogspot.com/
    To go with tinydoors.com
    I hope you like it
    Simon

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  22. The Faery Folklorist16 November 2011 at 16:41

    So glad that you made a blog, it's so much fun! I especially love the snails having the tea party, so cute and enchanting! :)

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