The Real World Behind the Fairy Tales
The Real Lilypad Lake 🌿
Once a fishing lake, Lilypad Lake is now a peaceful haven for wildlife, the Wolfpack and a little imagination.
Surrounded by beautiful woodland, it's a place where kingfishers dart across the water, herons watch patiently from the banks, frogs hide among the lily pads and roe deer occasionally wander through the trees.
We love leaving the woodland as nature intended. Fallen logs slowly return to the earth, mushrooms flourish beneath the trees and wildlife is free to thrive.
When sunlight shimmers across the lake and ivy hangs from the ancient, twisted branches, it's easy to imagine a little magic hiding somewhere among the leaves.
And with Smudgekins exploring ahead of us, perhaps that's why Lilypad Lake has found its way into every single one of our children's adventures. ❤️
The Magical Lilypad Lake: Where Anything Can Happen! 🪷✨
In the magical world of Smudgekins, Lilypad Lake is a place where absolutely anything is possible!
At the far end of the lake stands a great old tree, home to Petal the fairy, while a rather unfortunate toad spends his days counting lily pads. Every time he ribbits, he loses count and has to start all over again! 🐸
Trevor the goat once found himself stranded in the middle of the lake on a floating log, until Steveo the pig came to the rescue with some rather powerful wind from his bottom! 🐷💨
There's also a friendly otter who gives Smudgekins her famous explorer's goggles, and at Christmas, the lake becomes a magical ice-skating wonderland.
Even Mumbles the Pup Detective has adventures here, including helping a crocodile with a terribly sore tooth!
These are just some of the little adventures waiting to be discovered along the way.
Because in Smudgekins' world, the journey is every bit as magical as the destination. ❤️
The Real Flower Meadow 🌼
Not every meadow needs to be bursting with spectacular flowers to be magical.
Here at Wolfpack Towers, we have a beautiful stretch of pasture that we deliberately leave to grow wild throughout the spring and summer.
The grasses grow tall, buttercups appear amongst the greenery, and the meadow becomes a wonderful place for birds, insects and other wildlife to enjoy the warmer months.
We've even tried introducing more wildflowers over the years, although Mother Nature seems to have her own ideas about what she'd prefer to grow!
Only at the end of the season, once the birds have finished nesting and the wildlife has enjoyed a full summer, do we cut the meadow and turn the grass into haylage.
And that annual harvest inspired something rather wonderful in Smudgekins' imaginary world.
Because while we have our own way of bringing in the harvest, the animals in the fairy tales have a few rather unusual ideas of their own!
The Magical Flower Meadow 🌼✨
In Smudgekins' fairy tales, our ordinary countryside meadow becomes a place where almost anything can happen!
Hidden amongst the long grasses, Smudgekins has encountered the mysterious Seven Gold-Hunting Dwarfs, discovered Prince Snowy, a young stag hiding in the hedgerow, and visited her buzzing friends Buzz and Queenie, whose beehive sits high in an old elm tree at the far end of the meadow.
And when harvest time arrives, things become wonderfully chaotic!
Vladimir the bull pulls the old hay cart while the Ogre loads the bales, Trevor the goat takes his responsibilities as official hay taster very seriously, and Stevo the pig insists on testing every bale for sleeping comfort. All part of the preparations for the magnificent Harvest Extravaganza!
But the meadow's adventures don't stop when summer ends.
In Can Smudgekins Save Christmas, the snowy hillside becomes the perfect sledging slope. Smudgekins even takes to the air after hitting a rather unexpected bump on Farmer Tom's old sleigh!
And that particular adventure has a little truth behind it, because we've enjoyed sledging down the very same field with the real Wolfpack.
Real countryside, real memories and a little bit of fairy-tale magic. ❤️
The Real Pine Forest 🌲
At the top of the Wolfpack's countryside home lies a vast pine forest, stretching across the hillside and forming part of the neighbouring national park.
A little stile at the edge of our land leads us into a completely different world, where towering pine trees reach towards the sky, sunlight filters through the branches and woodland paths disappear between the trees.
It's a place we've explored with the Wolfpack on countless walks, and one that has inspired the mysterious Pine Forest in our Smudgekins fairy tales.
In the real world, it's a beautiful woodland full of natural wonder. But in Smudgekins' imagination, who knows what might be waiting amongst those towering trees?
The Magical Pine Forest 🌲✨
Beyond the familiar woodland paths, the Pine Forest becomes a place of extraordinary adventures for little Smudgekins.
She's flown high above its treetops on the back of a giant bee, ventured deep into the forest to rescue the Bee Queen's stolen crown from a gang of wasps, and discovered mysterious treasure chests hidden amongst the trees.
But perhaps her greatest discovery wasn't treasure at all.
It was Grizz.
Grizz is a great grizzly bear who Smudgekins discovered trapped by a hunter. With a little courage and determination, she managed to free him, beginning a wonderful friendship that would see the unlikely pair share many more adventures together.
The Pine Forest is also the gateway to the Great Mountains, where even more mysteries and magical encounters await.
For Smudgekins, it's a place where a simple walk amongst the trees can become the beginning of something extraordinary.
And you never quite know who, or what, might be waiting around the next bend!
The Real Great Field 🌿
High above the surrounding countryside lies the Great Field, an enormous stretch of open pasture with breathtaking views stretching towards the horizon in every direction.
With the towering Pine Forest forming a magnificent backdrop, it's one of the Wolfpack's favourite places to explore.
The short, green grass is perfect for stretching little legs, and the dogs absolutely love it. One moment they're trotting happily beside us, and the next they're racing across the hillside, becoming tiny specks in the distance.
There's something wonderful about standing in the middle of such a vast open space, watching the Wolfpack enjoying the freedom of the countryside.
It's a place we return to again and again, and one that has found its way into many of Smudgekins' magical adventures.
The Magical Great Field 🌿✨
In Smudgekins' magical world, the Great Field stretches across the hillside, providing a wonderful open playground for adventures and a familiar route towards the mysterious Pine Forest.
It's often home to a flock of sheep, although life in the Great Field isn't always quite as peaceful as it looks!
One particularly memorable adventure began when a group of troublesome campers settled in Sycamore Wood, leaving litter everywhere and lighting a dangerous fire dangerously close to Petal the fairy's home.
Smudgekins and her friends decided something had to be done.
With a little help from the Ogre, the campers received the fright of their lives and fled over the fence into the Great Field, where Vladimir was waiting!
What followed was a rather spectacular chase across the hillside, complete with one unfortunate camper whose trousers were still smoking after a tumble into the fire!
Needless to say, the campers didn't hang around.
And peace returned to Sycamore Wood, thanks to Smudgekins and her rather extraordinary friends.
Just another day in the magical world of the Wolfpack!
The Real Sycamore Woods 🌳
There are some places in the countryside where the real world feels just one blink away from becoming a fairy tale.
Sycamore Woods is one of them.
Ancient, twisted sycamore trees stretch their enormous branches overhead, while a little stream winds its way through the woodland below. In spring, the woodland floor becomes a beautiful carpet of bluebells, and shafts of golden sunlight filter through the leaves.
It's a place the Wolfpack explores almost every day, following little paths through the trees, sniffing out new discoveries and racing through the woodland.
There's something wonderfully magical about these old woods. The twisting branches, the dappled sunlight and the quiet little stream make it easy to imagine fairies hiding amongst the roots and extraordinary creatures waiting just beyond the next tree.
And perhaps that's why Sycamore Woods has become such an important part of Smudgekins' adventures.
Because sometimes, the distance between the real world and a fairy tale is no more than a little imagination.
The Magical Sycamore Woods 🌳✨
In Smudgekins' magical world, Sycamore Woods is much more than a collection of ancient trees. It's a mysterious passageway connecting Lilypad Lake with the Great Field and the adventures beyond.
Deep amongst the twisting branches, a little stream flows beneath an old bridge. And underneath that bridge lives the Ogre!
Despite his rather fearsome appearance, the Ogre is a friend of Smudgekins, who often travels through the woodland to visit him. He has a very important job, guarding the magical world against unwelcome intruders arriving across the Great Field.
But the Ogre isn't the only woodland resident.
Hidden amongst the trees is a little cottage belonging to a family of badgers. In Mumbles the Pup Detective, the cottage becomes the setting for a wonderfully cosy gathering, with everyone somehow squeezing into one enormous feather bed!
For Smudgekins and her friends, Sycamore Woods is often somewhere to pass through on the way to another adventure.
But with an Ogre beneath the bridge, badgers tucked away in their cottage and ancient trees stretching overhead, even an ordinary woodland walk can feel like stepping into a fairy tale.
The Real Rickety Rackety Bridge 🌉
It wobbles. It rocks. It wibbles.
And that is exactly how Rickety Rackety Bridge got its name!
Hidden amongst the trees, this rather suspicious little bridge is made from metal and timber planks, stretching across the water between two of the Wolfpack's favourite woodland walks.
Some of the dogs, like Peggy and Petra, trot happily across without a second thought.
Others aren't quite so convinced!
The bridge moves beneath their paws, the planks rattle, and the water below looks terribly cold. For the more cautious members of the Wolfpack, crossing Rickety Rackety Bridge requires a little extra courage.
It's become such a familiar part of our countryside adventures that it was only natural for the bridge to find its way into Smudgekins' fairy tales.
Although in the books, there's one rather important difference.
Rickety Rackety Bridge is made entirely of wood, and crossing it is all part of the adventure!
The Magical Rickety Rackety Bridge 🌉✨
Every great adventure has to begin somewhere.
And for Smudgekins and her friends, it often begins at Rickety Rackety Bridge!
Hidden amongst the trees near Lilypad Lake, this wonderfully wobbly old wooden bridge leads across the water towards the mysterious Sycamore Woods.
Its planks creak and clatter beneath little paws, and the whole bridge seems to have a mind of its own!
But Smudgekins knows that on the other side, a world of adventure awaits.
Sometimes she crosses alone, her goggles perched on her head and her trusty satchel at her side. Other times, her friends follow behind, clip-clopping and clattering across the wooden boards.
Nobody knows quite what they'll discover along the way.
Because in Smudgekins' magical world, crossing Rickety Rackety Bridge is often the very first step into another extraordinary tale.
The Real Giant Mountains 🏔️
Beyond the Pine Forest, rising against the distant horizon, lie the beautiful rolling hills that inspired the Giant Mountains in Smudgekins' fairy tales.
They form a magnificent backdrop to the countryside, stretching away into the distance beneath enormous, ever-changing skies.
At certain times of the year, snow settles across their summits, transforming the green hills into a magical winter landscape.
The Wolfpack has even ventured up these mountains, exploring the hills that usually seem so far away on our daily countryside walks.
But there's something particularly special about seeing them from a distance, rising beyond the treetops of the Pine Forest.
They have always felt like somewhere extraordinary might be waiting.
And in Smudgekins' imagination, that's exactly what they became.
A distant land of giants, hidden caves and extraordinary adventures.
The Magical Giant Mountains 🏔️✨
Far beyond the Pine Forest, where the hills rise towards the clouds, lie the Giant Mountains.
In Smudgekins' magical world, these distant peaks are home to enormous giants, mysterious caves and extraordinary adventures.
In Princess Smudgekins and the Enchanted Maze, Smudgekins ventures into the mountains, where she encounters GanGan and his brother Loudam Talltrees on a quest involving a stolen magical map and an enchanted maze.
But the Giant Mountains have also played a rather unexpected part in saving Christmas!
When Father Christmas and his sleigh find themselves heading dangerously towards the snowy peaks, it looks as though Christmas might be over before it's even begun.
Fortunately, Steveo the pig has a rather unusual talent that might just save the day!
From enchanted mazes to Christmas Eve emergencies, the Giant Mountains are a place where anything can happen.
And to think, it all began with those beautiful hills rising beyond the real Pine Forest.
Smudgekins Fairytale Adventures - Series 1
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Smudgekins and the Missing Piece of the Moon
Shop on Amazon- A magical journey begins with Smudgekins’ first adventure
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Smudgekins and the case of the missing cock-a-doodle-doo
Shop on Amazon- Can Smudgekins solve a curious farmyard mystery when the cock-a-doodle-doo goes missing.
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Smudgekins Rodeo and the Goggles of Glory
Shop on Amazon- A wild rodeo adventure, can the Goggles of Glory save Smudgekins?
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Smudgekins and the Backwards Clock
Shop On Amazon- Time turns backwards, can Smudgekins set things right?
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Smudgekins and the Harvest Extravaganza
Shop On Amazon- A chaotic harvest adventure, can Smudgekins save the big day?
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Princess Smudgekins and the Enchanted Maze
Shop On Amazon- Lost in an enchanted maze, can Princess Smudgekins find the missing map?
