Spring storytelling 2026

pop-up landscape

Spring stories, 2026

Stories in school and other excitements
with Creeping Toad,

celebrating the richness of the changing year with story-telling, puppet-making, story-building, pop-up landscapes and boxes of treasures. Outdoors or indoors, the natural world will give us stories and offer inspiration for child-led creativity!

Here are stories from the edge of summer, of new life and growth, of the green under old trees and the thrills of cold water in a mountain glen. and activities to enchant and inspire.

Gordon MacLellan – Creeping Toad –is back in northern Scotland in 2026. (Generally working around Inverness, reaching east to Forres and Elgin, west towards Ullapool, south to Strathdearn and north of Dornoch

Putting together a set of new stories and some new activities (with a few old favourites), Gordon will be in Scotland in May and again in the autumn.

Dates: 13 - 27th May 2026

24 -28th August 2026

For a sense of what else is going in Toadworld, take a look at this blog or visit the Toad Instagram 

Mammoths in Buxton snow!

Drawing on 30 years of professional experience, Gordon’s work blends environmental experience with creativity. “Much of my work uses storytelling and story making but I also make small masks, giant masks, flags, lanterns, pop-up landscapes and create wild and wonderful occasions. We might work outdoors and take ideas from the world around us and our discoveries there. Indoors, herds of model mammoths combine with boxes of treasures to give children material to work from”



A day’s visit to your school might include: 

storytelling performances: lasting up to 60 minutes for up to 90 children at a time

a storybox

story boxes! outdoors or in, we'll use leaves and pine cones, twigs and stones and shells to inspire words, create poems and shape a set of stories never told before and finish with each child's new story built into a box of wonders.(allow 60 minutes for a class session)

pop-up storyscapes: allow an hour for a class: gathering ideas, images and words we’ll make quick 3-d landscapes holding the essence of a story in a setting, key characters and the words that set the adventure running depending upon age and theme we might make pop-up landscapes, storytowers or even foldedrivers that can run across a classroomfloor!

pop-up landscape

story characters: using found objects to inspire descriptions, we'll create a set of dramatic new characters and draw them or write them or make them as puppets



outdoor stories:(good for younger groups) ] starting with a traditional story we can head out into school grounds find the twigs, stones, feathers. leaves, grass, whatever, that will help us extend and complete the tale



simply treasure: picking up those boxes again; this time we could simply look at the world around us as a world where everything is precious and anything can be treasure: we'll forage, collect, map and maybe add a treasure-hunter or two

we can always spend time unpacking treasures!

Orchards and apples: we could pick up on the promise of richness with some orchard stories, tales of bilberries and brambles, unpredictable apple puppets (fake apples!), treasures hidden and jams made; who knows what stories wait among the fruit trees?

From across lands and times: I can select stories to suit times and places: so we have had days of Native American stories, or Egyptian or Greek or Roman, there have been Chinese tales and African animal stories….lots of exciting resources to draw on here, to make new writing vibrant and lively. Castles are popular, too, with boxes of treasures to inspire a new adventure and release a bold princess or courageous dragon

storytower

tales of old Scotland: a collection of stories of Highland folklore and Scottish histories, of heroes and sorrows, bravery and the magics of sea, mountain and moor. These can be steered in various directions and we might listen to stories from Viking days or medieval and Stuart stories and even add some Scottish explorers and their adventures and disasters…we can even build our own tiny castles, towerhouses and longships!

your own themes and ideas: or are you exploring a particular theme that you would like to involve some stories in? In recent projects, we have also made talking stone puppets, a giant eagle to hang from a classroom ceiling, prehistoric rockpools, a swarm of shadow dragons, pop-up castles

Charges: usually £280 a day. Fee includes storyteller’s fee, travel and materials. Can be paid on the day or I can invoice you. If I need to do a long journey for a single visit, I may have to charge more

a river pop-up unfolding into sunshine

Activities can be adapted to suit groups from P1 through to Secondary

For further information: visit the Creeping Toad website at

http://creepingtoad.blogspot.co.uk/

To book: contact Gordon directly at

creepingtoad@btinternet.com

or by telephone: mobile: 07791 096857

A Cabinet of Treasures

A Cabinet of Treasures

what makes Glossop special?

we might
look at carvings

From the old trees of Manor Park to the waters of Shelf Brook; from the crashing river of Kinder Downfall to ghosts following the old paths of Doctor's Gate, the Glossop area is full of treasures. Those treasures might be landscapes, or stories or histories or uncertainties (why is REDGATE in Little Padfield called Redgate?) but they might just as easily be the house where you live, the park where you play, your family, your friends, the neighbour who always helps.

We are collecting Treasures. Inviting people to add their own treasure: person, place, activity; animal, plant or story, to our Cabinet of Treasures.

Working through Derbyshire Makes with High Peak Community Arts, Creeping Toad will be running public events through April, inviting people to drop in, to think and make and talk and simply be creative!

Last year, we collected the Lost Stories of Glossop. This year we'll go for an even more personal response to the question "what makes Glossop (and the surrounding area!) special?" As we gather these Treasures, we'll build them into a doll's house of a Cabinet that will go on display in Glossop in May 2026 and become a digital gallery here at Creeping Toad.

we might make a tiny woodland

Mixing new drawings with old photographs, collage with cutting and colouring and sketching, we'll be making tiny scenes to display, to hang: to hold a treasure. We can work with anything from the Royal Forest of the Peaks to last year's Christmas present, from mysterious folklore to an over-exciting shopping list....

Events planned so far:

• All events are free: no tickets or booking needed
• Allow about 45 minutes for the activities
• Materials are provided
• If you are under 12, please bring a grown-up with you

Kinder Downfall
(with visitors)

Tuesday 31st March: Glossop Library, Talbot St, Glossop, 

SK13 7DG
10:30 - 15:00

Wednesday 1st April: Gamesley Library, Grindleford Grove, Gamesley, Glossop,SK13 6HW
14:00- 16:00

Thursday 9th April: Hadfield Library, Station Rd, Hadfield, SK13 1AA
14:00 - 16:00

Saturday 11th April: Manor Park, Manor Park Rd, Glossop SK13 7SH (Corn Street Car Park is probably easiest if travelling by car). Find us on the lawns by the cafe.

Saturday 9th May: Derbyshire Makes Festival at Glossop: look out for the Creeping Toad team and the Cabinet of Treasures: find us to add your own treasure to the Cabinet, listen to stories and meet the Babbling Vagabonds!

Creeping Toad are delighted to have been awarded a Derbyshire Makes Creative and Community Grant by Derbyshire County Council to support the creative work we are doing in the county. Derbyshire Makes is a three-year programme to celebrate the past present and future of making in Derbyshire.   

See: www.derbyshiremake.so.uk 

Lighting the Woods: what's on!

 

LIGHTING THE WOODS

the events list!

what's on:
talk, make, laugh, smile
be inspired!

Take time to pause,

To breathe, to walk, to wander,

To enjoy the woods of Buxton.

Step out in the darkest time of the year into an evening of wonder and remember summer flowers, butterflies, autumn toadstools and appreciate the winter cold

On Saturday February 21st 2026, Stone and Water invite you to take a walk through Grinlow Woods…tiny lanterns will flicker among tree roots, giant tree people will watch from the shadows, leaf-lanterns and shimmering birds will fill the branches. Join us for an evening of wonders

Put together in partnership with Buxton Civic Association, the Babbling Vagabonds and Creeping Toad, Lighting the Woods will celebrate the woods of Buxton. The underlying theme is just that: "local woods: their wildlife and wonder"

Events

All events are free: no booking or tickets needed: just drop by and join in!

January:
Tuesday 20th: sharing ideas: an open invitation for anyone who might like to get involved to come along and share ideas, offer skills, characters or just enthusiasm! We'll be at the Cheshire Cheese, 37 - 39 High St, Buxton, SK17 6HA...drop in and have a chat!

Sunday 25th: Woodland Windows and Wild Birds, Buxton Country Park, Temple Road, Buxton, SK17 9DH. Take the woodland home as a wonderful image in a picture frame. Coinciding with RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch, we'll be encouraging people to have a go here at the Cavern about then to take information away to do a Birdwatch survey of their own at home
Parking: at the Visitor Centre - charges apply
Bus stops: Community School/Green Lane


February:

Sunday 8th: Garden Lights, Serpentine Community Garden, off Burlington Rd, Buxton, SK17 9DR10:00 - 13:00. Inspired by the flowers and seed heads, the leaves and stalks and wildlife of the Gardens, we'll make tiny bottle lanterns. Make one to take home and leave us one for Lighting the Woods

Please bring a clean plastic bottle with you if possible (500ml- 2l all work!)
Parking: at the Pavilion Gardens Car Park (charges apply) or on Burlington Road.
Bus stops: Pavilion Gardens or West Road)

Sunday 15th: Bottle Lanterns at Buxton Country Park, Temple Road, Buxton, SK17 9DH,10:30- 15:00 The patterns of winter trees, leaf skeletons and the shapes of hibernating animals could all appear in these beautiful lanterns. Make one to take home and leave us one for Lighting the Woods

Please bring a clean plastic bottle with you if possible (500ml- 2l all work!)
Parking: at the Visitor Centre - charges apply
Bus stops: Community School/Green Lane

Tuesday 17th Unexpected Animals!: Buxton Library, Kents Bank Road Buxton, SK17 9HW: 10:30- 15:00, Woodland wildlife: making bugs and beasties: we'll use card and shiny scrap to make a collection of wonderful creatures for our Lighting the Woods event. Make one for us to keep and one for yourself to look after at home!

Parking: at library
Bus stops: Cote Heath Park on Heath Park Road

Thursday 19th: Where we live is...CREATIVE, Assembly Rooms, The Crescent, Buxton, SK17 6BU.Join our woodland team at this lively event by the Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust: we'll be drawing, cutting, sticking and probably making a lovely mess!

Times: 10:30-12:30 & 2-4pm
Parking: town centre car park
Bus stops: Terrace Road

Saturday 21st: Lighting the Woods: Buxton Country Park, Temple Road, Buxton, SK17 9DH and at last we fill the woods with lights and tiny creatures and strange characters. Come and take an late afternoon wander through the trees and meet the magical world of Grinlow Woods!

Parking: at the Visitor Centre - charges apply
Bus stops: Community School/Green Lane

WEATHER WARNING: we will try to go ahead unless our Buxton winter really hits hard! If you aren't sure: check the links below on 19th or20th of February

MORE INFORMATION:

Facebook: creeping toad or stoneandwater

Ig: creepingtoad or Limestone740

Blogs:

creepingtoad.blogspot.com

stoneandwaterblog.wordpress.com

Lighting the Woods

LIGHTING THE WOODS

Take time to pause,

To breathe, to walk, to wander, 

To enjoy the woods of Buxton.

Step out in the darkest time of the year into an evening of wonder and remember summer flowers, butterflies, autumn toadstools and appreciate the winter cold

 

On Saturday February 21^st 2026, we invite you to take a walk through Grinlow Woods…tiny lanterns will flicker among tree roots, giant tree people will watch from the shadows, leaf-lanterns and shimmering birds will fill the branches. Join us for an evening of wonders

 

Creeping Toad is joining forces with Stone and Water, the Babbling Vagabonds and Buxton Civic Association to create Lighting the Woods, a project that will celebrate the woods of Buxton. The underlying theme is just that: "local woods: their wildlife and wonder"

 

And it depends upon our town's creativity to make it happen! We need to people to help make tiny lanterns, create woodland windows that will fit together into curtains to hang, nimble fingers to make little glowing animals!

 

The plan

We're aiming to set up a short self-guided walk from the car park at Poole's Cavern on Saturday 21st February in a loop round the woods. The walk will be there for about 3 hours and there will be lanterns to glow over, poems to read,  small, strange characters to spot…big, strange characters to wave to!  

There will be public events in January and February where anyone can come along (dates and venues below) and make a lantern to add to the collection (and make another to take home!). 

 

Events

Public events are still finalising: hopefully a couple more will join this list

All events are free

 

January: 

Sunday 25th: at Poole's Cavern: Woodland windows and wild birds : free, drop-in public event: woodland inspired art. Coinciding with RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch, we'll be encouraging people to have a go here at the Cavern but then to take information away to do a Birdwatch survey of their own at home

Event link: https://fb.me/e/5swu3d7Qk

Times:10.30-3.00

Venue: Buxton Country Park, Temple Road, Buxton, SK17 9DH

Moreinformation about the Birdwatch: 

https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/big-garden-birdwatch

 

February: we’ll add details nearer the time:for now, get these dates in your diary!

Sunday 15th: Buxton Country Park: bottle lanterns: drawing on the patterns of winter trees, leaf skeletons and the shapes of hibernating animals 

17th Buxton Library: bugs and beasties: using shiny scrap and fluorescent card to give us some wildlife for the final event

19th: ss at the Crescent: we’re joining the BCHT for their “Where we live is…Creative’ event. Come along and make some woodland wonders! We’re going for bottle lanterns, shadow shapes, tree windows  and  general wildness 

21st: Lighting the Woods: final event: late afternoon wanderings in Grinlow Woods

 

 

 

 

Tree decorations!

 

Tree mobiles

 

hang your own woodland stories in your home
 ~ a quiet activity for a winter evening

 

 

you will need:

·      a piece of card - we worked on a piece of A5 (about 15 x 21cm)*

·      a pencil

·      coloured pencils or pens

·      some glue (PVA or glue stick glue)

·      scissors

·      a needle or small hole punch

·      some thread or thin string

 

(* you don't need art card: you could do this with a cereal packet or draw on paper and then stick onto cereal packet card when you are ready to cut out) 

This is a blog first published on the site of Toadfriends and colleagues Stone and Water, reblogging here so that it can reach a different set of visitors!

It is associated with the SnW Celebrating Woodlands project

 

Think about: a tree you know (or would like to know!) Maybe consider the tree's life cycle of bud, leaf, fruit and animals...or treehouses and swings… or hanging by your toes in your very own circus tree....

 

In our pictures here we've used pen to make lines show up: if you did this in pencil you could rub the guidelines out afterwards!

 

1. Draw 2 upside down 'T' shapes. these need to be about the same size. A smaller 'T" could fit in between them. These will help keep drawings 1 and 2 about the same size

Step 1, guidelines

Step 2, drawing trees

Step3, colouring trees!

 

2. Draw 3 stages of your tree:1 and 2 need to be about the same size while 3 is OK to be smaller (you have more card? make 3 the same size as the others!)

 

3. Colour in!

 

4. Cut out: don't cut right up to your lines, give yourself some room around your drawings. Then fold drawings 1 and 2 in half along the long line of that first T

 

5. Glue 1 and 2 together on one half of the back of your drawing so they make a Y shape. Then glue 3 into the blank side of this shape. Carefully trim away extra card to show up the shape of your drawing

Step 5: trim

 

6. If you have drawn circles like we did, use these (if they have matched up! they often don't) as a guide to punch a hole. or just make a hole toward the top of your tree! Thread a string through. Add some finishing touches? Glitter? some sequin snowflakes? 

Fold and glue

 

Hang up your tree and enjoy!

There are more woodland events coming from Stone and Water and Creeping Toad in between January and March 2026: keep an eye on this page and on the Toad social media for more details!

Creeping Toad:

Facebook: Creeping Toad

Instagram: Creepingtoad

the Folk Union