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

 

 

 

 

Autumn Woods public event

AUTUMN WOODS 

trees are palaces too! 

a day of tree ideas, planning adventures, creating stories, making and mess and laughter
Date: Saturday 4th October 
Venue: Serpentine Gardens, Burlington Rd, Buxton SK17 9AL 
Parking: Burlington Road or Pavilion Gardens 
What3words: lurching.instant.scrambles   
Times: 10.30 - 3.30 
This event is free: no booking or tickets needed
Materials are provided
You just bring the smiles, ideas and a helpful grown-up

change of venue notice

 

given the fearsome weather that is being predicted for this weekend, we're moving the Autumn Woods....but only about 100 metres or so!

 

We will be in action in the grounds of the Serpentine Community Garden with strong polytunnels for shelter from the stormcats and rainwolves!

 

Address: Serpentine Community Garden, Burlington Rd, Buxton, SK17 9AR

What3words: roofs.frog.nudge

 

Times 10:30 - 3:00

 

 Join us in the woods of the Serpentine Gardens, Buxton,  to enjoy the trees by the river. Find your own answers to the questions: 

who sits in a tree's throne room?

who guards a trees' treasures? 

who waits in the root-dungeons? 

who waves flags from the twig battlements? 

who dances in a branch's ballroom? 

Make your own Tree Palace Pop-up. 

Take home your own Bee and Bug Palace for your garden 

This is the third of four events Creeping Toad partners Stone and Water are doing as a series Celebrating Woodland with the aim of getting people recognising the richness and importance of the woodlands around us. Funded by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust's Community Grant Fund

mousehole: hidden in the Palace depths

Golden leaves and stories

 Gold Leaves and Fingerprints...

recent Creeping Toad adventures

in the rain in Corbar Woods: a damp and damper day that eventually drove us out of the woods and away from the last bluebells and the baby rabbits. But before the rain really hit, we heard about the Mystery of the Golden Leaf (spoiler: it was a cat on a scooter), and we met the fingerprint people who lives among the trees

footprints and other clues....

In Corbar Woods....

yesterday saw the second Leek Loves Books festival. More rain. But authors, talks, poets, the "What is Leek reading now" board (and the board itself made for very interesting reading....and round in the Toad corner I was telling stories and working with people to make puppets....and either making up stories to go with puppets or watching young people create their own puppet shows! The young people in these pictures all arrived together so i am hoping that the photos (sent in by a parent) are OK to use: if they aren't just let me know!

The Woods in Spring

The Woods in Spring

free public event

Tuesday 27th May

First flowers and new nests, bumblebees buzzing and beetles trundling: join the Stone and Water team (including Creeping Toad) in Corbar Woods, Buxton, (thank you, Buxton Civic Association!) to explore the excitements of spring

Make your own Spring Wildlife Book and set out into the woods or walk (wander?run? trundle?) up the hill to Corbar Cross, adding your own discoveries to your book as you go!

If you want to find out more about the plants and animals you see, try the Wildlife Trust's Wildlife Explorer

We'll be inviting you to make your own Spring Wildlife Books: if you can't join us on Tuesday, there are suggestions to help you make your own book, here

Where: Corbar Woods, Corbar Rd, Buxton, SK17 6RQ

Finding us: come into the woods at the Corbar Rd entrance and follow the flags up the hill

What3Words: honest.shelved.household....or very near there!

Nearest bus stop: #61 to Cavendish Hospital

• Free event: no booking or tickets required

• Materials provided

• Activity takes about 45 minutes to complete

• Please note: there are no toilet facilities in Corbar Woods!

This is the first of our Celebrating Woodlands events 

with the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust's Community Fund