Visit England’s Fairy Sanctuary in York

Embrace the magic at Northwood Trail, England’s Fairy Sanctuary. This delightful woodland attraction is proud of not being a “proper” visitor attraction; they don’t have acres of brightly colored plastic and they are not intent on “distracting and entertaining” children. Rather, their hundred-acre wood is about fostering a connection to nature – at its most beautiful and magical. They are a unique fairy sanctuary, the first of its kind, and they merely present the forgotten history of Northwood and display the fairy artifacts and treasures they have found over the years – for young and old alike to enjoy.

What’s the stand out feature of the Fairy Sanctuary?

Make sure you don’t miss the fairy museum! There they display their large collection of both found and recreated artefacts. The centre pieces are the extraordinary fairy and elven costumes. Over the last eleven years they have gathered many artefacts, painstakingly recreated costumes from found fragments, as well as undertaken delicate preservation work on the best preserved pieces. The collection is large, possibly the largest in the world, so expect regular exhibitions of previously unseen artefacts.

England’s fairy sanctuary was first talked about when an astonishing discovery was made in the hundred acre wood in 2008, after work began on the Jollydays glamping site. Fragments of Fairy and Elven relics were discovered together with a large body of research from the Victorian era. Professor Harvey John Howland was an eminent fairy collector, researcher, and fellow of the New Society of Arcane Natural history, a little known society based at Northwood and connected to both the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood and the New England Transcendentalists. The professor also corresponded with both the illustrator Arthur Rackham and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, both of whom are believed to have visited Northwood. Uniquely for a visitor attraction they are off grid and generate their own electricity using a solar array and batteries. Northwood is the perfect place for the most magical and memorable party ever! It’s a simple mix – you bring the children, and they add the food & the fun (and you never know, perhaps some of our fairy friends might be looking on!) They also have a simple natural playground to encourage creativity and cooperative play – think sand pit and mud kitchen rather than a full on “adventure playground”!

 

  • Adult £8.90
  • Child (under 16) £6.90
  • Family Ticket – £27.50
  • Under 2s – FREE!
  • Open all year round. Tickets must be bought online in advance.

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