Fairy door

A Fairy door is a small door, usually installed in the house set into the base of a tree, for the purpose of entertaining children with fairy tales and fairy-related activities and games. Fairy doors are usually to be found in woods and parks in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Behind the fairy door there may be small space which can be filled with notes, wishes and gifts for the fairies.

In some woods there are a large number of such doors; in one, Wayford Woods in Crewkerne, Somerset, over two hundred fairy doors have been fitted, including ten on one tree, a situation described as "in danger of getting out of control."[1]

While fairy doors can be home made, there are companies that manufacture and sell them.

Outdoor fairy doors were called environmental art by one journalist, who also noted the potential for encouraging increased use of woodlands by children.[2]


See also

References

  1. ↑ at BBC News (retrieved 4 March 2015)
  2. ↑ Maitland, S. "Don’t do away with the fairies: we need to relearn our sense of the magical."" in The Guardian, 3 March 2015 (retrieved 4 March 2015)