2025 marks the 45th anniversary of Brambly Hedge. The first four books, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter Story all published in September 1980. After a feature article in the Sunday Times, the books had to be reprinted due to demand and the phone rang off the hook with enquiries. Here in the middle of the second decade of the twenty first century, it seems you are all still quite keen on the little community of hedgerow mice!
Let’s take it right back to the beginning, to the late 1970s to be more precise. Jill Barklem, author of the Brambly Hedge books, lived on the edge of Epping Forest, located just to the north east of London. She would often head off into the forest to draw and photograph trees, something she had always done, but this time it was for a new project, a project that would become the Brambly Hedge books.
This year the mice are returning to Epping Forest! In Summer 2025 a new Brambly Hedge Sculpture Trail will open in Epping Forest. The first figurines arrived in a very muddy Epping Forest and were installed in February, just in time for the Duke of Gloucester’s visit to Epping Forest to celebrate his 50th anniversary as Ranger of the Forest. There are seventeen figurines in total to find when the Trail opens this summer. The Trail will start at the Epping Forest Visitor Centre in Chingford and head up the newly created Gloucester Ride, and round the lake at Connaught Water. We would like to thank everyone who helped make the Brambly Hedge Trail possible, including the City of London Corporation and Rural England Prosperity Funding via Epping Forest District Council. Watch this space for more news on the Epping Forest Trail.
Keeping with Trails… we had a wonderful response from many of you who visited our Sea Story Trail at Abbotsbury Swannery in 2024. In 2025 a new trail is heading back to the Dorset coast at Abbotsbury. This year’s Trail will be based around Summer Story. Follow Dusty and Poppy as they prepare for their wedding day and set afloat on their wedding raft downstream to party the afternoon away. The Trail includes a new Brambly Hedge booklet with stamp points, questions to answer and fun facts. Activities and surprises can be found around the site, and make sure you don’t miss the swan feeds! The Trail is open daily from March 15thall the way through to mid-November. Head over to the Abbotsbury Swannery page for more details.
It’s not just the Trails launching this spring… following on from the Festive Colouring Book, which featured illustrations from Autumn Story, The High Hills, Winter Story, and The Secret Staircase, we have just launched the new Nature Colouring Book! This colouring book features illustrations from Spring Story, Poppy’s Babies,Summer Story and Sea Story. It’s filled with quotations, detailed vignettes, full-page illustrations and double-page spreads. Many of your favourite illustrations are ready to add your own artistic flair, including the cross-section of Crabapple Cottage, Wilfred’s Spring Picnic, and the Sunset in the Meadow scene from Summer Story. The Nature Colouring Book is available now in the UK and will launch in the USA on the 29th of April.
There’s been a lot of new products launching this spring, so many that it’s been difficult to keep up… so here we go!
We have our first set of Playing Cards, 52 cards presented in a beautifully sturdy box, and featuring the Blackberry Picking illustration on the reverse of each card, even the ace card features Primrose and Lord Woodmouse!
The same Blackberry Picking illustration from Autumn Story can also be found on our new drinks Coaster Set. The set includes four coasters with cork backing, perfect for brightening up your desk or coffee table. And if that’s not enough of the blackberry picking illustration for you, there is also a new set of Notecards with the same image. In addition, there is a new Notecard and Envelope Themed Box Set featuring four illustrations from Spring Story and Summer Story.
A whole run of new Spring Picnic pattern gift wrap items have just landed! We have new Gift Bags in two different sizes, as well as Spring Picnic Tissue Paper for padding or wrapping. Some stores in the UK are now stocking our new three metre roll of wrapping paper. As ever, we still offer our gift wrapping service in our shop, so if you want your items wrapped with a handwritten card included, just tick the box on the page.
Given that picnic season is fast approaching, we thought you might want a few items for your next outing… Napkins are finally here! We have had a lot of very excited enquiries about these. The pack features twenty 33x33cm paper napkins, perfect for the table or for your alfresco eating.
So you’ll be needing a drink with your picnic… we have a new range of Enamel Mugs for that; and there is one for each season to collect. These mugs are perfect for throwing in a bag and heading outdoors, and because they’re enamel, they shouldn’t break in the process! In addition to the seasonal range we also have Wilfred’s Book Mug, featuring him reading his favourite book, and we have two new mugs from Poppy’s Babies, the New Baby Mug, and the New Mum Mug.
“What about the washing up?” I hear you ask… we have new Brambly Hedge Tea Towels! One for each season, and they are lovely. More tea towel designs are on the way, so keep an eye on the socials.
Many of you have commented about how much you are enjoying our Cobble Hill 1000 piece seasonal collage puzzles, but we have also had requests for a 500 piece puzzle, and we now have two available! We have the pink Picnic Preparations Puzzle featuring the cake making kitchen scene from Spring Story. We will also soon be launching the ‘All Aboard’ puzzle, which features the cross-section of the Periwinkle boat from Sea Story.
There’s quite a lot more on the way later in spring, so stay tuned for further updates.
That’s quite enough product information for this blog! I’m off for a cup of tea outside with my new Spring Story mug.
Have a wonderful spring!
Pete Barklem
Mid March 2025
England