Midwinter is here and we are drawing to a close on our 45th anniversary year. Late autumn and early winter has been very wet and mild, but we take solace at the solstice, safe in the knowledge that the light will start to return.
This festive season has been extra special for us as we have been celebrating the darkest days of the year in beautiful West Sussex. The Brambly Hedge mice have been making an appearance at National Trust Petworth House as a part of their Christmas enchantment event. The lovely team at Petworth have been busy all autumn creating a wonderful display, filling the grand 17th century house with lights, trees, and little mice. The team have crafted a huge Brambly Hedge themed cutaway tree that features rooms inspired by The Secret Staircase and Winter Story. It was wonderful to see the joy and delight on children’s (and adults!) faces as they enter the room, and to hear stories reminiscing about the books.
Elsewhere in the house Mrs Apple can be found in the vast kitchens overseeing a table filled with a festive feast. Mr Apple has been helping out in the Stores arranging the jars of preserves and pickles. In a scene that could be straight from the Old Oak Palace… the Midwinter poem is on display at the entrance to the state dining room, a room full of exquisitely carved wood and paintings by the likes of JMW Turner and Van Dyke. In the corner of the North Gallery there is even a reading area featuring all of the Brambly Hedge books. A huge thank you to the whole team at Petworth House and the National Trust for making the start to the festive season so magical. The mice will be in residence until the 4th January 2026.
From West Sussex we head up to London for more festivities. We were delighted to see the most beautiful interpretation of the Ice Hall from Winter Story recreated in dried flowers by florist Millie Richardson as a part of Winter Flowers Week at the Garden Museum in Lambeth. It was joyous scene to behold!
If you have been counting down the days to the festivities this year, then we hope you managed to get hold of our first ever Advent Calendar! The main Calendar image features a scene from the Old Oak Palace, with little glimpses of Brambly Hedge festivities behind each door. These had sold out, but we managed to get hold of a few more just in time!
On this theme… The Secret Staircase has completely sold out in most stores! Sorry for any disappointment caused, another print run is being rushed through, but copies are not expected to arrive until late January 2026 at the earliest. We have a couple of copies left in our store (at the time of writing), but hurry if you want one!
We’ve had a wonderful reaction to the new A Visit Brambly Hedge. This behind the scenes, seasonal journey through the Brambly Hedge year has inspired many of you to get in contact and reminisce about Jill’s work, thank you for all your kind words!
It’s been a bumper year for the fruit harvest here in the UK, and also for our range of Brambly Hedge items. We have just launched our first insulated Water Bottle, perfect for keeping your tea hot on frosty winter walks and your elderflower ice cool at summer picnics. Keeping with the drinks theme, we also now have a new Travel Mug available so you can take your acorn coffee with you on your commute from Crabapple Cottage down to the Store Stump.
It’s been another wonderful year for getting out and about with the mice. The new Epping Forest Wooden Sculpture Trail officially opened in the autumn, it’s been wonderful to see all your photos from your searches for all 17 sculptures around the Forest.
Down in Dorset we had a Summer Story themed trail along the stream and down to the sea at Abbotsbury Swannery. And what a summer it was, many days of warm sunshine meant that lots of you visited and filled your activity book with stamps. More Trails are on the way next year!
As our 45th anniversary year comes to an end, we look ahead to 2026. We still have a few diaries available to keep you organised and calendars to keep your wall seasonal throughout the year.
Our diaries are starting to fill up very quickly already indeed, there’s plenty on the way from us in 2026, including new Board Books, a new Spring range of products, wall and window decorations, more news from Epping Forest, and the mice will be visiting another National Trust property! Keep an eye on this space and our socials for more news.
In the meantime, from us all, we wish you a warm and peaceful winter season.
Pete Barklem
Mid December, 2025
England