The Exford Storywalk The Green Thief

In mid May last month I joined the Exmoor Community Youth Club to create a storywalk trail in the stunning Exmoor village of Exford, it was the first of two days and we were blessed with fabulous weather. The first thing to do was walk the trail, (which I had already planned) and I knew a special spot where I thought might be good to stop and tell my tale The Green Thief.

So first off the green and along the lane on the raised footpath, a little gem which is unique to Exford and was a picture of stunning wild flowers.

A little time keeping, to keep us all punctual!

Off the road and over the fields we crossed the river Exe by a very bouncy bridge, (children do love to bounce!) Then into a sun dappled glade for a some traditional storytelling amidst the bluebells, what a location. At this spot a tree had conveniently fallen with enough seating for all, an ideal spot to tell my tale The Green Thief, about the good people of Exford and how they dealt with the cunning Jack Frost.

A theatre of water and bluebells

Part of the storywalk journey is getting to know the canvas, and then taking inspiration from these locations. It is often through the place's props, hollow trees or bridges, and wondering what story interventions you can make in these places. These can often inform and change the story and make it unique to that location alone.

We decided that this old ice house, which many in the party had not noticed before, was where the Green Thief might reside, this fitted with the story really well, but meant that other features of the tale needed to shift around. It's always fun playing with plots, as little interventions can often have huge effects on the direction of a story.

Or perhaps is it where he hid the Badgers Stole which glowed with the wild fire of the sun?

An image for the walk perhaps?

This coming Saturday is the second and final day with the brilliant Exmoor Community Youth Club, and we shall be pulling this story apart, and using my automatic story creating 'shells-tells-tales' books to add new parts, or at the very least have some darn good story telling creative fun with!

Writing and mapping the story and journey together.

We'll then tag and geolocate the finished tale as best we can along the trail, and I will tidy the final piece up at a later date ready for all to see this summer.

See you on Saturday, and I would like to thank the Exmoor Society for making this project possible.