Imagine a place where time seems to stop for a moment: a winding path through a woodland of birch, pine, and oak. A nature trail and a sanctuary for wildlife and the otherworldly.
Seamlessly blended into the trunks of hawthorns are tiny carved doorways made from natural materials, bark and straw. Tree houses are suspended in the air by little bridges and walkways, and the homes are meticulously decorated with miniature carpets, fireplaces, and candles. Beneath piles of branches and weeds, tiny chattering voices and crackling fires can be heard. It is home to fairies and a childlike dream, so reminiscent of the innocence and magic of times long past. It reminds me of dolls houses and the times when hazy afternoons drifted into night with creations of make-believe worlds.
In the boggy marshes covered in moss, wooden boats bob afloat and the voices of the guardians of the water echo gently. Simmering light reflects from the midday sun, and a sign tells the legends of mermaids for those who care to read.
There are bridges to cross inhabited by giants, and trees that tell of a time before maps, when legend suggested lost wanderers would seek guidance. The trees would lift their roots and create winding paths for those who walked with care and respect. There are trees with transparent eyeballs that see everything, and trees that talk to one another. A scientific explanation of how trees really “talk” to each other can also be found at this attraction. There is a court made from tree stumps depicting how law and order is maintained in the natural world, alongside tales of tooth fairies and a kissing curse.
Dreamery Gardens near York is a nature attraction and wild woodland, relatively unmaintained in its natural form, where each myth seamlessly blends into the world surrounding it. The real and the imagined live together. Following the trail is a museum containing an eclectic mix of intricate archaeological artefacts. From unicorns to the remains of fairy bones, and the science behind the natural world, the museum blurs the lines between folklore and history and leaves me questioning what is real and what is imagined.
The museum is based on the works of Professor Howland and was the site of the Northwood Society in 1839. The Northwood Society had connections with New England Transcendentalists—a group of free thinkers led by the prominent poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson.
In Emerson’s Nature (1839), he captures the beauty of the imagined and explores the conduit between nature and spirit:
How does nature defy us with few and cheap thrills—the long slender bars of clouds like fish in the sea. Give me health and a day and I will make the pomp of emperors ridiculous. The dawn is my Assyria; the sunset and moonrise my Paphos. Unimaginable realms of faerie; broad noon shall be my England of the senses, and the night shall be my Germany of mystic philosophy and dreams.
He did claim, however, that these apparitions happen spontaneously, and that if they are deliberately sought, they will be gone. Maybe that is why, this time, unfortunately I didn’t actually see any of the little beings living in the forest—because I was looking for them.
Whilst the attraction might mostly appeal to children, we do need the heart and eyes of a child sometimes to see nature for what it truly is. Emerson explains that, unlike children, few adults truly see nature. He professes that to experience nature fully, the spirit of infancy needs to be present:
“The sun illuminates only the eye of man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child.”
With the artistic nature of the displays, combined with my own imagination, it was impossible not to be captivated. Perhaps, then, this is the key: to look at nature with a childlike sense of wonder and blur the lines between the real and the imagined. Which can then be followed by a very real, hearty lunch in the cosy on-site café to finish the day.
