There's a new trend of elfin construction in Somerset, with people attaching tiny doors to trees so children can leave messages for fairies - and the authorities have had to put their foot down. Without, of course, harming the fairy folk. As the popularity of fairy doors has grown, there are now hundreds of doors attached to the bases of trees in Wayford Woods, Crewkerne - as well as tokens, gifts and notes, with trustee Steven Acreman saying: 'We've got little doors everywhere. We're not anti-fairies but it's in danger of getting out of control.'
The fact that a trustee has used the phrase 'we're not anti-fairies' just made our week. And not only have the doors been spreading through woodland - there are now sightings of urban fairy doors springing up across towns, villages and cities so children can pass notes to the fairy world. It's a practise that first started in the early millennium, as that's when Acreman first noticed a tiny door at the base of a tree. 'It had a little turned handle and inside was a bed. We didn't know who had done it but we left it there,' he told the press. 'But then another door appeared and now it's gathered momentum. We've had as many as 10 doors put up on a single tree; they surrounded the tree. We had a complete fairy fairground arrive, but we rejected that planning proposal.'
Why would you reject a fairy playground? Good lord, that sounds like the best thing ever. Although, to be fair, some of the fairy tokens do sound like they'd be getting in the way of what was intended to be a stretch of natural woodland. Tinsel and glitter have moved in now, and while Acreman is not against fairy tokens, he told press that it's important to keep an eye on it in case it gets out of control: 'It's a very complex situation and nobody's admitting that they're evicting the fairies,' he said 'It's just that fairy control is required otherwise we'd be covered in fairy doors. We put a lot of time into the conservation of the woods. We're trying to keep people to the paths but the fairy doors are making it a free-for-all.'
Understandable, but also absolutely adorable. And it makes us want to make a fairy door immediately, which probably wasn't the trustee's intention.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.