High Peak Community Arts

Padfield Lanterns

photos and feedback from two excessively sticky days in Hadfield Hall this weekend. 70 people on Saturday and maybe 90 today (Sunday). Trying to work out a collective noun for lanterns: an adhesion of lanterns? a glue of lanterns? a spike? an accumulation?

These were lovely days and I can only thank both the Hadfield Hall helpers, High Peak Community Arts and all those well-glued members of the public with their good humour and patience as more and more people arrived and we gradually ran out of willow

Other comments come from participants…

Low-Padfield-199 — hard at work: sponging

Very helpful staff, as a Grandma I needed help which I got lots of. Alfie had a good time sticking! We will see you all on Friday

My children and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Gordon was very helpful and entertaining. Much fun was had by all of us. Would love to do it again

Brilliant! Very well organised and well run. Fab morning + can’t wait for Friday

Really brilliant

Low-Padfield-219 — hard at work: covering

Nice workshop, not rigid, so children could chose own designs which we liked.

Lovely idea, Beau really enjoyed it, looking forward to the parade and hope its on again next year when we can try something more ambitious when they are older

Low-Padfield-206 — stars were popular, even with rather grisly greetings!

Low-PAdfield-223 — evidence of hard work!

Low-Padfield-225 — lanterns stacked, stored and waiting for the final procession

Latest Toad-news and activities

Derbyshire Makes: Cabinet of Treasures, 2026

What makes a place special?

From the old trees of Manor Park to the waters of Shelf Brook; from the crashing river of Kinder Downfall to ghosts following the old paths of Doctor’s Gate, the Glossop area is full of treasures. Those treasures might be landscapes, or stories or histories or uncertainties (why is REDGATE in Little Padfield called Redgate?) but they might just as easily be the house where you live, the park where you play, your family, your friends, the neighbour who always helps.

We have been collecting Treasures: inviting people to add their own treasure: person, place, activity; animal, plant or story, to our Cabinet of Treasures. This has been a Derbyshire-based project but that principle of “treasures” being the things you value and the wonderfully potty doll’s house cabinet that has grown from the activites applies everywhere, anywhere….

Working through Derbyshire Makes with High Peak Community Arts, Creeping Toad has been running public events through April, inviting people to drop in, to think and make and talk and simply be creative!

As we gather these Treasures, we’re building them into tiny rooms with opening doors, into scenes a few centimetres long, into matchboxes.Most of these have gone home with their makers but we’ve been gathering some into a doll’s house of a Cabinet that will go on display in Glossop in May 2026 and become a digital gallery here at Creeping Toad.

as I add this page, work is still developing….to see what’s happened so far, go to: https://creepingtoad.blogspot.com/2026/03/filling-cabinet-of-treasures.html

The finished Cabinet will appear here shortly!

new books from Creeping Toad!

moments of wonder, moments of sorrow, tales from the darkness of caves and the depths of a freezing Arctic night and ideas, inspirations and challenges for exploring your own relationships with the animal kingdoms… go to the Books page

STORYTELLING IN 2024: new information, new workshops, new laughter and wild imaginations. Find out more HERE

Shadows and wonders

Shadow Puppets: visit the Out and About page for a new workshop for schools or public events playing with light, shade, colour and excitement…..there might be dragons, forests of enchanted trees rotating across a ceiling, flying birds, running wolves….