Travelling Monsters

Monsters seek humans for fun and adentures. www.travellingmonsters.com

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Festival made a flying visit to Cornwall to help with a furniture delivery. He still made time to catch up with some friends there. It’s good to connect with your tribe!

It took Festival a little while to get over his motion sickness.

He soon recovered, in time to help out with the navigation.

Time to relax with friends before the journey back.

Festival makes a flying visit to Cornwall and connects with some fluffy friends. Festival made a flying visit to Cornwall to help with a furniture delivery. He still made time to catch up with some friends there. It's good to connect with your tribe!

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Zola’s own travelling monster, Horatio Bobbles, went with her to the RHS Malvern Spring Festival. They especially wanted to see the amazing knitted Work of Heart garden, and were lucky enough to meet the garden’s creator, the lovely Clare Young. Mr. Bobbles was happy to see other lots of other knitted and crocheted creatures out in the wild!

Mr. Bobbles loved Chica‘s woolly double. He was a bit too shy to get close, though.

Another view of the woolly garden.

A close up of some of the knitted flowers.

A knitted bee buzzing in the blooms.

A friendly knitted gnome keeping watch over one of the trees hung with memorial hearts.

More knitted gnomes join the party. (Pattern by Alan Dart).

More memorial hearts.

Another view of the avenue of trees with memorial hearts.

Mr. Bobbles spotted this beady-eyed woodpecker perched in a heart tree. (He was crocheted by John Pickles.)

Another cute little bee.

The lovely Clare Young posing with Mr. Bobbles. She looks a little worried as Zola was pulling faces to try and maker her laugh.

If you’d like to see more pics of the festival, head on over to Zola’s personal blog.

Thank you, Clare for posing with Mr. Bobbles. Your garden brought smiles to so many people who saw it. Zola, Mr. Bobbles and all at Monster HQ wish you much success with your future fundraising and woolly adventures!

Zola and Mr. Bobbles go to the RHS Spring Festival to see the amazing woolly Work of Heart garden. Zola's own travelling monster, Horatio Bobbles, went with her to the RHS Malvern Spring Festival…

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Hey monster friends, meet Stinger! She’s the newest critter to join the crew of travellers. She may look a little fierce, but don’t worry, she’s just a ferocious defender of her friends.

Hi, I’m Stinger! I’ll defend you on your travels

Check me out! I’m quite a handful.

I may look like I’m taking it easy, but I’ll be on guard.

As you can see, I’ve got a sting in my tail.

Here’s my profile so you can admire my stripes.

I can gallop along on my hooves, but I’m also a surpisingly good dancer.

Even the Hellbeast gives me some respect.

Take me with you?

As soon as she is paired up with a human companion she will be off on her adventures. We look forward to seeing what she gets up to! You can follow her stories here.

Our newest traveller, Stinger, is ready to go! Hey monster friends, meet Stinger! She's the newest critter to join the crew of travellers. She may look a little fierce, but don't worry, she's just a ferocious defender of her friends.

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It’s been very quiet at Monster HQ so far this year.  Here in the lair, we’ve been hibernating and fighting off the plague. But now Spring is officially here (even if Winter hasn’t quite got the message yet), and Velveteen Rabbit* is leaving his burrow to go out and explore

As you can see, Velveteen is a lot bigger than his cousin, Watership.

He’s already to shake his tail and get going.

Welcoming his new human companion with open arms!

He’ll be off as soon as we’ve paired him up with a human companion.

*If you want to make your own Easter Bunny, there is a free pattern here. Although Velveteen is made using chunky baby blanket chenille yarn, we recommend using DK, as the pattern had to be significantly adapted for the extra weight of the chunky yarn.

Find out all about the new traveller, and make your own Easter Bunny from our free pattern. It's been very quiet at Monster HQ so far this year.  Here in the lair, we've been hibernating and fighting off the plague.

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Happy Winter Solstice holiday to all Travelling Monsters and their human friends!

The Hellbeast hopes you get plenty of treats.

Horatio Bobbles wishes you a warm and comfy place to rest.

The tree gets a lot of its character from our friend Lorna’s amazing crafty decorations.

We hope you are all relaxing and enjoying festivities and home comforts! (And if you feel like sharing pics, we’d love to see them.) We understand some of our monsters might find permanent homes and settle down, and we’re always happy when they do.

Wishing you all an adventurous 2018!

Love,

Zola, The Hellbeast, Horatio Bobbles and all at Monster HQ.

    Happy Winter Solstice holiday to all Travelling Monsters and their human friends! Happy Winter Solstice holiday to all Travelling Monsters and their human friends! We hope you are all relaxing and enjoying festivities and home comforts!

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Back in September, FairyJo and Bananas Bunny went for a walk up Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike and Dollywaggon Pike with Seb, Stuart, and Meeko Marmot. FairyJo sent us these photos.

BB is on his safety line and ready to go.

Scenic waterfalls.

Bananas Bunny is convinced this standing stone is here in honour of him. The mouth is similar.

Seb chasing waterfalls, contrary to advice by TLC.

Nice to see you ewe.

Seb and Stuart on top of the world..

Bananas Bunny enjoying the scenery.

Bun in the sun.

Seb and Stuart at a trig point.

Thank you, FairyJo! You and Seb always send us stunning landscapes.

Bananas Bunny and friends tackle Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike and Dollywaggon Pike. Back in September, FairyJo and Bananas Bunny went for a walk up Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike and Dollywaggon Pike with Seb, Stuart, and Meeko Marmot. FairyJo sent us these photos. Thank you, FairyJo! You and Seb always send us stunning landscapes.

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Back in September, Bananas Bunny, Seb and FairyJo went to Wales for a weekend. Let’s see what they all got up to. Over to Seb.

Nothing beats setting up your hammock in a deserted forest in the Brecon Beacons. Nothing that is, except having fizzy wine to go with the hammocking experience.

We learned how to say “Please don’t feed the dinosaurs” in Welsh. It’s very useful.

FairyJo just can’t resist sticking her head in the mouths of creatures she meets when she’s out and about. One day it’s going to end badly.

Cute dinosaur hatchlings. Keep an eye out for mum!

ARRGGHH!!! No Bunny! Don’t sit there!

Bunny stands proudly over his first kill of the day. More would follow, but the first is always the finest.

Inside the National Showcaves Centre for Wales.

This cave formation is supposed to look like an angel, which it sort of does. If you squint. From the right angle. And have a very vivid imagination.

Bunny fancies himself as a bit like Indiana Jones, but with far superior ears.

This formation looks a bit like bacon. Tasty, tasty bacon.

As regular readers will know, Bunny loves a good waterfall.

Like these. Bonus points for being underground.

It took FairyJo about 10 minutes to coax Seb out of the tunnel with the no entry sign. And the only reason he left was because it turned out to be boring.

This cave came with a shower.

Sparkly!

More dinosaurs! And volcanoes!

As well as dinosaurs, there were megalithic stone circles. FairyJo likes to believe they were for the summoning of fairies. Seb suggested that ancient people just put them there to mess with future people.

Whatever the reason for them, they had some pretty patterns.

Neolithic tomb.

FairyJo found a friendly goat with hair that looked like Seb’s.

Then we went waterfall hunting, which meant that Seb had to stand on every rock he could find.

This waterfall was pretty…

..and you could walk behind it..

Bunny was particularly impressed by standing behind the falls…

…and Seb couldn’t resist getting some climbing in. FairyJo stood back with the first aid kit at the ready.

Bunny got some climbing in too. Seb was on belay.

On the way back to base we were swarmed by hordes of sheep. Our Welsh adventure was clearly incomplete without being mobbed by a sheep swarm.

The walk to the pub looked really nice on the map. The head high ferns suggested to us that maybe this path was a little under-used. Six miles and two and a half hours later we arrived at the pub, swearing that we would never speak of the experience again.

After dinosaurs and caves on our first day, the second day was Seb’s choice, and involved climbing Pen y Fan.

It’s a very pretty mountain, and has a bit of minor scrambling at the end which really impressed Jo.

Bunny and Marmot Meeko were briefly the highest point in South Wales.

Looking out from the summit.

Thank you for sending us caves, dinosaurs and mountains!

More Bananas adventures are on the way.

Bananas Bunny and dinosaurs, caves and mountains, oh my! Back in September, Bananas Bunny, Seb and FairyJo went to Wales for a weekend. Let's see what they all got up to. Over to Seb. Thank you for sending us caves, dinosaurs and mountains! More Bananas adventures are on the way.

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We’re still catching up with Bananas Bunny and friends. This story is from August, when BB, Seb, FairyJo, and Meeko Marmot visited the Lake District again. Over to Seb…

Bunny managed to persuade us to go adventuring in The Lake District, climbing the East side of the Kentmere Horseshoe (which we had to abandon a few months ago due to bad weather)

To top it off, we then wild camped in a secluded gully beneath Harter Fell. We were the only human beings (and bunnies and marmots) in the area, and if it hadn’t been for all the low clouds which piled in just as it got dark we’d have had a lovely starry night with no light pollution. Oh well…

Click through on the pics below to read more of the story.

On the way up from Sadgill (what a horrible name for a place!) we were excited and yet to be exhausted by the constant grind of ascent.

FairyJo hates scrambling with a passion, so when we were almost immediately presented with bit of minor hands-on scrambling she nearly beat poor Bananas Bunny with a walking pole.

Bananas Bunny and Meeko Marmot fought for superiority over the first summit of Shipman Knotts. It was very windy, and made Bananas Bunny’s ears flap around alarmingly.

Meeko Marmot got the upper hand on the summit cairn of Kentmere Pike and Bananas Bunny swore revenge!

To prevent any further bother, we held both of them for the summit cairn of Harter Fell… Bunny has got himself very muddy and will need to go in the wash later.*

Meeko likes to sit in Jo’s rucksack and intimidate passers-by.

With the walking done for the day, we setup camp in a little gully just off Harter Fell. There wasn’t another human being in sight, which was nice. We had our own little private stream, and all the sheep we could eat.

We had a lovely view of our temporary home from some rocks above, and predictably we sat and drank wine from little metal cups while surveying our home for the night.

That little mound at the top is called “Adam’s Seat” FairyJo wanted Seb to photograph it so she could point it out to somebody at work.

We had planned to sit and watch the last vestiges of the Perseid meteors, but then the low cloud began to roll in.

Which didn’t stop Seb sitting on his little throne and demanding more wine.

What did stop us temporarily was rain. Bunny and Meeko retreated to the tent to make a nuisance of themselves while we huddled inside nice and dry.

The rain naffed off fairly quickly, but was replaced by fog and low cloud…

…Which gradually got worse…

…and worse…

…until eventually we gave up on meteors and resorted to whiskey-infused coffee.

The next morning we got up early, and had the Lake District to ourselves. This section looked a bit like Lord of the Rings. But with rusting machinery.

The Dwarves have clearly been at work here.

You are all very intrepid! Some of us lazier folks here at Monster HQ are quite glad to be tucked up in the lair, looking at these pictures on the sofa with the fire burning (courtesy of the hearth dragon). As always, huge thanks to Seb and FairyJo for sharing your story and photos!

And there’s still more to come from BB…

* If you’re admiring FairyJo’s nifty rainbows and unicorns headgear, pop over to White Wizard Purple Elf.

Bananas Bunny, Meeko Marmot, Seb and FairyJo go wild camping at Harter Fell. We're still catching up with Bananas Bunny and friends. This story is from August, when BB, Seb, FairyJo, and Meeko Marmot visited the Lake District again.

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Nimakim visited Finland with his friends Pia and Timo back in August. Being a forest guardian, he felt very much at home there in the countryside. But he also braved the big city, Helsinki, to take his friends to Worldcon 75.

  Gazing out of the cottage at Hawkhill Nature, Espoo.

Three baby squirrels came to say hello. Mum and one other are on the ground in the distance.

Nimakim contemplates his campfire.

Watching the clouds and listening to the wind in the trees.

Foraging #1: bilberries ready to eat. Yum!

Ack! An ants’ nest taller than I am! Just as well I am on good terms with them.

Foraging #2: Wild strawberries hidden beside the path.

On the lookout, keeping his friends safe from unfriendly trolls.

Finding some friends at Worldcon 75 in Helsinki.

Heading back to Gatwick, and home for a nice cup of tea.

Ah, that looks like a lovely place to relax. We’re sure Nimakim had a wonderful time in the forest!  Thank you for the update, Pia and Timo.

Nimakim and his friends visit Finland's countryside and Worldcon75. Nimakim visited Finland with his friends Pia and Timo back in August. Being a forest guardian, he felt very much at home there in the countryside.

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Meet the latest travellers, a monkey and a performing dog. They’re adventuring with the amazing Theresa, author of the lively Barklife Way blog about life lessons from her dog, Cooper. (The blog also features supercute illustrations by Chantal Bourgonje.) Since one of the Monster HQ residents is the Hellbeast, we can definitely relate!

Theresa tells the start of Monkey’s and Dog’s story. Click through on the pictures below for the text.

Chapter 1: The Search for a Name

  Being a monkey who wears a waistcoat and a fancy hat means you don’t really need a name.

But… the poor monkey wanted a name. One that was all theirs. They also wanted a gender. This was a tricky choice and they wanted to get it right. And so the search began.

Gathering up their trusty dog (also nameless)

and hoop (called Hoop) their search began in Sardinia.

Why, you might ask? Well, if you’re going to have a quest, you might as well have fun and sunshine in the process. This morning, they sat in their balcony area and pondered their very existence. This took four minutes. Then they had some breakfast. The search could wait, there was coffee.

Thank you, Theresa! We’re excited to hear what happens next on their quest.

Follow this link for all of monkey’s and dog’s adventures.

  Monkey and Dog go on a quest. Meet the latest travellers, a monkey and a performing dog. They're adventuring with the amazing Theresa, author of the…

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Twitter user @cubetcetera, who found Jumping Jack at NineWorlds this year, has sent us an Autumn update on their adventures together.

First JJ went plane spotting at London City Airport, and visited the Olympic Park.

Then he took a train up to Manchester, where he met some of the monsters living in the Trafford Centre.

And finally he went to Toronto, and met a flight attendant on the way back who agreed to adopt him, for even more far-flung adventures!

Thank you for the wonderful pics, cubetcetera. We hope you two had fun together, and we can’t wait to see where Jumping Jack goes next!

Jumping Jack’s Autumn Twitter user @cubetcetera, who found Jumping Jack at NineWorlds this year, has sent us an Autumn update on their adventures together.

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We’re still catching up with all of Bananas Bunny’s adventures. Here he and his friends Seb, Darren, and David tackle Tryfan. Seb tells the story.

Bunny began the day in the carpark by the A55. He was instantly in awe of the massive fin of angry looking rock which awaited him. He had been told that there was no messing around with Tryfan, and that the hands on scrambling action started only 400 yards from the carpark.

This turned out to be no exaggeration, as less than 400 yards from the carpark he was faced with what amounted to a cliff which he had to climb.

Other people seemed to be doing it, so Bunny decided that it would be fine. What could possibly go wrong?

At the top of what was soon to become known as “The cliff of death” Bunny was exhausted, and his friend Darren looked confused and terrified.

After the terror had subsided a little, they came across a landmark called “The Cannon Stone”. What’s hard to tell from the photo is that The Cannon Stone juts out over a yawning precipice, and was seriously wet and slippery when we were playing on it.

Intrepid climbers, Seb and BB.

Bunny needed to stop for a breather and some hard earned Jelly Blobs after his climb. Look how small the cars look in the distance, and this just over half way.

Darren, on the other hand, needed to stop for a hard earned selfie.

A few establishing shots follow. These were taken from the top of The North Tower, where Seb received a phonecall from his Dad in New Zealand. Which was odd.

The North Tower is an imposing spike of rock which juts out about 900 metres in the air.

Another view from the North Tower.

And another stunning view.

One more.

Panning around.

The North Tower from a little further on.

David looks down at the precipice which separates The North Tower from Tryfan summit.

Tryfan was covered in these weird rocks. A geography expert friend helpfully identified them as “some rocks”. He eventually elaborated – they’re quartz.

t’s hard to capture a perspective of height from the mountains, but needless to say Tryfan doesn’t deal well with you making mistakes.

Everything is so high and pointy in Snowdonia.

When you finally hit the summit of Tryfan, there are two massive boulders called Adam and Eve. It is traditional to jump between them. That’s a several hundred metre vertical drop behind by the way – it doesn’t do you any good to miss.

Bunny’s bravery is incredible. He jumps between Adam and Eve without a thought to his safety, or the safety of others.

His landing is immaculate though, and he has earned himself the freedom of Tryfan. These photos of Bunny’s jump were captured by a very helpful Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue guy who was hanging around at the summit waiting for the inevitable callouts of the day. Seb put all his change into his collection pot by way of a thank you.

Seb adds,

Thanks to OVMRO for your good humour and help today in recording Bunny’s death-defying leap between the Adam and Eve stones at the top of Tryfan! You people are great!

We agree! Thank you, Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation.

Thank you too, to our intrepid adventurers BB, Seb, Darren and David for the stunning pics. We’re glad you’re all back in one piece!

More adventures from BB to follow soon.

Bunny Does Tryfan We're still catching up with all of Bananas Bunny's adventures. Here he and his friends Seb, Darren, and David tackle Tryfan.

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This is Nimakim’s cousin, Braciaca. You can see her fur has her autumn colours, as befits a forest guardian.

Hello there!

Braciaca loves to visit gardens.

Blending into her natural habitat.

She’s looking to branch out on new adventures!

Braciaca is all ready to go and will be leaving Monster HQ soon. Look out for her adventures here.

Introducing Braciaca This is Nimakim's cousin, Braciaca. You can see her fur has her autumn colours, as befits a forest guardian. Braciaca is all ready to go and will be leaving Monster HQ soon. Look out for her adventures here.

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Here’s a quick snapshot from Bananas Bunny. Seb says:

I’d just had my hiking boots re-soled in Burnley, so it (Pendle Hill Trig Point) was the biggest nearby thing I could conquer to try them out. There was a perfectly serviceable path which FairyJo walked up but Bananas Bunny made me climb up Boar Clough, a rocky stream valley where the rocks seem to be made out of greasy Teflon. We survived…just.

BB and his honour guard survey their domain from atop the summit of Pendle Hill.

We salute you back, intrepid climbers! Be careful out there.

Pendle Hill Trig Point Here's a quick snapshot from Bananas Bunny. Seb says: I'd just had my hiking boots re-soled in Burnley, so it (Pendle Hill Trig Point) was the biggest nearby thing I could conquer to try them out.

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Festival and his friends Carole and Michael have been on a trip to mainland Scotland (voted the most beautiful country in the world this year) and the gorgeous isle of Skye. Festival sent his postcards back with some friendly carrier pigeons, but they must have got a bit distracted on the way.

Luckily one bird has delivered this photo of Festival exploring Eilean Donan castle.

If any more photos turn up, we’ll be sure to share them!

The Skye’s The Limit Festival and his friends Carole and Michael have been on a trip to mainland Scotland (

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Babette’s social whirl continues…

First she tried out a new look.

“Do you think these suit me?”

Then she went to a 16th birthday party.

Passing on wishes for a Happy Birday.

Getting in the party spirit.

It’s not a party without Babette.

“Hey, don’t we share a distant ancestor?”

“Is there someone behind me?”

Next, it was off to a sleepover at her uncle’s. Nadine says, “Full disclosure… my grandkids were playing with her and I thought they put her back. They did not. She was abandoned… poor baby!”

There’s something fishy going on here.

“Not funny, guys.”

“Yes, next time I will bring some Hawaiian Tropic.”

Getting a bit of moosage therapy after all the shenanigans.

Luckily Babette found friends to rescue her and give her a soothing hug.  We’re sure she’ll be out and about and socialising again in no time.

Party Chicken Babette's social whirl continues... First she tried out a new look. Then she went to a 16th birthday party.

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Festival Packs His Trunk Festival is supervising the packing for his friend Carole, as she heads off to Edinburgh, and then to Orkney. Have a lovely time you two! Send us some pics.