Bridgewater Fairy Garden, Deanery Reserve
Have you headed up to Bridgewater lately? In a little corner of the Adelaide Hills you’ll find a sprinkle of fairy magic. For the past few months a fairy garden has been growing both in size and popularity with more and more fairies moving in all the time. We had seen a few photographs through friends who live in the Hills and decided we really had to go and check it out for ourselves (and for the children of course)!
The fairy garden is situated a couple of kilometres outside of Bridgewater in the Deanery Reserve just off the Old Mount Barker Road. When you see the sign for the reserve, bear to the right and over a little bridge. The road turns into track and then opens out into a car park. The track and the car park are on the Heysen Trail. From the car park it is a very short walk towards the freeway before you stumble across this little piece of fairy magic!
I believe the fairy garden has evolved over the past few months, starting with just a couple of doors and now up to about ten different ones. They are absolutely delightful, there are so many details and little touches. From a tiny pair of gumboots outside the door, to a sea shell and a miniature chair, it’s the little details that are captivating. I am sure that visitors to the garden have brought trinkets to add to the display to enhance it further. We brought a few tiny flowers to decorate the doors with.
The children really loved exploring all the little details and wished that we had brought some small toys or statues to add to the fairy garden. I don’t know who originally started the fairy garden, but slowly word is spreading and more fairies seem to be joining the party all the time! If you know any more about when the fairies first started populating this corner of the trail, please let us know in the comments below.
We stayed a little while and then headed back to the car to leave. Just before we pulled away my son spotted another little blue door on the other side of the car park. We got back out of the car and went to explore. It turns out that there are quite a few fairies living in the trees in this part of the woods too! We saw one door, and then another and another and another. Everywhere we looked we saw more and more fairy doors. It was so exciting and magical for the children who felt like they were discovering something new every few moments.
There were doorways, miniature washing lines and even a mini fairy table and chairs inside a hollowed out tree trunk. Against many of the trees in this part of the woods were some dens that other children must have built, like the one in the photo below. There must have been five or six altogether with lots of branches and sticks lying around to add to the creations. There is even a big pile of ready cut logs for you to create your own fairy sized den. The kids could have happily explored this area for hours!
So if you think your little ones might enjoy a little fairy magic, you should definitely head up to the Hills for a peek at this beautiful little spot. There aren’t any facilities at the car park but it’s only a few minutes in the car from Bridgewater and the freeway. And if their legs are feeling strong, why not explore a little bit of the Heysen Trail while you are there. And don’t forget to take a little gift to add to the fairy garden for all to enjoy!
What: Bridgewater Fairy Garden
When: All year round – we visited August 2015
Where: Deanery Reserve, Old Mount Barker Road, Bridgewater | See map below
Who: Anyone who likes a little magic!
Please note that our Reviews are the opinions of the Play & Go Editors, this is not a sponsored post and we do not advise venues prior to or during Reviews.
All photos are by Play & Go Adelaide.
Want to get all the latest events and activities straight to your inbox?
Subscribe to our weekly email newsletter below to keep up to date with our latest posts and find out what’s on, where to go and what to do with the kids in and around Adelaide. Newsletters are only sent once a week, and you may even get the odd ‘special offer’ exclusively sent to our newsletter subscribers only!
We went yesterday 23/7/16 – the fairy hill section along the track pictured here still has a lot to see but the area with the hollow tree trunks near the carpark has no evidence left of fairies. Our daughter still loved exploring ‘fairy hill’ and a few other fairy trees around. We have been inspired to make some more doors to take back another time. A lovely walk – gum boots needed at the moment!