Walking with Legends

Stand by for Shropshire's rich folkloric heritage to take centre stage in two storytelling events set for Belle Vue Arts Festival 2026! Inspired by this year's Festival theme of 'fantasy', professional oral storyteller Danielle Free will bring to life some of the county's best-loved mythical and legendary figures in separate sessions for adults and children. Shropshire-based Danielle holds a Masters in Celtic Studies, has been supported by Storytelling Production company Adverse Camber via their prestigious mentoring scheme and regularly hosts events in schools, libraries and museums. She has also written, performed and toured The Conditions for Courage, a one-woman show about the forgotten histories of Celtic women, which sold out at Shrewsbury Coffeehouse at its homecoming gig last October. The Festival Blog caught up with her for a chat.

Festival Blog: Hi Danielle! Folk tales and fantasy – sounds like a match made in heaven!

Danielle: Folk tales come from the people. Many of these stories would have developed

as a way for people to make sense of their world: fantastical happenings were their way of explaining the landscape around them. For example the story of the Devil sitting on the Stiperstones, the warnings not to go there when it's foggy because the Devil might be waiting for you. You could interpret that as someone knowing that when it's foggy up there, it's perilous, and saying 'stay away'. So with a lot of these folk tales, yes there's a massive fantastical element to them, but they might just be rooted in something true.

And I think the thing about fantasy is, that whimsy, that feeling that just because you can't see something, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Fantasy helped people to navigate the landscape and to make sense of things that were otherwise unexplainable.

FB: Wild Edric is another example of that?

Danielle: Some people think Wild Edric was a real person, others think he's mythical – but

the story also includes Lady Godda who's a fairy. It's the same with the Shropshire

Mermaid and the Wrekin Giant. The Witch of Mitchell's Fold was technically a real woman,

but then you've got the cow that glows like the moon – that's the fantasy element. My own background errs more towards the historical, but there is definitely an overlap between the two.

FB: And all these characters will feature in your Belle Vue Arts Festival story walk?

Danielle: Yes. It's based on the Myths, Legends and Folk Tales of Shropshire Mini-Mural Trail created by Shrewsbury Business Improvement District in 2025. It's an event for

adults, but I've devised a gentle route with no steps that will start at the Wild Edric mural in

Longden Coleham and then take a slow meander round town. After Wild Edric, we'll pause to hear the stories of Hafren, The Shropshire Mermaid, the Wrekin Giant and the Witch of Mitchell's Fold, which as I said, all share these great fantastical elements. The walking part brings a different dimension to the experience: you're immersed in an environment and you've got time to ponder. I hope it doesn't rain, but if it does, you're exposed to the elements and it adds to the story!

FB: What about the children's event?

Danielle: It's a static indoor event aimed at 7-plus year-olds, accompanied by parents or guardians. The story features giants, magical loaves of bread and frollicks into fantastical worlds! I thought it would be really fun for them to create a story map, a mythical map of the story I've just told, or one of their own. I want to get them thinking about being fully in the world of the story, keeping it in their imagination, and getting them moving from that creative place. Story maps really help kids to remember stories too so they’ll come away with a story they can share!

To find out more about Danielle, including information on upcoming events and how to

book her for your own event, visit her website at https://daniellefree.co.uk/, from where you can also link to her social media.

From 3rd April, you can listen in to her telling a story on the Super Great Kids' Stories Podcast: https://www.supergreatkidsstories.com/

One of many stories we can look forward to on Danielle's trail on Sunday 7 June. Further details can be found here.