Solstice Story Walk with the Dryads and Blabbermouth Storytelling
June 22 @ 3:30 pm
Sun 22 Jun 2025 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Triscombe Stone, TA5 1HU
To celebrate the midsummer solstice, join us on a walk between worlds as we visit three of the Quantock Hills’ ancient sacred sites. We will meet, appropriately, at Triscombe Stone, one of only two standing stones on the hills and an ancient meeting point, reputed to have been erected in the Bronze Age. From there we will journey through stunning woodlands to the sacred spring of St David’s Well, a site of pilgrimage since at least the Middle Ages.
We will perform a short Solstice Ceremony led by Dryad Gin at St Davids Well.
We will then return to Triscombe via the prehistoric burial site of Great Cairn, with it’s spectacular views across the Brendan Hills towards Exmoor in the west.
We will be joined by Dan Broadbent of Blabbermouth Community Storytelling, who will share the history, folklore and legends associated with these ancient sites and this magical time of year.
About Becky Wright, Dryad Gin Distiller
Meet Becky Dryad Gin Distiller. Becky Wright, has lived on the Quantocks for the past 20 years. She has always been passionate about fostering and finding everyday joy, spending many years helping people find home and happiness within themselves.
Pairing this pursuit with her passion for bloomin’ good gin, Becky realised she could manifest moments of meaningful connection where people arrived as strangers and left as firm friends. And so, she trained to become a gin distiller. In the summer of 2022, Becky poured the first bottle of our evocative elixir, and she has been distilling the wonders of the woodland ever since.
When she’s not rocking a fungi-themed headdress behind tables brimming with Dryad delights, you’ll find Becky surrounded by nature, researching the perfect herbs and botanicals to feature in future brews and blends. She also has a pub of no fixed abode called The Dryad Inn which pop up where a pub has closed or where a village has never had a pub.
About Dan Broadbent, Community Storyteller
Dan Broadbent is a storyteller and community heritage practitioner with over a decade of professional experience sharing traditional stories, folktales and local legends with audiences across South West England, in settings ranging from museums and schools, village halls and pubs, and site-specific storywalks immersed in nature.
With a background in archaeology, Dan worked for many years as part of the management team at The Museum of Somerset, then as Historic Heritage Officer for the Quantock Hills National Landscape. Oral storytelling proved an unexpected thread throughout his career in heritage, forming the basis of numerous public engagement events exploring the borderlands of archaeology, folklore and mythology. This led him to develop Blabbermouth Community Storytelling, a project dedicated to exploring the potential of traditional storytelling in building resilient communities, providing opportunities for reconnecting with nature, improving personal well-being, and celebrating cultural diversity.
This walk is for over 18s only. We would rather you didnt bring your dog as not everyone loves dogs and we want to make this walk as inclusive as possible. The terrain is stoney and steep in parts.
Dan Broadbent – Blabbermouth
BLABBERMOUTH exists to share traditional tales far and wide, primarily through a varied programme of themed storytelling performances staged in rural communities across Somerset and the wider west-country. Dan has over a decade of professional experience telling traditional stories, folktales and local legends to audiences across South West England, in settings ranging from museums and schools, village halls and pubs, and site-specific storywalks immersed in nature.
Becky Wright – Gin Distiller Dryad Gin
Becky Wright is a seasoned speaker and master mixologist, combining worldly knowledge and formal qualifications with decades of experience speaking to groups to educate and enchant.
Following a vibrant career, she trained to become a distiller before founding an award-winning gin that celebrates the language, landscapes and local customs to which we’re bound.
The walk will go ahead rain or shine so please come prepared and make sure you dress accordingly.
LOCATION
Triscombe Stone, TA5 1HU