The Legend of THE

Wychy Wickies

It was 5th September, 1989, a warm sunny day, with lots of humans enjoying the beautiful valley; and my human was walking his dog Oscar through Cuerden Valley, Bamber Bridge.

Whilst my human was enjoying the sunshine, he noticed that people visiting the valley were also enjoying spending quality time with family picnics, playing games and enjoying the beautiful surroundings, this made my human smile.  Unfortunately, as he walked further through the valley, he noticed that people had packed up their picnics and gone home, sadly other humans had left their rubbish behind.

My human was called Stan, and he was very troubled by what he had seen.  It wasn’t just in Cuerden Valley this ignorance was everywhere; from countryside to the beaches, it was time for Stan and his family to try to save the environment.

Sadly, Stan passed away February 2019.  As all the family gathered to say their fond farewells and were given something to remember him by, Lindsay; Stan’s youngest daughter, remembered her dad’s passion for the environment and decided to take on the project instead and finish what was started all those years ago around the Sunday lunch table in honour of her dad, Stan.  I am part of the Wychy Wickies family you see, and we are magical creatures that live in the countryside and places of interest.

Many hours were spent sat around the table discussing how we could change the mindset of people and help them appreciate our world.  Unfortunately, back then, people weren’t as keen as Stan and his family, so the project was put to bed.

The Cackling Witch faery star

Stan's Journey

Lindsay worked so hard, and to finish the storybook and scrolls all that she needed was a visual figure to complete the project.

So one morning whilst walking to work Lindsay noticed a bird fly into the woods, and yes it was a ‘light blub’ moment, that was the visual figure, that she needed – a tree stump, and what better way to celebrate her dad’s life than by naming after the main man – Stan. 

This is how I was created and now I love to share this beautiful story about ‘Stan the Stump’ and the Wychy Wickies.  Stan has his ashes buried under a Mountain Ash tree planted in his memory in Springwood – right next to the picnic bench so he can keep his eye on the families enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

I hope you enjoy this story and help the Wychy Wickies rid the world of all man’s mess.

For every purchase of Stan the Stump, the friends of Springwood and the Woodland Trust will receive a donation.  The stumps have all been provided from fallen trees.

The Cackling Witch cloud background
The Cackling Witch cloud background
The Cackling Witch cloud background
The Cackling Witch cloud background
The Cackling Witch cloud background

The Cackling Witch - a shop established to remember the Pendle Witches of 1612 and retailing anything witchy.

Paranormal Investigations & Gifts

Paranormal events are phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence is beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding.  We retail gifts, equipment and literature on paranormal beliefs include those of extrasensory perception, spiritualism and the sciences of ghost hunting, cryptozoology,  If you would love to visit the Ribble Valley we can highly recommend Little Oak Hurst Boutique Glamping.