#BuxtonFlowerpotTrail
Buxton Flowerpot Trail 2026
The Buxton Flowerpot Trail returns for 2026 thanks to a grant from Tarmac Tunstead.
It will run during July and August alongside all four of the town’s summer festivals and we’d love for you to get involved.
Theme
The theme is ‘children’s stories’, inspired by the 100th anniversary of Winnie-the-Pooh.
A.A. Milne’s beloved character first appeared in the London Evening News on Christmas Eve 1925, with first Winnie-the-Pooh book published in October 1926.
The framed picture below was an 8th birthday present for one of our team!
So get thinking nursery rhymes, fairy tales, cartoons, comic strips, and illustrated storybooks.
We’d love to see your favourite characters recreated in flowerpot form!
You can take some inspiration from some of the creations over the years.
Although, as ever, you don’t need to align to the theme, you can make whatever you’d like.
Pots
Please don’t buy any new pots – it’s all about finding new uses for old resources. For those needing pots, we had some available to pick up for free from our stalls at:
- Buxton Spring Fair on Monday 4 May, 10am-5pm (we’re usually on the Market Place opposite The Eagle near the bus stops)
- The Pump Room on Saturday 16 May, 11am-4pm
- Buxton Market on Saturday 30 May, 9am-2pm
Our pots bags are currently full but we’ll be happy to take donations of old pots later in the spring, subject to prior arrangement. Please get in touch if you would like to donate some.
Making
Flowerpot creations are simple to make – they are just knots in string – and, in the least, only require:
- string/twine
- scissors
- flowerpots (or other previously used, plastic-based containers)
- decorating materials – this could just be a felt tip pen to draw a face but you may be able to find some old bits and bobs round the house, along with some glue.
If your a first-timer, see our making instructions below to make a basic flowerpot person and our making videos on our general project page here, but there isn’t really a right way or a wrong way. They can look however you want, it just takes a bit of trial-and-error and forward thinking, and they don’t have to be people – you can make animals, aliens, objects or sculptures.
Register Your Location
The registration deadline to join the trail map is Sunday 21 June 2026.
Display
Display your flowerpot creations so they can be seen from the pavement / public footpaths – they can be displayed in gardens, on gateposts, door steps or in windows. We suggest tying them down if outside!
Your creations should be on display for the whole of July and August 2026 to help brighten up the town during all four of the summer festivals and for the school summer holidays.
Buxton Flowerpot Trail Map
A printed version of the trail map will be available throughout July and August (cost £1) at High Street News, Poole’s Cavern Visitor Centre and The Pump Room.
An electronic version will also be available on our news blog if you want to go paper-free.
The Trail will be part of the Buxton Festival Fringe (9-27 July) – we will be reviewed, so make sure they are looking their best during the second week of July!
Get Involved
Anyone wanting to get involved with the project, helping to promote or volunteering at our workshops, please get in touch – email hello@funnywonders.org.uk.
Have you made a flowerpot person or enjoyed the trail? Let us know, send us a message or post it on social media using the hashtag #BuxtonFlowerpotTrail.
Our Creation
Thanks
We were able to run the Buxton Flowerpot Trail project in 2026 thanks to support from Tarmac Tunstead.
Thanks to High Street News, Buxton Civic Association and Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust for selling the maps and to the Buxton Town Team for the continued use of their base map.
And thanks to all the families, individuals and businesses who take part, making flowerpot creations for the trail. It’s wonderful to see the support for this trail and the fabulous, characterful flowerpot creations you make.
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