A CHILDREN'S author found his main character had managed to travel all the way from Portsmouth to the Lake District will help from a mysterious traveller.
Matthew Scott, from Portsmouth, author of 'Cyril Squirrel and the Wonderfully Worrisome task' hid 10 hand decorated pebbles with his main character Cyril for the local families to find and re-hide as an activity for lockdown.
But one of these pebbles managed to make its way up the country to the top of Helvellyn.
Matthew said: "This is my first children's book, and my wife Celine is an artist so she designed the pebbles and we thought we could do something for the local community.
"We would hide them around and have a bit of fun with people finding them and re-hiding them. There are lots of hiding places for them.
"We got a message three weeks after from a lady who said she'd found one of our pebbles at the top of Helvellyn. I couldn't believe it.
"That's the power of modern networking. My character can end up travelling across the country. It's amazing."
This is Matthew's first book, and several others are on the way. Celine's artistic skills will also be featured in his upcoming book Cupid Sparrow.
He added: "The book is about a squirrel has finally been given a real job to do for the first time. He has to go out collecting nuts for the family before winter, and he's always saying, 'I can do it'. But when he gets into a bit of trouble, he realises that maybe he needs more help than he first thought. It boils down to you are allowed to ask for help when you need it.
“I still remember some of the amazing stories I read when I was a kid, so if even one person remembers my story I couldn’t be happier.
"We have no idea who took it there. It might have been a tourist who found it in Portsmouth who found it here and brought it there.
"I'd love to find out who took Cyril all that way.
"I'd like to say thank you to whoever found it, I hope they got some pleasure out of it all. I also hope they re-hide it which means it can continue. I'd love to see it get to the other end of the country. I would love to know who they are."
For more information visit Matthew's Facebook page.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here