Sophie’s Best-Kept Secret author visits offer Ribble Valley schools a unique and engaging way to connect children with local legends, folklore, creative writing, and storytelling. With The Best-Kept Secret set in Clitheroe, Sophie brings a personal link to the area, creating a deeper connection with the children in the Ribble Valley as they explore the magic of their own surroundings and the rich history which shapes their environment.
School Author Visits in the Ribble Valley
Sophie delivers an unforgettable experience with highly interactive author sessions based on her book The Best-Kept Secret. Her engaging storytelling, with costumes for all, atmospheric music, and special effects, transports students into a fantastical world of witches and dragons rooted in rich history and local legend. Children eagerly take on roles, don witches' hats, and help conjure a baby dragon from a bubbling cauldron filled with mystical fog.
Sophie's Ribble Valley school author visits also feature an exciting immersive creative writing workshop designed to inspire young minds through hands-on activities such as:
Reimagining Realms – A sensory journey to spark imagination and enrich descriptive writing using blindfolds.
The Bare Bones – A structured yet fun approach to building compelling stories.
Stagecraft – A dynamic role-playing exercise focused on ‘show, not tell’ techniques.
Dragonlore – A unique sensory experience featuring magical props to create vivid descriptions, including a wooden box containing a dragon claw, dragon teeth, and dragon scales.
In addition to The Best-Kept Secret, Sophie introduces students to Magic in the Mundane, a virtual whistle-stop tour of the Ribble Valley’s hidden secrets, folklore, and legend through storytelling, music, animation, and film. Sophie ensures that each presentation is deeply rooted in the local community, focusing on places the children will recognise or are close to the school.
Ribble Valley School author visits: Magic in the Mundane
'The magic of The Best-Kept Secret isn’t just in the story; it’s in the way it ignites children’s imaginations, encouraging them to think about their world differently'
With a dragon on their doorstep, Magic in the Mundane takes on a whole new meaning for the children in schools across the Ribble Valley! Beyond the dragon, Sophie brings the region’s rich folklore and legends to life, inspiring students to see the extraordinary in the everyday. This engaging part of the Best-Kept Secret author visit immerses children in the Ribble Valley's local history with tales of boggarts, Jinny Greenteeth, and other eerie creatures that have shaped the area’s past.
'𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐬."
Boggarts: From Bowland to Balderstone The eerie woodlands, moorlands, and hidden corners of the Ribble Valley are said to be the perfect hiding spots for boggart! Boggarts are a key part of Lancashire folklore, said to lurk in old mills, farmhouses, and shadowy woodland paths- In fact, they’re so ingrained in Lancashire that places like Boggart Bridge carry their name! These mischievous spirits are known for causing trouble—moving objects, creating strange noises, and jumping out from behind trees or bushes just to give you a good scare! Some tales describe boggarts as shapeshifters, able to take on different forms to trick and confuse the locals. Others speak of their more sinister side, with stories of boggarts stealing babies and swapping them for boggart babies, 'changelings'.
The Skriker’s Haunts: From Whalley Abbey to the Banks of the River Ribble As Sophie guides the children through local legends, she introduces them to the Skriker, an infamous creature from Lancashire folklore. She explains how the Skriker was sometimes invisible but would also appear as a massive black dog with giant paws, its footsteps eerily echoing like "squelchy old shoes walking in the mud." Sophie captivates the children with the chilling details of how the Skriker was believed to bring bad luck and, many centuries ago, was thought to prowl the grounds of Whalley Abbey, graveyards and the misty banks of the River Ribble, where its ominous presence and high-pitched howls sent shivers down the spines of all who crossed its path.
Jinny Greenteeth: Lancashire’s Legendary Water Witch
The children are also introduced to Jinny Greenteeth, one of the most well-known characters in Lancashire folklore. Jinny is a mischievous freshwater spirit said to haunt ponds, reservoirs, and rivers in Lancashire, including The River Ribble, The River Hodder and the River Calder in the Ribble Valley. She’s not your typical fairy, though—Jinny is known for her green mossy skin and for never, EVER visiting a dentist!
Some stories tell of her as a helpful spirit, watching over the waters and guiding lost travellers with her lantern. But in other tales, she’s more eerie and spooky, luring people closer with false promises of hidden treasures. With a flash of green and a ripple in the water, she loves to surprise anyone who ventures too near. So, if you’re ever out for a walk along the riverbank, keep a safe distance but keep an eye out for that glimmer of green—you may just catch a glimpse of Jinny Greenteeth herself!
The Ribble Valley's Ties to the Witch Trials
At the start of Sophie’s author visits, students are introduced to the Lancashire witch trials, with Elizabeth Demdike—a key character in Sophie’s book The Best-Kept Secret—setting the stage. This introduction then leads into Magic in the Mundane, where Sophie connects the witch trials to the Ribble Valley's own significant links to the events in 1612,
The Gateway to Pendle: Folly, Fairy Gateway or Alien Portal?
The session ends with a visit to the Gateway to Pendle, at the foot of Pendle Hill, a place of intrigue and magic. Could this simple arch, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, be a fairy gateway or portal to another dimension? Sophie encourages the children to see the world around them differently, reminding them that the most magical stories are often hidden in plain sight.
Sophie ensures that every school author visit she undertakes in the Ribble Valley is deeply rooted in the local community, focusing on places the children will recognise or are close to the school. Whether the school is in Clitheroe or one of the outlying villages, Sophie tailors her sessions to reflect the unique folklore, history, and myths of the area. In a school in Gisburn, for example, Sophie shared the story of Jennet Preston, the Gisburn witch who was accused of causing the death of Thomas Lister. She then took students on a journey through Gisburn Forest, exploring its mix of woodland and bogland—home to boggarts, shape-shifting spirits who were said to live in marshland, holes, and under bridges. Sophie also delved into the legend of Robin Hood and his enemy, Sir Guy of Gisburn, drawing links to the discovery of an ancient sword at Bomber Camp just outside Gisburn.
Why Choose Sophie’s Author Visits for Your School in The Ribble Valley?
Designed for primary schools in Lancashire and beyond, Sophie’s school visits inspire young minds by showing them the magic hidden in everyday life, sparking their imagination, and helping them craft their own stories. Her author visits, workshops, and storytelling activities align with key areas of the curriculum, including literacy, history, poetry, and local legends. However, Sophie’s ultimate goal is to ignite a passion for reading, sparking children’s imaginations and fostering a deep, lasting love for books that will stay with them throughout their lives.
We offer Ribble Valley Primary Schools:
FREE school author visits for small or struggling schools
School author visits, half-day and full-day sessions starting at £175 for a two-hour author session, including an interactive reading of The Best-Kept Secret, Magic in the Mundane and an immersive creative writing workshop)
Virtual school author visits for £125
Suitable for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 Primary School Children For more information, including testimonials, photos, and pricing, click here For more details on the content of the creative writing workshops and The Best-Kept Secret interactive storytelling author session, click here.
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