For those who love themselves a spot of yarn bombing, there's a new trail of knitted post box hats in south London that's sure to put a grin on your mush.
The Great Woolly Hat Trail 2023 — running from now until 14 September — invites people to find 15 post boxes sprinkled around Carshalton, each given a novelty knitted topper. Minions, unicorns, bees and Feathers McGraw, the villainous penguin from Wallace and Gromit, are among characters to look out for on this free, family-friendly adventure.
The master knitter/crocheter behind these creations is Carole Baker, who tells Londonist: "I started decorating a post box in Carshalton High Street after being made redundant at the end of 2020. Christmas had been cancelled and I just wanted to spread some positivity around the local community.
"When I put my post box hat out, the response was incredibly positive. The idea was formed then — if one hat could give this much cheer, imagine the outcome of loads at the same time!"
Each of the hats takes Baker around four hours to knit, and the characters on top, anything from two to 20 hours each — so this really is a labour of love. 2023 is the inaugural year of the trail but Baker is hoping it'll become an annual or biennial event, with other local craftspeople joining in.
The Great Woolly Hat Trail 2023 is free to do — visit the website, and check out the map. If you happen to be in Carshalton on the weekend of 29-30 July, there's also a special lavender harvest going on.
All images by Carole Baker
