06 Jun Stories Behind Stories: Rufus the Red Squirrel

In this series of blogs, we hear from Bold Beasts’ Liverpool-based author Rachel Braddock on the inspiration behind her adorable little characters. This week, Rachel talks us through the story behind her creation Rufus the Red Squirrel.

As you may or may not know, Bold Beasts is a family company, and we live and work in Liverpool’s world-famous Penny Lane. As you might expect, there are a great deal of Beatles tourist attractions around these parts, and we are situated directly on the route of the famous Magical Mystery Tour, which stops at places such as the Penny Lane barber shop, the gates of Strawberry Fields, and John Lennon’s childhood home on Menlove Avenue.

Apart from all these Beatles attractions, one of the great things about living in South Liverpool is that you’re only ever a short drive away from some places of real natural beauty. About an hour’s drive away, to the Northwest, lies the beautiful Formby Point, a gorgeous coastal area which boasts a long, windswept beach with famously fine sand.

Surrounding this lovely beach is a National Trust woodland area, which is home to thousands of squirrels. This is where Rufus lives – in the Red Squirrel Reserve. We have visited several times and have, very occasionally seen a few red squirrels. However, I don’t think any of them have such an ‘eventful’ life as Rufus!

I hope that you love Rufus as much as I do, and that you’ll check out some of our other creations, such as Rufus the Red Squirrel and Caractacus Cat! Our full range can be found here.

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