The Wind in the Willows childhood in Ardrishaig. There is a proposal that the idea for the story arose when its author saw a water vole beside the River Pang in Berkshire, southern England. A 29 hectare extension to the nature reserve at Moor Copse, near Tidmarsh Berkshire, was acquired in January 2007 by the Berks, Bucks, and Oxon Wildlife Trust. The Wind in the Willows The Wind in the Willows is a children's novel by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow-moving and fast-paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animals in a pastoral version of Edwardian England. The novel is notable for its
Toad Hall (The Wind in the Willows) 'Or anywhere else, for that matter'". The hall has a "very old banqueting-hall" and a "large boat-house". Stables stand to the right of the house, as viewed from the river. An ancient passage, unknown to Toad but vouchsafed to Mr Badger by Toad's father, and of critical importance to the novel's denoument, "leads from the river bank ..., right up into the middle of Toad Hall". A number of houses have been cited as the inspiration for Toad Hall. These include: Toad Hall (The Wind in the Willows) Toad Hall is the fictional home of Mr. Toad, a character in