Hello, my name is Pixie, and this is my friend Bumble. We heard you are planning a trip to the Isle of Neverwas. Before you start your adventure, we thought it would be useful if you had some information about the portal.

1. Where to find the portal

If you would like to travel to the Isle of Neverwas, you first need to locate the portal. The island can only be reached by travelling through the magical portal, but it moves. Sometimes the portal is in one place for a few days, or sometimes for a few seconds, which can make it difficult to locate. 

The portal that transports you to the island is always connected to somewhere in the UK. Where you enter the portal will determine where you arrive on the island. The portal doesn’t just move around on the mainland (your world), but it also moves around on the island. Sometimes there appears to be a pattern in the movements and locations of the portal, and just when you think you have it figured out, it goes and changes. Sometimes the portal appears in your living room, sometimes it appears at the end of your street, or the car park of your local supermarket, or out at sea, or in the middle of a forest. You get the idea. The portal can show up at any time, anywhere, and for any length of time. This means it isn’t the most reliable way to travel to the Isle of Neverwas, but it is the only option available to most of us, unless you are one of the fairy folk.

2. What the portal looks like

It’s probably best that we focus on what the portal looks like so you can at least recognise it if it ever shows up in your front room or while you are out for a walk. The portal can appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. Sometimes it can be in one place for days. This description has been compiled from many different accounts. Well, from those people who actually realised they had encountered a magical portal. It is possible to be transported to the island by accident, not realising you have found the portal.

The portal comes in all different shapes and sizes. Sometimes the portal will appear as a faint glow, so small it is almost invisible. Other times, the portal is so large that planes and ships have passed through it. Islanders will catch fleeting glimpses as they pass through the portal, appearing for a moment and then disappearing again. Some islanders theorise that the reason they don’t stick around and arrive on the island is that not everyone on the plane or boat believes in magic. I’m getting a bit ahead of myself, so I will come back to this later.

Most accounts from travellers to the island describe the portal as a soft, warm, glowing light that appears to hover in mid-air. Some have even described the shape of the light as appearing to look like a fork of lightning. Most people can’t see this light; they will continue to go about living their lives without ever realising that they have encountered a magical portal lost in their own thoughts, a head full of worries and shopping lists. If you want to find the portal and really see it, you need to be present in the here and now. You need to approach life with an open heart and an open mind. You also need to believe in magic and really believe in a world full of possibilities. You also need to be curious. I know this is a lot. I didn’t make the rules. Maybe it was the same person who made the portal. Assuming that the portal was created by someone. This is something else we don’t have an answer to. If you are lucky enough to find the portal and approach it, you will never quite reach it. Before you do, you will be transported in that instant to the Isle of Neverwas. The only thing that you will remember about your transportation is a warm, fuzzy feeling of contentment.

Some people travel to the island and go back the way they came. Turning around on the spot and arriving back in the place they left with only that happy, contented feeling left behind. Those individuals rarely remember travelling to the island. Some might think that they have been sleepwalking. Other individuals who have been magically transported stay for a while and go exploring, see where the portal has brought them. The portal, lingering on the same spot you arrived on the island as if waiting for you to make a decision. If you decide to return home, your memories of the island will soon fade. They become half-remembered dreams; the more you try to recall them, the more they escape just beyond your reach, just past the ends of your fingertips. It might be the magic of the portal that does this, but it might also be our own brains. We can’t handle being transported magically, so it provides us with a rational explanation. This probably doesn’t help you much in your search for the portal.

3. How to Prepare for Your Travels

Where you appear on the island depends on where you entered the portal on the mainland. This means you could arrive on Bubble Beach, the top of Serenity Falls, or even the bluebell meadow at Chapel Oak. For this reason, we recommend you wear layers. A hat and scarf would be useful accessories. We also recommend you bring snacks, as you might have a long walk to the nearest bus stop, train station, town, or village.

4. The Science Institute 

The Science Institute has been studying the portal for the last 5 years, specifically, its movement. The Institute has lots of questions about the portal. They have been hard at work identifying a pattern in the portals’ movements around the island. For example, when a person arrives on Bubble Beach, have they always entered the Portal from Tenby? In case you are wondering, Tenby is a harbour town in Southwest Wales. The Institute knows it is always connected to the island and the waters that surround the Isle of Neverwas.

The Science Institute doesn’t know if the location it appears on the island is always connected to the same place in your world. They use the records from the Lost and Found Exchange to help them identify patterns. Lots of items are found on the island and are returned to the mainland. This is a good source of data, and there is a lot of it. 

The Science Institute now has more questions, like why so many socks go through the portal? Why are they never in pairs? Why is it always forks? Sometimes they find a spoon, but that is approximately 1 in 100. Why did buildings used to appear through the portal, but now it isn’t even very often that a vehicle or boat appears? Is the portal getting smaller? There are still lots of unanswered questions and mysteries to solve. Even the fairies don’t have an answer to these mysteries, and their magic is ancient. The portal appears to have a personality, a sense of humour, and it has such an important presence on the island. 

We are sorry that this guide might not be as helpful as you were hoping. The portal is both magical and mysterious. Remember to wear plenty of layers, stay present in the moment, always be curious, and keep your eyes open for an unusual light. We hope to see you on the island soon.

Best Wishes, Pixie and Bumble.