Five go to Dorset

Hurrah! shouted Julian, as he threw back the bed covers. “It’s time for the summer hols again!” Leaping out of bed, he raced over to where Dick lay fast asleep. “Wake up Dick!” he yelled, giving his brother a dig in the ribs, before running next door to his sister’s room. He shook Anne by the shoulders. “I say! Don’t you know the hols start today? We’re off to Kirrin Bay to stay with Aunt Fanny, Uncle Quentin and cousin George, not forgetting Timmy the dog!”

And so they were – and so can you, in a manner of speaking, because the settings for many of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books were inspired by real places in Dorset. Early during the war years, Blyton and her family travelled by steam train for a memorable holiday in Swanage on the Isle of Purbeck. With its soaring cliffs, hidden coves, islands and heaths, to a writer Purbeck simply spelled adventure and the chance to thrill young readers.

This September marks the 70th anniversary of the first edition of the first Famous Five book, Five on a Treasure Island. From 1942 to 1963 a total of 21 Famous Five books were published and while they may be criticised now for out-of-date social values, we all loved them.

I remember distinctly when I first read Five on a Treasure Island, aged perhaps eight or nine. It was a Sunday and I confined myself to my bedroom for a full day. A couple of years later, my first Scout summer camp saw me crammed into the back of a furniture van with 50 others, heading for the Isle of Purbeck. That camp was my first great adventure away from home. There were no smugglers or secret passages, but I fell in love with the place and I’ve been back at regular intervals ever since.

The first thing that strikes you about this south-eastern corner of Dorset, apart from the fact it isn’t an island at all, just a peninsula, is the sheer variety of landscapes. It’s as though all the natural highlights of the south of England have been gathered up and put on show here, laid out seamlessly to create a place of unrivalled gentle beauty. From the north perhaps the broadest expanse of lowland heath in England gives way abruptly to the Purbeck Hills, a chalk ridge that scythes right across Purbeck ending in dramatic sea cliffs at each end. Midway along, the downs break. Guarding the gap stands the mediaeval stronghold of Corfe Castle. From here, looking south the eye roves over lush green farmland to the limestone coastal uplands, crowned by the great bulk of St Alban’s Head, a commanding spot along this the world-famous Jurassic Coast. Over to the east lie Poole Harbour and Brownsea Island (incidentally where the first ever Scout camp took place in 1907), while westwards the rocky coastline leads to Lulworth Cove, Durdle Door and beyond.

There are links with the Famous Five all around, starting at Corfe Castle itself, believed to be the model for the old ruins on Kirrin Island. Hartland Moor between Corfe and Stoborough became Mystery Moor in Five Go to Mystery Moor (1954), Brownsea Island was Whispering Island in Five Have a Mystery to Solve (1962) and a farm Blyton bought at Sturminster Newton in north Dorset appeared in Five on Finniston Farm (1960).

The best way to remember your childhood is to unashamedly forget you are an adult now and go on the Famous Five Adventure Trail. It was created to mark the Five on a Treasure Island anniversary by Viv Endecott, who owns the Ginger Pop Shop in the village that nestles under Corfe Castle and takes in the steam railway that links Corfe and Swanage and also the Victorian pier in Swanage itself, where Enid liked to swim.

As you travel round, you realise there’s even more to the Isle of Purbeck than could be covered in any number of adventure books. Here, for instance, you can find a greater variety of nature, area for area, than anywhere else in the country. Studland and Godlingston Heath National Nature Reserve is one of the few places where you can see, if you are lucky, all six species of British reptile. Along the limestone cliffs in July you’ll find bee orchids while Chapman’s Pool and Kimmeridge Bay give you the chance to discover the life of the seashore.

There’s no better walking than on the South West Coast Path, which gives you a gull’s-eye view of sea, rocks and crashing waves. Meanwhile, there are bathing beaches at Studland Bay and Swanage and a several-weeks-long list of places to visit, including the Swanage Steam Railway, the Blue Pool, the lonely Norman chapel perched on St Alban’s Head, the ruined village of Tyneham and, of course, the village of Corfe Castle with its museum, model village, the Ginger Pop shop and definitely not forgetting the castle itself, which during the English Civil War was over-run by Parliamentary forces and blown apart with gunpowder.

Today there are yawning gaps in the castle walls, but the remains of the central keep still stand defiant. If walls could talk, these would surely have some tales to tell. But, of course, they can’t and as we all know, the storytelling is best left to Enid Blyton. Anyone for a ginger beer?

Getting there

Visit: Corfe Castle (www.nationaltrust.org.uk/corfe-castle) or 01929 481294; Ginger Pop Shop in Corfe (www.gingerpop.co.uk/corfeshop.htm or 01202 670504); Famous Five Adventure Trail (www.f5trail.co.uk); Swanage Railway (www.swanagerailway.co.uk or 01929 425800); Blue Pool (www.bluepooltearooms.co.uk or 01929 551408); Studland and Godlingston Heath National Nature Reserve (www.naturalengland.org.uk); South West Coast Path (www.southwestcoastpath.com)

Stay at: Enid Blyton’s old haunts – The Grand Hotel in Swanage (www.grandhotelswanage.co.uk or 01929 423353) and Knoll House Hotel at Studland (www.knollhouse.co.uk or 01929 450450). Also try Swanage Youth Hostel (www.yha.org.uk/hostel/swanage or 0845 371 9346).

Don’t forget: Enid Blyton Birthday Party in the grounds of Corfe Castle on 11 August 2012.