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Mike Yardley: Britain’s Best Childhood Storybook Destinations

Author
Mike Yardley,
Publish Date
Fri, 1 Jul 2016, 10:09PM
Corfe Castle (Mike Yardley)
Corfe Castle (Mike Yardley)

Mike Yardley: Britain’s Best Childhood Storybook Destinations

Author
Mike Yardley,
Publish Date
Fri, 1 Jul 2016, 10:09PM

Planning a trip to Britain and want to relive some of your favourite childhood stories? Some of the greatest children's stories ever told were created by British authors with wildly rich imaginations. The UK countryside boasts some stirring landscapes – literally storybook scenery. The joy is that today you can still visit the authors’ homes and classic settings that lavishly inspired their stories. What a way to journey back to your childhood.

If I had to nominate my all-time favourite childhood author, Roald Dahl would take out the gold medal. It’s a milestone year for Dahl fans, as Britain gears up to celebrate the centenary of his birth. Later this month, his book The BFG ( Big Friendly Giant) will be his fifth story to be transformed into a movie, courtesy of the wizardry of Steven Spielberg. And his adult home, where he lived and worked for 36 years, churning out wondrously fantastical stories now houses the Roald Dahl Museum.  Forty minutes from London in Buckinghamshire’s Great Missenden, the museum is located just past the vintage Shell petrol pumps that featured in Danny the Champion of the World.

Three rooms of the house delve into his life and the creative writing process. There’s a stack of interactive exhibits, of particular appeal to children, including a dressing up box, making up nonsense words and finding out how tall you are compared to his favourite characters . As it says on the museum frontage, this place is  “swizzfiggingly flushbunkingly gloriumptious.” Dahl was quite the eccentric and one of my favourite exhibits is the rolled up ball of chocolate wrappers. Dahl ate a chocolate bar every day, screwing up the foil wrapper and adding it to the ever-growing ball, which is displayed on his writing desk. Willy Wonka would approve. 

Just as Disney is about to bring to life another Roald Dahl story, Disney has sprinkled its fairy dust across a slew of British children stories, none more so than Peter Pan. After all, Tinkerbell , the pixie dust queen, has become a timeless Disney icon. But it all began with JM Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan and his birthplace is a heritage-listed treasure in Scotland.  It’s befitting that his home exudes an air of mysteriousness. Born in Victorian times, the house has been furnished much as it would have been in his lifetime. His Peter Pan statue takes pride of place in the garden. JM Barrie's Birthplace is located at 9 Brechin Road, Kirriemuir in Angus. The nearest rail station is Dundee.

And there’s no downplaying Disney’s abiding love affair with Winnie the Pooh and the menagerie of characters created by AA Milne. Milne was inspired by the adventures of his son Christopher Robin in the genteel landscapes of southern England where they lived 90 years ago. You too can visit 100-Aker Wood – aka Ashdown Forest – and play Poohsticks on the bridge before it’s time for a little something at Pooh Corner, where Piglit’s Tearoom serves up Smackerels. Where to head? Ashdown Forest and the village of Hartfield, East Sussex  is easily accessed by train as a day-trip from London.

The world of Peter Rabbit. You can practically step into the pages of Beatrix Potter’s delightful picture books by visiting the Lake District. Much of the landscape remains unchanged since her times, plus you can visit her home Hill Top, and come face-to-face with her fuzzy characters at The World of Beatrix Potter. Hill Top is located in Ambleside, Cumbria. The World of Beatrix Potter is a heaving tourist magnet, located in the Lake District hotspot of Windermere.

Paddington Bear fever has been enjoying a renaissance since the Hollywood blockbuster was released a year ago. When in London, stop by Paddington Station for a selfie with the travelling bear himself, cast in bronze. You’ll find the statue in the station concourse. Michael Bond wrote the first Paddington story after picking up a lonely-looking bear in London’s Selfridges for his wife and naming the toy after their local railway station.

Since the success of the movie, the Paddington Bear Bus Tour has become a popular feature on the tourist circuit. The two and half hour tour threads together famous places from the book and movie, including Mr Gruber’s antiques shop and 32 Windsor Gardens, which was Paddington’s London home. 

Another old-school bear of storybook fame is Rupert. He was always stylishly dressed, in his yellow checked trousers and scarf. The dreamy scenery in which his adventures take place represents Snowdonia in Wales. His author and illustrator, Alfred Bestall, lived in the village of Beddgelert in “Penlan”, which is now a self-catering cottage and fawned over by Rupert Bear aficionados.

Are you a fan of The Wind in the Willows? Henley-on-Thames, Ratty’s beloved stretch of river, is where Kenneth Grahame lived for much of his life. A charming gallery in this pretty riverside town of explores his life and how he created the endearing characters of Mole, Ratty, Badger and Toad. You’ll find the gallery in the River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames.  You can also visit nearby Mapledurham Estate, the house that inspired Toad Hall.

Want to explore Enid Blyton Country?  Make a point of visiting the storybook-pretty village surrounding Corfe, in Dorset. It is irresistibly gorgeous. I felt like Noddy in Toyland.  Alongside Noddy, this remarkably productive storyteller also created the Secret Seven and Famous Five. In a career that spanned five decades, Enid Blyton wrote more than 700 books. In The Purbeck region of Dorset, Corfe Castle is a stunning Norman ruin, which was cast as Kirrin Castle in Enid Blyton's Famous Five books.

The steam train that Blyton took to travel to Corfe still runs from Swanage. In Corfe station, there’s a painting of the Famous Five, with the castle in the background. Be sure to head to The Ginger Pop shop in the village square. The shop stocks over 150 Blyton books as well as period toys and ginger beer - the Famous Five's favourite drink. The shop also operates themed walks and special events for Blyton buffs. Spiffingly good fun.

Mike Yardley is Newstalk ZB’s Travel Correspondent on Saturday Mornings with Jack Tame.

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