9 literary locations behind beloved children's stories
From literary houses – where authors penned some of their most famous works – to country estates that have appeared in Jane Austen adaptations, the UK is brimming with notable spots that have inspired (and continue to inspire) brilliant writers.
To celebrate World Book Day, we're delving into some of the UK locations that have influenced some of our best-loved children’s stories
From waterside spots that turned into the backdrop for Wind in the Willows, to striking mountain landscapes that became the inspiration for Narnia, read on for 9 literary locations behind beloved children's books...
Great Maytham Hall, Kent
The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
It was while sitting in the grounds of Great Maytham Hall, her home between 1898 and 1907, that Frances Hodgson Burnett spotted a rusty gate beneath a veil of ivy. Following a robin on a nearby bough, Burnett unearthed a neglected walled garden dating back to the 1700s. She set about restoring the plot to its former glory, replacing overgrown brambles with an assortment of roses. In the coming years, Burnett would sit among the flowers writing The Secret Garden about the orphan Mary Lennox.
Retrace Burnett’s footsteps on April 1, May 13, June 10 and July 1 during the National Open Garden Scheme.
Crinan Canal, Argyll
The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
Kenneth Grahame made up his tales of the riverbank for his son Alastair, which the family’s governess then read to him at bedtime. The stories were inspired partly by Grahame’s childhood exploring the banks of the Crinan Canal, where, along the waterside ‘hurry and scurry’, he glimpsed the creatures that would become his colourful characters – Badger, Ratty, Mole and Mr Toad.
Head to Ardrishaig on Loch Fyne to begin the nine-mile journey (on foot, bicycle or kayak) to the canal’s end at the Sound of Jura, a stretch known as ‘Britain’s most beautiful shortcut’.
The Mourne Mountains, County Down
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
As a child, CS Lewis spent family holidays in County Down, where the terrain and Celtic myths of the area took root in his imagination. The Mourne Mountains there are said to have inspired Narnia. Lewis wrote of the scenery: “I’ve seen landscapes which, under a particular light, made me feel that, at any moment, a giant might raise his head over the next ridge.”
Today, you can explore Northern Ireland’s highest range on foot, following the Devil’s Coach Road or former smugglers’ route, the Brandy Pad. Just watch out for the White Witch…
Corfe Castle, Dorset
Five on a Treasure Island, Enid Blyton
For more than two decades, Enid Blyton spent her holidays on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset. Visiting three times a year, she’d travel by steam train, and swim in the sea off Swanage Bay. It’s little wonder then, that many of the places she came across made their way into her books. Appearing first in Five on a Treasure Island, Kirrin Castle is said to be based on the 11th-century Corfe Castle, which Blyton visited in 1931. Julian marvels at the same “broken archways, tumbledown towers and ruined walls”, which you can still see today.
Fidra, East Lothian
Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
Stand on the shore at Yellowcraigs and you’ll see Fidra out in the Firth of Fourth. As a child, Robert Louis Stevenson spent his holidays here in East Lothian, and visits to this uninhabited isle are said to have inspired Treasure Island. Today, Fidra – or ‘Feather Island’ in Old Norse – is an RSPB nature reserve where puffins, razorbills and fulmars build their nests on the craggy cliffs.
Channel your inner Jim Hawkins and see it by boat: book a seat aboard The Braveheart, which departs from North Berwick Harbour all year round.
Ashdown Forest, East Sussex
The House at Pooh Corner, AA Milne
A game for two or more (and best played with willow), Poohsticks first appeared in The House at Pooh Corner, where it was devised, according to the story, by Winnie-the-Pooh after he dropped a pine cone into the river. In reality, AA Milne dreamt up Poohsticks while walking in Ashdown Forest, close to his home at Cotchford Farm. Originally played with Christopher Robin on Posingford Bridge – which went on to become Poohsticks Bridge – the game involves participants, human or imaginary, dropping their stick into the water and seeing whose emerges under the bridge first.
More than 100 years later, visitors travel from near and far to see the site that inspired Milne – and have a go at the game themselves.
Moat Brae, Dumfries
Peter Pan, JM Barrie
“For our escapades in a certain Dumfries Garden, which is enchanted land to me, were certainly the genesis of that nefarious work, Peter Pan,” wrote JM Barrie in his memoirs. Between the ages of 13 and 18, he attended Dumfries Academy at Moat Brae, the house there, playing pirates in the Georgian villa. Tearing around with his friends, many of whom he’d create codenames for, Barrie dreamt up all manner of fantastical concepts and characters. Moat Brae was restored and reopened to the public last summer. Look out for the Peter Pan sculpture in Neverland Garden.
Oxford Botanic Garden, Oxford
His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials might span alternate worlds, but many of its locations and landmarks are recognisable from our own. At the back of Oxford Botanic Garden – the oldest of its kind in the world – an inconspicuous bench marks the spot where protagonists Will Parry and Lyra Belacqua agree to meet each year on Midsummer’s Day: “At midday. As long as I live,” Lyra promises in the closing chapters of the trilogy. Today, you can sit on the bench, as well as admire Julian Warren’s sculpture featuring dæmons Pantalaimon and Kirjava in the Walled Garden.
Watership Down, Hampshire
Watership Down, Richard Adams
Beautiful but brutal, Richard Adams’ Watership Down started life as a tale he would tell his daughters Rosamond and Julia on the way to school.
A civil servant, Adams spent his evenings writing at the request of the pair who said the story was “too good to waste”. His tale of rabbits escaping danger and establishing a new home takes its name from Watership Down in Hampshire, close to where Adams grew up, and went on to win a host of literary awards.
Visit today and you’ll see that the hill, overlooking fields and woodland, would make the perfect place for a rabbit warren – with fewer perils ahead.
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