End Blyton at Old Hatch

Growing up in the 1950s most of us as children read books by Enid Blyton starting with The Folk of the Far Away Tree, the Wishing Chair, and Noddy books and then moving on to the adventure stories series of the Five Find-Outers and Dog, the Famous Five and to a lesser extent, on my part, the Secret Seven.

Forty kilometers west of London at Bourne End on the banks of the Thames is Old Thatch Cottage, the home of Enid Blyton from 1929 to 1938. Bourne End was the setting for Enid Blyton's mystery series following the adventures of Fatty, Larry, Daisy, Pip and Betsy plus Buster the dog. Tess Livingstone has written a book about Old Thatch Cottage and the surrounding village and countryside along with an outline of the stories in a selection of Five Find-Outers and Dog books. The book is richly illustrated with photographs. The book acts as a travel guide to the region and as well as providing background information for and reviving memories of a well loved series of books.