From Peter Rabbit’s garden to the original Hundred Aker Wood, bring the magic of your children’s favourite books alive by making a beeline for the places that inspired their authors. Whether it’s taking tea in the Edinburgh cafe where JK Rowling first dreamed up her boy wizard, or searching for the BFG’s footprints on Bamburgh beach, there are scores of trails and attractions up and down the country to inspire young readers.
Visit Peter Pan’s creator JM Barrie at home
JM Barrie’s famous creation Peter Pan may have flitted over Kensington Gardens, but the author’s birthplace in Angus, Scotland, opens a window on the Victorian childhood that gave birth to the boy who never grew up. The National Trust for Scotland property in Kirriemuir houses Barrie’s personal items and an exhibition tells the story of his stage and literary success. Two rooms are re-created as they would have been during Barrie’s childhood in the 1860s.
Find Harry Potter in Edinburgh and Fort William
Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo
Picture yourself eating Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans aboard the Hogwarts Express as you steam over the viaduct that carried Harry Potter and chums to the school of witchcraft and wizardry. West Coast Railways’ locomotive the Jacobite runs along a stunning 84-mile track from Mallaig to Fort William and takes in some of Scotland’s most breathtaking scenery, including the Glenfinnan viaduct that is featured in the films. Over in Edinburgh, a pinch of floo powder might whizz you to tea at the Elephant House tearoom and coffeehouse where JK Rowling penned her early Harry Potter adventures in the back room overlooking Edinburgh Castle.
Meet Peter Rabbit at Beatrix Potter’s world
The Cumbrian countryside where Beatrix Potter lived and worked forms the backdrop to her enchanting animal tales. Featuring re-created settings and larger-than-life models, The World of Beatrix Potter in Bowness-on-Windermere brings alive Jemima Puddle-Duck, Jeremy Fisher and co in a series of interactive and hands-on displays. Take time to visit Peter Rabbit’s idyllic garden and enjoy a freshly baked scone in the tearoom.
Encounter the BFG at Bamburgh Castle
Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The BFG starring Mark Rylance is set to be this summer’s hit movie. The still-inhabited Bamburgh Castle looms 150 feet above this dramatic stretch of dune-fringed Northumbrian beach which was used by film crews to create giant sandy footprints that were washed away by the tide. The location’s literary and cinematic links also include the recent Michael Fassbender Macbeth and the ITV drama Beowulf based on the epic Old English poem.
Follow Pooh Bear in Ashdown Forest
Celebrate the 90th anniversary of the first Winnie-the-Pooh book with a game of Poohsticks on a bridge during a walk through Ashdown Forest in East Sussex. Not 100 acres but rather 10 square miles of ancient woodland, it was here that Pooh’s creator AA Milne bought Cotchford Farm in 1925 as a weekend family retreat. Download the map of Pooh walks taking in locations from the stories including Eeyore’s gloomy place, Roo’s sandy pit, the Enchanted Places and the memorial to AA Milne and illustrator EH Shephard where the author – and Pooh – liked to sit and think.
Find Crocklebogs in Norfolk
A Boggle’s hop from Norfolk’s idyllic broads, BeWILDerwood is an award-winning forest adventure park and the setting for a series of magical books by local author Tom Blofeld starring the likes of Swampy and Mildred the Crocklebog. Take a boat ride across the scary lake to Boggle Village, explore the tricky tunnels or cosy cabin and follow a route around a series of adventure playgrounds taking in a broken bridge, treacherous trail, a maze, treehouses, zip slides, storytelling and den building.
Celebrate Roald Dahl’s centenary
This year marks the centenary of the birth of arguably the world’s greatest children’s storyteller Roald Dahl, with events and screenings around the country celebrating the occasion. The whole of Cardiff, Dahl’s birthplace, will be transformed on 17-18 September. A two-day street pageant featuring 6,000 singers, dancers, magicians and scenes from the author’s life is planned. The Norwegian Church Arts Centre will join in the celebrations with a special exhibition. The award-winning Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, where he lived, houses interactive galleries exploring Dahl’s schooldays, the writing hut where he worked, and a space for crafts, dressing up and inspiring young readers to write their own stories.
Go down the rabbit hole in Llandudno
Alice Liddell, the real Alice in Wonderland, spent her holidays in the Victorian seaside resort of Llandudno, then when back in Oxford she liked to share her adventures with family friend Charles Dodgson, AKA Lewis Carroll. The interactive app Alice Town Trails takes visitors on a tour narrated by eight-year-old Alice with help from the Mad Hatter. Play a game of croquet, hop on to a mushroom, answer the riddles, meet the animated characters and step into a scene with them as you roam the delights of this Welsh beauty spot.
Explore CS Lewis’s world
Kilbroney Park lies in an area of Northern Ireland long associated with myth and legend. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe author CS Lewis, who spent boyhood holidays here, is said to have commented that the part of Rostrevor overlooking Carlingford Lough “is my idea of Narnia”. Taking inspiration, The council has created a family loop trail entered – like the magical world of Narnia – through a wardrobe. Visitors will experience places based around characters from Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia including the Beavers, the Citadels and the Tree People.
Search for giants in South Armagh
Slieve Gullion in South Armagh is said to be Ireland’s Mountain of Mystery, and the Giant’s Lair story trail takes inspiration from a fantastical world of dragons, witches, fairies and elves. Combining folklore with artworks based on local legend, this innovative magical living storybook leads families on a mile-long enchanted trail through the forest park. Follow in the footsteps of Flynn, the mischievous fairy, who must not wake the sleeping giant that is Slieve Gullion. Take dandelion tea, grab a seat at the giant’s table, peek at a witchy trickster and discover the ladybird’s house in this beautiful outdoor setting, before enjoying a romp in the neighbouring adventure playground.
Go to www.homeofamazing.com for further holiday inspiration
