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Tucked away in the south eastern corner of Dorset, Purbeck is some 60 sq. miles of land that is bounded on almost all sides by water and - although not an island in the strict meaning of the word, it does convey a feeling that is particularly apt.

To experience a tour round the Purbeck’s you can start in the north on Poole Harbour, taking in Brownsea Island.

Continue south, past Studland Bay then Swanage Bay to Peveril Point, then turn west to see Durlston Bay and Head. Onward past Anvil Point and the Lighthouse takes you to the southernmost promontory of St.Aldhelms Head which is also known as St. Albans Head. A swing north and west further along the coast explores Chapmans Pool and then Kimmeridge, the site of a working oil well complete with nodding donkey.

Another mile on is the village of Tyneham, abandoned during the war. At Worbarrow Bay, just short of Lulworth and the Tank Firing Ranges, swing north and inland to meet up with Luckford Lake which is presumed the western boundary to Purbeck, leaving most of Lulworth to the west.
Further north at West Holme you join with the River Frome which meanders easterly, passing the south of Wareham to flow into Poole Harbour where we started the tour.

Enid Blyton holidayed in the Isle of Purbeck for three times a year for over twenty years. Reading her books it is easy to link some local landmarks to places in the stories, particularly the Famous Five series.  There is plenty to stimulate the imagination here in Purbeck including several castles, lots of sandy beaches, steep cliffs that were used by smugglers, and even a sea-filled school swimming pool.  Poole Harbour is full of islands and was once a major port for Flying Boats.

Kirrin Castle

At the end of 2006 a letter was published, written by Enid Blyton, which at first glance put doubt on the claim that Corfe Castle was the inspiration for Kirrin Castle in the Famous Five books. 

This is what Enid wrote in 1962

It was an island I once visited several times when I was in Jersey - it lay off the coast and could only be reached either by boat or by a rocky path exposed when the tide was out. It had an old castle there and I longed to put the island and castle into a book. So I did, as you know!

This letter has lead to a big debate in The Enid Blyton Society of which island and castle was being described. There are many little islands off Jersey, many of which have small forts on them, dating from Tudor times. Yet the castle Enid describes in the Famous Five has Norman architectural features; big arches, slit-like windows, a tower and a courtyard. Kirrin is built of pale (almost white) stone - just like Corfe. We know that Enid first visited Corfe in 1931, and was a regular visit to Swanage during the period she wrote Five on a Treasure Island. Travelling by train, she would have had splendid views of Corfe Castle from her railway carriage.

This 1962 letter was written 21 years after Five on a Treasure Island was written, and 38 years after her honeymoon on Jersey. There is little doubt that she is remembering the topography correctly (the castle on the island) but Kirrin Castle has far more in common with Norman Corfe Castle than any little Tudor fort! 

The "real" Kirrin is likely to have been in Enid's head, with aspects of both Jersey and Corfe incorporated to make the familiar setting of the Famous Five books.