Go adventuring again in Enid Blyton’s old house!
Thinking back to childhood, what bookshelf was complete without a few copies of Enid Blyton books? From magical tales of ‘The Faraway Tree’, to the mind boggling mysteries of ‘The Famous Five’ and ‘The Secret Seven’, she truly wrote something for everyone to enjoy.
In some ways, the key to her storytelling is the amazing locations that she describes. She set the popular ‘Five Find-Outers’ series in a fictionalised version of her local area, and her house (obviously residing in this local areas!) has now been put up for sale on Rightmove! This house was the place that she began her ‘Wishing Chair’ and ‘Faraway Tree’ series, and the children for which she wrote a newspaper column suggested many different names for it, including ‘Pixie Cottage’ and ‘Fairy Cottage’. However, Blyton decided to stay with the name that the cottage has had for decades: ‘Old Thatch’. This is certainly an apt name, as the cottage itself has a beautifully kept thatched roof!
This is clearly a cottage which is bursting with character and personality! Blyton lived there from 1929-1938, and many of us would think that this vibrant home atmosphere would reflect the character of the author herself; however, she is quoted as saying that her readers would be ‘disappointed’ at her personality if they were to meet her in real life. Despite this, the cottage itself is absolutely stunning, and has been expertly looked after by its current owners. It boasts 4 bedrooms and 3 reception rooms, and is set in a desirable 1.5 acres of land.
The kitchen and dining area is open plan, and the ceiling is fitted with beautiful oak beams, which truly transports us back into Blyton’s fictional world. The living area has a similar rustic charm to it, with a large fireplace that acts as a beautiful focal point to the room.
Even though the interior of Old Thatch is certainly one of a kind, our favourite part of the property is the amazing garden! It has its own maze and fountain, together with a lawn area decorated with some particularly pretty flowers; it screams summer garden party to us! We can imagine Blyton and her two children particularly enjoying this part of their home, however rocky reports of their home life are.
The property itself is located in Well End in Beaconsfield, close to Bourne End and Cookham train stations, meaning that it is in an ideal location for travelling around the surrounding areas. Plus, Beaconsfield is a particularly desirable area, packed full of restaurants, cafes, and local landmarks to explore. Probably the most well-known of these is the Bekonscot Model Village, which even has a model of Old Thatch inside it! The property now appears to have sold, but fear not, here are some images of it in all of its glory. So, if you have a spare £1,750,000 in your pocket, this beautiful Grade II listed character cottage could be yours!
