The Enid Blyton Society

lwindrush wrote:Don't all children at one stage or another in the back garden attempt to dig a tunnel all the way to Australia?

Well, Michael did end up in Adelaide! Of course, he also started in Adelaide!

We used to dig deep holes on the beach too, Katharine, and my children have done the same.

When I was four or five, I read the story 'Two Fairy Wishes' from The Enid Blyton Book of Fairies, in which Jack and Ann dig a hole in the garden and find a corked bottle. When they open it, a fairy comes out and grants them each a wish, just like a genie from the Tales of the Arabian Nights. That inspired me to dig a hole in the back garden in the hope that the same thing would happen to me!

When we were on holiday in Kent last year we went down to the beach and found some caves in the cliffs. I was very excited and managed to persuade my husband and daughter to come in and have a look with me. There were narrow passages that lead to wider 'rooms' with varous sea debris in.
Also, the year before, we went to the Isle of Wight and visited the botanical gardens where there is a long passage through the cliff that lead to the beach. It was about 6-7 feet high and 3 feet wide. I think it was previously a sewer at one time as it stank!

When I first read FF I thought the tunnel to Kirrin island was ludicrous, now I am not so sure.

Ice_Gemz wrote:we went to the Isle of Wight and visited the botanical gardens where there is a long passage through the cliff that lead to the beach. It was about 6-7 feet high and 3 feet wide. I think it was previously a sewer at one time as it stank!

Oh no, I missed that when we went last year. Was it part of the Shanklin Chine gardens? If so, I'm very annoyed as I wanted to go and have a look around them, but it was getting late and the rest of the family weren't keen. Although I'm not sorry we missed the smelly bit.

I have to mention Sark in the Channel Islands again and more particularly
"The Boutiques" which stretch from the coast to well inland. They also contain
rocks of semi precious stones. The landward entrance is well hidden and if you
miss it the path eventually goes over a steep cliff!

It is an interesting point that Enid was supposed to have based Kirrin
Island on islands she saw on her honeymoon in the Channel Islands.

Guernsey has secret ways and passages associated with smuggling as
does Jersey with many cave systems and Herm had a hidden hoard of
pirate treasure associated with the infamous "Black Jack Allaire" who
is supposed to have mudered all crew and passengers of the ships he
captured.

Lots of caves and tunnels in my area. The tunnels are only partly excavated and the openings gated off to stop the public wondering in them. Some tunnels and caves are sadly bricked up, a new set of caves were found recently while an old buliding was demolished the caves were bricked up and houses built in front of them, I know the local historians are not happy

Some houses have caves as storage in their gardens, others are built into the caves and have sandstone feature walls, my friend when I was a young girl had a cave in her garden that housed the toilet.

There are thought to be lots more tunnels and caves under the town that have never been found one is rumoured to go under the river, not sure how much truth is in that though.

I used to play house in the caves close to my house, tragically a teenager was killed in them when the roof of one collapsed.

Katharine- it was Ventnor botanic gardens, lots of different themed gardens in one place. Beautiful, well worth a visit.

The beach in Kent was called St Margaret's Bay, I believe the closest point to France from the UK.
In Margate there is quite an intriguing cave, or rather a grotto, entirely covered in shells- walls and ceiling. It's magnificent and very strange!
Several smugglers' caves in Hastings too.

Katharine wrote:I remember when playing on the local beach we used to try and dig all the way down to Australia. If we managed to dig a hole deep enough to be able to hide our knees we thought we'd done a good days work

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Digging out a ditch on a conservation task ast year, I remembered times when I tried to dig all the way to Australia. I then had a worrying thought (as gown ups do)... what would happen if you did dig all the way through - and then missed Australia proper and came out somewhere in the Great Barrier Reef? If all the sea water came rushing through, the whole planet would start wobbling horribly and spin off on some trajectory out into deep space

Children - I don't think it would be a good idea...

Viv

ps - I don't think I mentioned this before - but apologies if I have...

Thanks Ice_Gemz, we only paid a fleeting visit to Ventnor and it was in the evening so we wouldn't have had the opportunity to see anything. Hopefully we'll go back again sometime.

I've been to St. Maragaret's Bay a couple of times, but again didn't know anything about any caves! I have however been to Hell Fire Corner under Dover Castle. I'm hoping to go back there some day as I believe they have opened up evening more of the tunnels since my last visit. Not secret tunnels in an Enid Blyton sort of way, but still fascinating.

The only caves I ever remember exploring were in the Whitby area, possibly Robin Hood's Bay, but it was a long time ago, so I'm a bit hazy as to the exact location.

Viv, I don't think there's much danger of the average child with a seaside bucket and spade digging all the way through to Australia Anyway, wouldn't they hit some kind of lava first? I vaguely recall various rock formations such as ignatious rock that would be encountered first - Geography wasn't my best subject, so I've probably got that wrong.

I'll keep an eye on my children next time they are digging on the beach, if they get more than a mile down I'll tell them to stop.

Katharine wrote: Anyway, wouldn't they hit some kind of lava first? I vaguely recall various rock formations such as ignatious rock that would be encountered first - Geography wasn't my best subject, so I've probably got that wrong.

Ah - that's the sort of thing you can find out in the vaults of the Geology Museum

Viv

How exciting so many forumites are digging there way to Australia. Just to let you know if you make it we'll make you very welcome. But make sure you come out in Adelaide.

cheers
Aussie Sue

Katharine wrote:
I've been to St. Maragaret's Bay a couple of times, but again didn't know anything about any caves! I have however been to Hell Fire Corner under Dover Castle. I'm hoping to go back there some day as I believe they have opened up evening more of the tunnels since my last visit. Not secret tunnels in an Enid Blyton sort of way, but still fascinating.

St Margaret's Bay is the real life setting on which Dorita Fairlie Bruce based The Jane Willard Foundation where Dimsie went to school. A secret passage features in the stories, so perhaps that is based on fact too.

If you did reach the earths core then the molten magma, intense heat and pressure would fry you to a crisp.


I never realised England is cross crossed with hidden tunnels and secret passageways, apart from the underground network and the Victorian sewers it's mostly forgotten.