For anyone who sneaked a torch under the blankets after lights-out for the next thrilling instalment of the exploits of Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy, Dorset is synonymous with the Famous Five. Although Enid Blyton didn't mention the county in her books, she was a frequent visitor to Dorset, and its sleepy villages and secret coves provided the perfect setting for innocent outdoorsy adventures fuelled by lashings of ginger beer.　

2017 has been the 75th birthday of the first of the Famous Five books and children are still avidly reading the 21 adventures.

For Blyton bookworms, young or old, Dorset is the perfect place to recreate a little nostalgic adventure. As Julian says in 'Five Go Off in a Caravan', "I do love the beginning of the summer hols. They always seem to stretch out ahead for ages and ages." "They go so nice and slowly at first," replies Anne, "Then they start to gallop." Helpful Holidays, the award-winning West Country cottage experts, offer a wide choice of　Dorset cottages　for intriguing breaks, exploring (with abundant picnics of potted meat sandwiches and fruit cake) these spiffing sites which inspired the books.

The Famous Five solve mysteries in idyllic surroundings which come alive in the timeless villages, dusty lanes, lush countryside, picture-perfect farms and unspoiled coast of the Isle of Purbeck (really a peninsula). Blyton, who visited Dorset three times a year for over 20 years, loved this landscape where her characters　 'watch waves break into spray over rocks', 'lie on heathery beds listening to sounds of the night' and 'smell the drifting scent of honeysuckle'. Golden cottages in sleepy villages still have smugglers' secret passages, and hidden coves, which may well be Smuggler's Top and Demon's Rocks, have eerie caves and caverns where the Five shone their torches (which they always carried, together with maps and sandwiches) and discovered clues, like cigarette ends, to contraband stashes.　

Pack up the children and head to Dorset in 2018 for your own adventures.

Stay in one of the delightful cottages Helpful Holidays have to offer.

The Chapel for the older children adventures await in a smart renovated chapel in Milborne St Andrew, the former Methodist chapel lovingly recreated as a state of the art, contemporary and stylish house for 4. No children under 6 due to steep spiral staircases. Prices start at £380 per week.

Blackbird Cottage sleeping 6 in Broadwindsor sitting end-of-row, just off the village square in the heart of Broadwindsor, an attractive, Grade II listed cottage. Beautifully renovated, it even has its own small summerhouse with games room (mini table football, pool table, air hockey).Prices start from £218 per week.

Park Farmhouse in the heart of Chideock, two doors from a good food pub and across the road from the footpath to the beach, a large beautiful, thatched, detached former farmhouse, sleeping 17 complete with own private indoor heated swimming pool. The house is light and spacious, retaining traditional Dorset character in beams, fireplaces and some low lintels. Prices start from £1710

To view Helpful Holidays' portfolio of over 600 places to stay sleeping two to 47 guests in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset, visit www.helpfulholidays.co.uk or call 01647 434063 for a free brochure.