TV locations for the Famous Five series

Discuss the television and film adaptations of Enid Blyton's stories.
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Gary Russell
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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by Gary Russell »

My memory (never the most reliable of things) is that the place where I received Dirty Dick's message was location not Exbury
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number 6
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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by number 6 »

Yep! My memory is getting like that as well, Gary! :lol: I do agree with you that it's not an Exbury location! I think I found the location several years ago, but I never went back to confirm it....& then, of course, I misplaced my notes! :roll:
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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by number 6 »

Contacted Marc Checkley several days ago regarding his long awaited (& overdue!) '1978 Famous Five Documentary. I'am still waiting for a reply. I'll post any news on the forum as soon I have it.

I did look on his web page & found a short 5min video of his work. There are a few very brief clips of Marc visiting a few F5 locations with Gary, Marcus & Jennifer..plus one at the home of @GeorgeKirrin (Zoe) as well.
There's one clip where Gary looks a mildly uncomfortable with the situation, but that's probably my interpretation!
The vid can be found via the link below.


http://www.marccheckley.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Gary Russell
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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by Gary Russell »

That's definitely your interpretation, Ade. I was having a ball!
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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by number 6 »

No offence intended, Gary! :oops:

Apologises if this is going over old ground, but It would be interesting to know the locations you all managed to visit with Marc. I honestly can't remember you or Marc mentioning much about it.

It would be nice to see the documentary up & running one day, but I know Marc is an exceptionally busy chap, so I can understand why its not made an appearance yet. It will one day. :D
Last edited by number 6 on 03 May 2017, 17:27, edited 1 time in total.
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Gary Russell
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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by Gary Russell »

Lordy - ummm, see it's that memory going again.... we did Exbury inside and out plus a bit of the village. We did the Caravan locations. We did Lepe and nearby places. Umm...we went to the Parkwood Hotel area. And, not on camera, we popped round to the outside of Gatewood just for a looksee. There may have been a couple more. God, I'm really rubbish at this kind of thing and it was only 2013...
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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by number 6 »

You certainly covered some ground during your visit, Gary! That was good going. I bet it brought quite a lot of happy memories back for you all. I know it's nice for you to revisit the locations after 30 odd years, but what were your real feelings when you saw those once familiar places...especially with your former co-stars Marcus & Jennifer being there with you? Were there any particular *wow* moments or disappointments, etc, during your brief time in the New Forest? :D

Sadly, I never got to meet Marc. We were supposed to meet up at some point, but I was working away at the time & the opportunity passed. However, I did send him a New Forest map with all the locations highlighted, directions indicated, & some photos etc, to help him on his way. I think I made his quest a little easier! :D
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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by Gary Russell »

Gatewood was emotional - a real "Michelle's not here" moment

And I had completely forgotten to giant anchor thing at Lepe Beach but the moment I saw that, lots of things fell into place about the exact placement of the glass painting for Kirrin Island. And seeing the kitchen area inside Exbury that we turned into tunnels regularly was amazing - the only part of Exbury's interior that hadn't changed beyond recognition
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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by number 6 »

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Gary. I can imagine how emotional Gatewood was for you on your return, with those special memories of Michelle racing through your mind. A day of mixed feelings for you all, for sure.

It's a shame that the interior of Exbury has changed so much, & the kitchen is the only recognisable feature from the series. I didn't realise that the painting of Kirrin island was filmed at Lepe, so that's new to me! I'm glad you all enjoyed your visit down memory lane.

Again, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Much appreciated. :D
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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by Gary Russell »

Yeah, next to Exbury itself, Lepe was our most regular location.
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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by number 6 »

Cheers, Gary! :D Another nice little snippet of info. I'd love to see your notes on the series, one day. That would be quite interesting. :D
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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by number 6 »

This photo has just turned up! The main entrance to Burley Manor. This is where Sooty & Marybelle first greet the Five when they arrive at Smugglers Top by car. Love the brickwork! :D

Image
Last edited by number 6 on 14 Oct 2019, 19:34, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by Machupicchu14 »

I can clearly remember the scene and of course the building!!!! :D
"All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love."
(все, что я понимаю, я понимаю только потому, что люблю)
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You can call me Machupicchu14 or María Esther

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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by number 6 »

Found an handy bus service for visiting a few of the F5 locations. It's great if you arrive in Lymington by train/bus & want to do a bit of exploring. The Beach Bus starts from Lymington high St (Post Office) & runs down to Exbury gardens & Lepe. You can get a day ticket that allows you to hop on & hop off at your leisure. This means you can spent two or three hours at each location if you wish.
It also enables you to visit Sowley Pond when the bus runs through the little villages, although it's about about a 2 mile walk from East End village drop off point!

You can also alight at Bucklers hard car park & have a steady walk to St LEONARDS farm, where Five get into a fix was filmed.

Below is the link to the bus service. The timetable is for 2016, but I contacted the Company & they've told me the 2017 timetable will be released very soon.


http://thebeachbus.info/mobile/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: TV locations for the Famous Five series

Post by Jack400 »

Thanks for the info, number 6.
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