Last week I was on Google Maps looking for Blyton Close (I was wanting to know how far it was from Shipton for this letters page) but I forgot it was just Blyton close and I typed Enid Blyton Close.
I ended up in America. In Waldorf, Maryland to be precise. Where there’s a street called Enid Blyton Place….
Enid in her rightful place
Enid Blyton Place is a modern cul-de-sac located in a sprawling sub-division of similar streets. I think it must have been recently built when the satellite images were taken of the area as it’s very barren looking.
I’m thoroughly impressed that she has been honoured in this way – especially as she never made it as big in the USA as she did in other parts of the world.
What I think is even more amazing is that Enid Blyton Place is entered via George Orwell Place, which in turn is connected to Charles Dickens Drive. Streetview isn’t available for the street itself, but you can see the two signposts at the corner and get a view up the street from Charles Dickens Drive.
These street names have obviously been chosen to honour authors of note, and Blyton is on the map alongside a range of literary greats, who she is rarely considered equal to.
In the area is:
- Dorothy Sayers Place
- Shakespeare Circle
- Evelyn Waugh Court
- Emily Dickinson Place
- Ian Fleming Lane
- JK Rowling Court
- Charlotte Bronte Lane
- Conan Doyle Place
- Lewis Carroll Drive
- Mary Shelley Place
- Jane Austen Lane
- John Keats Place
- Tolkien Avenue
- Beatrix Potter Place
- Wordsworth Place
and more.
Definitely a collection of literary greats!
Living (on) the Enid Blyton Way
I noticed that there were other Enid Blyton results on the list so I had to explore them, of course.
The next one was Enid Blyton Weg in Winsen, Germany. Weg translates to street, road or way. The street was still under construction in 2016 when the Google Maps car went by but looks like a nice little cul-de-sac from the air.
Like in Maryland Blyton’s name is used for a street in a neighbourhood of literary streets, though I only recognised three of the other four.
- Erich Kastner Weg (Emil and the Detectives)
- Astrid Lindgren Strasse (Pippi Longstocking)
- Michael End Weg (The Never Ending Story)
- Otfried Preußler (The Robber Hotzenplotz)
Then I found another Enid Blyton Weg, also in Germany, but in Eving this time.
Nearby streets included
- Erich Kastner Ring
- Selma Lagerlof Strasse (The Wonderful Adventures of Nils)
- Theodore Storm Strasse (Poet and writer of literary realism)
- Heinrich Heine Strasse (Poet, writer and literary critic)
- Luise Rinser Weg (Novelist)
- Nelly Sachs Strasse (Poet and playwright)
- Astrid Lindgren Strasse Weg
- Michael End Strasse
- Johanna Spyri Weg (Heidi)
- Theodor Fontane Strasse (Novelist and poet)
- Bettina von Arnim Weg (Writer and composer)
So again Blyton is being honoured alongside a variety of famous authors and those dear to children’s hearts.
Enid Blyton is the street where you live
Enid Blyton Strasse is also Germany, this time in Hennef. At first I wondered if this was ‘our’ Blyton as I couldn’t see any obviously names streets around it. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, I thought. (Then of course my brain decided this needed a Friends quote and said Joincidence. Or I suppose in this case an Enidincidence?)
However, a few streets, or strasses away are
- Selma Lagerlöf Strasse
- Nils Holgersson Strasse (a Lagerlöf character)
- Carlo Collodi Strasse (Pinocchio).
- Astrid Lindgren Strasse
- Lise Meitner Strasse (Physicist)
- Henrich Von Morungen (12th century poet/musician)
The area is a bit different, as although the first German neighbourhood we looked at only had five streets they all connected. These ones are spread out with non-literary streets in between. Still a worthy group to be part of, and as with several other areas Blyton is the only British author.
Enid Blyton house
Also on the list is Enid Blyton House which initially I assumed was an office building, home to the Enid Blyton company. It’s not, though. It’s a block of flats in Aylesbury, next door to Anne Boleyn House. Unfortunately the other blocks are accessed via footpaths and not roads so I can’t see their names via street view.
I found this look at the inside of one of the Enid Blyton House flats – and sadly it’s quite poky.
Enid Blyton Corner
Annoyingly Google maps only shows the top five results for a search, so short of searching specific areas or guessing full street names it’s luck whether new ones show up. I did find this in Droitwich, though.
I’m not sure why it’s called a corner as it’s a T shaped cul-de-sac, but never mind. Around it are
- Charlotte Bronte Drive
- Charles Dickens Close
- William Shakespeare Place
- Geoffrey Chaucer Walk
Unfortunately both the houses near the entrance to the Corner are blurred on Google so I can’t get a look at the street sign.
Enid Blyton Ring
And we are back in Germany again, Salzgitter this time, – who knew Germany had named so many streets after Enid Blyton? (Well, you might if you live in Germany!)
This is more of an A-shaped street than a ring.
Nearby are a couple of common street names and some we’ve not seen before, at least not in the vicinity of Blyton.
- Michael Ende Ring
- Astrid Lindgren Weg
- Gebruder Grimm Web (The Brothers Grimm)
It looks like this area was under construction when the satellite image was taken and the street view car hasn’t been there yet.
Blyton Close to home
And of course let’s not forget the place I was looking for before I fell down the Google Maps rabbit hole. Mind you, when I searched for Blyton Close five came up, which I was not expecting. In Birmingham, Wickford, Newark and Lincoln as well as Beaconsfield. It’s hard to know if the others are named after Enid Blyton as there’s a place called Blyton in Gainsborough and other people also had it as a last name!
The Blyton Close I meant is built on site of Green Hedges in Beacondsfield, Enid’s home from 1938 until she moved into a nursing home before her death in 1968.
I don’t need to get a Google Map street view for this, as I’ve actually been there myself.
There are possibly more Enid Blyton streets out there given the limitations of the Google Maps search function. If you know of any – maybe you’re even lucky enough to live on one? Please let me know!
Fiona
pippastef
worldofblyton
World of Blyton 