Oh lovely holidays.  The dream of those lazy hazy days of endless sunshine and adventure, though reality always turns out rather different.  However, in literature these dreams can come true and a world of possibilities is open to all.  Elinor M. Brent-Dyer clearly enjoyed her holidays as much as everyone else and certainly liked writing about them.  Of the 58 hardback Chalet School titles 4 are purely ‘holiday books’ rather than the expected school story (5 if you include The Chalet Girls In Camp), not to mention the countless half term trips.  In her other books Christmas celebrations and summer outings feature, both in family and friendship settings.

Brent-Dyer was lucky that one holiday to Austria, gave her such a wonderful setting for what was to become an overwhelmingly popular set of books.  However, she doesn’t just dully describe these places.  One of her real skills is to describe people, their thoughts and interests, and in many of her books I feel there is a sense of this.  Holidays are not just about explorations and fun; they also function as a way of introducing us to local customs and traditions.  There is The Dragon House Ritual in the Lost Staircase, the Guernsey legends written down by Elizabeth Temple in the La Rochelle series, and the Tyrolean wedding customs shown through Marie Pfeiffen’s wedding.

The tradition of holidays begins very early in the Chalet School series.  In the very first book, A School At The Chalet (1925), the first outing for Madame’s birthday, a picnic up the Mondscheinspitze is described, a tradition that long-continued.  There were the visits to some wonderful sounding places, such as the Zillerthal, the Stubai Glacier and Innsbruck ringed with mountains; the setting of that most magical Christmas in Jo Of The Chalet School (1926).  The war sadly brought this period to an end, and the school had a series of moves to Guernsey, England, Wales and before finally settling in Switzerland.  Here there were trips to places such as Berne, Solothurn and Lucerne.  I personally don’t think these outings were quite as well described as the Tyrol, which Brent-Dyer visited in person, but it was still a wonder was to pour over a map of Europe and discover these places actually existed.

Of course this being the Chalet School ‘Incident’ was never far away.  From simply leaving the lemonade behind, to being stranded overnight in an alpine hut or in coaches in a thunderstorm there really was never a dull moment.  Yet, I feel Brent-Dyer skilfully mixed the hijinks with something that went much deeper.  In The Chalet School and Jo (1931) the school visit Oberammergau to see the Passion Play.  Here I think Brent-Dyer was at her best.  Not only was she informative, interesting and never condescending to her readers, her portrayal of the villagers and their play is so dignified.  How often have we learnt things from her?  She had the ability and the range to drop in tiny nuggets of everyday information as well as give us such a powerful message about Germans and Nazism in The Chalet School in Exile (1940).

I have been fortunate enough to visit a few Chalet locations, including a trip to Pertisau (Briesau) but I am aware this chance is still a dream to many.  For those of us in the United Kingdom we are lucky to have some locations a little closer to home.

In The Chalet School and The Island (1950), the School relocated from the Welsh borders to an island off the coast of South Wales. Though no one is quite sure where St Briavels Island is located, from references to nearby islands, it can just about be narrowed down to somewhere off the coast of south-west Pembrokeshire!  A mention of an island with ‘a lot of monks’, calls to mind Caldey Island and the descriptions of the bird sanctuary where Kester Belliver plied his trade, makes one think of Skomer, Skokholm or Ramsey Island.

One location near to St Briavels is much easier to find; the Bosherston Lily Ponds.  A visit to the ponds formed memorable half term outing during Carola Storms the Chalet School (1951). The ponds were created by the Earls of Cawdor between 1780-1860 as part of their ornamental grounds for their residence Stackpole Court.  They are now owned by the National Trust as part of the Stackpole Estate and are located on the Castlemartin peninsular about five miles south of Pembroke.  Thanks to some lovely summer holidays of my own in the area, I have been fortunate to visit them twice.

It is Hilary Burn who suggests the visit to Bosherston, having previously visited before:

“‘Are we picnicking somewhere, then?’ Carola asked joyfully.

‘We are – at Bosherston lily pools.’  Miss Norman settled down to her own breakfast and added, ‘It’s Miss Burn’s idea.  Ask her about it.’

Ten pairs of eyes promptly turned on Hilary Burn, who laughed.  ‘I spent part of my summer holidays at Tenby,’ she explained.  ‘The lily pools are simply lovely, though you really ought to see them in June or July when the lilies are out.  It’s quite a thrill to see a bud rising out of the water and going “pop!” as the calyx bursts open.  I stood for ages on the causeway which cuts across the pools at one point just to watch them coming up.” 

After visiting the ponds, they plan to continue on to the chapel at St Govan’s Head.

“If there’s time and the weather holds, we’ll have a look at St Govan’s Chapel.  That’s built in a fissure of the cliff, miles from any house – at least it was when St Govan lived there – and in storms the spray is flung clean over it.’

‘Who was St Govan?’ Jean demanded.

‘A Welsh hermit.  Nearby is his well, which is a holy well, of course –”

However, before all this the trip begins on the ferry to Pembroke to and then an exploration of Pembroke Castle, where Henry VII was born.

 ‘I see the castle!  Look!  Oh, what a lovely castle!’

They all looked eagerly in the direction in which she was pointing, and saw the towers and battlements, with the great keep rising above all, perched on the top of the cliff which had made a natural protection for the place in the Middle ages.  Trees and bushes clung to the cliff, and, as they came nearer, they could see that the castle had been built on a promontory washed on two sides by the river, thus adding to its natural defences.

‘It’s like a castle in a fairy-tale,’ Doris said.  She turned to Miss Burn, who was sharing a seat with her.  ‘Does anyone live there?’

Miss Burn shook her head.  ‘Not now.  It looks very complete from here, but when we are inside you will see that it is ruined.’

‘Oh, what a pity!’ Doris cried. ‘It looks so lovely!’

‘Why is it a ruin, Miss Burn?’  Carola asked.  ‘Who did it – Cromwell?’

‘He had a hand in it,’ Hilary said with a grin.  ‘The weather did a lot more, though.  The last owner began to restore it and did a good deal, but it would need a fortune to rebuild it properly.  Anyway, who wants that?  I’m afraid castles as homes are a thing of the past.  You be glad that it’s properly looked after nowadays.  It’s Crown property, by the way, though it was leased to Sir Ivor Phillips.”

Even here, with these brief snippets, Brent-Dyer shows real knowledge and interest in the places she is writing about, all which builds a fascinating overall picture.  I do not know if Brent-Dyer ever visited the pools, or this part of Wales, but she certainly did her research!

Finally the girls arrive in time for lunch at the ponds.  Food is always important in any Chalet School book, but sadly a mouth-watering description is lacking this time.

Then they entered the bus again and were whisked off to the Bosherston lily pools where they sat on the causeway and ate their lunch, gazing at the great pads of lily leaves that covered the water.

‘I’d like to come here in the summer when the lilies are out,’ Carola said.  ‘It must be marvellous then.  It’s wonderful now.’

‘So it is,’ Hilary Burn agreed.  ‘Mind, Signa!  Be careful or you’ll tip into the water, and we don’t want to have to find somewhere to dry you off!”

 Then, yes, Something Happens!

Carola had just finished the mugs and stood up.  She was nearest, and even as Miss Norman called, ‘Signa!  Come back at once!’ the elder girl was crossing after naughty Signa with swift, sure steps.

‘I must see the water-rat!’ Signa called back.

Carola had almost reached her.  Already her arm was outstretched to catch the little sinner, when Signa made a false step.  Her foot slipped and she overbalanced.  With a wild cry she splashed into the water, and the next moment Carola was after her.

Mercifully for everyone, the water here is not deep nor are there many weeds, though quite enough to cause alarm.  Miss Burn was along the causeway in a flash, while Miss Norman very sensibly kept the other girls from following.

Cue a traditional Brent-Dyer rescue.  She doesn’t actually use the immortal lines ‘still, grey and to all appearances dead’ here but she does gets pretty close.  Of course no rescue is complete without the appearance of a doctor, and here we meet Phil Graves for the first time (was there ever a better name for a doctor?) and his trusty  retriever dog.

The causeway is quite accurately described in the book, and I can fully understand how someone could have fallen off.  You really don’t want to be meeting someone coming the other way!

The footpaths around the ponds wind you gently down to the sea.  You can get a sense of the walk here.

What the books do not reveal is the secret awaiting as the river runs out to the sea.  The beautiful and serene Broad Haven beach.

This is a lovely part of Wales, and I do recommend a visit if you are ever going in that direction.  To end I will leave you with a link to a picture of the pools in 1955.