Opening hours
Getting to Corfe Castle
Finding us in the Square
When you arrive
Other facilities

The original Ginger Pop Shop opened in 2004, and is made of recycled castle! The shop is here because Enid Blyton visited Corfe Castle in 1940 when on holiday in nearby Swanage, and it is thought that this big Norman castle inspired her description of Kirrin Castle in The Famous Five series.
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The Ginger Pop Shop shares the same front door as the village Post Office. It’s tiny, and has a tendency to fill up with people very quickly, only to be totally empty again five minutes later. When the shop is open, our Wishing Chair is outside on the pavement! Our VIPs are children wanting to get to the books –
so please let them through!
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Our shop is all about Enid Blyton and her era.

150 Enid Blyton books currently in print
In the second hand section you can get books that are currently out of print. Old books tend to have better pictures, and you also get the story Enid Blyton wrote, rather than the one someone else thinks that she should have written!
Our own range of Eileen Soper souvenirs
Ingenious toys without batteries. We have a good range of clockwork toys for both children and adult collectors. We also have a range of games and magic.
Memorabilia, jigsaws and books about the era, and a great selection of CDs
A great range of WW2 materials suitable for projects
A fantastic selection of gorgeous Golliwoggs!
Lashings of Ginger Beer - of course!

Opening Hours
Our Corfe Castle shop is open from Easter to end of October, from 10.30 – 5pm. (Sometimes the staff take a lunch break!) However it is seasonal, and we often close on Fridays outside of Dorset School holidays! (For term times click here….). To be certain about the opening times at Corfe, please phone the Poole shop (01202) 670504.

Getting to Corfe Castle
Corfe is about 4 miles from Wareham, on the A351, and slightly more if coming from Swanage.

Our local bus company is Wilts and Dorset, and they have two great routes that serve Purbeck. www.wdbus.co.uk/bus-times/purbeck/

The Number 40 bus, which runs between Poole and Swanage, has request stops in Corfe at the National Trust Visitor Centre (but then uphill walk to the centre of the village), and in East Street by the Jewellery shop. 
The Number 50 bus is the open top bus from Bournemouth to Swanage, and is a fast way to get into Purbeck because it is allowed to jump the queue for the Sandbanks Ferry! Once at Swanage station, you have the choice of getting the number 40 bus or the steam train to Corfe Castle. 

Visitors using National Rail on the Weymouth to Waterloo line (see www.southwesttrains.co.uk ) can alight at Wareham Railway Station and catch a Swanage-bound No. 40. The bus shelter is adjacent to the London bound platform. 

There is a National Trust car park at Castle View (at the bottom of the castle) and a council car park at the bottom of West Street. Be warned - our Parking Wardens are very good at their job!

Steam train enthusiasts may like to leave their car at Norden Park & Ride and arrive in Corfe by steam train on the Swanage Railway, just like Enid Blyton did! A footpath runs alongside the railway from Norden, and is a lovely walk to Corfe. (see www.swanagerailway.co.uk)
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There is more travel information here
www.dorsetforyou.com/396727

Finding us
Our shop is in the centre of Corfe Castle village, next to the Post Office. Please note that the village has steep streets and old, uneven, stone pavements and the historic buildings present access difficulties for some visitors (see “When you arrive” below).Take care on the busy roads and sometimes narrow pavements.

When you arrive
The Ginger Pop Shop in Corfe is very small, with an uneven stone floor - like most of the local buildings, it is made from ‘recycled castle’ from the nearby ruin! We share a front door with the Post Office. There is a high step and a raised threshold at the front door, a narrow entrance-way and a raised threshold at the internal shop door.
We think that it is common sense that customers should not eat or drink in our shop.

Anyone who thinks that they might be unable to get into the Corfe shop may rest assured that our easily accessible Ginger Pop Shop at Eileen Soper’s Illustrated Worlds, in Poole, sells a practically identical range of stock.

Assistance dogs are welcome in both shops, but other dogs should be left outside at Corfe, especially at busy times.

Some shelves in the shop may be hard to reach, and of course we will be glad to fetch items down for customers. Those needing a sit-down may like to use the Wishing Chair outside and make a wish at the same time!

If you have any other concerns or need assistance, please speak to a member of staff.

Other facilities
We sell cold drinks to take away. There is a variety of eating places nearby, as well as the village shops and bakery, and there are public toilets by the car parks and castle entrance. The only cash machine in the village is within the Post Office, which is closed on Wednesdays and Saturdays after 1pm, and on Sundays and Bank Holidays.