Lone Pine Books

The Lone Pine Club series of books were written by Malcolm Saville. The Lone Pine Club was set up by David Morton and Petronella (Peter) Sterling in the woods overlooking their home called Witchend situated in the Shropshire countryside.

11 of the 20 books were set in this part of the UK which you can go and see for yourself (although you won't find the house called Witchend and some of the other places featured that were fictional).
 

Other stories were set in London, Yorkshire and Rye. In the end, there were 9 members of the secret society and the stories, although all complete in themselves, developed the characters over the complete series.  
The friendship and loyalty of all the Lone Piners and their friends shone through in all the books, and it's this along with the very real places in which all the books were set that makes the books so special for myself and all those who read them.

I have also often wondered what happened to the characters and the club after the end of the final book. The final book was a sort of “This is Your Life” story that featured a big get together of all the friends that the Lone Piners had met over the course of their adventures and with the eldest characters now old enough to go out to work marked the end of an era. But the youngest characters resolved to keep the Lone Pine Club alive and I've often wondered if there is any potential in a new series. Maybe one day I might have a go at writing one!

I once wrote to Malcolm Saville, receiving a reply from his son who informed me that the author had passed away. Unfortunately, I have misplaced the letter, but there is plenty of information on the internet.   
 

The Malcolm Saville Society was set up in 1994 to celebrate the life and books of the author and arranges trips to some of the many locations used in the Lone Pine books. He wrote other book series too and these are also featured in the trips and publications of the society.  The web site of the society is at www.witchend.com

Now, there is a new story, written by Sam Young. Newlyweds Jon and Penny Warrender move to Rye and discover a copy of The Gay Dolphon Adventure in a second hand bookshop – and then embark on an adventure of their own. 
 

This is not a new Lone Pine Story as such (despite what it says on the front cover), but it is a modern story featuring characters who share the same values and have a similar sort of adventure, set in the 21st century.
It's available from The Malcolm Saville Society www.witchend.com or from the publishers RHG Books www.rhgbooks.co.uk for £18. 

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In February 2006, I went on my first event with the Malcolm Saville Society – a walk around London looking at some of the locations used for Lone Pine London.  It was an interesting day that involved lots of walking and a couple of bus rides and ended up at the Albert Embankment…