Next year sees the 150th anniversary of the birth of JM Barrie. John Hobbs visits the tiny Scottish town where the author of Peter Pan first put pen to paper.

THIS is the stuff childhood dreams are made of – sleeping in the place where Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up, ventured forth from Neverland to enchant the Darling children, John, Michael and Wendy.

Gazing through a tiny bedroom window into the washhouse which the young JM Barrie turned into a theatre to stage the first encounters between the Darling family and Peter Pan, then wandering into the garden and encountering a statue of Peter next to a giant crocodile, woven out of willow with huge wooden teeth.

All of this – and many more of the characters from Neverland – are vividly recreated at Barrie’s birthplace, No 4 Brechin Road, in Kirriemuir, Angus, now a museum managed by the National Trust for Scotland.

Barrie, later to become Sir James Matthew Barrie, was born on May 9, 1860, the ninth of ten children to David Barrie, a modestly successful weaver, and his wife, Margaret. He was a small child – he only grew to 5ft 3in in adulthood – who loved story-telling.

When he was six, a tragic event was to change his life. One of his brothers, David, died just two days before his 14th birthday.

This left his mother devastated, and Barrie tried desperately to help her by trying to assume David’s identity, even wearing his clothes. Barrie also tried to comfort his mother by reading her extracts from books such as Robinson Crusoe and Pilgrim’s Progress.

Barrie left Kirriemuir when he was eight to be educated at Glasgow Academy, moving on from there to Edinburgh University, where he embarked on a career in journalism.

But it wasn’t until he moved to London that he took a serious interest in the theatre and finally became an established playwright, through such works as Quality Street and The Admirable Crichton.

His most famous work, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up, was first performed in December 1904, and was later produced as a major film in America. It is still staged today at venues all over the world.

All of this is carefully – and lovingly – documented in the Barrie museum, which last year attracted more than 5,000 visitors.

Children are, naturally, specially catered for by a mock-up battle scene between Peter Pan and his arch rival in Neverland, the infamous Captain James Hook. The more daring can take a short flight of fancy like Peter Pan in a specially padded room.

Barrie’s great devotion to cricket is also recorded in the museum by the display of two autographed bats he played with after forming a local side at Kirriemuir, which still exists today.

During his time as a member of the MCC at Lords, he helped form a writers’ team, which included such famous names as Charles Tennyson and PG Wodehouse.

But centrepiece of the museum is the desk, moved north from London after his death, on which Barrie composed his most famous works.

The museum is steeped in literary nostalgia, which includes a leather-bound first edition of Peter Pan, worth £5,500.

As guests of the National Trust for Scotland, we stayed at the oddly-named Thrums Cottage (thrums is used in weaving), next door to the Barrie museum.

With its tiny-paned windows in two bedrooms overlooking the Barrie garden, a cosy traditionally-furnished lounge and spacious kitchen with dining area, this was a delight.

Highlights include a stained-glass window featuring Peter Pan in the stairwell and a specially commissioned frieze of him on the sittingroom walls.

Just outside Kirriemuir, with its excellent local shops, are the beautiful glens of the Cairngorms, such as Glen Clova, alive with buzzards, oyster catchers and red squirrels.

Along the Angus coast, between Arbroath and Montrose, there are breathtaking walks along clifftops, overlooking unspoilt coves and beaches.

But wherever you travel in this beautiful part of Scotland, thoughts of Peter Pan and Neverland are never far away.

In the public cemetery, high above Kirriemuir, lies the grave of Margaret Ogilvy and David Barrie. Buried alongside them, with the rest of their family is James Matthew Barrie.

As she had in life, Barrie’s mother had found comfort in the boy who had grown up, but had never left her.

TRAVEL FACTS

Thrums Cottage, Kirriemuir sleeps four, has two spacious twin bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor. There is a comfortable lounge and large kitchen/dining area on the ground floor. There is free parking on the street outside. A week’s accommodation for up to four people costs between £400 and £500 in the summer season. National Trust for Scotland also has a range of discount bookings on other properties it manages in Scotland. For full details and to make a booking, contact the National Trust for Scotland at holidays@nts.org.uk or call 0844-493-2108.