Chitty Chitty Bang Bang went the great car's exhaust

From up here, Toad could see clear over to the Firth of Forth and beyond, but his eyes settled not a stone's throw away, on Edinburgh's Castle Street. For it was here, at No. 30, that his creator was born: Kenneth Grahame who gave life to Toad, shy little Mole, clever Ratty and Badger, along with all the other characters of The Wind In The Willows.

"Beyond the Wild Wood comes the Wild World," said the Rat. "And that's something that doesn't matter, either to you or me. I've never been there, and I'm never going, nor you either, if you've got any sense at all . . ." (from The Wind in the Willows)

The original survivor

Wise words thought Toad as he remembered, with a shudder that made his eyes bulge, a compatriot of Grahame's who had been only too keen to venture into the 'Wild World' beyond. Born just over the Firth from Edinburgh, at Largo in Fife, Alexander Selkirk had run off to sea in 1703 to escape his past. He joined the South Sea buccaneers, and no, it wasn't the end of his troubles. Many months later, having fallen out with his captain over the seaworthiness of their vessel, Selkirk demanded to be set ashore on the uninhabited island of Juan Fernandez (a good choice as it turns out since the ship later sank, killing most of those onboard). It would be another four-and-a-half years though before Selkirk was eventually rescued.

Though embellished, Selkirk's escapades were clearly the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and Ben Gunn, the marooned pirate from Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. RLS's fellow Edinburgher, R.M. Ballantyne, played a part too. For it was his tale of three shipwrecked English boys (Ralph Rover, Jack and Peterkin), The Coral Island, that first sparked RLS's love of the South Seas, not to mention influencing the more recent Lord of the Flies.

Another enchanting Potter

Back on dry land, Toad's next port of call is Birnam in Perthshire. For it was here that Beatrix Potter spent her formative summers, well away from the confines of London. She wrote The Tale of Peter Rabbit here and met the people who inspired the loveable characters of Mrs Tiggywinkle and Jeremy Fisher. To celebrate this Scottish connection, The Birnam Institute houses a Beatrix Potter exhibition and just next door is a Beatrix Potter Garden, complete with flowers, fungi and footpaths leading to your favourite characters' haunts and hideaways.

The King of Comics

Swinging hard right, back to the coastline, the next stop on Toad and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's journey is the City of Discovery itself, Dundee. It was here that D.C. Thomson's The Beano was launched in 1938. And do you know what, over 60 years later, it's still the most popular comic among eleven year olds. The secret of its success: long-running favourites like 'Desperate Dan', 'Dennis the Menace', 'Gnasher', 'The Bash Street Kids', and 'Beryl the Peril', together with a constant stream of new talent. Such is its popularity, that of all the comics in Britain, The Beano attracted the highest price ever paid at auction – £6,500 for a first issue.

It's not just the early editions that attract a following either. This year's Beano Annual is outselling David Beckham's in the run up to Christmas. And whilst the glory days of the late 1950s may be over, when The Beano and its sister title The Dandy were both selling over two million copies a week, you can rest assured that Dennis still has a few tricks left up his sleeve. To add to the comics, the annuals, the animated series, two best-selling videos, clothing, confectionery, an established Beano book range and now two Dennis the Menace novels, the characters will soon be appearing in a computer game. 'Beanotown Racing' is being developed by Dundee games company Simian Industries for launch in the New Year.

Up, up and away!

Speeding northwards again, our next stop is Kirriemuir in Angus, birthplace of J.M. Barrie. The son of a weaver and one of ten children, Barrie was a prolific novelist and dramatist. What he's most remembered for is his play about 'the boy who wouldn't grow up'. Taking inspiration from his own early childhood, as well as his guardianship of the five Llewelyn Davies children (The Lost Boys), Barrie created Peter Pan. Arguably the most famous children's play ever written, Peter Pan has been adapted for film, television and stage. Great news for the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children to whom Barrie gave its perpetual rights.

What's the story in Balamory?

Hard left now and Toad is heading across country, over stunning Ben Nevis, Glencoe and Loch Linnhe, to the Inner Hebridean island of Mull. Thanks to a BAFTA nominated television series aimed at under sixes, the town of Tobermory with its brightly painted houses perched around a quiet harbour, is experiencing a mini tourism boom. Why? Because many of the 400,000 viewers who regularly tune in to see what's happening with their favourite characters in Balamory also want to visit where PC Plum, Archie the Inventor, Spencer the Painter and all the others live. An unprecedented success, the first video and DVD release from the series sold over 21,000 copies in its first week, shooting it to the top of BBC Worldwide's best-selling children's new releases chart. And there's more to follow with the forthcoming release of a PC CD-ROM game developed by BAFTA award-winning Glasgow-based Absolute Studios.

Moving with the times

Finally returning to Edinburgh, Toad sets Chitty Chitty Bang Bang down not a mile away from where we started, right alongside another flying car, this time a blue Ford Anglia. The Weasley's magic car sits outside a celebrated café on Edinburgh's George IV Bridge. Inside is where JK Rowling conceived that modern-day phenomenon of children's fiction, Harry Potter. Five books in, sales of Harry Potter books have now topped a quarter of a billion in over 200 countries worldwide and 60 languages, ranging from Gujarati to Ancient Greek. The world's best-known boy wizard is breaking all kinds of records. His fifth book, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix sold 1.78 million copies in Britain on its first day alone. The biggest selling book in e-tailing history, it's also part of the Harry Potter series of audio books which has topped the one million sales barrier – a figure unprecedented in the UK audio market.

Maybe next time, instead of taking Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, we'll move with the times and use Floo Powder instead!