Agatha Christie in...Dartmouth

River Dart

Where to start on the Agatha Christie Trail...? Good question. I thought I'd start with Dartmouth - a place that Agatha Christie loved. She loved it so much she bought her holiday home, Greenway, just down the river. Greenway features in a few books but I'll leave those for another day...

I've found three Agatha Christie books that feature Dartmouth, so this is a definitely a place to visit on our literary trail!

Isaac Pointz gives Dartmouth his seal of approval in The Regatta Mystery and calls it a 'Pretty little place' (ch.1). After watching the yacht race Mr Pointz and his party of friends head to the Royal George hotel for lunch - said to be based on the Royal Castle Hotel. While they are dining, one of his guests, Eve Leathern, bets Pointz she can make his famous 'Morning Star' diamond disappear. Which she does. Parker Pyne is called in to solve the mystery. According to the Agatha Christie website, the original magazine story from 1936, featured Hercule Poirot, but was replaced by Parker Pyne when the story was published in a book.

Dartmouth also features in Ordeal by Innocence.  According to the Agatha Christie website this was one of Agatha's favourites. The main protagonist is a Dr Calgary, who solves the mystery. I don't want to spoil the plot, but in the course of the story he visits Dartmouth. The Royal Castle Hotel appears as the Royal George again. There have been a couple of adaptations of this book, the 1984 film was filmed in and around Dartmouth. Then televised in 2007 - however, it featured Miss Marple as the protagonist, even though she wasn't in the original novel.

Finally, Dartmouth features in Dead Man's Folly. Ariadne Oliver asks Poirot down to help her create a Murder hunt, however, it soon turns into a real murder hunt when Margot Tucker is found dead in the Boathouse! Etienne De Sousa moors his boat in Dartmouth harbour before heading up the river to see his cousin, Lady Stubbs.

So, Dartmouth has been visited by Parker Pyne, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple (although not in the original novel), and will be one of the places we'll be visiting in September.

We have already visited Dartmouth - back in 2007. We were staying in Paignton and we caught the Paignton to Kingswear train. We passed some stunning scenery - Goodrington Sands, Broadsands and the beautiful Devonshire countryside.

We then caught the passenger ferry to Dartmouth where we caught a boat and took a cruise down the River Dart. We saw the Greenway Boathouse and caught a glimpse of Greenway. At the time you couldn't go and visit (I think only the gardens were open). It was a gorgeous day. Here are a few photos...

Dartmouth

Greenway

Greenway Boathouse

Kingswear & Dartmouth