Agatha Christie in...Churston

Churston

'The train, having done one hundred and eight-odd miles of its two hundred and twelve miles journey at top speed, puffed gently and apologetically through the last thirty and drew into Nassecombe Station. Only one person alighted, Hercule Poirot' (Dead Man's Folly)

In Dead Man's Folly Poirot is invited to 'Nassecombe' by Ariadne Oliver who is creating a murder mystery hunt for a country fair. 'Nassecombe' is based on Churston and 'Nassecombe Station' is actually Churston Station.

You might remember me mentioning Churston Station in a previous blog. Poirot alighted here while investigating the murder of Sir Carmichael Clarke (The ABC Murders). He doesn't seem to recognise the place - although he could be forgiven for not remembering, it was 20 years ago (in book publication years) and the name has changed....!

There are few places in Churston that are linked to Agatha Christie. It is quite close to Greenway, her holiday home, so it's understandable why. Apparently Agatha used to go to lunch with the Churston's at Churston Court. She also played golf occasionally at Churston Golf Course and her knowledge of golf is said to have inspired her novel Murder on the Links.

Another place to visit in Churston is the Church of St Mary's. Agatha donated the royalties from her short story, Greenshaw's Folly, to pay for a new stained glass window. The church is open to visitors from 17-19 September, between 10.30am and 4.30pm. We'll have to make sure we visit on one of these days! There's free parking too. You can find out more information on the Agatha Christie Festival website, or on the Church of St Mary's the Virgin website.

So, Churston is on the list of places to visit, with a few things to see while we're there - Churston Station, Churston Golf Course and the Church of St Mary's.

Less than two months to go now until the Agatha Christie Festival!!! It's getting close now....

Agatha Christie on...Burgh Island

Burgh Island

'They came up over a steep hill and down a zigzag track to Sticklehaven - a mere cluster of cottages with a fishing boat or two drawn up on the beach. Illuminated by the setting sun, they had their first glimpse of Indian Island jutting up out of the sea and to the south.' (And Then There Were None)

This is the description of Burgh Island in And Then There Were None. Although it's called 'Indian Island' in the version of the book I have. Burgh Island a lovely place set on its own tidal island in Bigbury-on-Sea. Standing on the island is a beautiful art-deco hotel. Agatha Christie spent some time here and it gave her the inspiration for two of her novels - And Then There Were None and Evil Under the Sun. In the hotel, there's even a Christie room you can stay in.

And Then There Were None is one of Agatha Christie's most successful novels. Ten strangers are invited to an island and then one by one they are murdered! It's a very good novel and one of my favourites!

This year for the Agatha Christie Festival, the Agatha Christie Theatre Company will be doing a production of And Then There Were None at the Princess Theatre.

I read an article earlier saying the BBC are going to film another version of And Then There Were None - I hope they film it in and around Burgh Island. It's due to be aired in time for Agatha's 125th birthday this year - we'll probably be down in Torquay, so it would be great to see it while we're down there (as long as we're not already out and about!).

So, there lots going on for And Then There Were None this year!

The other Agatha Christie novel that was inspired by Burgh Island is Evil Under the Sun. In this novel, Hercule Poirot goes over to the island on the recommendation of his doctor, for a little relax and recuperation. However, as always, a murder occurs - the murder of Arlena Stewart who is a famous actress (the more cynical person may suspect Poirot, he's always around....).

The 2001 t.v. adaptation with David Suchet was filmed on Burgh Island and includes many of the places we visited last year. In this adaptation, we see Hercule Poirot boarding the sea tractor over to the island! Although, I don't think he enjoyed it as much as we did!! (Season 8, Episode 1).

So, Burgh Island is definitely on the list of places to visit. We'll hopefully be going to the Agatha Christie Luncheon again this year so should be able to take in the sites while we're there.

Something a bit strange, while writing this I've been watching Death in Paradise (Season 1, Episode 5) - and what would you know...Agatha Christie is mentioned! The episode is very much like an Agatha Christie book - the murder takes place on a boat (so there's a closed pool of suspects), the victim is a criminal handcuffed to a police inspector, and everyone on the boat has a potential motive for killing him. There's even an 'interfering, amateur sleuth' trying to help out the police. Remind you of anyone...!? The plot thickens!

It just goes to show how popular and well-known Agatha Christie is.

Here are a few of our photos of Burgh Island from our visit last year...

Sea Tractor, Burgh Island

Burgh Island

Palm Court Bar

Pixy Court

Burgh Island & Bigbury-on-Sea

Agatha Christie in...Elberry Cove

Elberry Cove 

'Suddenly we came out on a grassy ridge overlooking the sea and a beach of glistening white stones. All round dark green trees ran down to the sea. It was an enchanting spot - white, deep green - and sapphire blue'

This is Hasting's description of Elbury Cove, also known as Elberry Cove in The ABC Murders. This peaceful, little white-pebbled beach is the setting for the Churston murder in The ABC Murders!


In this novel, the murderer sends Hercule Poirot taunting letters, detailing a date and location of a future murder and challenging 'Mr Clever Poirot' to solve the mystery. The letters are always signed A.B.C. and at each of the murders, is a copy of an A.B.C. Railway Guide.

Following the A.B.C. theme, the first victim is murdered in a place beginning with A, the second in a place beginning with B and so on, here are the victims:

Mrs Alice Ascher in Andover
Miss Betty Barnard in Bexhill-on-Sea
Sir Carmichael Clarke in Churston
George Earlsfield in Doncaster

The last victim's name doesn't follow the pattern and doesn't begin with a D, but when you read the book, it will make a bit more sense...

Elberry Cove isn't that far from Greenway - Agatha Christie was a keen swimmer and Elberry Cove was another favourite of hers for bathing.

So, Elberry Cove is also going on the list of places to visit. I've had a look at how to get there and it looks like we'll have to park at Broadsands and walk along the South West Coast Path. Broadsands is another lovely beach - I used to go on holiday here with my family when I was younger, and we spent some good times on the beach and in the sea here. Oh, happy days!

Next on the list is Churston, I know I've mentioned it briefly, but there are a few more locations in Churston that are either in novels or important to Agatha, so I'm covering that separately.

Until next time...!

Agatha Christie in...Kingsbridge & Salcombe

Broadsands, Devon

I've not had chance to write anything for a week as I've been busy reading and researching all the places in Agatha Christie books. There are so many places to visit and so many things to see!! We might not be able to visit all places - but we'll try!

Next on my list are Kingsbridge and Salcombe...

Both places feature in one of Christie's novels - Towards Zero. There's a map at the beginning, and it's quite clear that the map is of Kingsbridge. In the novel, Kingsbridge becomes Saltington and nearby Salcombe becomes Saltcreek.

Saltcreek is described in the novel as 'a straggling picturesque fishing village set on the side of a hill'. 

The t.v. adaptation of Towards Zero was filmed around here too. As with a few of Christie's books, the novel doesn't originally feature Miss Marple, but she's the main character in the adaptation - and it's up to her to solve the mystery - which of course, she does! In the novel, the main protagonist is Superintendent Battle, who is on holiday with his nephew.


It's a shame he has been replaced, because I quite like Superintendent Battle, he appears in a couple of Christie's novels, including Murder is Easy, The Secret of Chimneys and The Cards on the table - in which he appears with Hercule Poirot. So, it's a bit odd that he was replaced by Miss Marple. This is the second time I've noticed that the main male character has been replaced by Miss Marple when adapted for t.v....the plot thickens...

Although Kingsbridge and Salcombe don't appear in any other novels (as far as I'm aware), Peril at End House, which was set in Cornwall, was adapted for t.v. in 1990, and was filmed around Salcombe. It was mainly filmed around the harbour, where we see the main character, Nick Buckley, sail in and dock at Victoria Quay.

According to Exploring Agatha Christie Country, 'Union Street was the location for the scene in which Poirot, enjoying afternoon tea, has the workings of his 'little grey cells' distracted by the sight of a woman at another table feeding a bulldog' (p38).

I don't think I've ever been to Kingsbridge or Salcombe, so these are definitely on the list! We'll have to make sure we visit Victoria Quay and Union Street! Can't wait - it looks lovely around this area!

Until next time....!