Agatha Christie at...Greenway

Greenway

While in Devon, what Agatha Christie trail would be without a trip to Greenway? Agatha Christie called it "the loveliest place in the world". As always, the Queen of Crime was spot on. It's a beautiful Georgian building in stunning grounds, set back from the River Dart.

I remember the first time I caught a glimpse of Greenway, it was before it was open to the public. We took a boat trip along the River Dart and could see the imposing white Georgian house through the trees. It looked so far away, mysterious and secluded. A place I never thought we'd be able to visit.

However, the National Trust bought the house in about 2000 and set about restoring and renovating it - and what an amazing job they've done. It has been renovated in the style of the 1950s and contains a lot of the items and artifacts that Agatha and her second husband, Max, collected over their years together (I believe these were kindly donated by Agatha's grandson, Mathew Prichard).

You can tell Greenway was close to Agatha's heart as it features in quite a few of her novels.

***The following contains spoilers***

In Five Little Pigs, Greenway features as Alderbury - the house of Amyas Crale, and it is in the grounds of Alderbury that Amyas drinks his fatal glass of beer.

In Dead Man's Folly, Greenway appears as Nasse House. The grounds are the setting of a murder hunt, designed by Ariadne Oliver, the boat house is where Marlene Tucker is found strangled and Poirot navigates his way down the array of paths to the quay, where uses the bell to summon the ferry. The 2014 television adaptation of Dead Man's Folly was filmed here at Greenway, and sees David Suchet, as Poirot, wandering around the house and grounds.

Greenway also makes an appearance in Ordeal by Innocence, as Sunny Point House, and once again the bell on the quay is used to summon the ferry to Drymouth (Dartmouth).

Links to Greenway are not only limited to the house and gardens, but to the contents too. In the Hall there is a brass studded Baghdad chest that features in two of Christie's short stories The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest and The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding.

As part of the Agatha Christie Festival, we'll be making a few visits to Greenway. Hopefully we won't find any dead bodies in the Baghdad Chest...

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....