An Agatha Christie Trail

It is hard to go to Devon without noticing the influence and presence of Agatha Christie. She was born in Torquay and spent her early life there, getting married to first husband Archie there and spending their honeymoon in the towns Grand Hotel. She often featured places from Devon in her books, most notably in Dead Man’s Folly, which featured an instantly recognisable Greenway, her holiday home in Galmpton, situated in an idyllic spot on the River Dart, and now open to the public through the National Trust. Devon is home to the Official Agatha Christie Theatre Company, based at Torquay’s Princess Theatre, and to the International Agatha Christie Festival, this year taking place 10-17 September across various venues across the English Riviera.

As a huge Agatha Christie fan, my recent visit to Devon was a chance to indulge some of my Agatha whims. I didn’t get to Greenway this time, but did get to see an adaptation of The Unexpected Guest by the Bijou Theatre Company you can read my review with tickets details here.) I also did the Agatha Christie trail in Torquay. You can start this at the Tourist information centre on The Strand where you can also pick up a map, and can then do the Agatha Christie mile to take in some of the places in Torquay that featured in her life and in her books.

The Torquay branch of Waterstones has one of the most extensive collections of Agatha Christie books that I have seen and is definitely worth a look. I picked up copies of ‘The Secret Adversary’ (a Tommy and Tuppence story, their first, from 1921) and also ‘The Mystery of the Blue Train‘, a Poirot story that Agatha adapted from her own short story ‘The Plymouth Express’.

Also in Torquay, you must find the commerative bust of Agatha Christie which was commisioned in 1990 as part of Agatha Christie’s centenary year, and is s perfect place to pose for an Insta worthy photograph.

Agatha in Devon