UK Travel - Part 17

Legend of the “Hunderprest” Vampire of Melrose Abbey

Melrose, Scotland

by Norman A. Rubin

In the heart of the Scottish Borders, Melrose is the perfect holiday destination for, walking, cycling and rugby. Melrose also boasts some of the best salmon and trout fishing in Scotland. Visitors to Melrose are drawn by a range of attractions. Best known is the ruins of the Melrose Abbey, which lies on the north east side of the centre of the town and, off course the ‘Hunderprest’ vampire that roams the ruins at the dark of night.

Melrose Abbey was founded by a colony of Cistercian monks in c.1136. Although this was one of Scotland’s wealthiest monasteries, it suffered badly in the wars that ravaged much of the Scottish Borders in the medieval period. The magnificent rebuilding of church in the late 14th and early 15th centuries was a result of damage caused by the English in 1385. The 16th century Commendator’s House is now a museum and the Chapter House contains the burial casket of a heart, thought to be that of King Robert I “The Bruce”. A considerable portion of the abbey is now in ruins. These lichen-covered ruins, among the most beautiful in Europe, are all that’s left of the ecclesiastical community.

There is an eerie story that tells how the monks of Melrose Abbey saved the town from dark specter that had been plaguing the inhabitants for some time. The Vampire of Melrose was, during his lifetime, a chaplain to a lady who lived nearby. The chaplain was fond of all manners of sin and vice. He was then nicknamed ‘Hundeprest’ meaning ‘Dog Priest’. This appellation was given to him because of his favorite sport of hunting on horseback followed by a small pack of howling hounds. In Stories of the Border Marches, John Lang says: “Other things he also loved that made not for sanctity, and when, at last, he died, his death was no more holy that his selfish, sensual life had been.”

When the chaplain died, he paid the price for his wrong doing as his soul could not find peace. His ghastly form stalked the streets at night in search of blood, terrifying the locals. The town’s people turned to the church for a solution to their plight and the monks sought to answer their pleas. They prayed, fasted and challenged the ghoul, eventually defeating it. The monster’s corpse was thrust into a fire, reducing it to ashes that were then carried by the wind over the Lammermuir Hills to the north along the Scottish borders.

Sometime after his death, it was said that he tried to enter the Melrose Abbey at the dark of night in the form of a winged bat and turning into dark vampire creature. Through prayer and rituals against the devil the monks of the abbey were able to drive him away. After denied access to the abbey, he roamed through the grounds and cottage of a woman who in times past when he was among the living was in his employ. It was reported by the near neighbors that the vampire roamed about the dwelling where he moaned and screeched at her and causing much alarm; thus she had no choice to summon an elder monk from the Abbey to investigate this disturbance and perform the rites of exorcism.

The elder monk whom was summoned brought along a fellow monk and two other men, both novices and began the investigation. They decided to watch the former priest grave when, in rustic places, the last glimmer of daylight died away. During the monk’s watch, the priest arrived in the guise of a vampire and appeared to levitate out of the deep grave, pushing gravestone asunder. The frightening phantom began to approach the trembling monk at an alarming rate. The priest retreated, as he composed himself from the shock. He then lifted up staff and smote the figure again and again. Then the elder monk retreated back to the grave. Then the grave suddenly opened with terrible sound and the ‘Hunderprest’ was swallowed in its deep pit. After the grave had opened and enveloped the priest in the warm earth, it had returned to normal as nothing had ever happened.

The elder monk knew then that he was dealing with a true vampire. Immediately he took action. He told his three companions of what occurred and to open the grave on the first light of the coming morn, which they agreed. They waited through the dark of night, only to dispatch one of the novices to bring digging tools from the abbey, which was used upon the cock of a crow. Upon the opening of the grave the vampire priest was lying in his coffin dead to the world grinning with bloody lips, the blood of his victims. Then elder monk ordered his companions to remove the body, and place it on the ground; then to burn it and scatter the ashes in the gusty winds.

Today there are those of the town that vow they can still hear a muted scream through the ruins at the dark of night of a man in a different form who in life had seemingly walked a godly life.

If You Go:

Melrose has a rich history, with architectural attractions, museums and exhibitions including the oldest continuously inhabited village in Scotland. Melrose has plenty to see and do – the town and nearby woods and fields have stunning scenery, several walks and cycle rides. The town has an extensive range of shops, as well as accommodation for visitors and excellent local services
For additional information check out the Melrose page of the Visit Scotland website.

Other sites of interest include: Nearby is the Roman fort of Trimontium, and Dryburgh Abbey. King Arthur is supposedly buried in the Eldon Hills, which overlook the town. Melrose was home to Sir Walter Scott (nearby Abbotsford), on the banks of the Tweed River. A popular attraction is Thirlestane Castle, one of Scotland’s oldest; it was built in the 13th-century and to this day it serves as a family residence.

About the author:
Norman R. Rubin is a former correspondent for the Continental News Service (USA), now retired – busy writing stories and articles for Net sites and magazines worldwide. See ‘ igoogle.com ‘ under the author’s name for a review.

Photo credits:
First Melrose Abbey photo by Niki Vogt from Pixabay
All other photos are by Norman Rubin.

Extraordinary Career of Fiction’s Most Famous Consulting Detective

Sherlock Holmes

by Norman R. Rubin

Throughout generations loyal fans have followed the career of the fictional amateur detective Sherlock Holmes, thrilled at his ability of solving criminal cases through his adept sleuthing.

“Come, Watson, come! The game is afoot”, was the cry heard in the exploits of Sherlock Holmes. With the faithful Dr. Watson at his side, he has earned his place in our lives and in the annals of literature. And through the good doctor, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who recorded their adventures we are able to follow the career of Sherlock Holmes.

It was a blessing for Sherlock Holmes fans that patients didn’t go to the office of the new eye doctor, Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of this fictional consulting detective. It was there in his Harley St. consulting room while waiting for patients to come that he turned to the possibilities of being a writer and thus Sherlock Holmes was created. No wonder the good and able Doctor Watson sometimes neglected his practice and joined Holmes in his exploits.

“It’s Elementary, My Dear Watson!’ is echoed on one’s mind when touring the much visited Sherlock Holmes Museum at the former Victorian lodging house at 221b Baker St., London where Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson lived during the Victorian era according to the stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Mr. Holmes’s armchair is by the fireside where he sat opposite Dr. Watson, comfortably seated as they discussed the case at hand. The gasogene, probably a siphon soda bottle, is on the nearby small table to splash a bit to mix with their dollop of whisky. The Persian slipper for his tobacco and the coal scuttle for his cigars are on the mantel of the fireplace. The visitor can imagine Sherlock Holmes stretched on his sofa scraping on his fiddle or reaching for the needle of cocaine bored with no cases to solve for his ingenious mind. Then in the imagination of the mind, one can see Mrs. Hudson come into the rooms with an urgent message from Scotland Yard’s best, detectives Gregson or Lestrade and we are in a hansom cab rattling through the foggy streets to the railroad stations of Waterloo or Charing Cross.

“Come Watson, come! The Game is afoot…”

Private Sherlock Holmes Walking Tour in London

If You Go:

The Sherlock Holmes Museum is run by The Sherlock Holmes International Society, a non-profit making organization.
www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk

The Sherlock Holmes Society of London founded in 1951, is open to anyone with an interest in Sherlock Holmes, Dr John H. Watson and their world during the Victorian era.
www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk

Outside Baker Street station of the London Underground, by the Marylebone Road exit, is a 9-foot-high bronze statue of the celebrated detective in his familiar deerstalker hat that will direct you to the museum at 221b Baker Street.

There are many questions about the various episodes in the Sherlock episodes that need answers, which the author Sir Conan Doyle gave no clues:
a) The housekeeper had never been implicated in being helpful in the solution of any of the crimes.
b) We would gladly hear more of Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s older brother and his Diogenes Club.
c) Why did the Scotland Yard detectives Gregson and Lestrade gradually fade out in the later stories?
d) And why did Billy the pageboy constantly remain a phantom?
e) And a question asked over and over again – was Dr. Watson’s wound from a Jezail bullet in his leg on in his shoulder?

OTHER SHERLOCK HOLMES MUSEUMS:

In Switzerland, there’s a Sherlock Holmes Museum at Meiringen, Bernese Oberland. It is near the Reichenbach Falls where Sherlock Holmes was locked in the death struggle with the evil Professor Moriarty. The museum has a carefully reconstructed room of his lodging at 221b Baker St. where the famous consulting detective worked and received anxious clients and Scotland Yard detectives. Imagination is the word as you look at the desk where Sherlock Holmes worked with his pipe, magnifying glass and pencil ready at hand.
Sherlock Holmes Museum: c/o Parkhotel Du Sauvage “Englischer Hof”
3860 Meiringen, Tel. +41 (0)33 971 42 21
info@sauvage.ch – www.sauvage.ch

And in Denmark there is a small museum dedicated to the famous consulting detective and his able companion Dr. Watson. The exhibition, the second largest below the one in London, contains mostly books about Sherlock Holmes – including pamphlets, booklets, comics, articles, pictures and so on. A visitor can view all sorts of memorabilia and written testimonies about Sherlock Holmes. For instance a brick from 221b Baker Street, Holmes’ violin, a copy of his Persian slipper in which he kept his tobacco, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s suitcase and a small vial of sand from the Reichenbach Falls where Holmes fought against his arch enemy Professor Moriarty, the Napoleon of Crime. You can purchase a tasteful souvenir: doll, mugs, stamps, etc. pertaining to Sherlock Holmes. If your have a moment or two to spare, you can sit on a comfortable chair, smoke if you wish and a cup of coffee or beer will be provided while you will read one of the books in their small library. Sorry, books cannot be borrowed.
www.sherlockian.net

About the author:
Norman R. Rubin is a former correspondent for the Continental News Service (USA), now retired – busy writing stories and articles for Net sites and magazines worldwide. See ‘igoogle.com ‘ under the author’s name for a review.

Image credits:
Sherlock Holmes Pub & Restaurant in London by Ewan Munro from London, UK / CC BY-SA
Sherlock Holmes drawing by Sidney Paget / Public domain
Sherlock Holmes statue by Juhanson / CC BY-SA

Haworth Haunts: In Search of the Brontë Spirit

Haworth, West Yorkshire

by M.L. Gordon

I came to Haworth, as many do, in search of ghosts. Not necessarily the kind that come rapping at your window in the night (although those would have been fine, too), but the kind that beget inspiration and satisfy that inexplicable craving to connect to those whose words we cherish. I came, in the words of Virginia Woolf, “as though [I were] to meet some long-separated friend, who might have changed in the interval—so clear an image of Haworth had [I] from print and picture.” The parsonage was a shrine; its past inhabitants, ethereal, visionary beings. I came with expectations.

I shuddered into the station at Haworth in style aboard a beautifully restored Keighley and Worth Valley Railway steam train. My guidebook said I could have taken a bus, but I sought a more authentic Brontë experience. That said, I don’t know what I expected to be greeted by upon my arrival in town (a glowering Rochester in front of Thornfield, perhaps?) but this was certainly not it. Oh, sure—I could see the muted browns and purples of the moors in the distance, and a cold drizzle gave luster to the cobblestones—but Haworth Tandoori? Had I come this far to imagine the three sisters walking arm in arm off the moors and onto the cobbled street to stop for the best curry take-away this side of Bombay before they went home to write their masterpieces? “Mmm, Anne, you’ve got to try their chicken tikka!” This I was not prepared for. Welcome to Brontë Country.

“I do not know whether pilgrimages to the shrines of famous men ought not to be condemned as sentimental journeys,” wrote Woolf in the same essay about her 1904 trip to Haworth. I have to agree. It wasn’t as though the Brontës themselves hadn’t tried to warn me. Haworth, appearing in an assortment of forms throughout their juvenilia, is a sadly ordinary place. And I soon realized the only ghosts it might manifest for me were those of my own naive imagining.

Just beyond the Black Bull Inn (which, if legend is to be believed, is where Branwell Brontë drank himself into oblivion) is the hill leading to Haworth Parsonage and the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, where much of the family is buried. Dodging raindrops, I set out to pay my respects.

The existing church was built just over 100 years ago; only the tower would have been familiar to the Brontës. It is a very ordinary church by any standard in spite of its housing such relics as a Brontë family Bible and Charlotte’s 1854 marriage certificate to Arthur Bell Nicholls, her father’s curate. A simple monument marks the location of the family vault: no statues, no ostentatious bouquets, no velvet ropes. Little distinguishes it from any other memorial, in fact, aside from the quiet clusters of tourists. Together we paced by it over again as if to give it a second chance, puzzled, perhaps, that we weren’t more moved.

I took the street past the graveyard and to the door of the parsonage, all squat and dour in greys and browns. This was the family’s home from 1820 until the Reverend Patrick Brontë’s death in 1861. Having read several biographies of the family, many things were familiar to me—the clock that Reverend Brontë wound nightly, the bedroom where Branwell supposedly set his bedclothes ablaze in a drunken stupor, the cozy clutter of pots and pans in the kitchen where Emily often studied even as she baked or helped Tabby with “pilling a potate,” as her diary fragment put it. Here were created some of the most enduring works of the English language by the three sisters who shared stories during nightly walks in the dining room. Their windows overlooked the moors and the graveyard, already full in their day, and it is not hard to imagine the genesis of these dark tales. I still expected to feel something of this as I moved from room to room, looking at the unexceptional, everyday items that had outlasted their owners.

“You can get one of them sampler patterns in the gift shop, dearie,” an old woman next to me said, patting me on the arm as we shuffled past a case of Brontë needlework.

Where was the gloom? The oppressive sense of genius and promise unfulfilled? The last traces of their otherworldly ingenuity? I sure wasn’t going to find it in the family chamber pot.

I paused for a moment in the narrow children’s study, made even smaller by Charlotte’s expansions after her sisters’ deaths. Surely this, the room in which a box of wooden soldiers had served as the origin of stories that would later evolve into Jane Eyre, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Wuthering Heights, would bring me the epiphany I craved.

I looked out the window at the graveyard below, struck by its size. Tens of thousands of gravestones jutted out at awkward angles under a canopy of trees, and I thought of how commonplace death was in the world of the Brontës. The children had lost their mother and two older sisters before Charlotte, the next eldest, was ten. And her three younger siblings—Branwell, Emily and Anne—all died young within mere months of each other. Charlotte herself died in the early stages of pregnancy before the age of forty. Just before I had the chance to wax pensive over the tragedy of the Bronte family, a line of uniformed schoolchildren snaked wildly through the grey monuments in the graveyard below. A few brave souls climbed atop the stones and shrieked with laughter as teachers pulled them down, avoiding the eyes of indignant onlookers. No ghosts here. I sighed, and decided to head for the moors.

I had dutifully shelled out a few pounds for the parsonage tour and followed the steady stream of tourists through the house and church, but a walk on the moors in wild weather was the sort of thing you couldn’t buy tickets for. Every fiber of my romantic being hungered for transcendence. A hint of evening already lurked in the rough hollows between the hills and rain – needle-sharp and nearly horizontal – pricked at my arms. I stumbled into the wind, half believing Heathcliff might be just over the next rise. He was not. Two local girls, gossiping and giggling as they skipped up the hill in jeans and bulky, damp sweaters, were. They politely indulged me by snapping my photograph next to an obliging sheep and headed in the direction of the village. As they passed, I could see on the horizon behind them Top Withens, which is the alleged original for Wuthering Heights (though it bears little resemblance to Emily’s description in the book). It was a wonderfully stark, lonely view, one I had enjoyed in various incarnations in the Brontës’ works. But the moment had been broken so many times before that I decided to leave it there – to run into a sign that gave directions to Top Withens in Japanese a few yards down the path would have spoiled it forever. I turned back, passed the parsonage, and headed towards the train station.

By the time I reached the churchyard, the downpour had subsided into an indifferent drizzle that darkened the tombstones and the church walls. I ducked inside for a last look. This time I found myself alone. Except for them. They were there, of course, all but Anne—the mother, the father, the aunt, the little sister-saints and their literary siblings that comprised three-fourths of the so-called “dark quartet.”

But for all of their romanticized Gothic appeal, and in spite of the dismal weather, I had to conclude that the day had been disappointingly devoid of spirits. The parsonage had made the “tragic” family hopelessly and quaintly corporeal, from the banality of the family’s washstand to the display of their nightshirts and caps. Any lingering desire I had to idealize the moors had been swept away by the shrill chatter of the young girls ambling over the path to the village. Even the church, pockmarks in the tower and all (supposedly from Mr. Brontë’s gun, which folklore says he discharged daily), cheerfully refused to be haunted.

And somehow I didn’t want it to be anymore. Gazing over the family monument tucked modestly under its pillar, I couldn’t help but wonder with Lockwood in Wuthering Heights “how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.”

Private Group Haworth, Bolton Abbey and Steam Trains Day Trip from York

If You Go:

Bronte Parsonage Museum
www.bronte.org.uk
Church Street
Haworth
Keighley
West Yorkshire
England
BD22 8DR

Open daily from 10.00am – 5.30pm April to September, 11.00am – 5.00pm October to March.

Standard admission £6.00
Senior Citizens £4.00
Students £4.00
Children 5-16 years £2.50
Children under 5 free
Family Ticket £15.00 (admits 2 adults and up to 3 children age 5 – 16 years)

About the author:
M.L. Gordon is a freelance writer and English teacher living in Phoenix, Arizona. Contact info: revas_m@yahoo.com

Photo credits:
Top Withins by Dave.Dunford Dave.Dunford / Public domain
Haworth railway station by: NRTurner / CC BY-SA
Black Bull Inn, Haworth by: Tim Green from Bradford / CC BY
Bronte Parsonage Museum view from graveyard by: Davekpcv / CC BY-SA
Brontë Sisters portrait by Patrick Branwell Brontë restored Branwell Brontë / Public domain

Agatha Christie’s Devon

Identifying Locations in Her Novels

by Maureen Vincent-Northam

It’s hard to imagine Devon as the inspiration for murder. This rural county, the fourth largest in England, is better known to most for its rolling hills and Devonshire cream teas. But no fewer than fifteen of Agatha Christie’s crime novels are set in Devon, or have specific connections with the county.

Agatha Mary Clarissa, the youngest of three children, was born to Frederick and Clara Miller in the coastal town of Torquay in 1890. This part of South Devon is known as the English Riviera and the town’s pride in its most famous daughter is evident from the sign-posted ‘Agatha Christie Mile’, a walking tour which takes in some of the places which inspired the author. Close to the Tourist Centre is the only sculpture of Agatha Christie on view in the world. The bronze bust was unveiled on September 15th, 1990 by her daughter, Mrs Rosalind Hicks, to commemorate the centenary of Agatha’s birth.

A short distance away is Princess Gardens, where Agatha was a frequent visitor. The Princess in question was Louise, one of Queen Victoria’s children. The gardens, opened in 1894, are laid out in a classic Victorian design with palm trees, cast-iron ornamental fountains, and shelters.

Agatha used this setting for a scene in The ABC Murders (1936). Alexander Bonaparte Cust, on leaving the Torquay Palladium, buys a newspaper and enters the Princess Gardens. He makes his way to a shelter facing Torquay harbour, unfolds his paper, and seems unduly troubled by the headline ‘Sir Carmichael Clarke Murdered’.

If you make your way around the harbour to Victoria Parade and begin to climb Beacon Hill, you’ll come upon The Imperial Hotel. Built in 1866, it boasts stunning views over Torbay and was Torquay’s first large ‘fashionable’ hotel, where Agatha herself attended social events. The list of distinguished former guests is quite impressive: King Edward VII, Lily Langtry, Emperor Napoleon III, Miss Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot.

The Imperial Hotel appears in three of Agatha’s crime novels. In the opening chapter of Peril at End House (1932) it has been renamed the Majestic, and Torquay too has a new – though easily recognisable – identity. Captain Hastings tells us: We were sitting on one of the terraces of the Majestic Hotel. It is the biggest hotel in St. Loo and stands in its own grounds on a headland overlooking the sea. Soon, a would-be murderer makes a grave mistake when he takes a pot shot at his victim while she is talking with Hercule Poirot!

In The Body in the Library (1942), a murder victim is found in the library belonging to Arthur and Dolly Bantry. Help is at hand from Dolly’s friend, Jane Marple, and the ladies check in to the Majestic (now situated in fictional Danemouth) to conduct some investigations of their own.

Sleeping Murder (1976) is the third book to feature The Imperial Hotel – this time as itself. In the final chapter, ‘Postscript at Torquay’, Miss Marple takes to the terrace with Gwenda and Giles Reed and sheds light on a mystery that has escaped detection for 18 years.

Kents Cavern, the oldest Scheduled Ancient Monument in Britain, is one of Torquay’s major tourist attractions and appears as Hampsly Cavern in The Man in the Brown Suit (1924), one of Agatha’s earliest novels. Agatha herself was later to develop a great interest in archaeology and travel widely with her second husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan.

Agatha was baptised at All Saints Church, Torre, in Devon. Her father, having gifted money to the church, ensured his daughter’s entry as a ‘founder member’. A short walk from here is the old Vicarage, Newton Road – now the Heathcliff Hotel. Tea at the Vicarage seemed a fairly frequent event for the Miller family, so it’s not surprising that Agatha sought advice from family friend, the Reverend Harold Petty on ecclesiastical matters when she was writing The Murder at the Vicarage (1930). St Mary Mead is the fictional location, Colonel Protheroe the ill-fated victim, but Agatha’s new sleuth, Miss Marple, ably assists the vicar, Leonard Clement, to solve the mystery.

Broadsands lies about halfway between Paignton and Brixham. From the car park, Elberry Cove is a ten-minute walk along the coastal path. At one end of the beach are the remains of a Victorian Bath House, looking a bit like a small castle.

This peaceful and unspoilt location couldn’t possibly be the scene of a murder, could it? Actually, yes, whilst taking his evening stroll in the field overlooking the cove (Elbury in the novel), Sir Carmichael Clarke receives a crashing blow to the back of his head. His body is discovered at a spot near the hedge, halfway across the field – another unfortunate victim in The ABC Murders.

Throughout her writing life, Agatha gave many of her books and stories to family and friends. “Something between a book and a short story” is how Agatha describes the work she donated to the Church of St Mary the Virgin in the village of Churston Ferrers, which she attended frequently during the years she lived at Greenway House. The proceeds of the work were to put in place a stained glass window to replace a plain one, which Agatha claimed, “Gaped at me like a gap in teeth.” The finished window is in mauve and green, Agatha’s favourite colours, and depicts Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

The Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway runs along a seven-mile scenic route from Paignton to Kingswear. Along the way it stops at Churston Station where Agatha boarded the train on many occasions. The Churston Volunteer Group now maintains the station and during peak holiday season there’s a regular steam train service.

Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings also travelled along the route in The ABC Murders, where the station appears under its own name. A note from the killer warns Poirot of an impending murder at ‘Churston on the 30th’, but the letter has been wrongly addressed; will the indomitable detective get to Churston in time?

Agatha renames the station ‘Nassecombe’ in Dead Man’s Folly (1956). In the opening chapter, at the urgent request of detective novelist Ariadne Oliver, Poirot takes the twelve o’clock train from Paddington to Nassecombe Station. Mrs Oliver has been hired to organize a Murder Hunt at a garden party hosted by Sir George and Lady Stubbs and she has a hunch that something is amiss!

Galmpton, the closest village to Greenway House, is easily recognizable as Nassecombe village, where Poirot speaks with the parents of the murder victim in Dead Man’s Folly.

In 1938, Agatha purchased Greenway House, a Georgian property set on land beside the River Dart. The property became the residence of her daughter Mrs Rosalind Hicks until her death in 2004. It has since passed to The National Trust with Agatha’s grandson, Mathew Prichard, gifting the house’s collections and interiors. The Trust will undertake a major restoration project before opening the house to the public, but Greenway Gardens, also part of the National Trust, are open to visitors.

Greenway becomes Nasse House in Dead Man’s Folly. The grounds are to be the setting for Mrs Oliver’s Murder Hunt and it isn’t long before a real victim is found in the boathouse.

The twisting road past the gates of Greenway House leads to Greenway Quay. Poirot, ‘in a mood of exploration’ takes off down this road and finds himself on the small quay. Here he discovers a large bell with a chain and a notice that reads ‘Ring for the Ferry’. Across the river lies the village of Dittisham (re-named Gitcham in Dead Man’s Folly), which can be reached by the passenger ferry.

Greenway Quay’s bell was also used in the opening of Ordeal by Innocence (1958), when Dr Calgary rings it to summon the ferryboat. The bell is still in use on the quay today.

Agatha completed her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920), at the Moorland Hotel at Hay Tor on Dartmoor. During World War I, while working as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse in Torquay’s Red Cross Hospital, she had been challenged by her sister, Madge, to write a crime story. Later, when Agatha had completed the examination of the Society of Apothecaries of London and qualified as a pharmaceutical dispenser, she took up her sister’s challenge.

Being surrounded daily by poisons, it wasn’t too surprising that Agatha would choose this method of murder in her debut novel. The Mysterious Affair at Styles also marked the first appearance of Hercule Poirot, who was to grace a further thirty-six books over the following fifty years.

Agatha chose a Dartmoor setting for at least two of her novels: Poirot and Hastings head for the fictional village of Hoppaton to conduct investigations in The Big Four (1927) – the first book produced after the break-up of Agatha’s marriage to Archie Christie. Sittaford, another fictional Dartmoor village, is cut off by several feet of snow in Agatha’s fourteenth novel, The Sittaford Mystery (1931), where a seance takes place at Sittaford House.

Burgh Island, once owned by millionaire Archibald Nettlefold, was used in two of Agatha’s books. The island is cut off twice a day by the tide, but at low tide it is possible to walk across from nearby Bigbury-on-Sea.

In Evil Under the Sun (1941), this location becomes Smugglers Island in Leathercombe Bay and the hotel is The Jolly Roger. Hercule Poirot, in common with the other guests, has come here to relax, but with the arrival of Arlena Marshall comes jealousy, blackmail and murder.

And Then There Were None (1939) – originally called Ten Little N*ggers in the UK and Ten Little Indians in the US – is often considered Agatha’s most ingenious plot. Ten people, all with something to hide, are invited to stay on the island. One by one they are murdered, until no one is left alive.

The idea of writing such an impossible mystery so fascinated Agatha that she saw it as her most difficult challenge. It is fitting that Burgh Island, one of Agatha’s favourite locations, should be the setting for the novel she considered her greatest achievement.

Bespoke Tour of Devon and Cornwall from Devon or Cornwall

If You Go:

Torquay Museum
529 Babbacombe Road, Torquay TQ1 1HG
01803 293975
www.torquaymuseum.org
Email: enquiries@torquaymuseum.org
Torquay Museum has the Agatha Christie Collection which includes photographic material, much of which has not been published elsewhere. There are displays featuring films and TV series based on her novels with costumes and other items.

Torre Abbey
The King’s Drive, Torquay TQ2 5JE
01803 201201
www.torre-abbey.org.uk
Email: torre-abbey@torbay.gov.uk
Torre Abbey contains the Agatha Christie Memorial Room which features her favourite armchair, her typewriter, and her plotting book containing the handwritten manuscript of ‘A Caribbean Mystery’

Greenway Gardens
Greenway Road, Galmpton Devon TQ5 0ES
01803 842382
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Email: greenway@nationaltrust.org.uk
Greenway Gardens have been open to the public since 2000, and the National Trust hope to complete restoration work to the house and have it opened to visitors by 2009.

Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway
Dart Valley Railway, Queen’s Park Station, Torbay Road,, Paignton TQ4 6AF
01803 555872

Kents Cavern
Cavern House, 89/91 Ilsham Road, Torquay, TQ1 2JF
01803 215136
Email: caves@kents-cavern.co.uk

Torquay Tourist Information Centre
Vaughan Parade, Torquay, TQ2 5JG
01803 297428
Email: torquay.tic@torbay.gov.uk

About the author:
Maureen Vincent-Northam has been published in newspapers, magazines and on the Web. She is the co-author of The ABC Checklist for New Writers and the author of The Greatest Genealogy Tips in the World, having worked as a family history researcher for many years. www.maureen-vincent-northam.co.uk

Photo credits:
Agatha Christie statue in Torquay: Jaggery / Agatha Christie statue in Torquay
Greenway House: MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC (MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC) from MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC , MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC / CC BY
Hay Tor, Dartmoor: Nigel Cox / Dartmoor: Haytor Rocks
Burgh Island Hotel on Burgh Island: didbygraham / CC BY
All other photos by by Maureen Vincent-Northam

Scotland: In Search of Shakespeare’s Macbeth

by Troy Herrick

The Scottish highlands are rugged mountains, thick forests and lush green glens. Overcast skies, cold blustery winds and thick mists add a haunting quality to the region. In this environment, the supernatural doesn’t seem so outlandish – it is almost expected.

When Shakespeare first presented the Tragedy of Macbeth to King James I in 1606, he was well aware of his majesty’s fascination with witchcraft. The bard piqued Scottish King James’ interest by incorporating a highland setting and the supernatural into the plot.

No one disputes that the play is a literary masterpiece but it is historically and geographically inaccurate. While the fictional Macbeth will be reviled as long as Shakespeare’s play is performed, the historical Macbeth was actually no worse than any other Scottish King that preceded him. Clearly Shakespeare did not let history stand in the way of a good story.

The intriguing highland locations are still as spell-binding as in Shakespeare’s time. You can relive the play in person by visiting each sight. But you will require some imagination as they look nothing like what you might expect.

Witches stone, Forres, Scotland — Forres – Witches stone in front of a police station

Start with the three witches in Forres. The coastal city of Forres is notorious for its history of witch hunting. Here visitors will find the “Witch’s Stone”. This stone marks the remains of a barrel used to execute witches.

In times past, a woman accused of witchcraft in Forres was imprisoned inside a barrel and rolled down Cluny hill to her death. If she survived this ordeal, spikes were driven through the barrel wall. If she survived, she was burned at the stake. There was no innocence or reprieve.

In the play, Duncan’s palace was located in Forres. History records that a flat-topped mound known as Castlehill had been the site of a “Royal Palace” since 900 A.D. and that kings resided there. Nothing suggests that Duncan was one of those kings however.

Castlehill was strategically important. From its summit, defenders had a clear view of the sea to the north and the lands to the south. Now this hilltop is a city park containing an obelisk known as the Thompson Monument (dedicated to a Scottish surgeon who served in the Crimean War). Remnants of the castle still occupied the site when the park was first laid out.

One might imagine stone fortifications, towers and a solid wooden draw bridge. The grandfatherly King Duncan is seated upon a throne as he receives news of Macbeth’s victory over Sweno and the traitorous Thane of Cawdor. Colorful banners and elegant tapestries soften the cold, rough stone walls surrounding him.

This castle scene does not reflect the Viking Age however (Sweno was a Viking in the play). In reality, Forres Castle was constructed of wood.

While in Forres, you can visit Sueno’s Stone. Sueno’s Stone is a 23-foot tall menhir covered in indecipherable Pictish writing. Scholars have suggested that this menhir may commemorate a battle over 100 years before Macbeth between Kenneth MacAlpin’s army of Scots and the rival Picts. Perhaps Shakespeare had this battle in mind when he chose the name of Sweno.

The present brown sandstone Inverness Castle, built in 1834 as a court house, is closed to the public. This structure occupies the site of a much earlier wooden structure dating back to the time of King David I in the 12th century. (Castle photo is at the top of story.)

Visitors will enjoy the turreted castle exterior and the panoramic view of the area from the hill top. Remnants of an even earlier fortification, dating to the time of Macbeth, were discovered in the private garden of a house appropriately named “Dun Macbeth” on nearby Auldcastle Road. Strategically Auldcastle Road, on a hilltop, was an ideal location for a castle because of the commanding view of the water below.

When I visited Auldcastle Road, local residents were either unwilling or unable to identify Dun Macbeth. Furthermore, there was nothing to suggest that this neighborhood was of any historical significance whatsoever.

Visitors should note that no record indicates that the real King Duncan was murdered at Inverness. However, some people claim to have seen his ghost walking along the banks of the River Ness in full royal dress.

Cawdor Castle is associated with Shakespeare’s play because Macbeth was granted the title of “Thane of Cawdor” by a grateful King Duncan. A storeroom just beyond the main entrance to the castle builds upon this link. Here visitors find a cauldron topped with a model of the castle.

While the Cawdor area has been a thanedom since 1236, it does not date to the time of Macbeth. Furthermore, the existing castle was constructed in 1454. Despite the lack of any genuine association with Macbeth, Cawdor Castle is worth touring because of its fine furnishings and well-manicured gardens.

The tower room is of special interest. Inside is a trap door that falls open to a hidden dungeon. This dungeon was reserved for uninvited guests but you are in no danger as long as you have your admission ticket.

A tour guide informed me that there had been an earlier castle, dating to the time of Macbeth, situated approximately 1.5 miles north of the present Cawdor Castle. This unmarked site is located at a bend in the road near Rosefield, close to an abandoned airstrip. Any remnant of that castle has long since been washed away by flood waters from the River Nairn.

With the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth travels to Scone to be invested as King of Scotland. The play only refers to him as traveling to Scone. No details are given, so let’s fill them in. To be invested as king, Macbeth would climb to the top of Moot (“Boot”) Hill, just outside present day Scone Palace, and seat himself upon the “Stone of Destiny”.

During the coronation ceremony, the new King would also accept oaths of loyalty from the Scottish Nobles in attendance.

Tradition required these Lords to swear allegiance to the King upon their own lands. Since it was too dangerous for the King to travel around the country to receive individual oaths of loyalty, the Lords carried samples of their own soil to Scone in their boots. When it came time to swear their oaths, they would dump the soil on the ground and kneel before the King. Thus Moot Hill is actually a transplanted mound of earth. Its size grew over the centuries as more and more soil was added.

Macbeth noted that Macduff, the Thane of Fife, was not present at Scone to swear his loyalty. Instead Macduff, who had remained steadfastly loyal to King Duncan, was en route to England to meet with Malcolm (Canmore).

Visitors to Scone Palace may ascend Moot Hill and seat themselves upon a replica of the Stone of Destiny. The real Stone of Destiny, a 336 pound red sandstone slab, is displayed at Edinburgh Castle.

The palace and gardens are also worth visiting even though there is no association with Macbeth. Of particular interest is the Corridor of Kings where visitors find pictures of some notable Scottish monarchs including Macbeth.

Malcolm, with English support, leads an army to Scotland in a bid to take the throne from Macbeth. The army, camped at Birnam Wood, prepares to march on Dunsinane under cover of tree branches. Even now locals will tell you that Birnam Wood is visible from Dunsinnan Hill (Dunsinane). Therefore any army advancing on the hill would still require camouflage.

Today the massive, gnarled “Birnam Oak” on the edge of the River Tay is all that remains of the original Birnam Wood from the time of Macbeth. There is no proof that this particular oak existed at the time of Macbeth however.

After a leisurely walk through Birnam and along the river bank, visitors may wish to enjoy a drink in one of the local pubs before heading for Dunisnnan Hill.

The outlines of two Iron Age wooden hill-forts lie atop Dunsinnan Hill. The more recent inner fort could date to the time of Macbeth. Tourists and invading armies must climb a steep hillside pasture to reach the summit of Dunsinnan Hill. Visitors immediately realize that there is no level ground for two armies to fight a pitched battle on Dunsinnan Hill. Any battle would be a siege instead. However, in the play, the two armies clash and Macbeth is slain at the hands of MacDuff. With the defeat of Macbeth, Malcolm claims his birthright as King of Scotland.

You may justifiably ask “What is the impact of Shakespeare’s play on our perception of the real Macbeth?” One answer is to be found in the Great Gallery of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. On its walls hang portraits of 94 of the 110 real and legendary Kings of Scotland. The real Macbeth reigned as King of Scotland from 1040 to 1057; his portrait is one of the 16 that is missing. Coincidence? Ironically even Bonnie Prince Charlie’s picture is displayed.

3-Hour Private Edinburgh Castle Tour

If You Go:

The Witch’s Stone is located on Victoria Street in Forres, about 500 yards west of the Findhorn Road intersection. The stone is embedded in a low lying meridian at the center of the road.

The site of Forres Castle is located at the southwest corner of Castlehill Road and High Street in Forres. Look for the obelisk known as the Thomson Monument.

Sueno’s Stone is located on Findhorn Road in Forres. Traveling east, the stone is enclosed in a glass building on the left side of Findhorn Road, near the intersection with Victoria Street.

Inverness Castle – take Castle Wynd off of Bridge Street in Inverness.

Cawdor Castle – take the Culloden exit from Highway A9 south of Inverness and follow signs to the castle which is approximately 4 miles west of Nairn.

Scone Palace lies just north of Perth on highway A93.

The Birnam Oak is in the town of Birnam (on the south side of the River Tay, opposite Dunkeld). The oak is situated 430 yards behind the Birnam House Hotel.

Dunsinnan Hill (Dunsinane) – turn off Highway A94 to the village of Collace, north of Perth; drive through the village and stop at a turn in the road just outside of town. Dunsinnan Hill is clearly marked.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse is at the east end of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Castle is at the west end of the Royal Mile.

Scone Palace, the Palace of Holyrudehouse and Edinburgh Castle may all be visited by using the Great British Heritage Pass http://www.thebudgettravelstore.com/page/234746205

Plan your vacation at www.plan-a-dream-trip.com

About the author:
Troy Herrick, a freelance travel writer, has traveled extensively in North America, the Caribbean, Europe and parts of South America. His articles have appeared in both Live Life Travel and International Living Magazines. He also penned the travel planning e-book entitled “Turn Your Dream Vacation into Reality: A Game Plan for Seeing the World The Way You Want to See It” based on his own travel experiences over the years. www.thebudgettravelstore.com

Photographs:
All photos by Diane Gagnon. A freelance photographer, she has traveled extensively in North America, the Caribbean, Europe and parts of South America. Her photographs have accompanied Troy Herrick’s articles in Live Life Travel Magazine.
1. Inverness Castle with statue of Flora Macdonald
2. Forres – Witches stone in front of a police station
3. Forres – James Thompson monument (site of Duncan’s Castle)
4. Cawdor Castle
5. Scone Palace
6. Dunsinnan Hill
7. Birnam Oak