As was coffee and a vegan GF brownie at Cafe Nero overlooking The Golden Hind:
Tales from the Riverbank
Wednesday 16 October 2024
Bits and Bobs
As was coffee and a vegan GF brownie at Cafe Nero overlooking The Golden Hind:
Wednesday 11 September 2024
Devon
It's not often that we go away twice in quick succession; even if only for a few days each time. R's contract came to an end a couple of months ago and, whilst waiting for the paperwork to clear and the new one to start, we decided to make the most of the break. He did a few jobs around the house: taking down and repainting the iron gutters; doing some work on Bridget, and doing a bit (not nearly enough! :O) ) on the kitchen. Because he is a contractor, the cost of a holiday usually includes the amount he would have been paid if he hadn't taken that time off. If he wasn't working anyway, any holiday taken suddenly seemed cheaper, so off we went again, this time to Devon.
For a while now I had wanted to visit Agatha Christie's holiday home 'Greenway' on the River Dart near Galmpton. Our B&B was Greenway Barn, a short but picturesque walk across the fields to the estate itself. We set off bright and early on the Wednesday morning. Keeping to A and B roads, we made quite good time and decided to stop at a roadside cafe.
Brightside was a real gem of a find. Situated just outside Exeter, we initially just stopped for a coffee and to buy petrol. One look at the menu, however, and suddenly we were staying for brunch. The menu contained vegan and gluten free fare galore. R went for the full vegan breakfast and I had a vegan, GF sausage on a bun. They were delicious and, making a mental note to pop in on the way back, we set off happy and refreshed.
We arrived at the B&B in the early afternoon. We let them know that we had arrived but our room wasn't ready yet, so after a quick tour we left Bridget admiring the view, donned walking boots and set off to Greenway.
The white Georgian house was used by Christie and her husband, Max Mallowan, as a holiday home from 1938 until their deaths in 1976 and 1978. It features, under various guises, in several of her novels. I bought a copy of 'Dead Man's Folly' from the bookshop as a souvenir of our visit.
In the novel, the body is discovered in the boathouse, shown below, and the Poirot episode of the same name was filmed at Greenway.
A few photos from inside the house:
Although this looks like her writing room, Christie never actually did any writing at Greenway, treating it as a place for rest and relaxation. She would, however, read extract from her works in progress to family and friends whilst here. Apparently, her daughter, Rosalind, was always able to guess who committed the murder!
After closing time, we walked back to our B&B, stopping off en route to enjoy a picnic supper, with glorious views:
The following day, after a good night's sleep and a fortifying breakfast, we headed off for nearby Brixham, a picturesque harbour town and one of the busiest fishing ports in Britain.