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Sunday 27 September 2015

From Dartmouth To The Queen of Crime Writers...

Well little bloggies, although I'm still writing about my tour with my American friend, I am actually writing this post in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as I am here on a visit for three weeks. I'm sure I will be writing about this visit at some time in the future! 

Anyway, for now, we are back in Devon. On this particular day, we woke up to sunshine and bright blue skies, so I decided to drive to Dartmouth.



Dartmouth is a pretty little town, in an area of outstanding beauty in the South Hams, and contains many Elizabethan buildings with narrow streets and stone stairways, as well as a good selection of individual shops to browse around. 

One of the most famous streets is The Butterwalk, which was built between 1635 - 1640. 


From the quayside, we took a boat trip up the beautiful River Dart, which would take us to Greenway, the Summer home of the crime writer, Agatha Christie, who created, amongst others, the unforgettable characters of Miss Marple, and Hercule Poirot!

Just as an aside here, the town of Dartmouth was a base for American servicemen during World War 11, and one of the departure points for Utah Beach in the D-Day landings. It's sister town is in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Here are some photos I took along the River Dart, on what out turned out to be just a perfect day for a boat trip. 




Here we are just sailing by the boat house at Greenway...

As soon as we alighted from the boat, we had a steep climb up to the property itself - well, we ARE in Devon! On the quayside, we were immediately taken back in time at the sight of the vintage bus. The sort of bus, incidentally, that I used to ride on all the time as a child. Eeeek!

The property is now owned and maintained by The National Trust, and I think they do an excellent job, because you really do get the impression that the family have just popped out for a walk and will be back at any minute!  We had a glimpse of the house as we were climbing up the path ....


I was really taken by this driftwood horse's head amongst the plant sales ....

Here is Miss Diane in front of the beautiful house, which looks right down over the River Dart....

You can see that it was pretty quiet on the day we were there, which made it all the more special and peaceful. 

Here we have the priceless collection of first editions of all Agatha's books, and the actual typewriter that the novels were written on. 



The gardens were also quite beautiful. The following shots were taken by The Orangery..the first one is of cherry blossom, with a carpet of bluebells beneath, and the second one is of the magnificent wisteria...

Well, I do hope that I have given you the feel of our day out. I think, for me, it was one of my favourite days.  Anyway, I hope to see you again soon. 

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Beautiful post my friend, and such a gorgeous spot.
Enjoy your Sunday :)

Southhamsdarling said...

Thanks Eva. Glad you enjoyed it. I hope the sunshine is with you !

Unknown said...

OMG sweet thang, you live in such a beautiful part of the world and beauty that most folks know nothing about. Your pictures are totally amazing and brought joy to my evening. I am going to have to play catch up on your blog and do some more enjoying.
Hugs,
Odie

Southhamsdarling said...

So lovely to see you over here my friend Odie! I'm happy that you enjoyed my post. Hope to see you here again.

Sush said...

Whew! I DID IT! And enjoyed every sentence and photograph! The sailor in me is always called to places where boats are plentiful and waters smooth and open for sailing! One of the many things I miss about New Orleans is sailing and living by a large body of water! I guess that is part of my love of the ocean. That and all the days of my youth spent either in a boat or on a beach!
Enjoy your stay in the US dear friend, I know Diane is planning much fun!
Hugs~

Southhamsdarling said...

You deserve a medal dear Sush, for your binge reading! Like you, I adore the ocean, and I certainly know how much you love the beach! Diane and I are leaving for Michigan on Wednesday for a few days and will be touring the lakes. More fun, and I can't wait! Hope you and all your beautimous family are keeping well.

BB said...

I would just love to see Agatha Christie's place. I'm so in awe of her writing. The weather truly was perfect for your little trip. As I always say..."Someday"!!

Southhamsdarling said...

Hi BB. She was such a prolific writer as well, with her books being read all over the world. We were so lucky with the weather. Someday ....!!

doodles n daydreams said...

Love your 'fall' header :) You certainly had a good tour with Diane and I hope you are still enjoying each others company. Have fun,

Diana

Southhamsdarling said...

Thank you Diana. I actually took that photo yesterday - pumpkins everywhere here in Wisconsin!

Knitty said...

Sorry I'm a bit late visiting. I am so happy to see you blogging again and this post is a prime reason why. I feel as if I were there along for the tour.

Southhamsdarling said...

Thank you so much, Knitty. Lovely to see you here again! I'm glad you enjoyed the post.