After the success of last year’s sold out event, we are returning to Agatha’s mysterious Dartmoor but are making the event an all day one. This gives everyone longer to enjoy and savour the stunning locations visited en route.
Over the course of the day, we will visit places that helped transform the young Agatha into the bestselling novelist she became, with special thanks to Festival Friends, Ugbrooke House and The Moorland Hotel.
Timetable for the day
- 9.30am - Coach leaves from the entrance of Torre Abbey.
- 10am - Arrival at Ugbrooke House for a guided tour and an opportunity to view the guestbook signed by Archie Christie.
- 11.30am - Depart Ugbrooke House.
- 12-1pm - Arrival on Dartmoor for a short lunch break (further details to follow).
- 1-3pm - A guided coach tour of Dartmoor, with time to explore on foot if desired.
- 3.30-5pm - Arrival at the Moorland Hotel for a cream tea and talk from Victoria Dowd.
- 5.30pm - Arrival back at Torre Abbey.
Ugbrooke House
A rare opportunity to walk the very floorboards where Agatha danced and to view the guestbook bearing Archie Christie's signature.
In 1912, Lady Mabel Clifford, renowned for her celebrated house parties, hosted a grand ball at Ugbrooke House for the Officers of the Exeter Garrison. To ensure an evening of lively company, amongst the invited guests was a young Agatha Miller. That night, she was introduced to Archibald (Archie) Christie, a dashing young officer with whom she danced several times. Recalling the evening in her autobiography, she wrote:
"We got on very well; he danced splendidly, and I danced several more times with him. I enjoyed the evening thoroughly."
The couple’s courtship led to their marriage on Christmas Eve, 1914, in Bristol. Though their union was not to last, their first meeting remains immortalized within the historic rooms of Ugbrooke House.
Dartmoor
After a brief coach ride up onto stunning and scenic Dartmoor, we will have time for a short lunch break before a guided coach tour of Dartmoor. This will include places that inspired settings in Agatha’s novels such as The Sittaford Mystery and Evil Under the Sun and short stories such as ‘The Adventure of the Dartmoor Bungalow’ and ‘The Idol House of Astarte’.
Arrive at the Moorland Hotel for a cream tea and talk from Victoria Dowd
During the First World War, with Archie away, Agatha wrote what would become her first published novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Trying to complete the novel, she stayed at the Moorland Hotel on Dartmoor, walking the moors every afternoon for inspiration.
During the cream tea, Devon-based author, Victoria Dowd, whose latest book, Death in the Aviary, is set on Dartmoor, will give a talk on Agatha and Dartmoor.
Victoria is the award-winning author of the bestselling Smart Woman’s Mystery series and has been shortlisted for the CWA Dagger. Her novel, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder, won The People’s Book Prize for fiction and was In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel’s Book of the Year. Her novel Murder Most Cold won the Grand Puzzly award. Victoria was awarded the Gothic Fiction prize for her short fiction and The Syke House International Film Silken Noose Award. She also writes the Adapting Agatha blog and has spoken at many festivals about Agatha Christie’s work and was most recently interviewed live on Radio 4 about her.
Victoria is the Vice Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association and before becoming a writer was a criminal defence barrister for many years.
Her historical crime novel, Death in the Aviary, was released this year and is the first book in a new series. Her standalone novel, The New Rules of Murder, will be published by Sphere in April next year.
Visit: victoriadowd.com
Accessibility
In both Ugbrooke House and the Moorland Hotel, the events will take place on the ground floor. For further accessibility enquiries, please contact admin@iacf-uk.org
