A statue of Agatha Christie in front of a tourist information centre in Torquay.
Agatha Christie was born in Torquay on September 15th, 1890.

How to go :
From Paddington station, get on a train to Newton Abbot, then, transfer to a local line. It takes about three hours.

My 2005’s travel theme was “Agatha Christie”. Because I traveled in June, the best season for travel, I decided to visit Torquay, which they call “the English Riviera”. Agatha Christie was born there. From Paddington station, I took the 9:05 train to Plymouth. It is necessary to change the train in Newton Abbot to go to Torquay. That day, the train was delayed because of a signal failure, so I was a little upset. When I finally arrived at Newton Abbot, I rushed to a train form the adjoining platform. However, the train didn’t move soon. After a while, a station employee entered the train and said, “This train is cancelled!” On the day, all the trains were delayed and some trains were cancelled like the one I took. When a girl, who was probably a junior high school student, said, “I will be late for a test!”, the station employee said, “You’d better take a taxi.”. Oh, dear, what a poor girl! I was disgusted with such a unpunctual English train!
After I o'clock, I arrived at Torquay one hour late. I went to a tourist information centre after I checked into a B&B which I had booked. When I asked to an employee, "I want to visit places related to Agatha Christie. Where should I go?", he firstly recommended me Torquay museum, so I retraced my path because the museum wes between the tourist information centre and my B&B. When I entered it, there weren't so many goods related to Christie. The main display was fossil remains, palaeolithic or excavated articles during from Palaeolitic era to Iron era, and something related to World War II. However, there was a room for Christie, The display in her room included her family's photos, her clothes such as a fur coat, some costumes or goods which were used in the TV "Poirot" or "Marple" series. It was interesting to see those things.

At the Grand Hotel, I took a late lunch. I saw the sea from the windows.

Finally, I went to the shop in the museum. An old man, who had come to Japan some times, long time ago, welcomed me. He said that when he was a teenager, he was taken to Korea as a soldier. During the time, he came to Japan, so he had a friendly feeling for Japan. When I asked him, “Which place would you recommend I should go to? Tomorrow, I want to visit Cockington village or Greenaway.”, he answered, “Yes! Cockington village is nice. Also, The garden of Christie’s house in Greenaway is beautiful.” When I asked him which was better, he advised me, “Well, Cockington village is good, because there is a restaurant, where a pianist is playing the piano. ” Then, I asked him, “I heard that there was Christie’s memorial room. Do you know where it is?” He said, “It closed now because of a refit.” Oh, no! I was disappointed. However, I thought I had a reason for visiting here again.
When I came from the station, I took a taxi because I had some luggage. I planed to walk to the station when I was due to go back to London, so I decided to try the walk in advance. There is the Grand Hotel opposite the station. I thought it was good to have lunch at the hotel. I found out that it took at least 20 minutes from the bay to the station without heavy luggage. The sun was shinning strongly, so I got very tired.
Finally, I arrived at the station. I entered the Grand Hotel. I thought that the Grand Hotel wasn't so splendid now, although it must have been wonderful when Christie visited there during the honey-moon travel. I went to the restaurant and ordered soup with bread and a piece of apple pie. I could see the sea from the windows and felt very relaxed.

A ticket office of a ferry for cruising(I took the picture on the next day). I got on the ferry after going down the stairs and walking on the bridge(right photo).

After that, I went to the Imperial Hotel which Christie had written some mysteries. However, I didn’t have any reason to enter it, for example, having lunch, so I didn’t as it was a little classy.
It was June, so it was still bright. I thought that it was shame to go back to my B&B. I came back to the bay and was thinking what I should do. Then, I saw the sign, “Sunset Cruise”. It said the cruise would start at eight thirty. When I asked a man in the ticket office, “What time will a ferry come back here?”, his answer was about 10 o’clock. I wasn’t sure if it would be safe or not to walk from the bay to my B&B alone in Torquay. However, I decided to join the cruise after walking in the street for about ten minutes. I went back to my B&B, showered, and changed clothes. Then, I had curry for an early supper at a Indian restaurant on the way to the bay.
A young waiter approached me and asked, "Are you Japanese? How many days will you stay in England?"
While waiting for my ordered dish, I wrote in a notebook what happened on the day. He asked interestingly, "Are you writing a diary?". After I ate the curry, he served a small glass of liqueur as a gift. It was very tasty, so I was happy.
When I went back to the bay, the man at the ferry ticket office recognized me and said, "Ah! You came back!! Only £4, child fee. The price has come down." Wow! Lucky!! Everything set my Torquay night shining.

The cruise ferry moved slowly. When I came back to the bay, it was still half-light. I enjoyed the longest day in the year.


It was after 10 o'clock. When I got off the ferry, it was still half-light.

The next day, I got up early, so I walked around my B&B. After having breadfast, I visited Cockington village by bus, which still has an atomosphere of an old English village. The village was truly lovely. I saw some shops, such as one selling crafts, a glass making factory, and a pottery. Moreover, the village includes a large, village green. Furthermore, there was a big pond. While I walked around, time went by quickly. There was a restaurant where we could listen to piano music near the bus stop. "Ah, it was the very restaurant which the old man in Torquay museum had mentioned", I thought. I entered it and had lunch.

Scenery of Cockington village. Right photo was an restaurant where a pianist was playing.
	Pottery which I bought in Cockington village. I use this pottery for keeping some garlic. If you want to see the other pottery which I bought during travelling in England, please click here.

I came back to Torquay around 2 o'clock. After walking around a little, I got on a train to London.

I took the photo from Torquay station. The train was very colourful.
You can see the Grand Hotel on the right had side.

Torquay was a special place, where I was fortunate to be able to enjoy two atomospheres. Firstly, I could see the shining sea. Secondly, I enjoyed the lovely Cockington Village.

(2007.7.29)

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