Agatha Christie's Hotel on the Moors

I've recently learned that the Moorland Hotel at Hay Tor, or Moorlands House, was sold earlier this year to a company called Hieronymous Gruff Limited, which sounds as if it must be associated with Harry Potter in some way. The company plans to renovate the hotel, and even hire actors and drama students to help energize the new hotel's ambiance. 

When my wife and I planned our trip to England last year, we tried to book a room in Moorlands House. After all, to stay in the hotel where Agatha Christie stayed and wrote would have to be inspiring, right? But it had no vacancies, so we stayed in a nice, homey Bed & Breakfast nearby. But I couldn't leave Hay Tor without stopping by Moorlands House, and taking a quick photograph of the hotel Agatha Christie stayed in. There, in a room without a computer, or even electricity, she picked up her pen, and a pad of paper, and wrote a major portion of her rough draft of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1916. Or, as she put it, "I used to write laboriously all morning until my hand ached."

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Then, in the afternoon, she would take a walk across the moors, and think about what she had just written, as well as how to carry the story forward. No doubt during these walks she also climbed nearby Hay Tor numerous times, and gazed around the surrounding moors.

I'd like to return to Devon, and Dartmoor, to explore more of Agatha Christie's English landscape. If, in a few years time, I were to book a night in Moorlands House, I wonder if I might find a well dressed Belgian refugee, with an exquisitely tailored mustache, working there. Or perhaps a handsome Army officer walking with a slight limp, as a result of his WWI injuries? I'd like that. It'd certainly be something to see.

If you go there before I can return, let me know what the revamped hotel was like, okay?

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links:

Hay Tor Hotel Sale

Agatha Christie's Favorite Bathing Spots

In the Agatha Christie's Poirot adaptation of "Murder on the Links," Captain Arthur Hastings goes out one morning to swim, or bathe, in the ocean. There he bumps into Bella Duveen, the glamorous singer who so entranced him in the lobby of the Hotel Du Golf. When she tells him that the water is freezing, he abandons his swimming plans and instead treats her to breakfast in a warm restaurant. 

Later, after Poirot leaves for London, Hastings meets up with her again. As they walk along the seafront, she convinces him to allow her to tag along to the Police evidence room, where she can see all the items catalogued by Inspector Giraud as he investigates the murder of Paul Renault. He thinks it will all be terribly boring for her. She convinces him that, while she's fascinated by murder, she also enjoys his company.

Deauville, a jewel of the northern coast of France, owes much of its heritage to tourism. The city is renowned for its swimming and bathing opportunities. Over 150 years ago, a series of hydrotherapeutic baths were constructed. Today, visitors are still drawn to its famous pompeian baths.

Agatha Christie loved vacationing in France. Hence, Hercule Poirot often travels there during his storied career. Still, she never lost her love for Torquay. Her childhood home, locating on a stretch of coastline known as the English Riviera, offers beach lovers many places to enjoy an invigorating swim or a relaxing soak. According to one guidebook, Beacon Cove was one of the places Agatha Christie returned to again and again. With its sparkling azure waters and rugged coastline, its easy to imagine her loving this place.

Perhaps that's what drew me to capture this place in more than a photograph. While my wife wandered along the shore, hunting for interesting rocks and shells, I sat down with my pencils and hurriedly sketched out what I saw. The ocean breeze grew cool and bracing as the afternoon waned, but I didn't mind. For an hour or so, I immersed myself in one of Agatha Christie's favorite bathing spots. 

Afterwards, instead of swimming, my wife took me out to a warm restaurant for dinner. But then, she's occasionally admitted that she's fascinated by my sketching, and that she enjoys my company.

Dragon Dave