Agatha Christie Mile

The best way for amateur sleuths to unravel the mystery of Agatha Christie’s life in Torquay, is to follow what is known as the ‘Agatha Christie Mile.’ Launched in Christie’s centenary year, the ‘Agatha Christie Mile’ was first created with the assistance of the author’s daughter, Rosalind Hicks. Along the ‘Agatha Christie Mile’ there are seven special Agatha Christie plaques for you to discover.

As well as the plaques, there are plenty of additional locations that are special to Agatha Christie, which have been included in the Mile. 

You can pick up your printed leaflet from the Visitor Information Centre or view the digital flipbook here.

THE BIRTHPLACE OF AGATHA CHRISTIE

The Queen of Crime was born in Torquay on 15th September 1890, and went on to write over 80 novels and plays, selling more than 2 billion copies worldwide.

The English Riviera is full of the places that she loved, and where she spent some of the most important chapters of her life. Perhaps most beloved of all is her holiday home at Greenway, on the banks of the River Dart, which she purchased with her second husband Max Mallowan in 1938. Her writing was strongly influenced by the beautiful county of Devon, from the relaxed charm of the coastal towns to the windswept ruggedness of the moors. More than 20 books were inspired by South Devon landmarks and each site features in the Agatha Christie Literary Trail here. See if you can identify some of the familiar places you’ve read about!

THE AGATHA CHRISTIE MILE

1) Agatha Christie Plaque @ The English Riviera Visitor Information Centre – TQ2 5JG

Stand outside the front of the row of Georgian terraces on Vaughan Parade and allow yourself a moment to drift back into the halcyon days of Agatha Christie’s youth. Back in 1890 when Agatha was born, a busy road operated between where you are standing and the harbour, with donkey carts and horse-drawn carriages rushing past. Automobiles were also becoming increasingly popular, as were charabancs filled with holidaymakers.

Turn right and follow the harbourside to the Millennium Bridge and continue along to Beacon Quay.

2) Beacon Quay – TQ1 2RD

During her childhood the Regatta Fair took place on this part of the quay and was something she would save up her pocket money for. She loved the merry-go-rounds, the coconut shies and side shows. It’s worth paying your respects at the D Day Memorial near what is now the Harvester Restaurant. The two nearby concrete slipways were constructed for the embarkation of American troops for Operation Overlord, the springboard for the Allied invasion of German-occupied Western Europe.

A public piece of art by Bob Budd was created to commemorate the brave troops. Stand on the cross of light in front of the memorial and look towards the large steel ring, which has been built between the two slipways. This marks the direction the troops left in. A series of lighting units in the wooden floor ahead have a secret message spelt out in Morse Code – VANISHING POINT - to remember those brave men who didn’t return.

Continue up Beacon Hill Terrace, past the Regina Hotel, which was once the home of the Torquay Medical Baths. You will pass a carpark on your right where you can take a path down to Beacon Cove.

3) Beacon Cove - TQ1 2BJ

This was once the Ladies’ Bathing Cove and a favourite spot for a young Agatha Christie to go swimming. Eight colourfully striped bathing machines would be lowered down the bumpy pebbles to the shore, so that women could swim straight out into the sea, with their modesty intact. There was a platform that Agatha loved to swim out to, although one day the author nearly drowned while towing her young nephew Jack Watts on her back. Fortunately for fans of the author and 20th century literature in general, she was rescued by a lifeguard they used to dub ‘the Old Sea Horse’.

Walk back along the path and continue up Beacon Hill Terrace to The Royal Torbay Yacht Club.

4) Agatha Christie Mile Plaque @ The Royal Torbay Yacht Club – TQ1 2BH

Agatha’s father, Frederick Miller, was a prominent member of the Club. The offspring of a wealthy New York family, he grew up on both sides of the Atlantic and lived a life of leisure, supported by a series of trusts. He would take a cab to the club from the family home at Ashfield every morning, returning home for lunch. It would then be back to the club for an afternoon of whist, before returning home to dress for dinner. Her father divulged to Agatha that a good many of the ‘gentlemen’ in the club would spend their time with opera glasses hoping to catch a glimpse of women swimming at the cove below.

Continue up the road to The Imperial Hotel.

5) Agatha Christie Plaque @ The Imperial Hotel – TQ1 2DG

Agatha would have attended many social functions here and the hotel appears in no less than three of her books (Peril at End House, The Body in the Library and Sleeping Murder), being visited by both Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple. Famous names in the guest books over the decades include Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Edward VII (and his mistress Lily Langtry) and The Beatles. HRH Prince Charles and HRH Princess Diana also lunched at the hotel, no doubt blown away by the spectacular views that can still be enjoyed from The Palm Court Lounge and Bar.

Walk back down Beacon Hill and just before the Yacht Club turn right onto Parkhill Road. When you reach the junction of Parkhill Terrace and Torwood Street, turn right and follow the hill until you reach Torquay Museum on your left.

6) Agatha Christie Plaque @ Torquay Museum and the Agatha Christie Gallery – TQ1 IHG

As the front of this striking museum explains, it was opened by the Torquay Natural History Society in 1876, making it Devon’s oldest museum. Agatha’s father was elected a Member of the Society in 1894 and Agatha would have attended talks and events here. Torquay Museum houses the UK’s only dedicated Agatha Christie Gallery and visitors can now step inside Poirot’s study and lounge. Information panels tell the story of the author’s life in Devon; from her childhood in Ashfield to her later years at Greenway. Some of the photos are particularly interesting, as they have not been made available elsewhere.

Head back out of the museum and turn right to walk back down the hill. If you fancy a change, you can walk down through Torwood Gardens Park. When you reach the clock tower, turn right to walk along The Strand.

7) The Strand

Agatha would have shopped on The Strand with her mother in the stylish department stores called Bobbies and William and Cox, now Hoopers. The Strand is currently being redeveloped and a permanent tribute to Agatha Christie is due to be installed created by local artist Elisabeth Hadley. The bronze statue will show the ‘Queen of Crime’ sitting on a bench with her favourite dog Peter on the ground beside her.

Return to the Visitor Information Centre.Walk under the covered walkway until you reach the Agatha Christie Memorial Bust.

8) The Agatha Christie Memorial Bust – TQ2 5EL

The Agatha Christie Memorial Bust was commissioned by the English Riviera Tourist Board to mark the centenary of the author’s birth on September 15, 1890. Sculpted by the Dutch artist Carol Van Den Boom-Cairns, it was based on a photograph taken when the author was in her 60s. Unveiled by Agatha’s daughter, it was for many years the only bust of the author in the world, until an Agatha Christie Memorial was unveiled in London’s Theatreland in 2012 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of The Mousetrap.

9) Agatha Christie Mile Plaque @ The Pavilion – TQ2 5EZ

The art nouveau-styled Pavilion Theatre opened in 1912, when Agatha was 22 years old and was built on reclaimed land as part of a redevelopment that also saw Princess Gardens being created. Agatha frequently attended performances at The Pavilion and on the evening of January 4, 1913 she enjoyed a concert of music by Wagner in the company of one Archie Christie. After the concert he proposed to her, although it would be two years before they finally married on Christmas Eve 1914.

Walk over to the magnificent Pavilion building, with its copper covered domes and white and green tiles made of Doulton’s Carrara-enamelled stoneware. Walk onto the gardens that border The Pavilion.

10) Princess Gardens – TQ2 5EZ

Princess Gardens and the nearby pier were named after Princess Louise (daughter of Queen Victoria) when they opened in 1894. The gardens are planted with what became known as Torbay Palms (actually imported from New Zealand), while the attractive fountain was donated by the nearby Torbay Hotel. The mouldings were used to cast a sister fountain outside the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. The gardens feature in one of Christie’s most popular mysteries, The ABC Murders (1936). In the novel, a fiendish serial killer works his way through the alphabet, leaving the whole country in a state of panic. A is for Mrs Ascher in Andover, B is for Betty Barnard in Bexhill, C is for Sir Carmichael Clark in Churston (between Paignton and Brixham). The murderer taunts Hercule Poirot by sending him clues about the next victim, causing the proud detective to travel to Devon to solve the case.

Walk past the War Memorial and the Princess Theatre towards Princess Pier. 

11) Princess Pier – TQ2 5EZ

No visit to the English Riviera would be complete without a stroll down Princess Pier, which offers glorious views across the Bay. Agatha Christie famously enjoyed roller-skating on the pier, taught by her friends, the Lucy family. Roller-skating was very fashionable during the author’s youth and would cost two pence if you brought your own skates. There was also a concert room at the end of the pier which was tragically lost in a fire in 1974.

Walk towards Torre Abbey Sands, with the sea on your left. Cross the road at the traffic lights onto the large green area of Torre Abbey Meadows. Walk past the shelter and up the path on the right side of the meadows, past the 450-year-old oak tree on your left. Continue past the toilets and lawn bowls club towards the Riviera International Conference Centre. Follow the path around to the left to the main entrance of Torre Abbey.

12) Agatha Christie Plaque @ Torre Abbey – TQ2 5JE

This fascinating building was originally a medieval monastery founded in 1196, although in the 1740s it was converted by George Cary II into the Georgian mansion you see today. While Agatha was growing up, the Cary family still resided there and Agatha was known to have attended parties in the mansion. Today it is home of the International Agatha Christie Festival, which coincides with the author’s birthday on 15 September. Today the visitor attraction is well worth a visit, with four floors revealing over 800 years of history and art. The medieval gardens are also home to the Agatha Christie Potent Plants Garden and a variety of fascinating plants that may kill or cure!

Leave Torre Abbey along the main drive and continue out through the Swan Gates, before turning left onto The King’s Drive. Follow it to the seafront and then turn right to walk towards The Grand Hotel.

13) Torquay Train Station – TQ2 6NU

While her two most famous characters, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, never met in any of her books or plays, they did meet on the platform of Torquay Station in 1990. Arranged as part of the town’s Agatha Christie Centenary Celebrations, the Orient Express itself brought Poirot (David Suchet) into Torquay, where he came face to face with Miss Marple (Joan Hickson). When she held out her hand, he kissed it, to the applause of the watching crowd.

14) Paignton Train Station – TQ4 5EF

Paignton Train Station is just one stop away and from there you can transfer onto the Dartmouth Steam Railway, to travel to Dartmouth (via Kingswear). From here, a ferry operates to Christie’s former holiday home Greenway, now managed by the National Trust and where the Boathouse was the inspiration for her writing Dead Man’s Folly. Poirot made this very same train journey to Churston in the book The ABC Murders.

15) Agatha Christie Plaque @ The Grand Hotel - TQ2 6NT

The magnificent Grand Hotel first opened in 1881 and was built to resemble a French chateau. It also played an important role in the life of Agatha Christie. It was here that Agatha and Archie Christie spent their one-night honeymoon, following their wedding on Christmas Eve, 1914. Today fans can stay in the Agatha Christie Suite at the Grand Hotel, a two-bedroom apartment, furnished in a 1930s style, with a vintage typewriter under a portrait of Agatha and breathtaking views across the Bay. Indeed, the view was voted one of the best views in the world by the British Guild of Travel Writers. Why not celebrate completing the Agatha Christie Mile with a Devonshire Cream Tea, before relaxing on the terrace and enjoying the spectacular English Riviera views. 

Greenway

Greenway House is just 7 miles from Torquay, on the River Dart. Agatha Christie knew Greenway since her childhood and called it 'the loveliest place in the world'. She bought it in 1938 and it remained a cherished family holiday home for the rest of her life. Greenway is the inspiration for several of Agatha's books, particularly Dead Man's Folly - so much so that in 2013, ITV filmed their adaptation of it here. The house and gardens are open to the public.