POTTERING AROUND ON THE JACOBITE STEAM TRAIN

At Christmas you just know that certain films are going to make an appearance on TV: It's A Wonderful Life for vintage film buffs, Love Actually for fans of modern romances, the obligatory sprinkling of James Bond films for the guys, while for the kids (and some of the adults!) it just has to be Harry Potter.  One of the most prominent features of the Harry Potter films is the Hogwarts Express, and probably the most memorable image from the journey taken by this vintage steam train is that of a magnificent viaduct set among classic Scottish mountain scenery.  In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets a turquoise Ford Anglia is seen flying over it.  The viaduct which features in the films is the Glenfinnan Viaduct, and the train carriages used in the filming are those of the Jacobite steam train, a heritage railway open to visitors which follows a route generally considered to be one of the finest railway journeys in the world, an 84-mile round trip between Mallaig and Fort William on the west coast of Scotland, taking in both the deepest freshwater loch in Britain and the deepest seawater loch in Europe.  The steam train runs from May to October and makes a stop at Glenfinnan, where there is a railway museum, and also stops at Arisaig, from where there are boat trips to the Small Isles. 

Train across Glenfinnan Viaduct (239397344). Photo by Tony Hisgett, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Glenfinnan Viaduct has 21 arches and a maximum height of 30m and was built in the years 1897-1898 as part of the Mallaig extension of the West Highland Railway.  The viaduct overlooks Loch Shiel and the Glenfinnan Monument.  The monument marks the spot where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard at the start of the Jacobite Rising in 1745.  However, the monument was not built until the following century, by which time the Jacobite cause was a spent force.  Standing at 18m high, the monument takes the form of a column with the figure of a kilted highlander on top.  Visitors can climb a spiral staircase to the top of the monument, where there is an observation platform with sensational views over the loch and mountains.  The National Trust for Scotland now looks after the monument, with the addition of a visitor centre with exhibitions, a shop and refreshment facilities.  An additional diversion available to visitors to Glenfinnan is a boattrip on Loch Shiel, with some trips offering a guided "Eagle-Watch".  

Loch Shiel and the Glenfinnan Monument - geograph.org.uk - 701693. Photo by Peter Levy, via Wikimedia Commons.

Map of the area.

WHAT THE DICKENS! ROCHESTER AND CHATHAM

The celebrated British writer Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, but he spent part of his childhood at 2 Ordnance Terrace in Chatham, adjacent to Rochester.  He later bought a house at Gad's Hill Place, Higham, between Gravesend and Rochester.  It is evident from his writing that Rochester and the surrounding area made quite an impression on him, in fact it features in a number of his works.  For Dickens fans visiting Rochester, the city offers the Footsteps In Time guided walking tours conducted by costumed Dickens characters, while the best time of year for them to visit Rochester is just before Christmas, when the Dickensian Christmas Festival takes place, and there is also a Christmas market at the castle.  There is another Dickens festival in the town in June.

Rochester Castle

One of Dickens' best known works is The Pickwick Papers, originally written as a serial for a publication, 19 issues in all.  The story centres around Mr Pickwick, founder of the Pickwick Club based in London, and three of his fellow Pickwickians, as they set off on a journey full of amusing adventures - or more often misadventures - encountering a whole sub-cast of eccentric characters along the way.  The action kicks off with a stay in Rochester, where they put up at the Bull Inn on the High Street.  The castle makes an immediate impression on the friends: one of them, Mr Snodgrass, declares it a "Magnificent ruin!", while Pickwick himself adds "What a study for an antiquarian!" Pickwick makes some observations on the character of the town, describing its "principle productions" as "soldiers, sailors, Jews, chalk, shrimps, officers and dockyard men", while commercial activities include marine stores and the sale of "hard-bake, apples, flat-fish and oysters".  He also comments on the smell of tobacco in the streets: as a sign of how different attitudes to such things were in those days, he describes it as "exceedingly delicious to those who are extremely fond of smoking".  

View of the Medway from the castle

In one of the story's many comic episodes, one of Pickwick's friends, Mr Winkle, becomes the unwitting victim of a case of mistaken identity following an incident at a ball being held at The Bull, which very nearly results in him becoming involved in a duel.  Another hilarious episode takes place on a journey from the inn out to the country, in which the friends make a disastrous attempt at controlling a horse.  One of their outings from Rochester is a visit to Chatham to observe some military maneuvers put on for the public on The Lines, an open space neaer Chatham barracks.  The friends get into trouble again, this time finding themselves in the line of fire by standing in the wrong place.  Dickens' affection for Rochester shows through in a contemplative scene in which Pickwick is standing on Rochester Bridge admiring the river scene.  There is a vivid description of the castle on the left with "the ruined wall, broken in many places", while the banks of the Medway are "covered with corn-fields and pastures, with here and there a windmill". 

Rochester Castle still makes an impressive sight today, as does the Cathedral, which dates back to Norman times.  The inn featured in The Pickwick Papers (and also in Great Expectations, where it was named the Blue Boar Inn) still stands on the High Street at nos 16-18.  It is now called the Royal Victoria and Bull Hotel - the name acquired the Victoria part following a stay by Queen Victoria, who allegedly complained about the uncomfortable bed she slept in.  The High Street retains quite a lot of its old world charm, with a pleasant mix of pubs, restaurants and independent shops occupying the period buildings.  One of these, an Elizabethan mansion called Eastgate House, featured in Dickens' final, unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood.  As for neighbouring Chatham, the other big draw besides Dickens World is the Chatham Historic Dockyard, where the construction of ships dates back to Tudor times and has encompassed both surface ships and submarines.  The site is now a major tourist attraction for visitors to the area.  

Side entrance to Eastgate House

For more information about the area see the Visit Medway website. 

Map of Rochester.

AGATHA CHRISTIE COMES HOME WITH POIROT: GREENWAY HOUSE

The edition of the Poirot series shown on ITV at the end of last month was a special one in that the location used for the filming was the real-life holiday home of Agatha Christie, whose work the series is based on.  Greenway House provided the inspiration for the original story Dead Man's Folly as well as a perfect setting for the filming.  The episode was also a sad one for David Suchet, the actor who has played Poirot for the last 24 years, as it involved him being filmed as Poirot for the last time, although two more episodes would be shown following this one.  The makers of the series decided that it would be appropriate for Suchet's final piece of filming as Poirot to take place in the Christie home, hence the timing.  In a recent interview, Suchet revealed that he was looking for a way to imitate the mincing gait of Poirot as described by Agatha Christie, and he ended up nicking a tried and tested technique of Laurence Olivier's: walking with a coin clenched between his buttocks.

In Dead Man's Folly, Greenway House plays the part of Nasse House, recently taken over by a wealthy couple.  A fete is being held at the house, and as part of the festivities a murder hunt is being organised by famous author Ariadne Oliver (Zoe Wannamaker).  However, Oliver has her suspicions about some of the people attending the event, and begins to fear that a real-life murder might take place, so she invites Poirot to the house just in case.  Needless to say a murder does take place...but I'll leave it there in case anyone reading this has not watched the episode yet. 

Greenway House, built on a site originally occupied by a Tudor mansion, lies in an elevated position in an idyllic spot overlooking the east bank of the River Dart in South Devon.  The house itself is ravishing, with its elegant, classic exteriors in a tasteful shade of cream, beautifully set off by the green of the equally exquisite grounds.  Agatha Christie and her husband Max Mallowan bought the house in 1938, and they used it as a holiday home until their respective deaths, which occurred within the space of two years in the 1970s.  During World War II the house was requisitioned by the US military for the D-Day preparations.  The house is filled with reminders of the couple's time there, including the Steinway piano Agatha used to play and artefacts brought back from the Middle East by her husband, who was into archaeology.  The gardens slope towards the banks of the river and are filled with plants such as camellias and rhododendrons.  The property is now owned and operated by the National Trust.  The nicest way to arrive at the house is by taking the Greenway Ferry from Dartmouth, Totnes, Brixham or Torquay.

Map of the area. 

Front of Greenway House