ANOTHER FINE MESS IN BRISTOL: STAN AND OLLIE

The comedy duo Laurel and Hardy rose to fame in America during the period from the 1920s to the 1940s, a golden age of film.  By the time they arrived at Cobh Harbour on 9^th September 1953 after a series of appearances on this side of the Atlantic, their renown was such that they were greeted by crowds of adoring fans.  Added to which all the church bells in Cobh started ringing out to the tune of the duo’s theme song “Dance of the Cuckoos”. 

This is just one of the scenes recreated in the new film about the pair “Stan and Ollie”.  However, the scene was not filmed in Cobh but on the Bristol Harbourside.  The production team made use of the MV Balmoral, which is normally moored by Prince Street Bridge but for the purposes of the film was anchored outside the M Shed on Princes Wharf, a vast interactive exhibition space which was formerly used as a dockside warehouse.  Another revamped harbourside building, now the Arnolfini Gallery, can be glimpsed on the opposite side of the water.  Although now given over largely to leisure pursuits, the wharf has been conserved as a working quayside, and this makes it ideally suited for film productions such as this.  Another recent film which made use of the Bristol Harbourside/MV Balmoral double act was the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, this time with Bristol standing in for Weymouth.

Part of the vibrant Bristol Harbourside

As well as the wharf, the exterior of the city’s HippodromeTheatre makes an appearance in the film, renamed Queen’s Hall.  In real life this was a cinema in Newcastle and the pair received another rapturous reception there.  The interior scenes were shot in the Old RepTheatre, Birmingham.  

The Bristol Hippodrome - geograph.org.uk - 1444344. Photo by Steve Daniels, via Wikimedia Commons

Bristol has certainly made the most of its Harbourside in recent years, opening the area up to a host of bars, restaurants, galleries and other attractions.  The M-Shed is free to enter and is well worth a visit for a look at all aspects of the city and its past.  One unusual addition to the scene within the last couple of years is the complex known as CARGO at Whapping Wharf, just behind the M-Shed, where shipping containers have been repurposed as restaurants, shops and other outlets.  The MV Balmoral is part of the White Funnel line and has in the past offered trips to a variety of places around the British Isles, but sadly there are no trips running at present, pending the raising of sufficient funds for sailing to resume.  The Hippodrome, in a bustling area adjacent to the Harbourside, plays host to family-type entertainments such as musicals as well as bands, real and tribute, ballet and so on.

Map of the city.

CRADLE OF BRITAIN'S GREATEST WORDSMITH: STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

We recently visited Stratford-Upon-Avon for a Christmas break, and while I was there I suddenly realised that I hadn’t yet blogged about the town.  Given it is the birthplace of the greatest writer ever to grace these shores, the playwright William Shakespeare, this is an unforgiveable omission from a blog about Britain’s film, TV and literary associations, so with this piece I hope to rectify my oversight.

This being the town where the great Bard was born, the main attraction is Shakespeare’s Birthplace, a quaint half-timbered house in the centre of town, looking rather out of place nowadays among all the trendy cafes, restaurants and chain stores.  It was here that Will was born on 26 April 1564, and visitors to the birthplace can view the room he was born in, the third of eight children.  His parents, John and Mary Shakespeare, were wealthy enough to own the largest property on Henley Street.  

Shakespeare Birthplace

But the birthplace is by no means the only Shakespeare-related attraction.  The local tourist board makes the most of the Shakespeare connection by adding a  host of other attractions with Shakespeare connections which are open to visitors.  Shakespeare’s mother Mary Arden brought the Bard up on a farm now known as Mary Arden’s Farm, which can be found in the village of Wilmcote to the north-west of Stratford.  Between 1597 and his death in 1616, Shakespeare lived in New Place in Chapel Street, at the time the second largest house in Stratford and now known as Shakespeare’s New Place.  The house has been turned into a museum with an Elizabethan garden.   

Not only Will himself, but his wife and daughter have contributed to the array of tourist attractions in the area.  At the western edge of town is Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, a charming half-timbered thatched cottage which was the family home of Shakespeare’s wife.  His daughter Susanna lived in a Jacobean home called Hall’s Croft with her physician husband.  This can be found near the river in an area in the south of Stratford known as Old Town.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Stratford-Upon-Avon. Photo by C5clive, via Wikimedia Commons.

Finally, no visit to Stratford would be complete without a visit to Holy Trinity Church, an imposing medieval church occupying a beautiful riverside location with its spire dominating the riverscape.  The church contains Shakespeare’s grave as well as his baptism and burial records.

Shakespeare's Grave

Map of the area.

A MURDER MYSTERY FOR RAILWAY BUFFS: THE ABC MURDERS

One of the most popular features of British tourism is the ‘heritage railway’. Up and down the country there are dedicated volunteers lovingly restoring former railway lines and bringing them back into operation, complete with an array of vintage rolling stock drawn by steam and diesel engines. One part of the country particularly well endowed with heritage railways is Yorkshire.  The Agatha Christie murder mystery The ABC Murders, shown on Boxing Day, has the murderer using the ABC Alphabetical Railway Guide, first published in 1853 but with the 1930s version used in this story, as the basis for his bloodthirsty attacks. So it is no surprise that the locations used for this BBC production include several stations on Yorkshire's heritage railways, not least because they come with a ready-made vintage appearance.



The first murder takes place in Andover, and the railway station which plays a part in this grisly event is Grosmont Station, part of the North York Moors Railway. Grosmont (pronounced ‘growmont’) is a village in the Esk Valley, within the North York Moors National Park. During the building of the railway, which runs from Whitby to Pickering, ironstone was discovered in Grosmont in 1836, giving rise to industrial activity in the locality, although this has now ended. This railway line makes a reappearance when the murderer gets to the letter D, with Pickering Station standing in for Doncaster.

Grosmont Railway Station, North Yorkshire Moors Railway - geograph.org.uk - 848888. Photo by Brian Robert Marshall, via Wikimedia Commons.

On reaching the letter E, the perpetrator selects the little-known village of Embsay in the Craven district of North Yorkshire. Little-known, that is, except as one of the terminii of the short but charming Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway. The railway, which featured in some of the ABC Murders train scenes, was formerly part of the Midland Railway line from Skipton to Ilkley, and this section reopened in 1981. It is only 4 miles long, but the volunteers have aspirations to extend it further. The railway offers a range of novel events, including a Faulty (sic) Towers inspired dining experience.

Embsay Station Waiting Room - geograph.org.uk - 1184612. Photo by Henry Clark, via Wikimedia  Commons.

Finally, a scene in the production depicting Kings Cross Station in London makes use of Keighley Railway Station, another station which was a stop on the Midland Railway. The station is partly given over to the modern-day rail network, but two platforms are used for servicing the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, which has been operating since the Worth Valley Line reopened in 1968. The line is a touch longer than the Embsay and Bolton Abbey line, at 5 miles, and there are six stations along the route.

Worth Valley Railway, Keighley - geograph.org.uk - 849385. Photo by Brian Robert Marshall, via Wikimedia Commons.

For a comprehensive list of heritage railways in the UK and Ireland, follow this link.