EDINBURGH ECCENTRICS: ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH'S 44 SCOTLAND STREET SERIES

The series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith known as the ’44 Scotland Street Series’, which started out as a series in The Scotsman, presents us with an interesting collection of characters who inhabit the address of the title, among them the child prodigy Bertie and his insufferable mother, Angus Lordie and his beer-loving dog with a gold tooth Cyril, always with one eye on tempting ankles to bite, and the anthropologist Domenica MacDonald.  Although the stories are fictional, the street and the favourite hangouts of the characters  are real places in the elegant New Town district of Edinburgh.

New Town is something of a misnomer, since this part of Edinburgh, considered to be a masterpiece of city planning, was actually built in the mid-to-late 18^th century.  The part of Edinburgh now known as Old Town had become intolerably overcrowded, necessitating an overspill of the population into another area.  Although the stone used in the construction of the buildings has a rather dour, dark appearance, the architectural styles make up for it, with the neo-classical style prevailing and the inclusion of Grecian pillars on the outsides as well as other embellishments in the interiors.  Moray Place, which features in the series, is a typical example.

Moray Place, Edinburgh New Town. Photo by Kim Traynor, via Wikimedia Commons.

So where do the characters hang out?  The delicatessen Valvona and Crolla in Elm Row is a favourite source of upmarket edibles.  The deli has a cafe bar attached and is an institution in Edinburgh.  The goods on sale there include a variety of coffee called Scotland Street in homage to its role in the series.  Angus and Cyril like to visit The Cumberland Bar in Cumberland Street, which describes itself as a classic Victorian New Town bar.  It has been reported that the owner of the bar once ran up to McCall Smith in Waitrose to thank him for the extra business his bar’s new found fame had brought him.  The Cafe St Honore in Thistle Street was the scene of an intimate lunch in The World According to Bertie.  Another cafe called Glass & Thompson, in Dundas Street, which was visited by the Glasgow gangster Lard O’Connor, has sadly closed recently.

Cyril the dog gets about a bit, especially on the occasion when he is stolen and manages to escape from his captor.  The canal where he has his encounter with a group of eider ducks is presumably the Union Canal which links Glasgow and Edinburgh, while the river which reminds him of his early life in the Hebrides would be the nearby Water of Leith, which flows out into the sea at Leith.  Drummond Street Gardens is the scene of a brief canine love affair which results in six puppies, an event which elicited a huge response from readers worldwide.  

Water of Leith01. Photo by Christian Bickel, via Wikimedia Commons.

Fans of the books who want to visit these and other places written about may be interested to know that in 2016 an app was launched by Global called the Alexander McCall Smith App, which features walking trails and quizzes.

Map of the city

POLDARK REVISITED: THE GRAND HOUSES

The latest Poldark series is now upon us, and for this second piece on the locations used in the filming, rather than the gorgeous Cornish coastline, which I have already extensively covered in a previous piece, I thought I would focus on the grand houses occupied by the more well-to-do characters.  There are principally three of these, none of which are in Cornwall.

One house which has been seen since the start of the first series is the home occupied by Elizabeth and her family, Trenwith.  The property which was used for filming the interior and exterior scenes of Trenwith is Chavenage House, an Elizabethan house located near Prince Charles’ Highgrove in Tetbury, Gloucestershire.  The interior of the chapel at Chavenage was used to represent Sawle Church.  The house has a fascinating history; one of its former guests was Oliver Cromwell and his general Ireton, who stayed there in 1648.  Visitors to the house will get a guided tour included in the ticket price, during which, as well as the history of the property, they will hear about the various ghosts lurking in its darkest recesses.

Chavenage House 3-geograph-3507432. Photo by Philip Halling, via Wikimedia Commons.

Another imposing property inhabited by members of the Poldark upper crust is the house known as Killewarren, home to the Penvenen family, formerly the now deceased uncle of Caroline, Ray Penvenen, and more recently by Caroline and her husband Dr Dwight Enys.  The house portraying Killewarren is Great Chalfield Manor, a short distance west of Melksham in Wiltshire, owned by the National Trust.  The 15^th century moated manor house was built for a clothier who was a member of the local landed gentry.  Visitors to the property must join a guided tour in order to explore the manor house.  The garden, in the Arts and Crafts style, includes features such as topiary and a rose garden.  The southern aspect, with its grassy expanse leading down to the tranquil pond, will be familiar to Poldark fans.  This is where Caroline and Dwight were seen enjoying a moment together in a recent episode.

Great Chalfield Manor - 11. Photo by Stuart Buchan, via Wikimedia Commons.

In the more recent series of Poldark we have unfortunately been increasingly exposed to the odious George Warleggan, whose Georgian town house is filmed at Dyrham Park, a National Trust property in South Gloucestershire, just to the south of the M4 motorway.  Convenient for Bath, this 17^th century mansion with its garden and deer park will take up the best part of a day out.  The house itself is full of artistic treasures, while the grounds offer extensive walking and the Orangery offers an insight into an 18^th century greenhouse.  The deer park is home to some 200 fallow deer.   The estate has been used before for filming, including for the film version of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains Of The Day.

Dyrham Park lower park. Photo by Rwendland, via Wikimedia Commons.

OTTER PARADISE: RING OF BRIGHT WATER/ISLAND OF SEIL

Ring of Bright Water, based on a true story which was the subject of a book by Gavin Maxwell, was made in 1969, but the story it is based on has a timeless appeal, as do the locations used in the film.  The story begins in London, where an office worker called Graham Merill is drawn to an otter in a pet shop (Did they really sell otters in pet shops?).  He takes it home and names it Mij, but quickly realises that a flat in London is no place for an otter, so he buys a ramshackle old house in the wilds of West Scotland and sets up home there with his new friend.

As Merill makes his way to his new home by train we get a glimpse of the Glenfinnan Viaduct, made famous in the Harry Potter films and one of the key points along the Jacobite Steam Train route.  On arrival, the village nearest to the house is a typical little Scottish fishing hamlet, with rows of simple one-storey houses.  In real life the village is Ellenabeich on the Island of Seil, not entirely an island, being connected to the ‘mainland’ by the Atlantic Bridge, or the “Bridge Over the Atlantic”.  One of the most prominent businesses in the village is The Oyster Bar; this was the M. A. Cameron General Stores in the film.  

The Oyster Brewery, Ellenabeich. - geograph.org.uk - 457322 Photo by Steve Partridge, via Wikimedia Commons

Oban, which lies 10 miles to the north, also plays a role in the film, when Mij’s owner goes to buy fish for the otter.  The Railway Pier in Oban is the location of the fishing port where the fish sale takes place.  Another location featured in the film is the Firth of Lorne, where the scene depicting the hunt for the Basking Shark was filmed.  The Firth occupies an area of sea off the south-east edge of the island of Mull.

And what of the real story of Gavin Maxwell and his otters?   The writer named the place where he brought them up Camusfearna in the book, in order to hide the true location, which was in fact Sandaig near Glenelg on the mainland opposite Skye.

Beach at Sandaig - geograph.org.uk - 916465. Photo by Peter Jones, via Wikimedia Commons

The Island of Seil is the northernmost of the Slate Islands.  Finding your way here from the A816 from Oban can be confusing – you need to follow the sign pointing to Easdale.  Easdale is another island just offshore, but this whole area is often referred to as Easdale.  As well as sampling the delights of The Oyster Bar, visitors can take a boat trip with Seafari Adventures, who have a base in the village.  There is also a large gift shop called Highland Arts next to the car and coach park.

Map of Easdale.

SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE: THE SOMERSET YEARS

The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in 1772 in Ottery St Mary in Devon, and he died in Highgate, Middlesex.  However, it was during the short time he spent in Somerset, in 1797-1798, when he lived at what is now known as Coleridge Cottage in Nether Stowey, that he produced some of his most famous work.  

Coleridge Cottage - Nether Stowey - Somerset, England - DSC01217. Photo by Daderot, via Wikimedia Commons

Probably the most well known of his works is The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner.  The story goes that Coleridge was walking in the Quantock Hills with William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy, who were staying at nearby Alfoxton Park, when the conversation turned to a book Wordsworth was reading about a round-the-world sea voyage, and that this provided the inspiration for The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, which features an albatross which helps the ship and its crew out of an Antarctic ice jam.  There is a statue in nearby Watchet commemorating the poem, depicting the mariner with the albatross looped around his neck as described in one of the verses.

The Ancient Mariner, Watchet - geograph.org.uk - 1707049. Photo by Nigel Chadwick, via Wikimedia Commons

Another work conceived during this time was the poem Kubla Khan.  Coleridge started the poem in 1797 following a vision in a dream – possibly opium-induced, as Coleridge was in the habit of using opium to ease his health issues.  However, the poem was never completed because while he was composing it he had an unwelcome visitor from Porlock who interrupted his train of thought.  Since then the phrase “person from Porlock”, or just Porlock, has been used as a reference to an unwanted visitor who interrupts the writer’s creative flow. 

It was also during his time in Somerset that Coleridge composed a trio of poems known as the “conversation poems”: This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison, Frost at Midnight and The Nightingale.  In 1798 he teamed up with his new chum Wordsworth to produce a joint volume of poetry called Lyrical Ballads.  This is widely recognised as marking the birth of the English ‘romantic age’.  The Lime-Tree Bower My Prison includes an entrancing description of the charms of the Quantocks, referring to: “the many steepled tract magnificent”; the view towards the Bristol channel with “the slip of smooth clear blue betwixt two isles”; the elms whose “branches gleam a darker hue through the late twilight”; and the birds – “the bat wheels silent by, and not a swallow twitters”.  In fact, Coleridge wrote this passage from the point of view of one of his friends, who had gone off to enjoy the hills while Coleridge was forced to stay behind at Nether Stowey after an accident involving boiling milk.

Newton, Bicknoller, and Quantock Hills - geograph.org.uk - 93580. Photo by Martin Southwood, via Wikimedia Commons

The village of Nether Stowey lies midway between Watchet and Bridgwater, just below the eastern flank of the Quantocks.  Coleridge Cottage, in Lime St, is now run by the National Trust and open to visitors.  There is a pub opposite called The Ancient Mariner in a nod to the famous poem.  Another point of interest in the village is the ancient Nether Stowey Castle, of which only the foundations of the keep remain.  It is believed that the castle was destroyed during the 12^th Century Civil War.

Map of the area.

SCOTLAND IN SUSPENSE: ARDGOWAN HOUSE/ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE

No public holiday period would be complete without an Agatha Christie adaptation on the telly, and this past Easter we were treated to an adaptation of Christie’s Ordeal By Innocence, a star-studded murder mystery based around the murder of the Argyll family’s matriarch Rachel, played by Anna Chancellor.  Rachel’s adopted son Jack is arrested for the murder, wrongly as it turns out, and as is usual in such murder mysteries, during the course of the 3-part series we discover that pretty much most of those close to Rachel had a reason to be tempted to do her in, and we do not finally find out who dunnit until the end of the final episode.

The main focus of the action is a grand Scottish family home belonging to the Shaw-Stewart family, which in real life is Ardgowan House near Inverkip in Inverclyde, in the historic county of Renfrewshire.  The house is part of the Ardgowan Castle, House and Gardens, forming the Ardgowan Estate, which styles itself on its website as Scotland’s leading film location.  The estate is also used for weddings and there is a distillery on site. 

From humble beginnings as a solitary watchtower, the estate has evolved over the years via the building of the house in 1797 to its present-day role as a ‘pleasure dome’ for its visitors.  However, things have not always been so calm.  The estate and surrounding area has had an eventful history, ranging from a siege of the castle by Robert the Bruce during the 2nd Battle of Inverkip in 1314 and the founding of the Stewart Dynasty the following year, to the Inverkip Witch Hunts in the 1630s, and the use of the house as a hospital during the two World Wars, making it a target for German bombs.  A more detailed history can be found on the estate’s website.

Ardgowan offers a range of tours and courses and there is accommodation on site.  In addition to which, since the showing of Ordeal by Innocence, the estate has begun hosting Murder Mystery evenings and weekends.

Map of the area.

Ardgowan House - geograph - 5672498. Photo by Thomas Nugent, via Wikimedia Commons.

WHEN IS GUERNSEY NOT GUERNSEY? THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL SOCIETY

A seemingly inoffensive little film about post-war Guernsey and a writer who takes an interest in what it was like during the occupation has become the unlikely focus of a spat between the island and a Devon aristocrat.  The trouble has arisen because the island of Guernsey is gleefully cashing in on the film, which has enraged the owner of Hartland Abbey in North Devon, where much of the filming took place.  Some scenes were also shot in nearby Clovelly, a picturesque village famous for its steep main street leading down to a pretty harbour.  The corner of North Devon featured in the film is missing out on its share of the publicity, hence the outrage.

So let’s take a look at the actual locations used in the film.  Hartland Abbey is a former monastery dating from the 12^th century, and it sits in beautiful grounds including glorious gardens.  The present-day building bears no resemblance to the original monastery, the remains of which can be seen in the basement.  As well as the Abbey itself, there are wonderful grounds to explore.  This time of year is particularly good being bluebell time, as the woodland walk going down towards the sea is redolent with bluebells.  Earlier in the year the Abbey holds a ‘Daffodil Day’ to celebrate the appearance of the yellow lovelies.

Hartland Abbey - panoramio - PLMarriott. Photo by PJMarriott, via Wikimedia Commons

Clovelly is a privately owned village, which unfortunately means having to pay an entrance fee to go in.  However, the fee does include parking, and it would be a shame to miss out on this delightful place when visiting the area.  On the way down you pass the Donkey Stables, donkeys being a longstanding feature of the village, having been used in the past to transport fish from the harbour.  The writer Charles Kingsley, author of The Water Babies, used to live in the village, and there is a museum dedicated to him.  For refreshment there are a couple of pubs and some tea rooms, or at the top next to the entrance area there is a cafe with wonderful views along the North Devon coast.

Clovelly harbour (0942). Photo by Nilfanion, via Wikimedia Commons

Other North Devon locations which feature in the film include the nearby town of Bideford and Saunton Sands, which was used for a scene in which a Dakota aircraft comes in to land.

Map of Hartland Abbey.

Map of Clovelly.

DOOMED IN DORSET: ON CHESIL BEACH

The star location in the film On Chesil Beach (as well as the novel by Ian McEwan on which it is based) is self-evident from the title.  One of Britain’s most famous and unusual coastal features, Chesil Beach stretches for 29 miles between the base of the Isle of  Portland and the eastern edge of West Bay, hemming in a lagoon known as The Fleet, home to the Abbotsbury Swannery.  Filming began at the beach in October 2016, with the two main characters played by Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle.

In the story a newly-married couple are spending their honeymoon at a hotel on Chesil Beach, but their wedding night is marred by the bride Florence’s antipathy towards the sexual act.  She walks out on the groom, Edward, he follows and they have a row on the beach.  The rest of the novel consists of Edward’s life in the decades that follow and his deliberations on what might have been. 

The weather is overcast and moody for the beach scenes in the film, no doubt reflecting the mood of the couple.  The hotel featured in the film is a fictional one, but there are a number of places to stay near the beach for those wanting to experience the locations from the film.  As well as Chesil Beach, another famous Dorset landmark, Lulworth Cove, makes an appearance in the film’s trailer.  Visitors to Chesil Beach should be aware that it is illegal to remove pebbles from the beach, incurring a hefty fine.  When writing the novel, McEwan was allegedly unaware of this and took some pebbles to keep on his desk while writing, attracting the opprobrium of local conservationists.  However, he returned the stones as soon as he realised his transgression.

Map of the area.

Chesil Beach - geograph.org.uk - 911979. Photo by StanWray, via Wikimedia Commons