Hill House Stoke Gabriel

Saturday 28^th April 2012

Wet all morning and then heavily overcast in the afternoon. Temperature about 11°.

Checked out of the Premier Inn in Weymouth and drove to the village of Stoke Gabriel in Devon. Hill House, the ancestral home of Lynne’s father in the village is still empty and waiting to be sold. The windows have been boarded up and the house is in a very rundown and sorry state. Had lunch at the Church Walk Inn and spoke to a few of the locals about Hill House. They don’t seem to know what will happen to it but did know about “ Squire Churchward” and also George Jackson Churchward who designed the ‘City of Truro’ steam locomotive. We also spoke to a lady in a craft shop in the village who knew of “Squire Churchward” but didn’t know what was going to happen to Hill House since the current owner passed away recently. 

Garden at Hill House

Continued onto Dartmouth and drove into the city centre for a look. Took some photos looking out over the River Dart, it was a shame it was very overcast. Bought ferry tickets for a trip tomorrow to see Agatha Christie’s home “Greenway” from the National Trust shop which just happened to be right next door to a tea room so we had to have a Devonshire Tea, which was fantastic, lots of clotted cream to go with the strawberry jam and large fruit scone.

Drove back up the very steep hill out of Dartmouth heading for the village of  Blackawton. Found the Normandy Arms Pub that was to be home for the next two nights. Upon arrival we found the Pub closed. Phoned the owner and got a message bank advising the Pub was closed. We are rather annoyed as we had email confirmation of our booking and had actually spoken to the owner to confirm.

As it was now 4:00pm on Saturday afternoon we needed to find a place to stay for the next two nights. On the way into Dartmouth we drove past the Dartmouth Golf & Country Club. Checked on line (thank goodness for mobile internet) and they appeared to have accommodation available so we headed there. The receptionist said the Country Club was almost full, but the Bridal Suite was available for Saturday and Sunday nights, so we now have a suite consisting of lounge room, bedroom, bathroom and dressing room!!!! (who cares if it is 36 years too late!). Unpacked the car and booked a table in their restaurant for dinner.

Inner Harbour Dartmouth

Sunday 29^th April 2012

The weather today is horrible, driving rain, windy and 5°.

Had breakfast and bought wet weather trousers for both of us from the Golf Club pro shop. As car parking is limited to 2 hours, we parked the car at the Park & Ride station and caught the bus into Dartmouth Town Quay where we boarded the 9:45AM ferry ‘Christie Belle’ for the trip up the River Dart to “Greenway”, the holiday home of the late Agatha Christie.

After getting off the ferry we were fortunate to meet up with a National Trust driver in a small mini van who drove us up to the house. Certainly saved us walking in the wind and rain.

Agatha Christie and her 2nd husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan, originally purchased ‘Greenway’ in 1938. All furnishings and collectables in the house were owned by Agatha Christie or her daughter and son-in-law.

During WWII the house was requisitioned and initially occupied by child evacuees. From 1944-45 the house was occupied by the US Military as part of the preparation for the D-Day landings.

In 2000 the family gave the house and gardens to the National Trust which set about restoring the property, particularly the front which was in danger of falling down due to water leaks in the roof over many years. Following the restoration, which was completed in 2009 at a cost of £6.0M, the house was opened to the public.

Boarded the ferry about 12:15PM for the trip back to Dartmouth Harbour. As it was still windy and raining we headed back to the hotel to collect the washing and look for a launderette. We asked one of the hotel housekeepers if she knew where the launderette was in Dartmouth and she very kindly offered to do it for us.

Not much of an opportunity to take photos today due to the weather and we did not want to get cameras drowned.

Dartmouth has a very strong Naval history and the Britannia Royal Naval College located just out of the main village centre. Dartmouth also played a strong part in the preparation for the D-Day landings in 1945 and a large part of the invasion force left from Dartmouth Harbour. Whilst the majority of the roads in the area are typically narrow village roads, there are a number of wider roads of concrete construction which were build by the US military so they could transport tanks down to the harbor for loading onto ships.

Looking up the River Dart