Agatha Christie / Greenway Garden

website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890 and spent much of her life in the area. During the war she worked as a Red Cross Nurse and was later transferred to a dispensary where she acquired her knowledge of poisons – central to the plot of her first novel “The Mysterious Affair”. Many of her novels feature locations around the bay. In Torquay you can visit the Agatha Christie exhibition at Torquay Museum and the Agatha Christie room at Torre Abbey which features a display of her study with her original chair and typewriter. The house and stunning riverside gardens of her last home “Greenway” are now open for visitors.

Agatha Christie purchased Greenway on the banks of the river Dart in 1938 and it became a much loved summer home. Greenway itself makes a thinly-disguised appearance in at least two of her novels. The National Trust was given the property in 2000 and since then has been working on restoring the splendour of this beautiful hidden garden. This is an extraordinary glimpse into the private holiday home of the famous and much-loved author Agatha Christie and her family. The relaxed and atmospheric house is set in the 1950s, and contains many of the family's collections, including archaeology, Tunbridgeware, silver, botanical china and books. Outside you can explore the large and romantic woodland garden, with a restored vinery and peach house, wild edges and rare plantings, which drifts down the hillside towards the sparkling Dart estuary. Consider 'green ways' to get here, to relieve pressure on lanes: for example cycling, walking or ferries from Dartmouth, Torquay and Brixham. Greenway is in a wonderful position with breath-taking views and glimpses of the wooded Dart estuary. Ferries from Dartmouth land at Greenway Quay, enabling river access to the property. Please note this involves a walk up the hill to the garden from the quay.