Tours of Your Bookshelf 2020 – Volume 1

Paull Tickner

If this was a normal year, we would be celebrating anniversaries for William Wordsworth (250th), Ann Brontë (200th), Charles Dickens (150th), the 75th anniversary of Brideshead Revisited and the phizz-whizzing 50th anniversary of Roald Dahl’s ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’. As of today, the annual Jane Austen Festival in Bath and the International Agatha Christie Festival are both still on for September and the annual Fowey Festival of Literature which normally takes place at the end of May has been switched to 25th September-3rd October this year.

Volume 1 concentrates on some of the important literary and on location possibilities in the south west of England.

Into The Land Of Living Legends

Because the south west of England is a tidy distance from London, I’m recommending taking the train to the cathedral city of Exeter which achieved UNESO City of Literature status in 2019 and where the city’s links with Bram Stoker are strong with the Cathedral Close being part of his original Dracula Story. Leaving the city, just 40 minutes due south, the focus sharpens on Agatha Christie in Torquay where a guided walking tour will enable you to discover some of the places that were inspirational in the life and works of the world’s best-selling author. You can then spend the afternoon at her holiday home at Greenway which inspired a murder mystery or two…

The International Agatha Christie Festival is still scheduled to take place here on the English Riviera between 15th-19th September and it will mark the 100th anniversary of the publication of her first story, “The Mysterious Affair at Styles,” and the debut of her most famous detective, Hercule Poirot. The full program will be announced soon, and it will be packed with expert speakers, numerous special events, including a reading of an unpublished mystery play by Agatha Christie, as well as the opportunity to take part in a murder mystery dinner, and many other events.

Continuing into Cornwall, pause in the waterfront town of Fowey, the former home to Daphne du Maurier where we can out together a special tour that inspired ‘Rebecca’, ‘The House On The Strand’ and ‘Jamaica Inn’. The Du Maurier Society organises the ANNUAL Fowey Festival of Literature which normally takes place at the end of May, but which has been moved to 25th September-3rd October this year.

From here, the next few days are dominated by On Location visits associated with Poldark, Doc Martin, a demonstration of how to make a Cornish Pasty and at least one Cornish Cream Tea before reaching the picturesque fishing village of Clovelly, once owned by the Queen of England. And where its flower-strewn cottages “tumble like a waterfall” down a cleft in the cliff to the ancient working port. It was also used as the location for the port of Guernsey in the movie ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’. Before reaching Exeter for the return train ride back to London, you’ll discover Exmoor’s stunning scenery which so inspired R D Blackmore’s story ‘Lorna Doone’.

Following in Jane Austen’s Footsteps

Using places and locations associated with Jane Austen, the routing for this tour should start in Winchester, the most important city in England until the eleventh century with visits to the village where she grew up, her home at Chawton where she wrote or revised her 6 great novels and Winchester Cathedral, her final resting place. With careful timing, you can include a viewing of the Winchester Bible, the largest and finest of all surviving 12th century English Bibles. Slip in English Afternoon tea in The Refectory before staying on for Choral Evensong, a short but beautiful service that’s celebrated daily on the spot where people have been praying for over 1000 years with glorious music sung by the Cathedral Choir.

Pausing to see Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s burial place under a large tree at the back of a tiny 13th century parish church, the next stop is Salisbury where the magnificent cathedral was the inspiration for ‘The Spire’ by William Golding and an important plot point for Edward Rutherfurd’s novel ‘Sarum’. For clients who are fans (I’m one of them!) tell them that just 45 minutes south of Salisbury, his novel ’The Forrest’ is set in the New Forrest, created as a royal forest by William I in about 1079 for the royal hunt, mainly of deer.

The final port of call is Bath, founded by the Romans and developed in the 18th century with neoclassical Palladian buildings. A visit to the Jane Austen Centre sets the scene before discovering some of the well-known attractions both on and off the beaten path in and around the city. The 2020 dates for the ANNUAL Jane Austen Festival are 11th-20th September and five of the Regency Costumed events have been announced. They include a Costumed Parade, an evening at the Guildhall, a Country Dance Ball, an evening reception by the famous Roman Baths and a Masked Ball at the Pump Room. Want to take part? Costumes are available for hire.

The return to London should include a visit Lacock, regularly featured as a film and TV location for several of the Harry Potter films, Pride and Prejudice, Wolf Hall and Cranford to name but a few and a visit to Downton Abbey and other locations associated with its filming.

Whatever happens over the next few months, these great literary shrines will still be there for us all to enjoy.

Paull Tickner, owner of U.K-based Custom GB, is known for his expertise in creating and operating imaginative, value-added tours of Great Britain and Ireland. Visit his website at www.customgb.co.uk or email ptickner@customgb.co.uk.