Mystery on the Winter Riviera

DAY 1

For those travelling with us by train, we will experience one of England's most quintessential holiday welcoming moments - the Great Railway Journey along the sea wall at Dawlish - before descending to the English Riviera at Torquay, the birthplace of Agatha Christie, Queen of Crime. On arrival, we will make our way to the Grand Hotel, our hotel for the next four nights, where we check in and enjoy our first evening meal together.

DAY 2

This morning, we make our way to Paignton for a fantastic steam journey on the Dartmouth Steam Railway travelling alongside the English Riviera coastline to Churston, then on through the wooded slopes of Long Wood bordering the Dart Estuary to Kingswear. We take a short ferry crossing to the historic resort of Dartmouth where we enjoy a gentle circular cruise on the River Dart before returning by steam train to Paignton. We then continue to our hotel to prepare for our intriguing Murder Mystery Evening, you may like to 'dress to impress' according to the theme (to be confirmed). We will put our detective skills to the test on this fabulous, immersive, performance-based evening enjoying a sumptuous three-course meal alongside.

DAY 3

Today, we delve into the life of Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime. We begin with an introduction to her life with a guided coach tour of the English Riviera stopping at iconic locations linked to her life and stories and, weather permitting, we enjoy a gentle stroll along part of the Agatha Christie Mile. We then continue to Kents Cavern, a prehistoric cave tied to Christie's family, inspiring her interest in archaeology, and featured in one of her novels, where we enjoy a guided tour and a traditional Devonshire Cream Tea.

DAY 4

After breakfast this morning, we take a short coach journey to Babbacombe to visit the fascinating Bygones Museum with its nostalgic exhibits and recreated historic settings, or perhaps take a scenic ride on the iconic Babbacombe Cliff Railway. Afterwards, we make our way to the delightful Babbacombe Model Village, set in 4.5 acres of award-winning gardens, and we can wander through the beautifully crafted miniature scenes complete with animated features. On our return to Torquay, we have some time at leisure to explore the English Riviera or relax at the hotel ahead an evening of light-hearted entertainment with a Quiz or Bingo Night, featuring great prizes and plenty of laughs. We enjoy a buffet dinner followed by tea and coffee to round off our final evening together.

DAY 5

After breakfast, we bid farewell to Torquay and make our way to the station for our homeward journeys.

*Important Note: Whilst the arrangements for all described steam train travel are in place, we do reserve the right to make substitutions should it be deemed necessary for whatever reason.

**Important Note: The theme of the Murder Mystery evening is to be confirmed with dressing up encouraged, but not essential. Please note, there may be other hotel guests or groups participating, this is not a private event.

B=Breakfast, LR=Light Refreshments, D=Dinner