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A View With a Room - Burgh Island Hotel

Tony and Beatrix Porter's restoration of a Devon hotel - which inspired Agatha Christie - to its former glory. From 1998.

Back in 1986, Tony and Beatrix Porter heard that the Burgh Island Hotel, off the coast of Devon, was coming up for sale.

They seized the moment and headed off to the coast - with plans to restore the hotel to its former glory.

Can they bring back the days when celebrities like Edward and Mrs Simpson, Noel Coward and Agatha Christie strolled along the terraces and took refuge from the sunshine in the Palm Court?

Thanks to fluctuating sea tides, hotel staff and residents get stuck on the island every six hours. A sea tractor ferries them to and from the mainland

And what is the hotel’s mystery link to Agatha Christie?

Producer: Sara Jane Hall

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1998

**** Since the original broadcast - Burgh Island Hotel has changed owners again. The iconic sea tractor was restored in 2025.

15 minutes

Last on

Fri 8 Aug 202509:30
BBC Radio 4 Extra

Broadcasts

  • Sun 1 Nov 201507:15
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Sun 1 Nov 201514:15
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Mon 2 Nov 201502:15
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Sun 4 Mar 201815:45
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Mon 5 Mar 201803:45
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Fri 8 Aug 202509:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra