The Agatha Connection at the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate

The search for Agatha Christie in 1926, created the biggest man-hunt of the time. When Agatha was 36 and already a successful writer, she mysteriously dissapeared after marital problems and the recent death of her mother.

On the 3rd December 1926, Agatha left her home in Sunningdale at 9.45pm leaving her car to be found hanging precariousley over the edge of a chalk pit. It was said, after crashing her car, she travelled to London and boarded a train bound for Harrogate. Agatha took a taxi to the Swan Hydro (now Old Swan) and checked in under the name of Theresa Neele - the name of her husband's mistress!

A nationwide search ensued with over 1,000 police and civilians being called in to scour Agatha's local area. It was in fact the first search in England to use aeroplanes.

After 10 days, Bob Tappin, a local banjo player, recognised the author and alerted the police. Colonel Christie was informed and immediately came to collect his wife. Agatha kept her husband waiting before joining him for dinner, putting her dissappearance down to total memory loss caused by the car accident. Many people speculated that the dissapearance was either a publicity stunt or just a genuine sign of unhappiness.

In 1977, the film 'Agatha', starring Dustin Hoffman and Vanessa Redgrave was shot on location at Old Swan and in the Harrogate area.