Sunday Times Where Was I? Holiday Competition

Near as I can figure it, through the possibly flawed perceptual filters of my own reality tunnel, the most likely answers this week, seem to me to be:

Q1. Bodmin

Q2. Saint Petroc

The initial clues appear to place us in the town of Bodmin, in Cornwall. I found several sources which claim that the Domesday book was stored in the jail there, during World War One. The prison does appear to have a restaurant attached to it and does seem to have been built c 1857.

The station lies south east of the settlement, was constructed c 1859 when it was called 'Bodmin Road Station' and is currently named 'Bodmin Parkway Railway Station'. Bodmin Parkway appears to be the southern terminus of the 'Bodmin & Wenford Railway', which several sources I looked at, claim is six and a half miles long.

Driving west from Bodmin Parkway, would probably bring us to Lanhydrock House, which the National Trust claim was devastated by a fire c 1881, subsequently refurbished and used as a family home by the Agar-Robertes family.

The Georgian mansion, three miles north of Bodmin, is probably Pencarrow house, which is where the owner planted 'Araucaria Araucana', a pine tree native to Chile and Argentina, which gained its more common name, after a friend of the owner, a barrister called 'Charles Austin', upon touching its spiny leaves, declared "it would be a puzzle for a monkey! ".

The tower is probably 'Berry Tower', which some of the sources I checked, say was built c 1501/2 by the 'Guild of the Holy Rood'. The castle is most likely Canyke Castle, which is described as being a massive Iron Age defensive settlement around four hundred metres in diameter, near the roundabout at the A30/A80.

A church in Bodmin, which claims to be the largest in the county, is St Petroc's. St Petroc was a sixth century hermit who probably became radicalised in Wales, before travelling to Cornwall and building churches all over the place. I found references to St Petroc's feast days being on the 4th of June, 14th of September and 23rd of May but didn't find any for the 1st of October until I looked in 'The Oxford Dictionary of Saints' (fifth edition, revised).


Don't know about 'Porridge' or 'Stir-fry' but the Warder's Room restaurant's menu has dishes like scallops, sea food linguine, lasagne, steaks, vegetarian and vegan options and a 'young offender's' children's menu.

N.B. Due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink posting on his page, the Eastender has moved to moderated comments but rest assured, if you have a comment related to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.