Cruise vacations allow time to explore beauty in the world. As places of political turmoil or warnings of health emergencies cause ports of the world to disappear from itineraries, travelers seek safe options to expand experiences. Know this: cruise lines plan for safe experiences. They are quick to alter itineraries when needs arise.

However safe your cruise itinerary may be, relatives or friends may try to dissuade you from cruise travel for fear of contracting an illness or sailing into harm’s way. If so, warn them in return to avoid groceries, hotels, and festivals. Cruise ships have health reporting requirements not applicable to other places where humans interact. Ships travel with medical teams and rapid response protocols for addressing appearance of disease.

For those who prefer to stay safe and not leave home, turning to TV is safe entertainment. Watch stories of murder, battles of all types, and dramas featuring crashes and plague from the safety of your sofa. Long-time favorites on television are Inspector Morse and Midsomer Murders. Morse was a Thames Valley detective sergeant, so his beat was clearly Oxford. Location of Midsomer and Causton location of the police station, are less evident. CTH went to England on a hunt for locations of bucolia as settings for murder.

Murder in Bucolic Places

Oxford is a calm place. Mounting a plaque on the wall of the Thames Valley Police Station, memorializing Inspector Morse, Oxford City Mayor told Colin Dexter, author of the popular books from which Morse, Lewis, and Endeavour sprang, that Dexter was responsible for over 180 murders making Oxford famous as a crime capital.

Dexter spent so much time penning his novels, while imbibing in the Randolph Hotel in Oxford, that the lovely little bar, appearing in some filmed segments, is dubbed the Morse Bar. Photos of Dexter and actor John Thaw are mounted over the fireplace as a point of Morse pilgrimage.

The Bodleian Library in Oxford has a cameo in many of the Morse, Lewis, and Endeavor episodes. Anthony J. Richards, in Inspector Morse on Location, identifies numerous locations in Thames Valley, London, and beyond making appearances in the series. Many segments dwell on Morse and Lewis enjoying a brew, always paid for by Lewis, while sitting at a pub on the banks of the Thames.

Devotees of Morse know that Morse sang in the choir in an Oxford Chapel. His affection for ladies in the series always ended in their death or arrest. In the final episode, Morse has a successful relationship, as Morse and his lady check into the Cresent Hotel in Bath.

Causton, capital of Midsomer County, where Detectives Barnaby (Tom & John) and Troy are based, is Wallingford, a village about 30 minutes south of Oxford by the #40 bus. On market days you might recognize Wallingford villagers who appear in Midsomer Murders segments buying vegetables, bakery treats, or having coffee at Jim Bean on Market Square.

Legal scholars make pilgrimages to Wallingford’s St. Peter’s Church, where Sir William Blackstone, author of Commentaries of the Laws of England, informing later US law, was interred in 1780.

Wallingford enjoys its celebrity in fiction. The visitor center on the town square is part museum and part gift shop for television memorabilia. Wallingford was also the real home of prolific mystery writer Agatha Christie. Seeking calm and experiencing the joy of travel, CTH delights in following the inspiration of Agatha Christie in a future blog post. The best-selling mystery writer was also an enthusiastic travel writer and financier of archaeological discovery in the Near East, settings for Murder on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express. Closer to home, the solver of crimes in aid of police efforts, Miss Marple, is a Christie character informed by neighbors in Wallingford shopping at the market. Quiet English villages make great settings and inspiration for tumultuous drama.

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