Making a Beeline for Switzerland

Wearing Victorian dress and carrying canes, parasols, fans, hat boxes and Gladstone bags, over 60 members of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London and enthusiasts from all over the world turned back the clock and made a Pilgrimage to Switzerland.

From 15 to 23 June 2005, this unique tour commemorated the centenary of the retirement of Sherlock Holmes from his detective practice to take up beekeeping in Sussex.

Each participant - all great admirers of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes - portrayed a character from the detective stories and followed the route taken by Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson. Their adventures also took in other part of the country visited by Conan Doyle, which were indeed an inspiration for his writings.

The devotees of the Victorian Era (for them it is always 1895) were well aware that Berne is celebrating this year the 100 th Anniversary of the discovery of the Theory of Relativity by Albert Einstein, who spent many years in this beautiful city. Therefore the programme began with a visit to the capital to attend the opening of the new Einstein exhibition and gardens. The group was kindly received not only by the British Ambassador but by a member of the Government of the Swiss Confederation.

The party then travelled by train to Lausanne, on Lake Geneva, from where they visited the Castle of Lucens and the Sherlock Holmes Museum. Later that day, at the University of Lausanne, they heard a lecture on “Modern Scientific Methods of Crime Investigation”, followed by a debate, with participation by students and pilgrims, on “How much did Sherlock Holmes contribute to Modern Crime Investigation?”.

The next morning a short but delightful cruise on the Lake of Geneva gave the pilgrims a good view of the many hotels built in the 19 th century to accommodate British visitors. Disembarking at Vevey, they were escorted to the Saturday Market where they were received by the regional farmers and wine growers. Vin d’Honneur and an official welcome by the Mayor of Vevey preceded lunch for all in the Market Square. A further procession, led by a Brass Band, took them through the Old Town to the railway station to board the train to Zermatt.

A visit to Zermatt in the Valais region reminded the pilgrims of the holidays spent by Doyle in this beautiful resort at the foot of the Matterhorn. In fact it was at nearby Riffelalp that he decided on the scene for the intended demise of Sherlock Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls. In Homage to the respected author, a Mass sung by a Yodelling Choir, was followed by the unveiling of a memorial stone to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at Riffelalp.

Before embarking on a journey over the Gemmi Pass, the travellers rested overnight in the spa resort of Leukerbad. Here, in Victorian bathing suits, they took breakfast from wooden trays floating in the thermal waters. Being thus refreshed, they ventured by cable-car to the top of the pass and proceeded on foot to the melancholy Daubensee and Kandersteg in the Bernese Oberland.

At Interlaken, the pilgrims enjoyed a ride on a romantic Steam Train to Meiringen, to be greeted and feted at the Sherlock Holmes Museum in “ Conan Doyle Square”.

The fatal struggle between Holmes and his arch enemy Professor Moriarty was re-enacted at the Reichenbach Falls on Wednesday, 22 June

“It is with a heavy heart that I take up my pen to write these last words in which I shall ever record the singular gifts by which my friend Mr. Sherlock Holmes was distinguished”

During their return from the falls, the mourners witnessed the laying of a wreath on the Sherlock Holmes memorial stone. This solemn ceremony was accompanied by a brass band rendition of funereal music.

ll the pilgrims partook of a Lamentation Meal, to mark the passing of the Master Detective, before discovering, to the sound of the Hallelujah Chorus, that Sherlock Holmes did in fact save himself from that awful abyss to carry on his work as a criminologist until his retirement.