Skerryvore Ahoy! Stevenson’s 175th Birthday Bash in Bournemouth
“On a fine day, Thursday 13th November 2025, three intrepid members of the European Cultural Route “In the Footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson” [ECR] made their way from Bristol to Bournemouth to help celebrate Stevenson’s 175thbirthday anniversary at the site of his old home, Skerryvore.
Bournemouth’s Skerryvore Garden Notice Board
Skerryvore Garden - by Fiona Steeds
Pictures One and Two – Bournemouth’s Skerryvore Garden Notice Board and Garden by Fiona Steeds
LJST’s Mark Steeds as Long John by Fiona Steeds
The event was put on by Dominic Wong of Bournemouth Literary Society, and the Society pulled out all of the stops to make it an evening to remember, with a multitude of gazebos, sound system, smoke machine and fire pits. The venue was chosen because Skerryvore was the actual home of Stevenson between April 1885 and August 1887.
Stars of the show were actor Mark Freestone, historian and planning consultant Andrew Emery, and writer Ali Bacon, accompanied by yours truly representing the Long John Silver Trust of Bristol [LJST], Robert Louis Stevenson [RLS] Club of Edinburgh, and the ECR “In the Footsteps of RLS”.
We arrived early, just in time to help erect the gazebos, only for it to start raining at around 6.30pm, becoming torrential by the time the event started at 7.30pm – appropriate for me as I talked about the gestation of Treasure Island in Braemar and Davos, where it rained for a fortnight at the former… despite the weather, over 80 hardy literary lovers turned out.
I was first up, recounting how our 20-year-old Trust was set-up, the research that we did on RLS writing Treasure Island, and highlighted Stevenson’s sudden good fortune at both getting married and having one hundred jingly jangly pounds in his pocket from the success of his breakthrough novel. Plus, their desire to move to Bournemouth…
Historian Andrew then came on to tell the story of Stevenson in the south coast health resort; his narrative was interspersed with appropriate RLS poetry from actor Mark Freestone. He related how the Stevenson family arrived in Bournemouth in July 1884 and stayed in various hotels before finding their dream home - a wedding present to Fanny Stevenson from RLS’s father.
Historian Andrew Emery by Solid Imagery
Andrew explained how ‘Bluidy Jack’s’ manifestation (coughing up blood) made Robert’s life a misery, seriously ill and confined to bed, he was proffered mind bending drugs which may or may not have had a bearing on his penning two of his masterpieces – The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde and Kidnapped. He wrote and published a host of other material as well, including A Child’s Garden of Verses, all the while becoming a serious author in the eye of the public.
Author Ali Bacon in action by Fiona Steeds
Ali Bacon was the third to come to the stage as it were, the gazebo prevented having a raised platform, and meshed in beautifully the story of the two Fannys in Stevenson’s life – Sitwell and Van de Grift, the latter became Mrs Stevenson after many an adventure – onto Andrew’s narrative. Ali then read a pertinent excerpt from her recent book The Absent Heart.
Part four was muggins again, carrying on with the story of the LJST, its membership of the RLS Club and role in the formation of the ECR “In the Footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson”. An initiative by the Council of Europe of which Britain is a full member. The aims of the cultural routes were described to the gathered audience; principles such as human rights, cultural diversity, cultural democracy and mutual understanding and exchanges across boundaries. A perfect fit for Bournemouth and Davos.
Finally, actor Mark Freestone took to the stage again for the Grand Finale, reprising his role from John Foster’s play The Weevil and the Biscuit. Mark’s portrayal was superb, demonstrating Stevenson’s anger at having his Jekyll & Hyde manuscript dismissed by Fanny and defiantly throwing the scorned prose into the fire. Fantastic pure theatre.
Actor Mark Freestone starring as RLS by Solid Imagery
At the conclusion of the evening, a donation of £50 (55 euros) from ticket sales was made by Dominic Wong to the Friends of Skerryvore Gardens to help with the future upkeep of the garden.
Skerryvore Gardens at their atmospheric best by Solid Imagery
Author Mark Steeds, chair Long John Silver Trust of Bristol