Richard Harrington gehört als DCI Mathias zu den leidgeprüftesten Ermittlern der jüngeren englischen Kriminalserien. Selbst seine Kollegen in Broadchurch besitzen, zumindest in Momenten, einen trockenen Humor. Sie müssen in den vier Staffeln der walisischen Serie HINTERLAND lange nach den Spuren eines Lächelns suchen. Da die betörend langsam erzählten Geschichten fortlaufend im Dunkeln forschen und im Dunkeln stranden, wirken auch die Landschaften recht trostlos, und was immer hier für ein „product placement“ betrieben wurde, das walisische Tourismusbüro hatte bestimmt nichts beizusteuern.
Dabei schwärmen manche Freunde von Wales, von den Küstenstreifen, den Rad- und Wandertouren, und sogar von der walisischen Küche. Bevor also der Toyota nach Dover übersetzt, mit E-Bikes, mit den Mailadressen von Alison Statton (sie arbeitet als Physiotherapeutin in ihrer alten Stadt) und den Brüdern Jones von Crescent im leichten Gepäck (ihre wundervolle neue CD Resin Pockets kommt natürlich mit, neben dem Klassiker YMG!), studiere ich in Ruhe Landkarten, Wegführer, die passende Begleitlektüre (nein, nicht Dylan Thomas, vielmehr Adrian McKinty!), und etliche Empfehlungen des geschätzten Richard Harrington, die nach Aberystwyth führen, und ins wahre Hinterland. (m.e.)
Sunset and low tide at Ynyslas beach, north of Borth
„What I really like to do is go to Borth, which is north of Aberystwyth on the coast, and walk the sand dunes of nearby Ynyslas. It’s an extraordinary place, very mystical. It takes you back to the fundamentals of life. Borth also has an animalarium with meerkats, a black panther and reptiles all looked after by these bohemians. The kids love it up there.“
„I love the coastal path that goes through Aberystwyth. I’m a keen runner and 15 miles up and down that is better than any marathon. I did the Marathon des Sables [a six-day ultramarathon] a couple of years ago in the desert and I did most of my training here.
„Aber has a Welsh-speaking community but it’s a multicultural town because of the university. So you’ve got scholars walking around, hippies walking around, creative people walking around… It’s a place for everyone. It’s almost like a festival. If I didn’t have commitments elsewhere and if I was approaching 65, I would think about coming here to retire.“
„The Glen on the seafront has one of the best sun terraces I’ve ever seen and the view is absolutely stunning. It’s a lovely pub: very friendly, good food, exotic beers. There are some great bars for sport and the rugby club is always good fun if there’s a game on. There’s about 30 pubs in Aber, all in all.“
„The arts thrive here. There’s poetry, music, loads of Welsh folklore. When we finish work, I like to play music. There are a lot of virtuoso musicians on the crew and our Hinter-band plays the pubs of Aberystwyth. I play the drums and sing.
„The world’s first camera obscura was built in Aberystwyth in 1880.“
„I love the springtime here because you can almost see the Irish Sea calming, instead of spitting and snarling at you every waking moment. It has no desire to come and reclaim the land. And I like the magic hour in the springtime: when the light gets very bleak before night falls. It’s a fantastic time to shoot. It looks extraordinary – almost like a dream.“
„Go to Charlies hardware store. I can go to Charlies and stay there all day without buying a thing. It’s tool porn. I might be proving my age here. Opposite Charlies, there’s a really good restaurant called Medina. It’s an Ottolenghi sort of place where you can pick up a picnic. There’s a friendly fishmongers right next to it who have a gorgeous little restaurant down in the harbour called Pysgoty.“
„You can surf at Aberystwyth or up the coast at Borth. I haven’t surfed here yet but I do like to go and watch them.“
„There’s another lovely place called Baravin down on the front. „Bara“ means bread and „vin“ is obviously French for wine. They serve all sorts: oysters, pizzas, lovely salads, a great array of beer and wines. I just wish I had more time off to indulge.“