The Forest and Arun Probus Clubs had a day of murder, mystery and gin on their visit to the Silent Pool Distillery at Albury. What more could a group of club members and their ladies need to stir the emotions and the taste buds?

The day started with a splendid lunch at the Drummond Arms in Albury and was followed, in the afternoon, by the visit to the near-by distillery and the Silent Pool itself.

And the murder? The Silent Pool, which gives its name to the distillery, is the site of a rumoured brutal murder by King John of a young maiden bathing in the pool - and some Albury locals have seen her white form bathing in the pool on moonlit nights. The Clubs will need to return to see if it is true!

Then there was the mystery. Agatha Christie's deserted car was found near the Silent Pool but there was no trace of Agatha. She was thought to have drowned in the pool and to have joined the young maiden of earlier times. However, two weeks later, she was found in a hotel in Harrogate living under a false identity. Why she did it and how she got from Albury to Harrogate remain as mysteries.

So, we had our imaginations well and truly stirred – and that was before we were introduced to the gin, how it is made and the history of the distillery.

The Clubs were given a history of how the distillery came into being in 2014. The whole project was the inspiration of a group of friends, determined on creating craft gins and other spirits, who stumbled upon a site with dilapidated barns, and a water source – albeit of mystery – owned by the Duke of Northumberland in Albury. The Duke understood their vision and, being a gin lover, allowed them to proceed. So, the Silent Pool brand came into being after setting up with the necessary stills, boilers and other processing equipment. And, just as importantly, discovering the sources of the 'botanicals', many of them local, giving the gins their unique range of flavours. We were treated to sample tastings of a range of the different gins together with the botanicals giving the gins their unique flavours.

Club members left the distillery laden with bottles of their particular favourites!