Torquay

The delights of Torquay have been popular with humans for 700,000 years!!!!!!!!!! Well it did not have a sea view then......

Stunning views out over the English Channel and inland to the Tors of Dartmoor enchant visitors and locals alike.

Torquay is part of Torbay, the English Riviera, a sun trapped 22 mile stretch of coastline in Devon which also includes Paignton and Brixham.

Set among seven green hills, hotels with wonderful views, nine beautiful and popular beaches, promenades lined with palms, pavement cafes, boutique shops, marinas, wine bars, restaurants, theatre – a resort of perhaps international discernment, certainly cosmopolitan.

There is not much you can't do in and around Torquay - superb beaches, boating, fishing, walking, cycling, bird watching, golf, touring, museums, and one of Torquay's new attractions – “Living Coasts” with penguins, seals and sea birds.

Multicoloured lights of the seafront reflect joyously into the night darkened waters. Walks along the promenade in the warm evening. Stop for a drink, or a meal in a bistro. Soak up the night life.

A mecca for sailing enthusiasts. It was the site for the 1948 Olympic sailing event. Now host to world class facilities. The future for boating in Torquay is almost limitless. The bay beyond the harbour beckons.....

Torquay has what is considered the best climate in Britain, mild, more akin to the south of France. Winters are short and kind to the soul. While there is some rain, blue skies can brighten a cold day.

No wonder Torquay is becoming popular with overseas visitors as it has been for United Kingdom tourists since Napoleonic times. The town has won three European Blue Flags, no other resort in the United Kingdom has done that.

Adult, child or elderly – there is something for everyone.

Fancy being a resident owning or renting property with a lifestyle resort like this!

And it goes on -

Accommodation

The town has other attractions too/p>

It really does! So much more than sand and sea. This town has it all. Have a look at all these!

Beacon Quay

Views across the bay. Orignally built in 1680 it was refurbished a few years ago. It is now Grade II listed.

From the embarkation slips of Beacon Quay soldiers of World War Two set off for the Normandy Landings in June 1944. Seating now overlooks this historic site.

Waterside world class facilities exist for boating. Cafes, restaurants.

Living Coasts– a coastal zoo showing marine animals and sea birds. Views of fascinating penguins and fur seals from an underwater viewing area.

Footbridge across Torquay harbour

Connects north and south piers with a stunning footbridge. Enables a walk right round the inner harbour. The eye catching bridge allows boats in and out of the inner harbour.

Hi Flyer Balloon

What a view – 400ft above the ground. Carrying 30 people in a helium filled balloon. Shutterbugs - Don't forget the camera! Whew!

Torre Abbey

Torbay's most historic building. It is Grade I listed and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Founded in 1196 as a monastery it was by the late 1400's the richest Abbey in the whole of England. Henry VIII had his say and it was demolished like so many more in 1539. Parts were retained as a private house. The Cary family, who lived there for 300 years established it as it is today. Many of these old houses had a secret chapel and so did Torre Abbey. You can visit the medieval ruins of the original abbey.

Torre Abbey was bought in 1930 by the local council and it became the Art Gallery and Mayor's Parlour.

The Spanish Barn, so named as it housed prisoners from the Armada, was a medieval tithe barn. There is said to be a ghost – that of a woman disguised as a sailor, who was rescued from one of the ships. The barn is now the home of temporary art exhibitions.

Hesketh Crescent

Grade II Regency architecture right on the seafront – Bath with seaviews. It was built in 1846 Originally fifteen houses.

Access to miles of woodland paths in Lincome Woods – from the tennis courts in the grounds, left along the footpath to a stile and Lincome Woods. A delight, wandering around the woods and overlooking the bay and Meadfoot Beach.

Agatha Christie trail

This is a one mile gentle stroll with a difference around the harbour and main beach. Each landmark has a clue. A leaflet can be obtained at the information centre. The only hill is the one at the start. The walk is amusing and will appeal even to those who are not Agatha Christie fans. The walk can be done independently or there is a guided walk available if you want a more in depth insight.

It might be a good idea to have a coffee at the Torquay Museum first and to brush up on your Agathie Christie facts! No it's not cheating!!! Very interesting exhibit, very interesting museum.

Agatha Christie is Torquay's most famous person. She was the author of many mystery tales starring either Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot.

Her play “The Mousetrap” has the world record for the longest initial run of any play in the world. The West End opening production starred husband and wife, Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim. It is still running today at St Martins's Theatre in London, with a different cast of course and has now reached around 24,000 performances. There is still one member from the original cast - the late Deryck Guyler's recorded reading of the news.

Agatha Christie has connections to Cockington Manor. She was friends with the Mallocks who were then owners of that Manor. When she was young Agatha often took part in amateur dramatics with the family.

Cockington Manor

Want some quiet time? Cockington has a manor house and 450 acres of beautiful parkland, set in a secret valley and it is free!!! A whole day of peace, or just a few hours of tranquillity. Humans were meant to walk with the seasons.

In the words of W.H. Davies and his beautiful, and so true poem, “Leisure”

Picturesque trails along serene pathways past the old manor house, lakes, woods, fields, thatched cottages, a 14th century forge and a church. Sandals are not a good idea if it is, or has been wet - is a bit muddy in parts. Cuppas available.

Horse riders there are pathways for you.

Torquay's own real life medieval village dating back to Saxon times, right on the edge of the built up area to the west. Some of the thatched cottages go back 500 years. The old manor house itself is now a residential craft centre.

There is said to be a ghost that haunts Cockington Manor. A sad Sir Henry Cary. He was on the losing side in the Civil War and sold the manor to the Mallock family, most likely at a loss.

The Drum Inn opened in 1936, opposite the main car park. It was designed by Sir Edward Lutyens, the famous architect of the 1900's. A pathway leads to the cricket ground where the local “Last Night of the Proms” is held. Lovely venue.

Famous Connections

Some sketches of “Monty Pythons Flying Circus” were filmed in Torquay.
Torquay was the inspiration for John Cleese's “Fawlty Towers”.
Oscar Wilde's “A Woman of No Importance”Conan Doyle wrote “Hound of the Baskerville's” in Torquay. Dartmoor was the inspiration for this eerie novel.

Famous people born in Torquay

Apart from Dame Agatha Christie, born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller in 1890, died 1976 at Wallingford in what is now Oxfordshire, Torquay can lay claim to other famous sons and daughters.

Sir Richard Francis Burton born 1821 - died 1890 in Trieste Austria-Hungary. Famous explorer and linguist. It is said he spoke 29 languages.

Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett 1867 – died, it is presumed, in 1925 with his son on an expedition to find an ancient lost city in Brazil. He is said to have been the inspiration for the fictional character “Indiana Jones”. Fawcett was also an archaeologist.

Peter Edward Cook born 1937 died 1995 in London. He was a satirist, writer and comedian. He and Dudley Moore were a famous comedy partnership.

Martin Turner born 1947. Bass guitarist, lead vocalist and Wishbone Ash founder.

Roger Deakins born 1949 BAFTA award winning cinematographer.

Miranda Hart born 1972, actress, writer and stand up comedian.

Kents Cavern

Home of Torquay's first residents. 700,000 years ago humans lived in this cave, but it was not overlooking the bay then – seas were lower. The area was a wooded valley.

The jawbone of a human thought to be over 30,000 years old was found in 1927. He/she now lives in the Torquay Museum.

Families were living and hunting, children were playing and learning in these caves. Children were not learning the lessons they learn today, but the very different life skills they would need when they grew up.

People created hand axes and other tools. Bones of the food they ate – mammoth, reindeer, and woolly rhino point to some village hunting organisation for they are not small animals.

Kents Cavern have guided tours of this fascinating spectacular rock formation. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is protected.

There is a restaurant and gift shop.

Babbacombe

Walk along the highest promenade in the country, part of the South West Path. Enjoy stunning sea views out over Lyme Bay and down to Oddicombe beach 240 ft below. Shops, pretty gardens, cafes and restaurants.

Access to the European Blue Flag beach of Oddicombe is steep but a fun way would be to take the cliff railway that has been operating for many years.

Babbacombe has a model village – miniature people, buildings, gardens and vehicles. Lit up after dusk – a captivating sight.

South West Path

From Brixham to Torquay, or vice versa – eight miles. Part of the 630 mile mostly Devon coastal path, from Minehead to Poole. Britain's longest trail. Flora and fauna, spectacular sea views from the headlands. Picnic spots. Dogs are allowed, but some of the beaches ban them in the summer.

Coral Coastal Walk

From Anstey's Cove to Black Head, Blackhead to Brandy Cove, Brandy Cove to Hope Cove and then out to Hope's Nose. From there back inland again and down to Thatcher. From Thatcher round to the end of Marine Drive and along the coast. Up alongside Iilsham Valley to Kents Cavern.

Superb sea views and wooded valleys.

History

Torquay has come a long way in 700,000 years!!! From the ancient cave dwellers who lived out their lives, under conditions that would make the people of the 21st century shudder, to a modern, thriving resort.

The name Torquay comes from Tor and Quay rather obviously. Tor is a weathered rock outcrop, very much a feature of Devon. It is in the county that this term originated. Tors were often places very special to Celtic people.

Torre was Torquay's ancient name. On Tor Hill Road there are extensive remains of a very old quarry and this is where the name came from.

Quay is a later addition. As the fishing grew in the area the quay would have evolved.

Fishing and agriculture were the main occupations of Torquay for centuries. It developed into a seaside resort in the 1800's with the presence of the Royal Navy in the Napoleonic Wars. Royal Naval ships anchored in the Bay and its officers and their families made Torquay into a fashionable resort. The town became a health resort because of its climate and got the nickname The English Riviera which stuck. The named is well deserved really as many modern visitors will testify.