Torbay - the English Riviera (Torquay in general)

Member Name: SusanLesley

Product:	Torquay in general
Date:	15/03/01 (94 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Something for everyone

Disadvantages: None

The English Riviera is the aptly named area on the south coast consisting of the three resorts of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham set around a huge sheltered bay. I say aptly named, because the climate here is so warm there are palm trees growing along the promenade.

Torquay is a typical seaside resort with ten beautiful beaches many with the Blue Flag award for cleanliness. There are theatres, cinemas, a leisure club, a pier and all the other traditional seaside entertainments.

If the weather’s bad there’s an indoor beach at The Riviera Centre with a fun pool, water shutes and a wave pool. There’s also a gym, sauna and soft play area for the children.

Torquay’s oldest building is Torre Abbey, which houses a superb collection of paintings and antiques.

One place you MUST visit while you’re staying at Torquay is the model village at Babbacombe, which is a couple of miles north of Torquay itself. This place is amazing. You can visit in daylight or at night when all the lights in the models come on and the streetlights are all aglow. Look out for a real working television in one of the houses, we checked on the score at Wimbledon as we went past! Some of the names of the shops and houses are comical too – look out for Lord Helpus Hall – that one tickled me!

Another nice place within walking distance from Torquay is Cockington with its forge and quaint shops and gardens. This is well worth a visit.

Paignton is the middle one of the resorts and tends to be the most commercialised of the three. Again there are miles of golden sands for some serious sandcastle building, and there are amusement arcades up the main street. Illuminations light up the promenade at night.

The station for The Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway is in the main street, in the middle of the town. You can take a just take a trip on the train or if you’re feeling adventurous, do the round tr
ip, which involves taking the train to Kingswear, ferry to Dartmouth, boat to Totnes, and then back to Paignton by bus, quite a day out!

Paignton Zoo is one of the best zoos I have seen, with state of the art enclosures to keep both animals and visitors happy. It was the location for the filming of the Zookeepers.

My favourite of the three resorts is Brixham, a busy fishing port. It is a maze of narrow winding streets, with fisherman’s cottages and inns where the smugglers used to meet.

Moored in the harbour is a replica of the Golden Hind, the flagship of Sir Francis Drake. You can go aboard and explore for a modest charge.

All three of the resorts have a variety of accommodation including a wide range of hotels, self catering and holiday camps. All are within easy reach of one another so you can experience the different characters of each.

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