Exploring the UK - Torquay, Devon (May 2021)
Like many people across the world, travel is one of the things that I strive to do more of because I want to explore, experience and enjoy what the world has to offer. I mean? Who doesn’t? Admittedly it has had its ups and downs for me and there have been periods where I’ve not been able to travel. I won’t go into my life story, but I will tell you that during the Covid pandemic I re-evaluated how I see travelling. Mainly because of the fact that during the pandemic, I couldn’t travel abroad easily for a few years, especially once Covid restrictions were lifted. As a consequence I started looking more towards home and suddenly realised how little of the UK I’ve visited and explored! Most of my life has been based around the South East of England followed by a few years living in Manchester and I never really explored further out. Sure I visited North Wales a few times while living in Manchester but that was it.
And so I decided to do something that rarely crossed my mind. I decided to start exploring and the first place I went to was Tourquay in Devon - The British Riviera! I don’t know why I chose it, it just kinda hit me when browsing a map. I hadn’t been to Devon since I was a child and thought that was a logical place to start off at because it was on the coast and the place is relatively well known in the UK. And it’s a beautiful place with a stunning coastline, beaches, marina, bars and restaurants. I can see why they call it the English Riviera.
I only spent 4 days around the Torquay area because I based it around a bank holiday weekend which was a big mistake on my part! I foolishly didn’t think it would be that busy getting down there, but it appears that everyone had the same idea as me that weekend and had all decided to go to Devon and Cornwall! Now, if you’re not familiar with the UK, the general rule is, you don’t drive on certain days of the year. Those days are usually the beginning and end of bank holiday weekends and the same for school holiday periods. The same goes for other forms of travel to be honest, whether that’s rail or by air! From where I live, driving to Torquay should normally take around 4 hours if there’s no traffic. The day I left to go to Torquay, it took me 8 hours of driving. And in between those 8 hours I stopped at the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Museum to give myself a break and hope the traffic eased up.
It didn’t.
2 hours in the museum and it was still as busy as all hell getting to Torquay. The A303 is a nightmare of a road to travel on. Always be cautious of it if you’re ever travelling to Devon and Cornwall. That road can be biblically crap at times! If you ever travel down to Devon or Cornwall and have to use that road, you have been warned. I would recommend travelling on it outside of normal commuting hours and avoiding peak days like bank holidays, school holidays or rush hour times. The one thing that makes the road worth it (just) is the fact you pass Stonehenge. It’s the road you need to head for, or be on, if you ever wish to visit the monument. As you travel further down that road, you also pass the Haynes Motor Museum, the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Museum. As I mentioned before, I stopped at the Fleet Air Arm Museum for a look around and found it to be a fantastic museum if you’re into your military history. It has a pretty good cafe too! Sadly I’ve never been to that motor museum, but maybe one day I will! So on the plus side, although the A303 is an awful road, there’s plenty of attractions to stop at on the way down to Devon or Cornwall.
Royal Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovil.
After 8 hours of driving, not including the 2-3 hour stop and the Fleet Air Arm Museum, I finally made it to the hotel! Needless to say, I was both tired and hungry because I had had very little to eat on the way down. Especially after being on the road for so long! The hotel I stayed in was called the Waters Edge, a supposedly 3 star hotel right on the coast. Needless to say, it wasn’t the best stay in the world. There was no food service at all, that means no breakfast, lunch or dinner and my room was in desperate need of renovation. In fact, I would say the hotel was in desperate need of an overall. And to top it off, I couldn’t even park on site. It was so busy I had to park on a side street 5-10 minutes walk away from the hotel. Which was annoying to say the least. Although on the positive side, it did mean my car wasn’t never going to be blocked in by other vehicles, which happened a lot to the other hotel guests that stayed there! In retrospect, I should have chosen to stay at a caravan site in Brixham instead. It was the same price and self catering, so at least I would have been able to cook my own food! So yeah, it wasn’t the best stay, but it was cheap, so I guess I got what I paid for. Consequently, when it came to food, I was eating out when I was out and about or buying something to eat at a local shop or supermarket. I didn’t mind at all because in Torquay and Brixham, there are plenty of places to get something to eat and drink!
Torquay Marina on the evening of my arrival
After setting in, I didn’t really have much time left to explore Torquay on arrival, something I was hoping to do. But I still popped out to find myself something to eat, but sadly, it was so busy and I had spent so long on the road, I could not find any restaurant or pub to grab a bite to eat. Remember this was bank holiday weekend, the first one after all the lockdowns that allowed people to go out! There were queues to get into some pubs or restaurants. In the end, I grabbed some snacks from a Tesco Express on the main high street. After that, I made my way back to the hotel and bedded in for the night because I had planned an early start!
For my first day out in Devon, I got up several hours before sunrise in order to get to Man Sands Nature Reserve on the coast to catch the sunrise but also to go for a walk along the South West Coast Path. Man Sands is managed by the National Trust and to access it by car, you need to head down Woodhuish Lane where you will find a car park. When I visited the car park which was free to park in and there’s parking for several cars. Be warned, the road is a single lane narrow road with high hedges, so it’s best not to speed down it and leave plenty of space between you and the next car in case anyone has to do any reversing. Once parked, you can follow the road down to the beach by foot. On the way you pass a bird watching hide which I popped in on the way back. I made it to the beach just before the sun was due to rise and it is a beautiful beach! It’s a nice long beach (for the UK) with a mix of sand and stone. My guess is that the sand is mostly visible when the tide is out.
Needless to say it was a beautiful sunrise after photographing that, I began my journey down the SW Coast Path. I headed South, past some coastal cottages/homes and then it hit me… after over 12 months of lockdowns and lack of exercise, the rugged coastline or Devon proved to be quite a challenge for me! I found it hard going because there was some steep climbs and carrying my photography equipment was exhausting to say the least! I stopped at a beach just after Long Sands when I chilled for a bit and enjoyed the view. I did wish I had bought some swimming gear with me because the sea was looking beautiful and I could easily have gone for a short swim. I made do with rolling my trousers up to my knees and had a small splash about! And from there, I made my way back to the car, taking in the scenic views of the coastline. I wish I had gone further, but alas, my lack of fitness defeated me and I didn’t want to push it. On the way back as I mentioned earlier, I stopped off at the bird hide to do a little wildlife watching and photography before getting into the car and heading back to the hotel.
Man Sands Beach At Sunrise
The Rugged Coastline Of The South West Coastal Path
After parking up and freshening up with a shower, I made my way back into Torquay for a walk around because I had plenty of time to explore the place properly and take in some of the sights. Torquay is a town with a long history going all the way back to Roman Britain, thus there’s plenty of things to see and do in the town. After wandering around for a few hours checking out the landmarks and some points of interest I began looking for somewhere to eat. Thankfully this time I found a restaurant on the harbour front called Pier Point and managed to get in. The food was good and the service excellent. Ended the day well fed and relaxed before heading off to bed for the evening. Because once again, I was getting up early, before sunrise to head to Dartmoor National Park.
A Bit Of Torquay
A Bit Of Torquay’s History - A Pillbox Built During The War
Once again, I was up before sunrise to head to Dartmoor. My destination was the Haytor Rocks. There’s a visitor centre nearby with parking as well as parking for the rock a little further up the road. Dartmoor National Park is an area of outstanding natural beauty with rocky outcrops, plains, woodlands and areas of historical significance. I got down there to capture the sunrise over Haytor Rock, which can be climbed on. So much so that during the Victorian Period they added steps and a handrail to make it easier to climb to the top and enjoy the panoramic views of Dartmoor. The sunrise and scenery are stunning to say the least. From there I went on a circular walk beginning from Haytor Rock, to Haytor Quarry, then on to Becky Falls Ancient Woodlands Park, back round to the abandoned Medieval Village before finally heading back to Haytor and back to the car. While walking you will notice stone “paths” throughout the area. These are actually stone railways that were used by those mining the granite in the area to transport the stone across the area! They’re an impressive construct to see and follow. The abandoned Hound Tor Medieval Village is an eerie site to visit. Abandoned around the 14th Century the stone foundations of the buildings are still clearly visible and open to the public to walk around and explore. This day out in Dartmoor took up most of the day. The walk was long, made longer by the fact that I kept stopping to take pictures! So when I got back to the hotel I was exhausted and it wasn’t long before I hit the sack!
Haytor Rock
Hound Tor Deserted Medieval Village
Example Of The Stone Railway You Can See Around Haytor
The next day, I wasn’t getting up for an early morning sunrise walk. I was still knackered from my previous two days out. For my last day exploring this little area of Devon in the British Riviera I visited Brixham - a port town south of Torquay. Just to point out, you can get a small foot passenger ferry from Torquay to Brixham. Sadly I never experienced this service. Maybe next time! This day trip out to Brixham was to be a more relaxed affair. I wasn’t going to rush myself. Just have a nice, peaceful day out in Brixham. Brixham is of course a historical port town that has one of the largest commercial fishing fleets in the UK as well as a replica of the Golden Hind - Sir Francis Drake’s ship that he used to circumnavigate the world in.
I began in Brixham at Berry Head National Nature Reserve. Plenty of parking at the top on the cliffs overlooking the bay and you can see Torquay clearly from there. At the top is the remains of an old fort which provides plenty of scope to explore. The Southern Fort is open to the public with free entry with information plaques about the place and the Northern Fort has a lovely little cafe where I stopped for a coffee and a bite to eat before heading down the footpath into Brixham. An easy to navigate footpath that descends quite quickly but it’s well maintained and even. Walking into Brixham you first pass the large breakwater which you can walk down and then past the marina into Brixham itself. The town is very touristy as you will soon tell from the gift shops, ice cream shops and fish food eateries. It was certainly very busy and bustling whilst I was there! For such a small place, it has its place in history. For example, the Prince Of Orange landed there in 1688 before moving on to London where he was crowned William III. Also, in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte was held captive on HMS Bellerophon before being transported into exile on St Helena. There’s certainly a lot of history there and you can tell from the architecture but also the ample information boards scattered around. There’s also the replica of the Golden Hind you can go on for a look around.
View From Berry Head National Nature Reserve
Brixham Breakwater
Brixham Habour Marina
Overall, my first trip away after all the Covid lockdowns was an eventful one. Granted the trip down there was a nightmare, but that was my fault for being completely ignorant of the fact that it was a bank holiday weekend! Torquay is definitely somewhere I would like to go again. It’s a pretty area and it must be lovely (if a bit busy) during the summer months. The surrounding area and countryside is beautiful and gives you plenty of options to explore. Especially the nearby towns. There’s a lot of history in that area and if you like your history like I do, it’s definitely worth absorbing it all! Or alternatively you can just spend time relaxing there like the Victorians did! I wouldn’t recommend staying in the Water’s Edge Hotel. Even reading the latest reviews on the place appear to show it’s still in roughly the same condition as it was when I visited in 2021. So check your options when visiting the area. Next time I go, I might aim for the self catering caravan option, namely the one above Brixham. But each to their own! There are plenty of options for those travelling to the area!
All in all, for my first trip out in years to explore new areas of the UK, it was a success and I learned a lot. Not just about exploring these areas but also faults with myself (lack of fitness) that I needed to work on.