DISCOVER TORQUAY
Torquay is a town on the south coast of England in the county of Devon which has extended along the coast of Torbay to the extent that it is now inextricably intermingled with the neighbouring town of Paignton. In the 19th century it became a fashionable seaside resort, renowned for its healthy climate it gained a nickname as the English Riviera.
Torquay's name originates in it being the quay of the ancient village of Torre, which in turn takes its name from the tor whose extensively quarried remains can be seen by the town's Tor Hill Road.[2]
Torquay is situated on the South West coast of England, forming one third of Torbay, and is primarily on the western side of the bay. It has a mild microclimate, and cabbage trees (often erroneously dubbed "Torbay Palms") are a notable feature of the area. They were introduced into the area in 1820 from New Zealand and since then have flourished. There are currently thousands throughout the town.
Torquay is also set along a coastline renowed for its beaches, having no fewer than nine popular beaches. The high standards of water quality and beach facilities mean that many carry coveted awards, including no fewer than three European Blue Flags - more than any other resort in the UK.
The nine main beaches of Torquay, a string of nine beautiful beaches and coves stretched out along the palm lined coast, are as follows: Maidencombe Beach, Watcombe Beach, Oddicombe Beach, Babbacombe Beach, Anstey's Cove, Meadfoot Beach, Torre Abbey Sands and Corbyn Sands.
 TOURISM IN TORQUAY
Numerous tourist attractions vie for a share of the resort's visitors including Britain's most important Stone Age site, Kents Cavern which was home to early man for some 700,000 years and where tourists can visit this subterranean wonderland. The floor is composed of several strata, with remains indicating the prehistoric coexistence there of humans and now-extinct animals. The Rev. J. McEnery explored (1825-29) the cave and put forth the coexistence theory. The cave was extensively explored from 1865 to 1880 by William Pengelly, who found proof to support McEnery's hypothesis. The Caves have attracted many famous people, among them Agatha Christie, Beatrix Potter, King George V of the United Kingdom and Haile Selassie who was so impressed with his visit that he gave his guide, Leslie Powe a gold sovereign.
Living Coasts, another popular Torquay attraction, is built on Beacon Quay which has existed since 1680. In 1857 the Bath's Saloons complex was built on the promontory overlooking Beacon Cove. This included a ballroom, concert hall and sunlit conservatory and private bathing facilities with, underneath, a large public swimming bath open to the sea. The beautiful stone arches of this public bath can still be seen today and have been cleverly incorporated into the shop at Living Coasts.Development of the site, as a marine animal exhibit was first proposed in the early part of 1999. It was in response to a call from Torbay Borough Council for submissions from interested parties. The project, developed by Kay Elliott architects, included an exhibit to house marine birds, rather than fish, due to the need to avoid duplicating the exhibits at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth. The project was subsequently taken on by Paignton Zoo Environmental Park and named Living Coasts.
Another old favourite of tourists, is the Babbacombe Model Village. Opened in 1963 it has attracted children and adults of all ages for generations and is considered one of the best examples of a model village in England.
Paignton Zoo is situated in the nearby town of Paignton (inextricably intermingled with Torquay), this is a top tourist atrraction and one of the best zoos in the country currently. It has undergone extensive rebuilding in the past decade, marking a movement from the old way of caged animals to displaying animals in exhibits as close to their natural habitat as possible. This renovation has been made possible thanks to investment by the European Regional Development Fund and the zoo itself.
The Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway is another top attraction operating heritage steam trains over part of the railway referred to in this article, from Paignton to Kingswear
The Princess Theatre is a popular venue in the town.
SPORTS IN TORQUAY
Torquay is represented in the English Coca-Cola Football League Two by Torquay United F.C.. The team plays their home matches at Plainmoor and has spent its entire history in the bottom two leagues of English football. The 2004/05 season resulted in the team being relegated from League One to League Two, a reverse of their fortunes of the previous season. While 2005/06 saw them escape relegation from The Football League only on the last day of the season and after two changes of manager in as many months.
Torquay also hosted the World Snooker European Open 2003 at the Palace Hotel, which was won by Ronnie O'Sullivan, in the same year the town also hosted the World Snooker Championship Qualifiers, also held at the Palace Hotel.
TRANSPORT
Torquay has two railway stations. Torquay railway station is situated near the sea, close to Torre Abbey Sands. Torre railway station is situated a little inland adjacent to the road leading to Newton Abbot. Not all trains stop at Torre.
There is a bus service that goes from Newton Abbot to Brixham stopping off in Torquay and Paignton, this is the 12 service, if you wish to go to South Devon College, you would have to get on the 12A service, that also goes from Newton Abbot to Brixham, but stopes off in Torquay, Paignton and South Devon College.
TORQUAY IN ENGLISH CULTURE
A number of sketches for the Monty Python's Flying Circus television show (1969-73) were filmed on location in and around both Torquay and neighbouring Paignton. It was while staying in Torquay at the Gleneagles Hotel with the Python team in 1971, that John Cleese found inspiration for Fawlty Towers (1975-79), a popular sitcom. Incidents during the Pythons' stay are said to include the owner, Donald Sinclair, having thrown Eric Idle's suitcase out of the window thinking it was a bomb. Cleese later described the eccentric owner as, "the most wonderfully rude man I have ever met", although Mr Sinclair's widow has since said her husband was totally misrepresented in the comedy.
Although it is claimed that location filming for Fawlty Towers was actually done in Cambridge, Berkshire and Bedfordshire, in the episode "Gourmet Night", there is film footage of Basil in a shopping area where shopfronts show Torquay addresses and phone numbers. As of 2006, Torbay Council are considering plans to erect a statue of characters from the show by the harbour.
Isaac Merritt Singer and his family held a strong presence in the area, especially during the late 19th century, building Oldway Mansion in nearby Paignton (partially in the style of the Palace of Versailles).
Torquay is also the home of the co-presenter of popular Sky Sports One program "Soccer AM" Helen Chamberlain.
Oscar Wilde is said to have written A Woman of No Importance while visiting the area.
Los Angeles radio personality Richard Blade is originally from Torquay.
Glamour Model Lauren Pope, was born in Torquay and lived in the town until the age of 18.
Torquay is popular for self-catering accommodation and English Riviera Holidays.
Torquay is the setting for the 2003 movie Blackball staring Paul Kaye and Vince Vaughn. The movie is about Cliff Starkey who is the Bad Boy of Lawn Bowls
From Wikipedia.org, the Free Encyclopedia
 TORQUAY Hotels & Accommodation
ENGLAND Tours & Travel
HOME •
ENGLAND •
DISCOVER •
Southwest England •
Devon • Discover Torquay
|
Looking for something specific?
Torquay Railway Station
KENT'S CAVERN:
Kent's Cavern is a cave in Devon, England. It is about a mile from Torquay and is notable for its archaeological and geological features. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and open to the public.
Excavations in the nineteenth century by Father John MacEnery and William Pengelly, and later by others uncovered flint tools indicating human occupation of the cave during the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. Cultures found included the Mousterian, Aurignacian, proto-Solutrean, Creswellian and Magdelanian. Certain of the handaxes found have been dated to around 450,000 BP. Later laurel-leaf blades from the British Solutrean and Creswellian bone and antler tools are evidence of the earliest known occupation of the British Isles by homo sapiens.
The sequence of occupation compares with that at Creswell Crags.
The caverns and passages at the site were created around 2 million years ago by water action.
Attracting 80,000 tourists a year, Kents Cavern is an important tourist attraction and this was recognised in 2000 when it was awarded Showcave of the Year award and later in November of 2005 when it was awarded a prize for being Torbay's Visitor Attraction of the year.
|
|
DISCOVER ENGLAND
ENGLAND TOURS & TRAVEL
