Torquay Things to Do

This is a sand and shingle beach and again will get mostly covered when the tide comes in.

This is more of a family beach and there are beach huts along the beach wall - these huts can be hired along with deck chairs and sunbeds.

Facilities: Parking 1/4 mile from beach; dogs banned; swimming, safe with care; warning flags in operation; life saving equipment; toilets nearby; deck chair/sun bed hire; chalet hire
Disabled: easy access; toilets nearby

The Marina area starts at Torquay Pier (next to the Princess Theatre) and runs along the coast next to the Pavillion, along the Strand and upto the Living Coast aviary and sea life attraction.

Mooring your craft here will cost you quite a lot of money, however if you can afford it you will be in the company of other rich people!

The newly built foot bridge (completed 2003) joins the two sides of the inner harbour together making it much easier to navigate the Strand area of Torquay.

The center span opens to allow tall boats into the inner harbour.

History comes alive at Torbay's most historic building. Built in 1196 you can trace the 800 years of development from monastery, imposing home of wealthy families, to Mayor's official residence of modern day.

It is advised to set aside at least up to 3 hours (sounds alot to me!).
Attractions include:

Historic rooms, including the beautiful dining room and family chapel.

Art galleries containing a stunning collection of pictures, silver, glass and Torquay pottery.

The most complete medieval Abbey ruins in Devon and Cornwall, including the "Spanish Barn" of Armada fame.

The Agatha Christie memorial room.

Colourful gardens and palm house.

A fantastic display of Antique & funky Retro items in lovely surroundings - I was amazed at the range of stock they had and spent well over an hour browsing and chatting to the friendly staff. They have some rare bits and bobs dotted around and I managed to find myself a stunning piece of Victorian glass to add to my collection.

I was very happy with the price and service - I shall certainly be putting 'Antique & Retro' on my agenda for when I call down again in the Summer! A must visit shop in my humble opinion!

Laser Quest is a live action game where you are armed with a laser gun and an energy pack. The aim of the fame is to shoot the opposition with laser beams and drain away their energy and save your own "life".

I didn't really think much of this when I tried it, but I think it's because it was my first time and it's kind of hard to understand the game the first time. It seemed like the other people enjoyed it and it is a fun way to spend your time. At the end of the game you get a list of who was the best players.

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Kant's Cavern is the oldest known dwelling in Britain. It holds beautiful geological formations and significant prehistoric finds. The caves are over 2 million years old, and it feels like walking through historic amidst the stalagmites and stalactites.

We did a tour around the caves and we listened to what was supposed to be the spooky tales of strange happenings in the caves. I remember that the "actors" were kind of amateurs, so we didn't get the spooky feeling when we were there. It was however an interesting cave to see with the "drips" of salt from the ceiling, the prehistoric remains and what seemed like faces in the rock.

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Torquay harbour is very pleasant during the evening. The walk along from Tor Abbey Sands to the Princess Pier and then towards the inner harbour is only a short walk (for most) and it is flat all the way. At the harbour there is a range of shops, cafes, bars and places to eat. It's a lively place during the summer evenings. It's also a hive of activity for the foreign language students who flock to Torquay in the summer to learn English.

It was the girlfriend's idea to see the model villiage. And a good one, as it turned out. We caught an old fashioned bus that delivered us to Babbacombe.

I thought it would just be a few models in the equivalent of someone's back garden and was totally astonished when I saw how large and diverse the site is.
The detail is fantastic. Kids and adults alike will really enjoy going here.

Cockington is a 'chocolate box picture' thatched roofed villiage close to Torquay and is probably well documented but the walk there through the countryside in late autumn is fantastic.

The colours of the leaves and anxiety that Christmas is only round the corner. Then suddenly you get your first glimse of the villiage with smoke from chimneys lazily hanging in the air and adding a long ago remembered smell to add to that of the woodland. Magical!

Cockington Court is surrounded by beautiful gardens,you can visit the court its open for the public 7 days a week.Inside the court there are studios showing you how they make pottery,glass and needlework.