Car-free adventures aroundTorquayDevon
Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890 and the town’s landmarks feature in her mysteries. The palm trees and art nouveau pavilion, the elegant hotels and seaside promenades all feel like something from a novel. Great Western Railway's stations on the coastal Riveria Line are all part of the retro vibe. With a balmy south-facing microclimate in the shelter of Dartmoor, the area is known as the English Riviera and tropical plants flourish in the Victorian villa gardens. Torquay is an ideal staycation town for a car-free holiday, with buses, boats, a mini-train, some fabulous walks, and two railway stations – with a great scenic ride along the coast on the way. Scroll to the end for tips on bargain train and bus tickets and handy places to stay.
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1. The Agatha Christie Mile
The first of our Torquay car-free adventures. Along Torquay’s seafront, between the Grand and Imperial Hotels, this short literary trail with seven plaques takes you past city sights relating to the queen of crime’s life and works. Agatha Christie spent her honeymoon night at the Grand Hotel on Christmas Eve 1914 and Archie had proposed to her after a Wagner concert at the Pavilion. She roller-skated on Princess Pier and swam at Beacon Cove.
- The Grand Hotel is a minute’s walk from Torquay Railway station. Turn right towards the seafront and you’ll see it ahead. Guests can still stay in the Agatha Christie Suite.
- Turn left towards the big wheel. The Princess Gardens below the wheel feature in The ABC Murders and the Imperial Hotel in three different novels.
- Don’t miss the bronze bust of Agatha Christie on Palk Street, near the Pavilion. It was created in 1990 to celebrate the centenary of her birth.
- Torquay Museum on Babbacombe Road has the UK’s only dedicated Agatha Christie Gallery – it’s on a mezzanine on the second floor, between displays about nearby Kent’s Cavern and the Egyptian galleries upstairs.
- Greenway, the Christie family’s 1950s holiday home is not far from Torquay – get there by steam train from Paignton or by ferry along the River Dart.
- Visit the camellia-filled wooded gardens and the boathouse, murder scene from the Poirot mystery Dead Man’s Folly.
- The pretty town of Paignton is five minutes by train or fifteen by bus (12, 22, or in summer 122) from Torquay. Catch a steam train from Paignton to the request halt at Greenway, where there’s a shuttle bus or half hour walk through the woods. The steam railway links into some fabulous train-boat-bus itineraries that mean the adventure could easily last all day.
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2. Torre Abbey
Almost next door to the train station, there are several easy ways to get to this monastery-turned-art gallery in subtropical gardens backed by sand and sea. And it’s a great place to get coffee and cake if you need to wait for a train!
- Torre Abbey is a three-minute stroll from Torquay’s railway station and several seafront buses stop nearby, between Abbey Meadows and the long sandy beach.
- The abbey’s museum has several floors – start at the top with 800 years of the history (twelfth-century Torre Abbey was one of England’s richest monasteries) and work your way down through the eclectic art galleries and grand halls to the medieval undercroft.
- When you need refreshments, the café is a superb place for lunch with tables on the sea-facing terrace and armchairs inside by the fire. Try the orange and poppy seed cake!
- Don’t miss Torre Abbey’s gardens, with a palm house full of creeping colour and an Agatha Christie-inspired poison garden.
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3. Get the boat to piratical Brixham
A 15-minute walk or short bus ride from Torquay train station, the Western Lady ferry service between Torquay and Brixham has been running since the 1940s. Of all the boat trips on offer from Torquay, this one is probably the best value.
- The cream and blue boats run seasonally with more frequent trips in peak season.
- The ferry leaves from next to the harbour bridge (North Quay) frequently or so at the busiest times (regularly in low season).
- Coming back, boats leaves from Brixham’s New Pier. While you’re over there, you can stroll through the shops or hike the coast path.
- Or follow the circular, two-mile Blackbeard’s Trail or the Buccaneers’ Way, with views of town, harbour and sea, both starting and ending the statue of William of Orange by the harbour. There’s an annual Pirate Festival in Brixham’s Old Fish Market, with pirate-themed stalls and costumes.
- Brixham’s other harbour-side attraction is a full-size reconstruction of the Golden Hind.
- For fresh seafood, in Brixham or Torquay, head to Rockfish, serving fresh caught fish and local beer. Find out what’s been landed and chose it chargrilled or battered with salad or unlimited chips.
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4. Open top buses
The bus routes on offer around Torquay are spectacular, including some with open tops to enjoy the wind in your hair and the views across the sea.
- In particular, bus 22 (and open top 122 in summer) run north along the coast, passing Kents Cavern, to Babbacombe, where there’s a model village and cliff railway.
- Heading the other way, they call at the Dart Valley Railway and Paignton Zoo. The cheerful yellow 122, painted with Zoo animals, runs every 20 minutes all summer, seven days a week. Follow Good Journey’s directions.
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5. South West Coast Path
This 630-mile long distance route is justly famous as one of the world’s most beautiful paths and the last in our roundup of Torquay car-free adventures. It’s also one of the more gruelling – walking the whole thing is the equivalent of climbing four Everests (in terms of ascent). But the 1½ mile section from Torquay harbour to Meadfoot Beach is a relatively easy smorgasbord of coastal delights past boats, birds and cliff-top gardens; it’s got a really great café at the end and a regular Monday to Saturday bus back.
- Start by the Harbour on Victoria Parade and climb Beacon Hill above the Living Coasts aviary, where you can see the penguins jumping into their pools.
- Turn right beyond the Imperial Hotel to pick up the Coast Path, which runs along Rock End Walk, an old Victorian pleasure garden. Detour right before the steps for a good view of the natural archway in the cliffs, known as London Bridge.
- The path leads through thickets of holm oaks and past the National Coastwatch Institute‘s visitor centre. Eventually, it leads down onto Daddyhole Road (Daddy is an old Devonian name for the Devil, whose “hole” was a limestone cave below the cliffs).
- Turn right downhill for the Meadfoot Beach café, offering fine food and spectacular views daily until 4pm (and later on Wednesday, which is pizza night). The open sandwiches – from chicken and pesto to goat’s cheese and beetroot are particularly recommended.
- You can walk straight back a mile or so up Meadfoot Sea Road into town or catch the 64 bus (not Sunday) from Hesketh Crescent, opposite the Osbourne Hotel.
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Bargain buses and places to stay
Here’s a bit more practical info if you’re planning a staycation in Torquay
- The Devon day ranger train ticket gives you unlimited travel across the whole county.
- If you’re taking several bus rides around Torquay and beyond there are good value Stagecoach dayrider tickets giving unlimited trips around the whole Torbay area, from Kingswear in the south right up to Dawlish Warren.
- If the bus journeys are on the same day that you arrive by train, get a bargain PlusBus ticket for unlimited bus rides around Newton Abbot, Paignton and Torquay.
- There are lots of places to stay in Torquay, including the Elmington Hotel, right next to the station with sea views and a swimming pool. Or, for the full Agatha Christie experience, splash out at The Grand, which is also right by the station.
