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Beautiful English seaside town Torquay, UK
By Mark on September 11, 2008
I decided to do a post about a beautiful seaside town in the south-west of England, UK. Torquay is not a huge city it is a town and alot of people reading this post outside of Great Britain, may have never heard of this place. Torquay is renowned for her golden beaches and blue seas in the summer months, it has a beautiful, large harbour and the town is situated on hills of greenery.
This is a satellite picture of Great Britain and showing where Torquay is on Google Earth.
This is a satellite picture of Torquay in England, UK, taken from Google Earth.
This is another closer satellite picture of Torquay in the southwest of England, UK.
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies 16 miles (26 kilometres) south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, 38 miles (61 km) north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 62,963 during the 2001 UK Census made it the third largest settlement in Devon. During the peak summer season the resort’s population swells to around 200,000
The town’s economy was initially based upon fishing and agriculture as in the case of Brixham across Torbay, but in the early 19th century the town began to develop into a fashionable seaside resort, Renowned for its healthful climate, the town earned the nickname of the English Riviera and favourable comparisons to Montpellier.
This is a picture taken from panoramio of the town of Torquay resorts in Devon.
This is a picture taken from Google Earth of St.John’s church in Torquay.
The area comprising modern Torquay has been inhabited since paleolithic times. Hand axes found in Kents Cavern date to 450,000 years ago, and a maxilla fragment known as Kents Cavern 4 may be the oldest example of a modern human in Europe. Roman soldiers are known to have visited Torquay at some point during the period when Britain was a part of the Roman Empire, leaving offerings at a strange rock formation in Kent’s Cavern, known as ‘The Face’ Torquay remained a minor settlement until the Napoleonic wars, when Torbay was frequently used as a sheltered anchorage by the Channel Fleet, and relatives of officers often visited Torquay. The population of Torquay grew rapidly from 838 in 1801, to 11,474 in 1851 that was due to the mild weather that the town had and helped sailors from the northern cold weather to rest until the weather was better. The second phase in the expansion of Torquay began when Torre railway station was opened on 18 December 1848. The improved transport connections resulted in the rapid growth of Torquay at the expense of nearby towns not on Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s railways. In 1842, The more central Torquay railway station was open on 2 August 1859. After the growth of the preceding decades, Torquay was granted borough status in 1872. Previously regarded as a convalescence retreat, Torquay began to encourage healthy visitors, and 1902 saw the first advertising campaign to market Torquay to summer tourists.
Since World War II, the nature of tourism in the United Kingdom has changed significantly. Increasing wealth has meant that holidays abroad are now commonplace, and coastal towns are now more popular for short stays as part of a touring holiday. Recently Torquay has seen an increase in foreign visitors, and is now a major destination for foreign exchange students. Information provided to me by Wikipedia’s assistance.
This is a picture taken from panoramio of Torquay Harbour.
This is a picture taken from panoramio of Meadfoot Beach in Torquay, Devon.
There is plenty to do in Torquay if you don’t want to just stay on the beach or if the weather is not good. There are plenty of beaches in Torquay and Torbay they are Meadfoot beach picture above and
Maidencombe Beach, Watcombe Beach, Oddicombe Beach, Babbacombe Beach, Anstey’s Cove, Torre Abbey Sands, Corbyn Sands. With a recreation of things to do like theatres, cinemas, caves, saint John church, restaurants, shops, pubs, nightclubs, English Rivera, Museum, Zoo/Aquarium, plus 4 and 5 star hotels and b&b’s. There really is plenty to do there with the football stadium and gymnasiums, so you will not be bored if you visit Torquay.
- Learn about Torquay on wikipedia:
- Learn about Torbay on wikipedia:
- Find Torquay on Google Earth:
- Find Torbay on Google Maps:
Posted in Europe | 3 Comments
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3 Responses to “Beautiful English seaside town Torquay, UK”
Comments
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Nick Ramsay, exploring the world from a zabuton in Japan.
12:43 pm on September 13th, 2008
It does look like a beautiful place Mark. I remember spending a holiday there when I was a teenager. We took a touring caravan and got stuck on a hill. We wanted to turn round and couldn’t and we held up all the traffic for ages. We did have a lovely holiday though.
4:01 pm on September 13th, 2008
You’ve got the whole world to choose from and you go to Torquay? You are a true Englishman.
8:56 am on September 14th, 2008
That sounds good mum, Oh well at least you didn’t lose the caravan on the hill. I reckon it is a nice town to visit to.
Nick, I have to go domestic as well as international though as people may want to see places in Britain, but you are right I have the whole world to play with. To go from the wonderful Island of Jamaica to Torquay is a big leap, but it is fun thanks.