Torquay

Another busy day is planned for today and when we chat with the waitress at our B&B she doesn't think we will have enough time to do what we had planned. How wrong she was. 

Staying in B&Bs is what a lot of English seem to do.  There were two men staying at this one in Torquay and they were quite pleasant having a bit of a chat over breakfast but it is funny to hear the conversation carry on which didn't include us. They didn't seem like the kind of blokes that would do much exercise and that was clear by one of them complaining that all this walking is giving him sore legs. Mind you from what they had said it was nothing like the walking Peter and I do when on holidays. They were off to do the caves which are around Torquay that day and they were giving us advice on what to do around Torquay. 

Another interesting thing about B&Bs is that if you don't have the full cooked English breakfast each day they think there is something wrong with you. Neither Peter or I are used to big breakfasts so the thought of anything cooked everyday is very foreign to us. We started that for the first few days but found it too much so when we said on our first morning here only a poached egg and no extra toast the waitress said "You're only light eaters aren't you". It is quite funny really. Never mind we didn't take offence. 

After breakfast we set of to Baddacombe which is a town up the coast from Torquay. There is an incline railway there that takes you down to the beach which has been recommended to us by our host. It is a nice drive about 30 minutes and again we struggle to find parking but eventually we do and set off to walk around to where the railway is. Driving in the UK is a matter of negotiation a lot of the time as the streets are narrow in a lot of the towns and then you have to contend with the big double decker buses that drive the routes between all the small towns. Then if Doris takes us the wrong way all the little lane ways that are one way really with not much room if any to fit two cars. It all makes for an interesting experience.

It is another nice day on the coast but in the distance we can see a dark cloud moving towards us. We go down to the beach on the railway and take a few photos. There are already a couple of people sitting in deck chairs which is another seaside tradition here in the UK, where you hire a deck chair for the day and sit on the beach. As we walk to the beach we meet our mates from breakfast filling in time until the Kenty Caves opens. They also complained about the £2 cost of the railway trip which didn't bother us at all.

The Incline Railway from Baddacombe to Iddicombe Beach

When we were up on the cliff side we could see someone swimming and I commented that the water would be cold and when we got down to the beach that person had just gotten out of the water and he had a wetsuit on. Peter went and felt the water and said it was warm but I still don't think I would be going in. We see a couple of families arrive and they are all kitted out for a day at the beach with floats, crabbing buckets, fishing nets etc.

As we were enjoying the beachside the clouds moved over and the heavens opened, not just a sprinkle but a really heavy shower which lasted for about 10 minutes. We sheltered under the bridge where the railway goes over. As quickly as it started it eased and then stopped. We went back up to the cliff top and had a lovely scone with jam and cream and a cup of coffee. 

A view of the rain that tumbled down

We drove back to our B&B to leave the car as part 2 of our day out was to walk back to the Princess Pier and catch the ferry across to Brixham. A pretty cheap fare return for a half hour trip across the bay. When we get onto the ferry one of the first things we notice is that you can buy alcohol. The trip across the bay has barley begun and a woman gets up and buys a piccolo bottle of rose and a bloke comes and buys a beer. Mind you it is barely midday. One of the many things that we have found a bit out of the ordinary here in the UK. 

We arrive at Brixham and as it is a working fishing port the first thing we see are lots of trawlers. As we walk along the pier there are lots of crab pots lined up on the wall. Crab is one of the many seafoods which is popular along the coast. This is to be reaffirmed when walking towards the shops, there are heaps of kids with mum and dad putting little crab nets into the harbour to catch some crabs. 

Crab Pots by the Brixham Harbour

One of the crabbing buckets with some to the catch

In all the seaside places we have been there are always a lot of shops selling the nets and buckets for the kids to pass the time when out at the seaside. It is clearly a popular summer activity. But here there were lots of kids doing this, the most we had seen. 

We walked around the harbour and found a quiet spot to have lunch as the pier side was extremely busy. There are still quite a few families around this side but definitely quieter. As we had more to do we caught the next ferry back to Torquay.

Brixham Harbour

The next part of our day was the Agatha Christie Mile. We had already covered a couple of the stops on the mile, The Grand Hotel where we had dinner last night and the Potent Plants Garden in Torre Abbey. On the way back from Baddacombe we stopped at the Torquay Museum which houses an Agatha Christie exhibition all about her life, her writing and life in Torquay. The exhibition also has some of the sets from the Hercule Poirot series which I only wish we could have taken some photos of. The exhibition was very interesting as it showed all aspects of her life and how she came to write her first story. It was a challenge from her sister to write a detective story that started her lifelong career as a mystery writer.

The Grand Hotel

Much against my normal manner of doing things we did do the mile out of order, which for anyone who knows me is not like me at all. I like to do things in the proper order but hey we are on holidays. 

The next stop was the Princess Pier which was a favourite place for Agatha's for roller skating and was built in the same year she was born.  

Princess Pier

The Princess Gardens was next, this featured in The ABC Murders and the site of the Princess Theatre where the official Agatha Christie Thetre Company tours each year. 

The Princess Gardens

The  Pavilion, which at this time is closed for renovation,  was where Archie Christie proposed to Agatha after attending a Wagner concert.

The Pavilion

 The  Agatha Christie Bust is in the park in front of the Pavilion and was created to commemorate the Agatha Christie centenary year in 1990. 

Torquay Train Station is the place where during the centenary celebrations David Suchet's Hercule Poirot and Joan Hickson's Miss Marple met for the first time. We didn't get to the rest as it was getting late in the afternoon and we had had a big day. I am so happy that I got to do at most of the mile. 

Torquay Railway Station

After a fairly active day we freshen up for dinner at a local pub/rest airman called Ocean Drive. It is absolutely chock a block full of American style memorabilia. Food was great and the service excellent. 

Home to bed for the next day of our holiday , Cornwall!