Torbay on the English Riviera

11 October 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  12 minutes

View from Torquay towards Paignton © Kicior99/cc-by-3.0

View from Torquay towards Paignton © Kicior99/cc-by-3.0

Torbay is a borough in Devon, administered by the unitary authority of Torbay Council. It consists of 62.87 square kilometres (24.27 sq mi) of land, spanning the towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located around an east-facing natural harbour (Tor Bay) on the English Channel. Torbay is roughly equidistant from the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. A popular tourist destination with a tight conurbation of resort towns, Torbay’s sandy beaches, mild climate and recreational and leisure attractions have given rise to the nickname of the English Riviera. Torbay’s main industry is tourism. It has a large number of European students learning English. The fishing port of Brixham is home to one of England and Wales’ most successful fishing fleets and regularly lands more value than any UK port outside Scotland. It is also a base for Her Majesty’s Coastguard and the Torbay Lifeboat Station. Famous former residents of Torbay include author Agatha Christie, who set many of her novels in a thinly disguised version of the borough.   read more…

Agatha Christie’s Greenway Estate

15 March 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  8 minutes

Greenway House © MilborneOne/cc-by-sa-3.0

Greenway House © MilborneOne/cc-by-sa-3.0

Greenway is an estate on the River Dart near Galmpton in Devon. It was first mentioned in 1493 as “Greynway”, the crossing point of the Dart to Dittisham. In the late 16th century a Tudor mansion called Greenway Court was built by the Gilbert family. Greenway was the birthplace of Humphrey Gilbert. The present Georgian house was probably built in the late 18th century by Roope Harris Roope and extended by subsequent owners. The gardens may have been remodelled by landscape gardener Humphry Repton.   read more…

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