It's the end of October which means a certain Beardsmore birthday is imminent. Last year we marked Stephen's 60th by going on a coach trip holiday to Scarborough but for his 61st we'll be at the opposite end of the country. Here comes our Devonshire Diary...
- Torquay Town Dock -
I call it our Devonshire diary because that's where we'll be staying, enjoying the hospitality of a Daish's Hotel high up on the headland overlooking Torquay Harbour. Travelling down on 27th October after a 9:30am Monday morning pick-up at Wolverhampton's Faulkland Street coach station, we make fair M5 headway with a couple of motorway services interludes. Checking in at roughly half past three, we can get in a familiarisation foray prior to our evening meal once we've negotiated the somewhat notorious Parkhill Road gradient. Town Dock and Inner Dock are part of an extensive marina complex which is home to some seriously expensive-looking boats. The area around Cary Parade and the Strand has been impressively landscaped in recent years and immediately feels like a very nice place to be.
- Posing Peter -
One of Torquay's claims to fame is that it was the birthplace of the celebrated crime writer and national treasure Agatha Christie in 1890 hence a statue depicts her sitting near the waterside with beloved dog Peter at her feet. The meal back at the hotel goes well, getting to know our fellow guests including Fred and Sue from Sedgley - they've been married for 55 years give or take, that's some commitment! We brave the precipitous descent again in order to sample two of Torquay's hostelries; the Cider Press is a standard town centre boozer serving up a nice drop of Dartmoor Legend but I quickly develop a soft spot for the TQ Beerworks Taphouse positioned on the seafront. They sell a varied selection of craft brews plus some of their own beery creations, with Lord Twiggington's Best Bitter rating very highly in my estimations.
- Breakwater Beardsmore -
Tuesday 28th October is dedicated to all things Torbay as we give the English Riviera our full concentration on a day of gorgeous autumnal sunshine. The bright skies entice us to Brixham with a ride on the number 12 bus via Preston, Paignton and Goodrington. Brixham is arguably the quaintest of the three Torbay towns and looks an absolute treat on this showing; we muse on Middle Street for glimpses of the Golden Hind (a replica of Sir Francis Drake's famous ship which was used for global circumnavigation between 1577 and 1580) before our adventurous streak kicks in for a walk along the town's breakwater arm stretching half a mile in enclosing one edge of the harbour. The lighthouse at the far end is currently undergoing a major repaint.
- Brixham Harbour -
The harbour offers a sunkissed spectacle with pastel-shaded buildings adding to the postcard quality of the scene. Murals near the central car park carry depictions of Winston Churchill and Horatio Nelson before we check out a couple of pubs: the Crown & Anchor is on the quayside and has been the preserve of fishermen for centuries - I have a cracking pint of Firebrand's Gingerbread Porter here - whereas the Golden Lion can be found on New Road further out from the Town Hall, catching our eye with cuddly koalas and a collection of pastoral plates. A fish market, Fuller's Pasties (to sate Mr B's sausage roll cravings) and marina moorings make for a productive photographic period with snack-related punctuation. A special seaside visit!
- Popeye on Paignton Pier -
Paignton has a tough time matching that when we intercept another 12 for the shortish stretch to the bus station interchange I remember from 2006. I've never felt like I've done Paignton full justice in terms of camera captures but we make good inroads by greeting 'Goliath', one of the Dartmouth Steam Railway locomotives which is pulling onto the heritage platforms just when we happen to be passing. Paignton Harbour is a pleasure to investigate, watched over by the Harbour Light St Austell inn albeit our choice of establishment is the less glamorous Henry's Bar on Torbay Road. They're keen to make the most of their 2026 Good Beer Guide listing here yet I'm more swayed by the prospect of Sam's Cider than Trooper or Doom Bar. A peek at Paignton Pier meanwhile has us meeting Popeye, Buzz Lightyear and Minnie Mouse so we really are seeing all the sights of Devon so far this week!
- Train Tracks at Dawlish Sea Wall -
Depending on your liking for transport locations, Devon's sights don't come much more iconic than Dawlish Sea Wall where the West Coast Main Line hurtles along metres from the shore. We get our chance to walk along this remarkable rugged railway hotspot on Wednesday 29th October, this after catching the number 11 double decker bus from Torquay to Dawlish Warren via St Marychurch, Shaldon and Teignmouth. Dawlish Warren has an exposed halt of a station which serves the surrounding family fairgrounds, caravan parks and a sandy spit of a nature reserve that protrudes into the River Exe estuary. Although we'd prefer drier weather, there's something about strolling the sea wall in the mizzle that adds to the atmosphere, especially when we reach a section that had to be rebuilt due to damage from the 2014 Great Storm.
- A Brace of Black Swans -
Having negotiated the mile and a half trek into the centre of Dawlish itself, we keenly look out for examples of the town's black swans (a species which are apparently native to Australia so the South West must have come as a culture shock back in the 1900s). Several swans along with other varieties of waterfowl look very much at home on Dawlish Water - the town's main brook - despite ongoing installation works to fit underground storage tanks, a disruptive but necessary project that should protect against future storm surges. Stephen and I then pause for a pint in the Brunswick Arms (make mine a Dartmoor Jail Ale please), followed by sweet treats from Gay's Creamery. This family business has been operational for over 100 years now and my ice cream comes with a bonus scoop of local clotted cream on top - delicious!
- A Spooky Customer in Teignmouth? -
The bus earlier had tempted us with Teignmouth so we're intent on stopping there for a mooch on the way back. Alighting by the Esplanade, our circuit covers Teignmouth Pier - where the independent amusement arcade at the front is still going but the damaged deck remains out of bounds - the Promenade and the Strand. Although we have no need to use it ourselves, it's interesting to see the Shaldon Ferry rowing boat which has taken foot passengers across the River Teign possibly since Saxon times, giving it a claim to be the oldest such service in the country. Of the local inns, it's the Blue Anchor which earns our custom on the strength of a Good Beer Guide recommendation; the resultant glass of Exeter Brewery's Darkness seems highly appropriate for this time of year, I believe the resident skeleton also approves!
- Newton Abbot Public Library -
To Thursday 30th October, our last day in Devon and - more importantly - the occasion of the aforementioned Beardsmore birthday. Stephen is in a relatively chipper mood despite sporting frustrations that saw defeats for England Men and Women's cricket on the Wednesday, while the less said about Wolves this season the better. Anyway, we've nominated Newton Abbot as our destination once the good old number 12 does its business again (via Kingskerswell). I'm not a fan of Newton Abbot bus station - an ugly Sherborne Road multistorey car park does it no favours whatsoever - but am intrigued by both the livestock market and the public library. The latter was commissioned in 1902 after John Passmore Edwards donated it in memory of his mother, hence it is distinctively constructed out of Devon limestone.
- Ye Olde Cider Bar -
Other marvellous Newton Abbot edifices include St Leonard's Tower (700+ years old or so we're told) and the Railway Station, which opened in 1846 and historically had branches to both Paignton and Moretonhampstead. Heritage of a more agricultural persuasion is next to be savoured at Ye Olde Cider Bar, one of relatively few surviving true ciderhouses nationally and therefore a highly cherished institution. Appley nectar is served straight from huge barrels and wooden benches have been worn smooth by countless backsides over several decades. Sam's Medium and Dry options are both duly taste-tested by yours truly whilst Mr B ponders a succession of sepia gatherings showing the Long Bar Cork Club's outings of yore.
- A Very Fine Hat, Sir! -
Elsewhere on East Street, the Locomotive has its own C17th charms (plus a chatty landlord telling us about getting the old fireplace seen to), then Newton Abbot Museum is housed in a former chapel complete with requisite stained glass windows. I have a go at pulling signalling levers while Stephen gamely models a most fetching hat, and we've time to try out Tucker's Maltings as a Teignworthy Brewery premises (partially) before the return bus. Our final night in Torquay is spent quietly at the Devonshire, reflecting on our holiday and trying to ignore the worst bits of some entertainer or other crooning along to Abba, Bobby Darin and Elvis. Those Devon days disappeared before we knew it, and come Friday 31st we're homeward bound once more. Happy birthday Stephen and thanks for the fun!
